I will be gathering all of the tones as I hear them and am able to record / decode them .

• 569.1 Long A – All Call
• 2260 ?? Long A – St Louis Fire
• 2250 Long A – St Louis Rescue
• 1122.1 or 1122.5 / 922.5 Breckenridge Fire
• 2465 / 1036 – Ithica Rescue
• 2465 / 1180 – Ithica Fire ??
• 1082 / 2465 – Ashley ??
• 600.9 / 788.5 – Ashley ??

This will provide live feeds for
Midland CO PD + FD
Bay Co PD + FD
Possibly Gladwin Co PD +FD

VHF Scanner Feed Antenna In Merrill Mi

I will correspond the dept with the tones, as I discover them. I grabbed these during the weekly tone test. They are a combination of Motorola and Plectron tones.

• 457.9 / 106.9  All Call
• 992 / 1669 – Bath Twp
• 669.9 / 634.5
• 992 / 1530 – Fowler Fire / Rescue
• 992 / 1985 – Maple Rapids Fire / Rescue
• 2668 / 1180
• 834 / 1901 – St Johns
• 2688 / 871 – Westphalia Fire
• 979.9 / 953.7 – Clinton Area Ambulance
• 368.5 / 349 – Elsie Fire / Rescue
• 330.5 / 410.8 – Ovid
• 992 / 1669
• 349 / 979.9 – Clinton Rescue Station 3
• 992 / 1287 – Dewitt ??
• 600.9 / 634.5 – Dewitt Twp. Station 1 & 2
• 953.7 / 834 – Mercy Ambulance
• 349 / 888 ??   Clinton Fire Station 1

I plan to put up a Ham Radio POCSAG VHF + UHF paging system and some scanner feeds at this location.

Midland Co Sheriff + Fire
Midland City Police + Fire
Bay County PD + FD

I might be able to do feeds for
Arenac Co and Gladwin Co also, but I will have to get more scanners

Below are some pics that I took at the site. Quality is poor, since there is no working electricity in the building for lights.

Today he held the Fox Hunt at the school. Unfortunately I couldn’t make it, since me kids get off the bus at the time he does the class. He Emailed me today and said it went well. They had 4 teams searching for the “Fox”. They want to do another hunt next week, with 2 hidden transmitters.

I have been asked by some other Hams to provide the code I used. Below is the Arduino sketch I have written.

/*
Foxhunt IDer
Written by
Mark Rodgers - KC8GRQ

http://Mark-Rodgers.com

http://Mark-Rodgers.com/fox-hunt-beacon

Morse blinker/sounder
Written By KB3VCQ
*/

// Global variables

boolean done = false; // initialize a Boolean flag if we don't want to endlessly loop

#define PTT_Low 2  // Transmitter PTT. If PTT goes LOW, use PIN 2
#define PTT_High 3  // Transmitter PTT. If PTT goes HIGH, use PIN 3
#define FOUND 4 // This is the IM FOUND button. Keep LOW for off. Switch HIGH for FOUND Tone Activation.
#define LED 13
#define SPEAKER 6  // Audio out to radio
#define TONE 600.0   // Tone of CWID
#define USESPEAKER true  

#define intracharacter 3 // delay between characters
#define dot 1 // length of a dit -- 1 unit
#define dash 3 // length of a dah
#define eow 7 // length at end of word
#define fiveWPM 240 // milliseconds for 5 wpm (based on sending PARIS 5 times for a total of 250 units)
#define wpm 15 // *** SET THIS TO YOUR DESIRED SPEED ***
#define speed fiveWPM / (wpm / 5) // multiplier to apply to 5 wpm rate. 2 = 10wpm, 2.5 = 15wmp, etc.

// CHANGE THESE SETTINGS
// CHANGE THESE SETTINGS

char send[] = "KC8GRQ FOXHUNT TRANSMITTER";  // SET THIS TO THE CW STRING YOU WANT TO SEND -- MUST BE UPPRCASE ***
int timer = 10; // Set the time between transmissions in SECONDS
char PTT_Setting = LOW; // Set how your radio transmits.     Low = PTT goes LOW.       High = PTT goes HIGH

// CHANGE THESE SETTINGS
// CHANGE THESE SETTINGS

int tx_hold = timer*1000;

// Morse code tokens. 0 = dit, 1 = dah any other character will generate 8 dit error. 

// NOTE: These need to be in ASCII code sequence to work

char tokens [][7] = { "110011","100001", // ,,-
"010101","10010", // .,/
"11111","01111","00111","00011","00001","00000", // 0,1,2,3,4,5
"10000","11000","11100","11110", // 6,7,8,9
"111000","10101","<", // :,;,<
"=",">","001100", // =,>,?
"@", // @,
"01","1000","1010", // A,B,C
"100","0","0010", // D,E,F
"110","0000","00", // G,H,I
"0111","101","0100", // J,K,L
"11","10","111", // M,N,O
"0110","1101","010", // P,Q,R
"000","1","001", // S,T,U
"0001","011","1001", // V,W,X
"1011","1100"}; // Y,Z }
;

// Arduino setup routine
void setup()

{

pinMode(SPEAKER,OUTPUT);
pinMode(PTT_Low, OUTPUT);
pinMode(PTT_High, OUTPUT);
pinMode(FOUND, INPUT);
digitalWrite(PTT_Low, HIGH); // Sets the PTT to OFF when its not supposed to TX
digitalWrite(PTT_High, LOW); // Sets the PTT to OFF when its not supposed to TX
}

// Routine to output a dit
void dit()
{
if (USESPEAKER)
{
tone(SPEAKER,TONE, dot * speed);
delay(dot * speed); }
else
{
digitalWrite(LED, HIGH); // set the LED on
delay(dot * speed); // wait for a dot's worth
digitalWrite(LED, LOW); // set the LED off
}

delay(speed);
}

// Routine to output a dah
void dah()
{
if (USESPEAKER)
{
tone(SPEAKER,TONE, dash * speed);
delay(dash * speed);
}
else
{
digitalWrite(LED, HIGH); // set the LED on
delay(dash * speed); // wait for a dah's worth
digitalWrite(LED, LOW); // set the LED off
}
delay(speed);
}

// Intracharacter delay
void ic()
{
digitalWrite(LED, LOW); // set the LED off
delay (intracharacter * speed); // wait for a half second
}

// a space is 7 units of off based on speed
void spaceCharacter()
{
digitalWrite(LED, LOW); // set the LED off
delay((eow * speed) + (intracharacter * speed)); // wait for 7 units
}

// Send a CW error for unknown characters
void error()
{
for (int i = 0; i < 8; i++)
{
dit();
}
ic();
}

// Look up a character in the tokens array and send it
void send_element(int c)
{
char token_to_send[7]; // allocate space for the token
strcpy(token_to_send,tokens[c]); // copy the token from the table into our variable

int len = strlen(token_to_send); // figure out how many dit dahs are in it
for (int i = 0; i < len; i++) // for each item in the token
{
if (token_to_send[i] == '0') // if its a 0
{
dit(); // send a dit
}
else if (token_to_send[i] == '1')
{
dah(); // otherwise we send a dah
}
else
{
error(); // we don't have a valid morse token
}
}
ic(); // after each character there is an intercharacter delay
}

// The main send routine. Pull each character apart and determine its corresponding token.
void send_code()
{
int len = strlen(send); // get the length of the string to send
int c;

for (int i = 0; i < len; i++) // loop thru each character in the string to send
{
c = send[i]; // get the ASCII integer value of the character
if (c == ' ') // see if we are between words
{
spaceCharacter(); // send a space
}
else
{
c -= ','; // offset it by the lowest ASCII character in the tokens table (a comma)
send_element(c); // send that element from the token array

}

}
}

void startup_tones()
{
tone(SPEAKER,300,500);
delay(1000);
tone(SPEAKER,350,500);
delay(1000);
tone(SPEAKER,400,500);
delay(1000);
tone(SPEAKER,450,500);
delay(1000);
tone(SPEAKER,500,500);
delay(1000);
tone(SPEAKER,550,500);
delay(1000);
tone(SPEAKER,600,500);
delay(1000);
tone(SPEAKER,650,500);
delay(1000);
tone(SPEAKER,700,500);
delay(1000);
tone(SPEAKER,750,500);
delay(1000);
tone(SPEAKER,800,500);
};

void found_tones()
{
tone(SPEAKER,400,500);
delay(130);
tone(SPEAKER,600,500);
delay(130);
tone(SPEAKER,800,500);
delay(800);
tone(SPEAKER,400,500);
delay(130);
tone(SPEAKER,600,500);
delay(130);
tone(SPEAKER,800,500);
delay(800);
tone(SPEAKER,400,500);
delay(130);
tone(SPEAKER,600,500);
delay(130);
tone(SPEAKER,800,500);
delay(3000);
};

// The Arduino main run loop
void loop()

{
if (!done) // see if we are done the loop
{

digitalWrite(PTT_Low, LOW);    // Enable PTT for "Low" type radios
digitalWrite(PTT_High, HIGH);  // Enable PTT for "High" type radios
delay(2000); // Wait 2 seconds to allow radio to Key Up
startup_tones(); // Play the startup tones
delay(3000);  // Wait 3 seconds
if (digitalRead(FOUND) == HIGH) { found_tones();  };  // Check to see if FOUND button was pressed, if YES, then play tones
send_code(); // send the string
spaceCharacter(); // make sure we have a space if we loop around to the beginning
delay(1000); // Wait 1 second to allow radio to UnKey
digitalWrite(PTT_Low, HIGH);  // Disable PTT for "Low" type radios
digitalWrite(PTT_High, LOW);  // Disable PTT for "High" type radios

// Multiple delays are used below, since the code doesnt like to run long delays. Use multiples for more time.
delay(tx_hold);  // Delay between transmissions, set above in config area
delay(tx_hold);  // Delay between transmissions, set above in config area
//delay(tx_hold);  // Delay between transmissions, set above in config area
//delay(tx_hold);  // Delay between transmissions, set above in config area
//delay(tx_hold);  // Delay between transmissions, set above in config area
done = false; // Uncomment to set our flag to finish sending
}

}

The previous antenna was a mobile 5/8wave VHF, attached to a “L” bracket and then mounted to the highest point of the grain leg (tower). It used about 10′ of RG-58 coax to a barrel connector, and then to the 100′ run of RG-8 going into the shack.The antenna has about 3dbi gain.

I had a VHF 5/8wave x2 mobile antenna at home, that the digipeater previously used. It has 6dbi gain. I got a 6′ long 1/2″ thick electrical conduit pipe from my step dad. He had some laying in his junk pile. that was nice, since I didnt have to use my 10′ section that I had planned for another project.

At the site I noticed that I had a long coax run into the shack and I could easily re-route it at the bottom to save some coax. Redoing it gained me about 12 feed of extra length, so I slid it up, as I climbed the tower.

At the top I disconnected the existing antenna and left it in place, for future/backup use, for my live scanner feeds at that site. I mounted the 6′ pole and new antenna to the top of the silo leg rail. The bottom of the antenna is now above head height, in case anyone happens to be working at the top, while it transmits. I happened to have almost exactly the right amount of extra coax. It has about 6-8″ of extra room, so it turned out perfect.I  removed 1 barrel connector and 10′ of RG-58. This should help reduce some line loss.

Before the antenna upgrade, it was hearing a digipeater (KB8VEE-11) from 94.8 miles away. I was hoping to break the 100 mile distance. After the antenna upgrade, I am now hearing multiple stations regularly, around 103-130 miles away. This is a great improvement. Sure they are other tall digipeaters, but it proves that the extra 3dbi gain and less coax loss really helps out.

I still plan to upgrade the antenna 1 more time, to use a dual-band antenna, for APRS and GMRS. The farmer who owns the site wants to use a GMRS repeater, so Ill set one up for him. Id like to share 1 antenna, to avoid using another coax run.

Old Antenna On Left, New Antenna On Right

Want to post your APRS position for FREE?
Want to do it without any software to download and learn?
Want to do it anywhere?
Want to do it easily?
That’s what I was thinking too!

Introducing APRS via Text Message!

I wrote an script using Tropo, (a voice, sms, Twitter and IM cloud server) that enables you to simply send a text message to a phone number, with your callsign and position, and it will be automatically posted to the APRS network.

Want to know how to do it? I bet you do…

Grab your cellphone, any cellphone, Android, iPhone, BlackBerry, or basic phone. As long as you have text messaging capability, you are ready to go.

Save this phone number, so you dont forget it.  989~282~1022
Send a text with your callsign and the address of where you are located.
Example: Im at Google’s headquarters in Ca.

Text To:   989~282~1022
Message: KC8GRQ 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View, CA

When you send the text, Google grabs the address, looks it up and converts it into a Latitude and Longitude. Then my script posts it to the APRS servers for you. It includes the original address that you entered, in the comment field of the APRS data string.

Once it posts it to the system, you will get a confirmation message back.

KC8GRQ has been updated to APRS.
aprs.fi/?call=KC8GRQ

Most newer phones will convert it the aprs.fi/?call=KC8GRQ into a click-able link, that will launch your web browser and take you to a map of your position. Isnt that pretty nifty?

Note: On your first text message, you will receive a message back saying

This service is for licensed Ham Radio operators only. To validate…..

Follow the instructions given to validate your callsign. This is a one-time validation. Once validated, you will not have to do it again. Now you are ready to update your position from anywhere.

This also works with calls with a SSID. Example:  KC8GRQ-7.
You can also use tactical callsigns.
You must use your true callsign without SSID on your first text to the system. This is required for the verification process.

If you have any problems with it, let me know. Send me a message to kc8grq@yahoo.com

I am aware that the position is slightly off. This is due to the conversion in the Latitude / Longitude format that Google uses and the APRS format. They use different map datums. I need to find a more accurate conversion.  Once I do, I will update it.

I bought a Surge Protector / UPS used at a garage sale for $5 last summer. I intended to use it for a tower site, to provide backup power in case of a power failure, so I dont have to drive to reset a PC and radios.

Since I am getting everything ready for the tower site this week, I grabbed the unit from my garage and went to test it. Upon plug in and power on, all I get is 3 beeps. I’m guessing that this is due to a dead battery, which I expected. I know that lead acid batteries don’t last long when discharged, and I planned to replace it with some external wiring and a large gel-cell or car battery, for much longer backup time.

I took the unit apart to remove the battery and charge it externally. Unfortunately it is too far gone to bring back to life for another project. It wont get more than a few volts. As I was looking at how it was built and the surge circuit, I noticed there isnt a traditional surge circuit. The only thing I found is a 15amp resettable circuit breaker on the hot wire of the main plug. I also noticed that the hot wire coming in had a few stray wire strands and is very poorly soldered to the  circuit breaker. Luckily this was the only poor connection I noticed, but if one of these wire strands touched the transformer for the power inverter, it would be totally unprotected.

Usually in a decent surge protection circuit you will find components like Metal Oxide Varistors (MOVs) that will protect your stuff from voltage spikes. This unit doesnt even have one on the main line. I do see some in the circuit for the power inverter for backup, but they dont do anything when its running normal off the main AC line. I have seen better protection in cheap $10 units from China. I guess the only “surge” protection they offer is if your equipment draws over 15 amps. Hey, guess what, your house circuit breakers do the same thing.

Their website claims that it has $100,000 protection and all sorts of other sales marketing crap, but the truth lies in the dead /burnt computer, laptop, TV or whatever you have that suffered from a surge from the power company.

In my opinion the CyberPower CPS650SL unit is a joke and I would NOT trust it to protect anything.