Lots of activity and writing about the GRHub Network and now there seems to be a lull in information regarding GRHub Activities. Yes, this will happen from time to time but rest assured lots of things are happening behind the scenes. Apart from back-orders on equipment for the GRHub Network I am also busy with several homebrew projects for the GRHub Network. I will provide some information on this here but will in later posts describe how these items were incorporated into the GRHub Network.
Once again I will rant about the "non activity" in amateur radio. I might be wrong here. Maybe there is an abundance of activity taking place in amateur radio that are not known to many radio amateurs. I would once again like to appeal to radio amateurs, clubs etc. to tell us about your amateur radio activity. I have said it many times that it is not about bragging or boasting but rather a way to get others going and actively involved through your activity. Have you noticed how contagious known/public activity can be? Enough about this lets get to the back-orders and homebrew projects.
Back-Orders
I am waiting for the following items/equipment to arrive:
- Victron Equipment to be used in the ham shack during daytime and loadshedding in the homestead as well as the GRHub Network.
- 2 x 12v Delco Deep Cycle Sealed Lead Acid Batteries
- Inrico TM8 Network Radio to be used in the shack as well as mobile. Now I hear you say that this is not an RF radio. I bought this radio for communications and convenience. It suits my purpose whether it is a real radio or not. I do not care about real radio. If an item or equipment can be incorporated to enhance amateur radio, then I will use it.
- The following radios are waiting to be linked to the GRHub Network. 1 x Hytera MD785G Digital Radio and 1 x TYT MD380 HT Digital Radio. The plan is to build a bridge between AllStar, Echolink and DMR. Radio Amateurs will be able to use the GRHub Network in either Analog or Digital mode. More on this in future posts.
- JumboSpot - MMDVM Hotspot - Support PI-STAR's web based digital voice dashboard and configuration tool. Support all four digital amateur modes DMR, D-Star, P25 and System Fusion. Built-in OLED system status display indicating Mode,Talk Group and Call Sign. Built-in LED indicators for status of Power, PTT, COS and Mode. Console port SSH 22 for root level access to the operating system. This hotspot will be used with the Hytera MD785G and TYT MD380 HT Digital Radios.
Homebrew Projects currently in progress
- Low Loss Helical Band-Pass Filter construction project. (I believe in improving the front-end dynamic rage by rejecting out of band unwanted strong signals of the GRHub Network RF Link receiver which can cause interference on the network. It can also "block" the receiver, making it incapable of receiving weak signals. More on this in a future posting.)
- Emergency Backup Power Controller - See posts on the GRHub Blog for further information and updates.
- DIY Off-Grid Solar Backup 220v Power Generator Unit - See post on the GRHub Blog for further information an updates.
Finally: The time has come to implement and incorporate digital radios to the GRHub Network. Updates to follow when the items arrive at my QTH.
Activity is alive and well on the GRHub Network. I would like to thank all those radio amateurs/clubs for allowing me to connect to their repeaters, links and networks. Highly appreciated.
Images of the items/equipment soon to be incorporated into the GRHub Network:
