E.A.R.S.

1506 S. Parker Dr.

Evansville, IN 47714

(812) 479-5741

"Because a frequency..

..is a terrible thing to waste"

August, 1996 Newsletter

THE NEXT E.A.R.S. EATING MEETING will be held on Friday, September 6 at 6:30 PM Central at Noble Roman's, Washington and Boeke (Ross Center) in Evansville.

REPEATER NEWS!!! As most of you have noticed by now, many of the EARS repeater receivers now require a subaudible tone (CTCSS) in order to use them. This is *****NOT****** a means of "closing" the repeater. ALL EARS REPEATERS ARE STILL OPEN FOR USE BY ALL AMATEURS WHO FOLLOW PROPER RULES AND OPERATING PROCEDURES. In this issue I will try to explain the use of CTCSS and its advantages. Obviously, there are some disadvantages. For most people, this means that you have to find your manual and find out how to program your CTCSS encoder. For some, this means purchasing a CTCSS encoder. We hope that you've discovered already by the lack of noise on the repeater that the CTCSS access is well worth the $20-$40 you might have to spend on an encoder. At the present time, these receivers now REQUIRE a subaudible tone of 107.2 Hz:

145.110 Evansville (only 1); 145.150 Evansville - main site; 146.925 Farmersburg site

So, in order to get the full benefit of all the possible receive sites, turn your CTCSS encoder to 107.2 Hz. We hope to leave at least one receiver "open" on each repeater for those who do not have CTCSS encoders. You will notice the 146.925 Vincennes main site and the 443.925 repeater do not require CTCSS yet. The 145.25 repeater in Indianapolis will require a CTCSS tone of 88.5 Hz for some receivers at a future date.

What is a subaudible tone?

This is a solid, continuous tone that is generated in the audio circuitry of your radio that is below that of the human's normal hearing range. This way you should not be able to notice the presence of this tone on an incoming transmission. If a receiver is equipped with a subaudible tone (or CTCSS) decoder, the "speaker" will not turn on unless the proper CTCSS tone is detected by the radio. Other transmissions may be present and register on your S-meter, but you won't hear them. Only transmissions that contain the correct CTCSS tone will pass through your speaker.

Why use subaudible tones?

With increasing interference from paging systems, band openings, and more and more repeaters being placed closer together, subaudible tones are becoming almost a necessity. Any stray signal on the repeater's input frequency will activate the repeater unless a CTCSS decoder is installed. For instance, say there are two repeaters on 145.15 that are 200 miles away. Most of the time, the repeater would never hear people using the other 145.15. But, during a band opening, the repeater may pick up the far away signals. Since the far away repeater requires a DIFFERENT CTCSS tone (or not one at all), people using the far away repeater do not interfere with the local repeater.

How do I use subaudible tones?

Nearly every radio manufactured in the last 10 years or more comes equipped with a CTCSS encoder. You must do 2 things: 1) turn on the CTCSS encoder; and 2) set the encoder to the proper tone, which is 107.2. Every radio operates a little differently, so consult your owner's manual. For newer Kenwood radios, press the TONE button to turn on the tone encoder. To set the tone, hold the "F" button for longer than 1 second. Then press the TONE button and turn the main dial until 107.2 is displayed. Then you can save the repeater into memory with the CTCSS tone set and turned on. A CTCSS decoder is NOT required to get into the repeater; however, you may want to use it so that you don't hear other distant repeaters on the same frequency.

What if my radio doesn't have an encoder?

Many radios have an encoder board that can be added as an option. A lot of these can just be plugged into a socket on the inside of the radio. Again, consult your owner's manual. A CTCSS encoder can be wired into ANY radio. Because we have just added CTCSS access to the repeater, we are taking a group order for these boards so we can get a bulk discount. We will be ordering soon from Communications Specialists. To find out which model you need, you can contact them at 1-800-854-0547. Or, Neil WB9VPG and Gary WB9SWG have catalogs fro them. Each purchase will receive a 5% discount if we (as a group) order 10, or 10% for 25. Place your order with Neil or Gary ASAP if you choose to buy your encoder in this fashion.

VISIT THE E.A.R.S. WORLD WIDE WEB PAGE! Get E.A.R.S. history, information, and the latest repeater info by visiting us at http://members.aol.com/earsham/earsham.html on the internet! You can write to us on the Internet as well ! Our Internet e-mail address:

EARSHAM@aolDOTcom

UPCOMING HAMFESTS:

Evansville, IN November 30, 1996

Volunteers will soon be needed to help with the mailing!!! Contact Neil.

VE TESTING INFORMATION:

EARS does not sponsor VE testing, but does advertise area testing dates and times. If you know of a test not listed, please write, call, or e-mail it to Neil ASAP!!!

Paris, IL - Sundays at 1pm Central at the

Community Hospital on Sept. 8 and

Nov. 3. Call John Welch at (217) 466-4315.

Danville, IL - Sundays at 1pm Central at the

VCARA Club House on Aug. 25, Oct.

6, and Dec. 8. Call John Welch for more

information. For directions - (217) 442-3916.

Terre Haute, IN - Sundays at 1pm EST at the

Terre Haute Red Cross on Hwy 41 North on

Oct. 6 and Dec. 1. Call Fred K9EBK at (812)

466-2122

INDIANA REPEATER COUNCIL NEWS... Many of you have been asking about the results of the recent IRC meeting at the Indianapolis hamfest. After a lengthy meeting, a new set of officers were elected, and the new proposed by-laws and new name of the organization were defeated. The new chairman is Neil Rapp WB9VPG of Evansville. The new vice-chairman is Jim Rinehart WB9CEP of Indianapolis. And the new secretary-treasurer is Kevin Berlen WB9QBR of Terre Haute. New coordinators are: Jeff Tucker WB9KIX (6m), Jay Jackson KA9QIG (220 MHz), and Ken Wells NM9P (440 MHz). A 2m coordinator is yet to be named, and Andy Finick N9FXT remains the 10m and 902 MHZ & up coordinator. Efforts are being made to get members' input on future decisions made by the council. Thanks to all of those who supported this effort.

145.11 is back on the air!!! A brand new Kenwood repeater is on the air (finally!) at the original site at 400 feet and going strong. Don't forget you need to use 107.2 for your subaudible tone. A controller is on the way, but in the mean time don't forget to say "on the KB9KBT repeater" !!!!!!

THANK YOU!! to those who have donated to EARS recently. These include: Tom Gwaltney N9PDC, Don Hanner KA9ODU (& XYL N9XXZ), Tim Staker KB9FRR, Beth Staker KB9MXM, Don Wright KA9YEQ, Walt Perry Jr. W8ENM, and Thelma Hurst N9PYG. Your help is greatly needed to help maintain the repeaters. Expenses far outweigh the amount of support we receive. We appreciate any help you are able to offer.

145.25 NEWS.... In an effort to keep the repeater running at full strength, we need more help! Marty has not had the time or finances to maintain all of the sites we have available. Therefore, we are asking that people volunteer to maintain the outlying receive sites. If you live near a site that is/could be used as a receive site and would like to volunteer to be responsible for its operation, please contact Marty at (317) 253-7985. He will take care of receiving the signal at the main 145.25 site, and provide you with site contact information and equipment. Thanks to Mike N5CEC for volunteering for the Muncie site.

A PERSONAL NOTE... Many of you may have noticed I haven't been home much lately, or on the air for that matter. I have been extremely busy, as usual, with camps, VBS, and a graduate course. Two weeks this summer, however, were spent in Florida and part of a week here at home with a very special young lady that I met on America Online last Christmas. I am happy to announce that we have decided to be married next June in Florida. Amy will be moving to Evansville to attend USI (University of Southern Indiana) this January, and has already been asking about a study guide for her amateur license. Hopefully you'll hear her on the air soon. After the

DON'T MISS THE EARS WIDE AREA NET

Electronic Applications Radio Service, Inc.

E.A.R.S.

1506 S. Parker Dr.

Evansville, IN 47714-3154

The E.A.R.S. newsletter is a monthly production of Electronic Applications Radio Service, Inc., a non-profit, charitable, tax-exempt organization. Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, editor. Send donations, articles, comments or information to E.A.R.S. at the address at the address below or call (812) 479-5741. Articles for the newsletter and/or E-mail can be sent via America Online at EARSHAM@aolDOTcom. For the braille edition, contact Tom KE9ZV. Information contained may be reproduced in any form, provided that credit is given to the E.A.R.S. Newsletter.