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Tampa Bay Hamfest Tomorrow and Saturday
by Bryan Fields 10 Dec '21

10 Dec '21

FSG and Tampabay HamWAN will have a booth at this fest inside the main hall. Stop by and hang out in our "VIP" area. The hamfest is at the Strawberry Festival venue in Plant City, FL. 303 BerryFest Place, Plant City, FL 33563 Hours are 1300-1800 Friday and 0800-1600 Saturday. That said, by noon Saturday it's all over. Hamfest website: https://fgcarc.org/general-information/ 73's -- Bryan Fields, W9CR Florida Simulcast Group, Inc.

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FSG Members Annual meeting and Board Elections
by Bryan Fields 18 Sep '21

18 Sep '21

The following is a new meeting request: Subject: FSG Members Annual meeting and Board Elections Organizer: bryan(a)bryanfields.net Time: Saturday, September 18, 2021, 3:00:00 PM EDT - 4:00:00 PM EDT Invitees: Florida Simulcast Group Public <FSG-public(a)lists.keekles.org> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Members Annual meeting and Board Elections. We're meeting in person at Ryan's house Saturday at 2pm, meeting will start at 3pm. Webex: https://nokiameetings.webex.com/meet/bryan.fields Join by phone: +14702263458 US Atlanta Access code: 955 609 940 First we'll have the election, and have the following people running unopposed: President - Bryan Fields VP - Ryan Owens Secretary/Treasurer - Jesse Brown Board Member - James Ashton We'll then have a meeting with a review of finances, previous minutes, and major acheviments of the past year. If you're attending in person please unicast or text me. 73's Bryan

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St Pete NXDN offline
by Bryan Fields 17 Sep '21

17 Sep '21

It's receiving, just the transmitter is burnt out again. I can't even hear it from 500' away this time. We'll have to see about fixing it soon. 73's -- Bryan Fields 727-409-1194 - Voice http://bryanfields.net

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Reuters: Zello ‘walkie-talkie’ natural disaster app requires internet access
by Bryan Fields 02 Sep '21

02 Sep '21

I read this an had a good chuckle... https://www.reuters.com/article/factCheckNew/idUSL1N2Q31SN Social media users are recommending that people who lose service due to Hurricane Ida should use an app that turns their phones into walkie-talkies. The app, Zello, is often used in this way in natural disasters, but requires an internet connection to work. The posts ( here , here , here , here ) say, “NEW ORLEANS FRIENDS NOT EVACUATING: Theres an app called Zello that turns your phone into a walkie talkie if you lose service. Please download and inform your friends and family.” Hurricane Ida, one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the U.S. Gulf Coast, ploughed into Louisiana on August 29 killing at least two people and causing power outages across several states, including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama Blog posts on the Zello website explain how Zello is indeed a push-to-talk messaging app, like a walkie-talkie, that can be used in a natural disaster. It allows people to communicate without cell phone numbers using channels. Channels can be created for different uses, such as search and rescue efforts, or group efforts to secure supplies and prepare for the natural disaster. However, the app cannot function without the internet. Zello has clarified on its social media channels and blog on multiple occasions here , here , here and here that it requires Wifi or cellular data to work. VERDICT Missing context. Zello is a phone app that can be used like a walkie-talkie, but internet access is required to use it. This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here . -- Bryan Fields 727-409-1194 - Voice http://bryanfields.net

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Reminder: Tampa is offline today
by Bryan Fields 05 Jun '21

05 Jun '21

The outage window is 7a-7p, but we expect it should be over in the afternoon some time. 73s -- Bryan Fields, W9CR Florida Simulcast Group, Inc.

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Tampa Hamwan Outage
by Bryan Fields 26 May '21

26 May '21

The following is a new meeting request: Subject: Tampa Hamwan Outage Organizer: bryan(a)bryanfields.net Time: Saturday, June 5, 2021, 7:00:00 AM EDT - 7:00:00 PM EDT Invitees: Florida Simulcast Group Public <FSG-public(a)lists.keekles.org> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* The property management at Tampa site will be performing maintenance on the building’s high voltage electrical systems. As part of this maintenance, utility power to the building will be disconnected. The window we have been provided for this work is June 5, 2021, from 7 AM EST to 7 PM EST. We expect all of HamWAN Tampa Bay to be offline for the extent of this time, perhaps longer if we must go on site to recover.

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Tampa GMRS 462.5750
by Bryan Fields 01 May '21

01 May '21

I've put this in CSQ mode to see what if any interference is coming through on it. It sounds like there is someone coming through in very fast Spanish and it sounds on frequency, not off as I'd expect for a splinter channel/FRS user. I don't think it's a mix, as it sounds clear and with no other crap coming though. The signal strengths vary, so I suspect it's simplex operators. If you're over in Tampa, give a listen on the input (467.5750). Activity has picked up in the last few days from what I can tell. Could be anything in 10 miles on a bootleg baofeng :( -- Bryan Fields, W9CR Florida Simulcast Group, Inc.

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XTS 2500 Programming
by Jack Suske 27 Apr '21

27 Apr '21

I have recently received a couple of XTS-2500 radios and am in need of assistance in programming then up correctly for use on the Tampa machines. I have had success in getting the units working thru one of my hotspots but no luck so far on the repeaters. Is there a cheat sheet available for this radio or notes from someone who has had success with these radios ? Just for clarification these are P25 radios.. Thanking you in advance Jack Suske N9GKO Sent from my iPad

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Tampa Update and a new repeater announcement
by Bryan Fields 28 Feb '21

28 Feb '21

We've made a bunch of progress on the Tampa site, we have a new DB-420 antenna which is going to be installed as a master receive antenna, new DB-413 and a spare 413 installed just a bit below that. Installing antennas outside is an all day event, where we must have good weather to do so. At ground level it may be ok, but at 500' up, it may be too windy to work. Combine this the limited number of days we can coordinate everyone together to work, and it does limit the amount of time we have to get it done. Time being the limiting factor, we've fixed things as they break, but many things needed to be re-engineered at this site. We've most of the hardest work complete and will be rebuilding the rest of it soon. I've been working on a bunch of combiner systems to allow our repeaters to work there, and expect this to be ready in the near future. The backup hamwan link is provisioned and ready to be turned up, and a new link radio is ready. There's some big things planned for DMR at this site too :) Also there's now a GMRS repeater on 462.575 with a 141.3 tone which is online from Tampa. It's open to anyone with a GMRS license to use. 73's -- Bryan Fields, W9CR Florida Simulcast Group, Inc.

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St Pete site back on the net
by Bryan Fields 04 Feb '21

04 Feb '21

The St Pete site is back online. The main ex4200 Switch failed at the site and the analog repeater controller was corroded to heck as well. The switch has restored IP to the site, and the NXDN and DMR repeaters are online and should be linked. The Analog/P25 is online, but p25 and local mode only for now. I hope to have the controller fixed soon to bring it back online. We're out of spare switches and will likely need to requisition a couple more to have around. This switch up here had a prior issue where we had a port fail in it, and we just marked it as failed and moved the device. We're thinking this should no be taken as an indication that the switch is likely to fail and should be replaced if we see that ever happen again in the network. 73's -- Bryan Fields, W9CR Florida Simulcast Group, Inc.

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