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In my continuing work with the ham radio AREDN (amateur radio emergency data network) mesh software, I’ve come across the need to provide access from the internet to a host located across the mesh. Unfortunately,  the AREDN graphical interface doesn’t provide a way to do this.

But don’t despair! If you’re capable of editing a file on a linux based platform, you can add your own firewall rules on the AREDN node that is connected to the internet to provide this access. On the AREDN mesh gateway you edit the /etc/firewall file and put in either a routing rule or a SNAT/DNAT rule. The difference is whether or not the gateway node will just pass the traffic through or if it will proxy (NAT) the traffic onto the mesh.

I’m working with the AREDN developers to add this functionality to the gui, and I’d expect that to come out later in 2016. In the meantime, if you’re interested in making this work drop me an email and I’ll send you some instructions! My callsign is KG9DW and I’ve got an arrl.net address.

I need your help!

Come meet me on the shortwave (HF) ham bands for the Morse code (CW mode) special event, the Straight Key Century Club (SKCC) celebration, with special callsign, K3Y. During the shifts (time slots) listed below, I am the control operator as K3Y/0.

I need you to make a contact with me.

This special event takes place every year during January. We celebrate the legacy of Morse code, and promote Morse code and manual creation of the code by any non-electronic (digital) device and method. Which means that we love mechanical bugs, straight keys, two ends of a wire, or any other manual device, if Morse code is generated. The Straight Key Century Club is a free membership group. The link to their website is below.

I need you to make a contact with me, during my scheduled times, listed below.

NOTE: YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A MEMBER OF THE (free) SKCC GROUP. To get into my logbook, you meet me on my frequency, and use Morse code to communicate with me. It is painless. If you must, you can use computer-generated Morse code. Or, you can tap it out on any Morse code signalling device, like a bug, a set of paddles, or a straight key; whatever you choose to make Morse code emanate from your HF transmitter.

HOWEVER: For those of you who want to get fully immersed in the spirit of this event, you are invited to use a straight key. And, as a bonus, you may and can join the SKCC group for FREE. Then, you would have your own SKCC number. That’d be cool; we SKCC members use that number in our exchange during our QSO information exchange. But, you don’t need that. Since it is free, why not?

What is needed is simply you, getting on the shortwave band, finding me, hearing me, and responding to me with Morse code. In other words, we need to have a QSO using Morse code. I am not a fast operator, so no problem if you are not very fast. I’ll meet your speed.

In any case, here are some of the times I will be on the air as K3Y/0… please dust off your straight key, bug, paddles, whatever, and make a QSO with me. Thanks!

My current schedule:

UTC Start/End (remember, these are NOT your local times, but are the UTC (GMT) times!)

(revised times, as of edit date)


00:00 - 02:59 19-Jan-16
00:00 - 02:59 20-Jan-16
00:00 - 02:59 21-Jan-16
00:00 - 02:59 22-Jan-16
00:00 - 05:59 23-Jan-16
14:00 - 18:59 23-Jan-16
20:00 - 21:59 23-Jan-16
00:00 - 02:59 24-Jan-16
14:00 - 18:59 24-Jan-16
21:00 - 21:59 24-Jan-16
00:00 - 02:59 25-Jan-16
00:00 - 02:59 26-Jan-16
00:00 - 02:59 27-Jan-16
00:00 - 02:59 28-Jan-16
00:00 - 02:59 29-Jan-16
00:00 - 05:59 30-Jan-16
13:00 - 18:59 30-Jan-16
20:00 - 21:59 30-Jan-16
00:00 - 03:59 31-Jan-16
13:00 - 23:59 31-Jan-16

Now, what frequency will I be on?

To find out what frequency I am on:

Visit http://g.nw7us.us/sched4SKCC and look on the right side for my callsign, NW7US. I usually post my frequency of operation right after my call sign.

Typically, evening operation is 30m, then 40m, and then possibly 80m.

If you are trying to alert me to your presence, you may message me on my personal Facebook profile, under my “Tomas David Hood” profile messages, but I may not see that right away.

Here is the detail covering the K3Y operation and the SKCC group: http://skccgroup.com/k3y

73 de NW7US
dit dit

This was last year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfRvITFpTb4

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Welcome to 2016! Lots of big projects are going on here at the radio ranch. My youngest is working on an arduino powered weather station that will be located at the FFA field plot along US51 north of Heyworth. We’re going to get the data from the site using the AREDN ham radio mesh software. It’s a real cool project, and my daughter is doing a great job with the programming.

I finally got all of my coax run into the shack in a decent fashion, and I’ve got coax switches in place to be able to toggle between the two hf rigs and the two hf antennas. My next antenna will either be an hf beam, or I’m putting up a sky loop. Or maybe another windom positioned north to south. Who knows!

I played with the Yaesu Wires-X software and an HRI-200 box this past week. I hooked it to a Motorola CDM-1550 mobile radio. I really like these Motorola radios – great receive, easy to interface, and just all around bullet-proof. These are the same radios I’ve used for two D-STAR repeaters…hard to beat. Anyway, I’ve got the Wires-X setup on a UHF simplex channel linked into the Central Illinois room. Wires achieves the same as a D-STAR reflector, just done a different way. I’m running Wires in analog mode, and so my analog audio is digitized at my computer and sent on to the server running the room. From there it goes to whoever else is joined into the room. If someone is running Wires in digital mode, the audio comes out digital. If you’re running analog, it comes out analog. I’m not sure if I’m going to hook this into our Heyworth analog machine, or if I’m just going to keep it as a simple simplex node (a hotspot in D-STAR speak).

We’ve got a DR-1X repeater coming to Heyworth to replace the Kenwood TKR-820 the club has up on the elevator. The big benefit for us will be to replace the old Kenwood that sometimes has problems in warm weather, along with getting rid of a crazy long squelch crash. The new repeater arrives on Tuesday, and I’ll let it burn in for a few weeks (or months depending on the weather) before it goes up on top of the elevator.

That’s it for now…have a great year everyone!

Welcome to 2016! Lots of big projects are going on here at the radio ranch. My youngest is working on an arduino powered weather station that will be located at the FFA field plot along US51 north of Heyworth. We’re going to get the data from the site using the AREDN ham radio mesh software. It’s a real cool project, and my daughter is doing a great job with the programming.

I finally got all of my coax run into the shack in a decent fashion, and I’ve got coax switches in place to be able to toggle between the two hf rigs and the two hf antennas. My next antenna will either be an hf beam, or I’m putting up a sky loop. Or maybe another windom positioned north to south. Who knows!

I played with the Yaesu Wires-X software and an HRI-200 box this past week. I hooked it to a Motorola CDM-1550 mobile radio. I really like these Motorola radios – great receive, easy to interface, and just all around bullet-proof. These are the same radios I’ve used for two D-STAR repeaters…hard to beat. Anyway, I’ve got the Wires-X setup on a UHF simplex channel linked into the Central Illinois room. Wires achieves the same as a D-STAR reflector, just done a different way. I’m running Wires in analog mode, and so my analog audio is digitized at my computer and sent on to the server running the room. From there it goes to whoever else is joined into the room. If someone is running Wires in digital mode, the audio comes out digital. If you’re running analog, it comes out analog. I’m not sure if I’m going to hook this into our Heyworth analog machine, or if I’m just going to keep it as a simple simplex node (a hotspot in D-STAR speak).

We’ve got a DR-1X repeater coming to Heyworth to replace the Kenwood TKR-820 the club has up on the elevator. The big benefit for us will be to replace the old Kenwood that sometimes has problems in warm weather, along with getting rid of a crazy long squelch crash. The new repeater arrives on Tuesday, and I’ll let it burn in for a few weeks (or months depending on the weather) before it goes up on top of the elevator.

That’s it for now…have a great year everyone!

Are you ready for the annual, month-long special event by the Straight Key Century Club (SKCC)? The SKCC Group membership is free, and celebrates the longest tradition of amateur radio: Morse code. But, not just any Morse code. The manual creation of Morse code by “straight” keys means no electronic origin, only mechanical. This is a month-long event, during January 2016, modelled after the ARRL Straight Key Night.

Here’s a video that I made showing my activity as the control operator of the special event station, K3Y/0, during one of the many shifts during January (2015). K3Y is the special event callsign of the Straight Key Century Club (SKCC). The special event operates each January. I’ll be doing this again, this coming month, January of 2016.

K3Y, the Straight Key Century Club’s annual January celebration, commemorates the club’s founding in 2006 following the American Radio Relay League’s Straight Key Night. A small group of participants wanted to extend the fun of SKN throughout the year. The SKCC is the result.

For the first three years, the club’s founders used K1Y, K2A, and K3Y as the celebration’s special-event calls. But someone cleverly noticed that a 3 is nothing more than a backwards, curvaceous E. This “KEY” event has operated under the K3Y call ever since.

The on-air party is open to members and non-members alike. It runs from 0000 UTC Jan. 2 through 2359 UTC Jan. 31. It’s a great time to introduce others to the joys of hand-crafted Morse code using straight keys, bugs, and side swipers.

This year, January 2016, we’ll be fielding K3Y operators in each of the 10 US call areas, plus KH6, KL7 and KP4, along with specially scheduled stations in each of six IARU continental regions. Your QSOs with event operators in all these 19 areas will be tabulated in the Statistics section and can be confirmed with a K3Y QSL card and Sweep Certificate.

+ The SKCC website is at http://skccgroup.com

+ The K3Y special event page is http://www.skccgroup.com/k3y/

73 de NW7US​

dit dit

I found a fox! No, not a real fox…a QRP fox! I took a break from watching the Packers get whooped by the Lions, and ran up to the shack for a bit of relaxing. I turned on the KX3, and it was still tuned to 3.550 CW. Right away came N0UR calling CQ FOX. I haven’t participated in the fox hunts before, but hey, this had to be destiny! Jim in MN picked me up right away…first call! He did have to ask for my power (5W) as in the excitement I forgot to send it!

Thanks Jim for the hunt! If you’re interested in giving QRP a try, and you like a bit of a challenge, check out the QRP Fox Hunt page.

I found a fox! No, not a real fox…a QRP fox! I took a break from watching the Packers get whooped by the Lions, and ran up to the shack for a bit of relaxing. I turned on the KX3, and it was still tuned to 3.550 CW. Right away came N0UR calling CQ FOX. I haven’t participated in the fox hunts before, but hey, this had to be destiny! Jim in MN picked me up right away…first call! He did have to ask for my power (5W) as in the excitement I forgot to send it!

Thanks Jim for the hunt! If you’re interested in giving QRP a try, and you like a bit of a challenge, check out the QRP Fox Hunt page.