January/February 2015 Meetings
IMARS met every Monday morning throughout January and into February. We all owe thanks to Alan KI4ZSK for making the coffee before every meeting and to Anthony Waselizh KB4DNW for bringing the donuts. Both of these people make the meetings worth attending.
We have a new member who has been coming regularly. Roy Peters, KDØNI (Colorado), is a retired geologist and has many life experiences (aka "Sea Stories") to share. The diversity of the experiences of our members makes this club interesting.
John Watkins, G4VMR gave us a talk on using range extenders and/or wall plugged Ethernet adapters to extend your home network. The range extender he demonstrated was the TP-LINK 300Mbps Universal WiFi Range Extender TL-WA850RE N300 ($25 from Amazon or Newegg no tax or shipping charge from Newegg.) John explained that a range extender restricts the bandwidth and recommended another device, a Wall-Plugged Ethernet Adapter. ($25.39 from Amazon.) which uses your house wiring to provide an wired Ethernet connection anywhere in your house that you have an electrical outlet.Two units are required, one plugged into your router and the second to provide the remote access. John brought a NetGear XET1001 85Mbps model to demonstrate. He loaned 3 of them to me for evaluation at my house, they work well. This technology is similar to the old X10 system.
In looking into this I found another model that might be even better. It is the ACTIONTEC 500 Mbps Powerline Ethernet Adapter and 4-Port Hub Kit (PWR514K01) $75.98 From Amazon. This includes 2 units, one unit to connect to your router and the second, a 4 port device to provide remote access.
If you think you might be able to benefit from this type of network extender here is a review with a neat video that tells you everything you need to know. http://tinyurl.com/kuq7wbo
Thank you John, this is what I've been needing.
We can always count on Bob Cook WB9SOE to give an interesting presentation on about anything he chooses to talk about. He is on top of the latest changes in the TV world and communications in general. Bob does a great job of making his presentations understandable when he approaches the white board and illustrates his points. We are looking forward to our newest member, Roy KDØNI, to give us a few minutes on rocks in the near future. Roy is the second Ø geologist in the club, Bud NØIA is a geologist too (I think ;-)
We didn't forget to talk about ham radio either. Don Partain, KJ4FKT, told us about SARnet. SARnet is The Statewide Amateur Radio Network.
In reply to a rethoical question "it is not just for emergency communications. That being said, the creators of SARnet are active in public safety communications, both commercial and amateur, so they have an understanding of what SARnet can do for emergency communications in the state of Florida."
If you would like to know more arout SARnet (www.sarnetfl.com) you can download the presentation on SARnet given at a 2015 Hamcation forum at: http://tinyurl.com/lnn964x
In conclusion I'd like to tell you about my "clown face". When I was about 13 years old I rode my bicycle 20 miles to work on a bicycling merit badge in Boy Scouts. I went to visit my Uncle Joe riding mostly gravel roads with a one speed fat tired old bike. I swear it was up hill all the way! Uncle Joe made lawn ornaments as a hobby. He taught me how to use a little vibra saw and I made the clown face pictured. I've carried that clown face all over the world. The long red nose that was supposed to be a belt hanger was lost somewhere along the line. While cleaning out the garage the other day I ran across it again. I should have thrown it away but the sentimental value of it stayed my hand. I thought it might bring a smile to your faces.
73/88
Jerry KØJH
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