Baltimore Radio Amateur Television Society

The BRATS will not be meeting at the Greene Turtle for the May meeting due to scheduling conflicts. We will be holding an abbreviated meeting via conference call.

Baltimore call-in number (443) 577-2370. If there's an issue with that the 804 number below is direct to Microsoft.

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Join online meeting

Join by Phone
+18042866686 (Dial-in Number) English (United States)

Find a local number

Conference ID: 49621666

Forgot your dial-in PIN?
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It is with great sadness that we report on the passing of Bob Shapiro K2MYS. Bob was an active member of the ATV community and a longstanding advertiser on the BRATS classified page.

73 K2MYS de WB3DZO

KA3ZMN has again offered to host the BRATS field day at his QTH on Saturday, June 23, 2018. Please email ka3zmn@arrl.net for details!

The BRATS are continuing to move forward on our research into Digital ATV using DVB-T. We've identified several low cost receivers with excellent performance and full support of the ham channels and are continuing to work on the repeater design. We've made significant progress on optimizing the modulator settings for the best performance/picture balance and are starting to test real-world performance at a distance.

The new design provides flexibility never before imagined, so the possibilities for where we go from here are endless!

Stay tuned for more updates!

The BRATS are rolling out improvements to the WB3DZO linked repeater network, including new antennas and feedlines, and newer, more reliable repeater controllers. The first site is already upgraded, providing much improved 2m reception to the north, and expanding our 220 and 440 coverage throughout the region. Stay tuned for more updates!

New triband antenna at our northern RX site

The Baltimore County Public Library has again taken steps to make requesting rooms more difficult. We'll work to find a place to host our upcoming meetings.

Baltimore call-in number (443) 577-2370. If there's an issue with that the 804 number below is direct to Microsoft.

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Join online meeting

Join by Phone
+18042866686 (Dial-in Number) English (United States)

Find a local number

Conference ID: 76064962

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Out of 9 WiFi dishes that have been installed since 2013, two were knocked slightly out of alignment in last week's wind storms, degrading performance to those sites. Additionally, a power supply failure caused issues at our third receive site.

After climbing atop 4 roofs in 2 days, everything is back up and working. We also upgraded our network hardware, now giving each site a link to the internet, and a backup route to the rest of the network through VPN tunnels. We now have improved monitoring and control over the entire network as well.

At least we didn't drop a load of cinderblocks on one of our host sites!

Wind knocked down a heavily weighted non-penetrating mount

A special thanks to Lizard N3GXH for his assistance getting our failed site back online!

After more than four years of uninterrupted service, Friday's wind storm pushed a few of our link antennas out of alignment. We apologise for the inconveniences and will work to get everything restored this week.

Sharon Kay Dobson, 54, of Reisterstown, Maryland, passed away on Sunday, January 14, 2018 in her home. She was born on March 13, 1963, and was the daughter of the late Preston Donald Winemiller and Mary Patricia (Long) Winemiller. She was preceded in death by one brother, Preston Donald Winemiller, Jr. She is survived by her husband William A. Dobson, III and daughter, Patricia A. Dobson.

Sharon, K3DUH, was an active in the Amateur Radio community and President of the Baltimore Amateur Radio club. She published three novels—Murder at Swan Cove, Middle Plantation and Witness to War with a fourth book, Finding Emily that is scheduled for release in 2018.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, January 18, 2018 at Beth Israel Congregation, 3706 Crondall Lane, Owings Mills, Maryland 21117. In Lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Beth Israel Congregation and St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

The Baltimore Amateur Radio Club

http://w3ft.com/

Congratulations to our 2018 officers and board members:
Chairmain of the Board through 2022: N3GXH Ed "Lizard" Rosen
Board Member (through 2019): KA3ZMN Steve Rifkin
Board Member (through 2019): K2GZL Shane Longo
Board Member (through 2018): W3MSR Mark Rosenthal
Board Member (through 2018): K9FXY Chris Venghaus

President KB3PLX Kevin Sherwood
Vice President K0RYX Oryx Gazella
Secretary WA3AER Ted Bauer
Treasurer KB3SKN Jim Sherwood