Our Nominating Committee met Friday, July 26 to review and approve the biographies, ballots, and distribution for the annual Board of Directors election. Club members should refer to their email for a message from the club Secretary regarding this election which is now underway. Separately, ballots will be distributed from Election Runner at 8 AM Saturday, July 27. Any active RATS member who has not received a ballot by end-of-day Saturday, July 27 should contact election@rats.net for assistance.
All voting is being conducted online. Ballots must be submitted by 7:40 PM Friday, August 16. Ballots will be counted and winners will be announced at the August 16 Membership Meeting.
The RATS Codeplug Project is considering support for select Motorola radios.
We're starting with an experimental codeplug for the XPR7550. This is a LTD codeplug that follows the usual RATS channel layout in the Richmond, Beaverdam, Goochland, New Kent, Petersburg, and Powhatan repeaters, and the two local portable repeaters. [Note: At this time, the 3-character channel label prefix (RIC, BEA, etc) is not implemented in this test codeplug.] This file is based on a seed codeplug obtained from the SCHEART DMR network and it requires Motorola CPS 2.0.
Experimental codeplugs for the XPR2500 and XPR7550e have also been posted. If these become permanent, this will bring our list of officially supported radios up to 51 models (plus 10 more with unconfirmed support).
The Motorola CPS is now available free of charge to ham radio operators, direct from Motorola, for their personal, non-commercial use. While both the new CPS 2.0 product and the legacy CPS 16 are included in this offer, should we decide to move forward with additional support for Motorola radios we'll be focusing on development efforts in the CPS 2.0 system, which is not backwards compatible with CPS 16.
Motorola equipment owners in the Richmond metro area who would like to see support for their specific model should contact codeplug-request@rats.net for consideration.
The next RATS membership year begins October 1. Renewals are now being accepted through the club web site. Dues are unchanged from last year.
We have a good slate of candidates for the upcoming Board election, but there is still a little bit of time to make any last-minute nominations. You can nominate yourself, but you'd better act soon!
Candidates, please have the final versions of your biographies submitted for publication no later than 9 PM local time on Friday, July 19.
Nominations and biographies can be sent to election@rats.net.
Important information about voting:
Voting will close at the start of the August 16 membership meeting.
As a minor correction to previously-advertised election timelines, the new Board members are installed at the Membership meeting, not the Board meeting, so they'll take office on September 20 and serve through September 18, 2026.
SUMMERTHUNDER 2024 starts today! This is the summertime VHF/UHF simplex event from the folks behind the popular WINTERHEAT. From hamactive.com: "SUMMERTHUNDER, is a month-long UHF/VHF simplex event crafted to empower amateur radio operators by offering a dedicated platform to test and enhance their UHF/VHF capabilities. From its inception, SUMMERTHUNDER aimed to provide a comprehensive evaluation of stations, encouraging operators to adapt and refine their equipment setups throughout the month-long event. Distinguishing itself from shorter on-air events, SUMMERTHUNDER, along with its winter counterpart (WINTERHEAT), extends over several weeks to capture a more realistic and nuanced assessment of stations. This prolonged duration enables operators to make adjustments in real-time, ensuring a dynamic and continuous enhancement of their capabilities. Streamlining communication, SUMMERTHUNDER mandates all contacts to occur on pre-designated frequencies. This approach simplifies the process for operators, eliminating the need to search for stations calling CQ. Operating within Technician class privileges, all FCC-licensed amateur radio operators can actively participate in the event. Adding to its uniqueness, SUMMERTHUNDER utilizes a custom-built, over-the-web logging system that facilitates real-time statistics and logging of contacts. This one-of-a-kind method enhances the overall experience, providing operators with valuable data in an unprecedented manner. Beyond its role as a skill-building platform, SUMMERTHUNDER serves as an invaluable opportunity for Emergency Communications (EmComm) operators. Leveraging the event, EmComm groups can coordinate emergency communication activities, assessing mission functionality and readiness for potential crises. SUMMERTHUNDER, continues to evolve and grow, combining its rich history with the potential for real-world emergency preparedness." SummerThunder will commence on July 1, 2024 at 00:00:01 UTC and conclude on July 31, 2024 at 23:59:59 UTC. During the event, radio operators are encouraged to make as many contacts as possible during the event window. All contacts are made via FM-Voice and include both analog and digital modes (Fusion, DMR, D-STAR). Packet modes are not part of this event. Talk about SUMMERTHUNDER with other local simplex enthusiasts in the RVAHams Slack #simplex channel.
Rob Marshall KI4MCW provided the club's Field Day score and stats:
W4RAT entered as Class 2A with 40 participants, no GOTA station, using commercial power. We have a preliminary total score of 802 points. This includes a points multiplier of 2X and 250 bonus points: Public location: 100 points Site visited by invited served agency: 100 points Entry submitted via web: 50 points We made 276 contacts, 100% phone. By band: 80m - 115 contacts 40m - 99 contacts 20m - 45 contacts 15m - 17 contacts By operator: N1VCU - 115 contacts (42%) KC4VGR - 44 contacts (16%) N4WLC - 39 contacts (14%) KI4MCW - 36 contacts (13%) KA4QVZ - 15 contacts (5%) KQ4LYL - 10 contacts (4%) K9WVU - 6 contacts (2%) KD4LEM - 6 contacts (2%) KB2OYI - 2 contacts (1%) KQ4FVL - 2 contacts (1%) W7WOW/4 - 1 contact (<1%)
Bill Catogni N4WLC gets the prize for the DX-iest contact, with Hawaii on 15m (plus a personal contact with Germany).
All official RATS codeplugs have been refreshed and are now available for download.
Full codeplugs were updated to include a new Goochland (GCH) repeater which will go on the air later this summer on 443.4375 MHz, +5 offset, CC1. Limited (LTD) codeplugs were updated to include both the new Goochland (GCH) zone as well as the Portable Repeater (POR) zone previously found only in the full codeplugs. The POR zone will be in use by a second portable repeater in the Richmond Metro cluster later this year. Due to the slim chances of any overlap in operation, and to eliminate the need for an additional zone, this system will share KV4VP's existing uncoordinated pair that is already in a whole bunch of radios.
At this time it has not been determined whether the WV Statewide (3154) talkgroup will be carried on GCH. For now, we have included it in all codeplugs, mirroring the talkgroup setup of the New Kent (NKC) zone. WV Statewide might or might not be active on this repeater when it goes live.
Links to the codeplugs and supporting resources:
At its May 1 meeting, the RATS Board of Directors voted to approve dues for the upcoming membership year. There will be no changes to pricing for Full memberships: Individual memberships will remain $35, and Family memberships will remain $55. The next RATS membership year begins October 1 and renewals will be accepted beginning July 1.
The club will re-introduce Associate Memberships in 2024. These memberships are available to non-hams, as well as licensed hams residing outside Virginia. (This membership level exists in our bylaws but is not actively offered at this time.) Beginning October 1, Associate Memberships will be available for $20 per year. Associate members are ineligible to vote on club business or in our elections and cannot hold an office.
The Board also approved a reduced first-year membership rate for certain newly-licensed hams to compliment the club's enhanced new ham outreach efforts. Starting October 1, a special first-year membership price will be available to new hams who apply for RATS membership within 180 days of their initial FCC license grant date.
The club's ability to keep dues reasonable is made possible by the generosity of its members and others in the community who make donations to the club throughout the year. We appreciate your support!
The weekly C4FM net meets Saturday nights at 8 PM on the RATS 442.55 repeater and other Virginia Room member repeaters around the state. They're looking for some additional net controls to insert into the rotation. If you have a C4FM radio, a reliable link to one of the Virginia Room repeaters, and some interest in helping with this net, get in touch with Don DeLesDernier KQ4LEX. You'll find his contact info on QRZ.
This is not a RATS-affiliated net and you do not need to be a RATS member to volunteer.
The RATS repeater site near Chesterfield Town Center experienced two brief power outages mid-day Thursday, April 18 due to utility work in the area. Our backup power systems functioned as intended and none of the club's equipment missed a beat.
The club's repeaters, AREDN radios, network hardware, and other equipment are protected by dual 3 kVA uninterruptible power supplies, and since January 2018 we've been connected to our host TV station's large diesel generator. The RATS systems are equipped to provide reliable service, and we were pleased to find this setup worked correctly when needed. There were no disruptions to any RATS systems or services. (Photo by W4MAF)
Richmond Amateur Telecommunications Society, Inc. (RATS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. PO Box 70613, Henrico VA, 23255Looking for something? Site Map
