Repeaters in the area Richmond Area Clubs, Nets and Repeaters Powhatan Area Radio Club https://n4pow.com 147.315+ 74.4 analog/C4FM and wires X Club meeting are the 3rd Tuesday of every month except December. PARC hosts an ARES net on this repeater every Monday at 1900 local time. 443.350+ DMR linked to DMRVA further DMR info can be found at DMRVA.org Richmond Area Telecommunications Society https://rats.net 146.88- 74.4 analog 442.550+ 74.4 analog/C4FM Club meetings are held the 3rd Friday of every month. RATS hosts the RATS net every Monday and Wednesday at 1900 local time. 443.5875+ DMR linked to DMRVA Richmond Amateur Radio Club https://rarclub.net Club meetings are held the 2nd Friday of every month 147.255+ DSTAR 443.7125+ DSTAR Catastrophic Amateur Tactical Squad (CATS) http://kc4ts.org Meets weekly at Windy Hill to participate in the Powhatan ARES Net, Goochland EmComm Net and to have fellowship with other area hams RVAHams Slack Channel https://rvahams.slack.com WB4IKL Goochland County 147.270+ 203.5 analog and wires X WB4IKL hosts the Goochland county EMMCOM net every Monday at 2000 local time. KG4MRA Metropolitan Richmond Repeater Association https://sites.google.com/view/kg4mra 145.430- 74.4 analog and soon to be wires X KG4MRA hosts the Region 1 ARES net every Thursday at 1900 local time. KA4CBB 147.360+ no tones KA4CBB hosts the Chesterfield ARES net every Tuesday at 2100 local time. Repeaterbook.com maintains an updated listing of repeaters. After creating an account you will be able to search and export listings for loading into your radio. CSV File Export of Repeaters in a 50 mile radius of Richmond as of January 31 2021 Below is a video that will show you how to use CHIRP software to download from Repeaterbook.

PARC Club Meeting Presentations You'll find materials presented at a club meeting by a guest speaker Listed in alphabetical order. 80 M NVIS Ant FT8 Intro Personal Hotspots Air Launcher Build Get Started DMR POTA vs SOTA BlueDV Hotspot Learn Morse Code Preparedness Blue DV Workshop Linked Dipole Remote Ant DC & GND Crossband Rpt Off-Center Dipole SHARES Direction Find & U PAN-Adaptor/RTL-SDR SlimJim Theory & Impl Solar Panels Wadey 2 M Copper J-Pole Winlink & Wed Net ARES Meeting Presentations You'll find materials presented at a ARES meetings by a guest speaker Analog & DMR APRS FT5DR APRS Menu QuickRef NTS Overview.pdf

V3.2 (8/2023)

Virginia QSO party - Saturday, March 16, 2024 Fighting Creek Park Large Pavilion, 2505 Mann Road, Powhatan, VA 23139 Optional: Meet at the County seat at 8:00 am for breakfast March 16. Setup starts Saturday at 9:00 am at the Pavilion and we go on the air when we are ready, preferably by noon. We will pack up Saturday night around 8:00 pm. Operations will resume Sunday: 9:00 am to to 4 pm. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0945ABA72FA5FDC16-48120633-virginia

Who we are at PARC Powhatan Area Radio Club came into existence in 2017. The club was formed to expand Amateur-Radio within Powhatan County, and began with several local radio-operators meeting for Breakfast at a local restaurant. The "Ham-Breakfast", as it became known, quickly outgrew the first location, and moved to the County Seat restaurant, where the club still hosts the monthly Ham-Breakfast at 08:00 on the third Tuesday of each month, except December. About the same time, Powhatan County hired a new person to fill the retiring Emergency Manager position. The person selected was a licensed Amateur-Radio operator (strictly a coincidence). Knowing the value of the experienced Ama teur-Radio community during emergencies, he set out to enlist the help of the Emergency Coordinator for the local ARRL Ama teu r Radio Emergency Services group, or ARES as it is referred to by "Hams". Initial meetings between the Emergency Manager and the ARES-EC identified a need for additional radio repeater equipment to support ARES operations in Powhatan County. With only one of the Richmond wide-area repeaters providing reliable coverage to most of the County, the need for a repeater centrally-located in Powhatan seemed paramount for local ARES operations. In an unusual arrangement, Powhatan County Emergency Management entered into an agreement with the local radio club PARC, to jointly install and operate a local Ama teur-Radio repeater station. Through this public-private partnership, a grant request was submitted to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM), and $25,000 was awarded to Powhatan to build an Ama teur-Radio repeater station for ARES, and general Ama teu r-Radio use. Powhatan Department of Public-Utilities provided antenna locations atop a new water-tower on high-ground, centrally located in Powhatan County. Powhatan Area Radio Club was responsible for the design, installation and maintenance of the equipment. A club call-sign, granted by the Federal Communications Commission, allows the operation of the N4POW repeaters, with Powhatan County Emergency Manager as the license trustee. This joint-venture between VDEM, Powhatan County, and the local radio club is a win-win for everyone. The community gets a much needed radio repeater for all licensed operators to use free-of-charge, and the County gets involved Amateu r-Radio operators ready to respond to any emergency with top-notch repeater equipment to back-up their abilities. Radio equipment like the N4POW repeaters would cost well in excess of $80,000 to commercially construct. Rent, electricity, and internet add hundreds to recurring monthly expenses. Were it not for the joint-partnership, a small club like PARC would be unable to support a project like this repeater system. The repeater adds siginificant additional radio capibilities to Powhatan, Amelia, Cumberland, and Goochland, as well as into Chesterfield and Henrico counties. In support of general, and ARES operations, FM and C4FM modes will automatically be handled on the VHF, WIRES-X linked repeater at 147.315 MHz, with a tone frequency of 74.4 Hz. A DMR repeater on the UHF band will link Richmond, Petersburg, and Powhatan full-time, providing a very large coverage area for local HT users. Our DMR is on 443.350 MHz, with standard DMRVA code-plug configurations. Additionally, a WINLINK gateway will be operating on 145.730 MHz, providing 24x7 access to the International Winlink Mail System. All equipment is housed inside a secure environmental structure (shack) with UPS backup, and generator for extended backup power. Antenna elevation is just below 200 feet AGL at 530' ASL. We welcome all licensed operators to freely use all of the features our repeaters offer. They are available for general use, except during official ARES operations. ARES traffic always has priority on these repeaters. Compliance with all FCC rules & regulations, and general courtesies of the air-waves is expected of all users, at all times. In the event of abuse, we reserve the right to limit repeater availability until such abuse is no longer an issue. We will attempt to identify any sources of malicious interference, and report offenders to the FCC, Enjoy the N4POW repeaters, and check out the other fun things happening at Powhatan Area Radio Club. 73's Jim KK4IUH Founding Member Powhatan Area Radio Club

Discover the National Traffic System (NTS) in Virginia. Find local nets, traffic handling training, and upcoming NTS 2.0 project updates with Powhatan ARES. What is the National Traffic System? The National Traffic System®, or NTS®, is a network of amateur radio operators that facilitates rapid movement of formal traffic—or radiograms—from origin to destination throughout the United States, Canada, and other countries (where permitted). The NTS operates 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. NTS is exercised daily by volunteer radio amateurs as an open network which handles routine radiogram messages. During a disaster the NTS routine configuration is replaced by an emergency configuration designed to expedite the flow of welfare, priority and emergency traffic. Who Administers the NTS? The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and Radio Relay International (RRI) jointly administer the NTS. This includes: Overseeing voice and CW traffic nets Managing the Digital Traffic Network (DTN) infrastructure Developing operating standards and guidelines Emergency communications planning Developing and providing training resources Recruiting NTS volunteers How Does NTS function? NTS uses voice and CW nets, and the DTN. The voice and CW nets operate on a tiered structure: local, state/section, region, and area. These nets are time sequenced to facilitate relaying messages The Transcontinental Corp/Inter-Area Network exchanges traffic over long distances. The DTN runs 24-7. Together, these interoperable networks operate without critical infrastructure such as cellular towers, mobile switching offices, terrestrial facilities, distributed nodes, or other infrastructure. Why Should I get involved in NTS? Participating in the NTS is a fun way to improve your radio skills and serve the public. Our daily practice with routine messages ensures we are fully prepared to relay critical health, welfare, and emergency messages when disasters strike. ARRL recognizes NTS traffic handlers through multiple means including certificates, field organization appointments and designations, and the Public Service Honor Roll. [ARRL membership required.] Radiograms A radiogram is like a telegram. Radiograms are brief messages that are sent over radio by amateur radio operators who volunteer their time and skills in public service. How to Send There are several ways to send a radiogram: Checking into a voice or CW traffic net ARRL’s Radiogram Portal Through the WinLink network Using the DTN Formatting Radiograms The Form Radiogram Fillable PDF Virginia Traffic Nets There are two state/section voice nets and one CW net serving Virginia. All nets meet daily. State/Section Traffic Nets Freq Alt Freq Time (EST) Virginia Net (CW) 3553 kHz 7:00 PM Virginia Fone Net 3947 kHz 4:00 & 7:30 PM Virginia Sideband Net 3947 kHz 7243 kHz 6:00 PM How to Check-in to a Traffic Net Our Virginia traffic nets welcome new traffic handlers! If this is your first time, listen to the net over a few sessions before your initial check-in. Become familiar with the net’s procedures and communication between the Net Control Station and participating operators. Learn the “QN” signals used in CW nets. Both ARRL and RRI offer training videos for voice and CW nets. Take advantage of these resources. For Further Information To Learn more about the National Traffic System (NTS) at ARRL. Join the Zoom-based local traffic net that can be accessed by anyone with an internet connection. Radio Relay International Reference Materials / Publications ARRL NTS Virtual Traffic Net RRI Publications Contact: George Stone, WA1JQC, Virginia Section Traffic Manager. Email: wa1jqc@arrl.org .

Amateur Radio Licensing PARC members and members of the Powhatan community are invited to earn their first amateur radio license or upgrade their existing license at our monthly exam sessions. Exams are held on the first Saturday of every month at Gospel Light Baptist Church, 2109 Anderson Highway, Powhatan, VA (unless otherwise noted on the exam schedule). Check-in: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm We stay as long as needed to complete all exams. Walk-ins are welcome. What to bring: A valid photo ID Your FCC FRN (required) $12 testing fee (cash preferred, or check payable to W4VEC) If already licensed, a copy of your signed FCC-issued license Pencils and a basic calculator are provided, or you may bring your own. Hosted by: The KC4TS Volunteer Examiner Team KC4TS Website 2026 Exam Schedule When: First Saturday of every month Check in: 10:00 am - Noon. We stay until last person is finished. Walk-ins are welcome. Where: Gospel Light Baptist Church, 2109 Anderson Highway, Powhatan, VA (unless otherwise noted below). Dates: June 6 June 27 at PARC Summer Field Day > Whether you’re just getting started or ready to upgrade, this is a great local opportunity to join the ham radio community and meet members of PARC. Register for Exam Session Get your FCC FRN Number Checkout a Kit for New Hams New Ham Kit Thanks to Catastrophic Amateur Radio Squad for designing this kit. New Hams and Upgrades Blaze Hensley KR4MBV *** New Technician *** Craig Bailey KR4LYR *** New General *** Michael Watkins W4HOO upgrade Advanced to Extra

The "Digital Corner" By: Ray - WT4B Hello and Welcome to Ray’s (WT4B) Digital Corner! As you may or may not know there are many Digital Modes available to us as Amateur Radio Operators. The purpose and main focus of Ray’s (WT4B) Digital Corner will be the Voice over IP aspect of digital communication. As this aspect of our hobby is fairly new and ever changing, we will probably be learning much of the information together. However, I think that I may know just enough to get us up and running and we will take the remainder of the journey together. With voice over IP as it pertains to amateur radio, there are primarily 4 different systems (and I do mean, completely different systems) to consider. DMR, System Fusion (Wires-X), D-Star, and P25. The PARC repeaters are compatible with DMR and System Fusion with Wires-X. So, we will mainly be focused on those two systems. Looking forward, I am anticipating that this section of the website will grow to be quite large and with much information. Therefore, we are going to break the main section up into two sub-sections under the main section of Ray’s (WT4B) Digital Corner in order to keep the information in an organized manner. The two sub-sections will be System Fusion and Wires-X. At any time that you would like to contribute to the “Digital Corner” or have a questions, please do not hesitate to write to me at WT4B@arrl.net . Your participation will be greatly appreciated! Let’s Get Started! List of SMS Email Gateways ASC Alaska [phone number]@msg.acsalaska.com Orange {phone number]@orange.net Alltel @message.alltel.com Orange Poland @orange.pl Ameritech @paging.acwireless.com Plus Poland @test.plusgsm.pl Arch @arcgwireless.com Qwest @qwestmp.com AT&T @txt.att.net Rogers @pcs.rogers.com Bell Canada @txt.bellmobility.ca Sasktel @pcs.sasktelmobility.com Blue Sky Frog @blueskyfrog.com Smart @mysmart.mymobile.ph Boost @myboostmobile.com Southern Line @page.southernline.com Carolina West @cwwsms.com Sprint @messaging.sprintpcs.com SunCom @tms.suncom.com Cellular One @mobile.celloneusa.com Sure West @mobile.surewest.com Cellular South @csouth1.com SwissCom @bluewin.ch Cincinnati Bell @gocbw.com T Mobile @tmomail.net Cingular @mobile.mycingular.com T Mobile (Ger) @T-D1-SMS.de Cingular Blue @mmode.com T Mobile (UK) @t-mobile.uk.net Claro @clarotorpedo.com.br TBayTel @tbayteltxt.net Comviq @sms.comviq.se Telenor @mobilpost.no Cricket @mms.mycricket.com Telus @msg.telus.com Edge @sms.edgewireless.com Tim @timnet.com Einstein PCS @einsteinsms.com Unicel @utext.com Fido @fido.ca V Mobile CA @vmobile.ca Immix @immixmail.com Verizon @vtext.com Metro PCS @mymetropcs.com Virgin Mobile @vmobl.com Mobile One @m1.com.sg Vodacom Africa @voda.co.za MTN Africa @sms.co.za Vodafone @vodafone.net Nextel @messaging.nextel.com Vodafone Italy @sms.vodafone.it Ntelos @pcs.ntelos.com WellCom @sms.welcome2well.com Optus optusmobile.com.au

DMR The N4POW DMR repeater is part of the DMRVA network, connecting amateur radio operators across the region. The Powhatan "Local" talk group is permanently linked to repeaters in Richmond, Petersburg, Beaverdam, and South Hill, providing wide coverage in central Virginia. The "Local" talk group is a good place to connect with other operators. Try it out and join the conversation. To learn more, check out these resources. DMR Bas ics Tutorial . A basic intro to DMR to help new users feel more at ease. by John 'Miklor' K3NXU. DMR Programming Made Simple . A video on the basics of DMR programming and set up your radio from a blank codeplug with this step-by-step video guide. Getting Started in DMR . How to get started in DMR by Stu Beyer, KJ4CYV. The DMR-MARC Worldwide Network . A all-digital group of over 500 DMR-MARC repeaters in 83 countries with over 144000 registered users. RadioID.net . Before transmitting on a DMR repeater, request a Radio ID to match the global system. Avoid made-up numbers unless permitted by the repeater owner. Register your ID at RadioID.net using your real first name—no initials or nicknames. PRN . The PRN system is a fully digital repeater system that utilizes an ETSI Standard called Digital Mobile Radio, or DMR Download Code Plugs Many thanks to RATS Radio club for maintaining these code plugs. Talkgroup and Linked System Etiquette Operating on a linked repeater network is different than using your local analog system. Keep in mind that you can impact stations across the state and beyond. The only talkgroups available on the system are listed on the talkgroup page. Please verify your programming is consistent with that information. Examples of things to do on the DMRVA network – Before utilizing the system, have a basic understanding of how it operates. Use the system in moderation so as to leave air time for other operators. Select the appropriate talkgroup before transmitting, and consider the impact of your transmissions. For example – if two users are on the same repeater and want to speak to each other, the best talkgroup to use is Local. If two users are on two different DMRVA repeaters, they could make contact on VA Statewide and then QSY to one of the point to point channels (Tac A/B aka Chat 1/2). Avoid prolonged contacts on the VA Statewide talkgroup. If you desire to speak to a station outside of the DMRVA network, consider using one of the other available talkgroups – such as Tac 310, Southeast, and others. Use Clear Timeslot talkgroup to turn off any PTT activated channels when you are done. QSY often, and ask if you aren’t sure about what is the best to use for your situation. If you are using a hotspot, remember you have access to countless more talkgroups.

RVA Simplex Join other RVA Hams on VHF(2m) and UHF(70cm) Simplex operations. There are several hams in the area participating. Simplex communications will always been an option even when repeaters are down and it's good to have an understanding of signal coverage areas. Please see this linked Google spreadsheet for the frequencies that are in use in the RVA area. Join the #simplex channel on the RVAHams Slack There is also a new monthly simplex net on the first Friday of each month at 19:00 on the Richmond Simplex frequency 146.490 MHz FM (Carrier Squelch/CSQ/No CTCSS tone). You can also join the net participants on Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85337719194?pwd=ZKUV6G20x3jBCsnMSxJl6sG5Gyx5gp.1 The password will be provided over the air during the net. All Richmond area amateurs are encouraged to program 146.490 and the other Richmond Simplex frequencies in their base station and mobile radios in addition to the 146.520 National Calling Frequency for general simplex use. Activity on these frequencies is not limited to the monthly net!

The Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook for 2023 - NOAA Tropical Weather Information Page June 1st thru November 30th is the normal Atlantic basin Tropical Weather season. Check here for information related to all things "Tropical" that may impact Central VA. National Hurricane Center 2-day Tropical Weather Outlook WX4NHC Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center How to contact the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center NWS Wakefield - Tropical Weather Page 2023-Hurricane-Preparedness Guide NWS Wakefield Radar

N4POW Training Net Script