From dosman at packetsniffers.org Wed Feb 6 15:35:18 2013 From: dosman at packetsniffers.org (dosman) Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2013 15:35:18 -0500 Subject: [Bloominglabs-announce] Open tonight at 7pm Message-ID: <78CB772E-9EBA-48A2-95CF-DF6E80DAD087@packetsniffers.org> Greetings, This is just a reminder that we will be open to the public tonight at 7pm. See you there! -Nathan From mistasteve at gmail.com Thu Feb 7 15:47:20 2013 From: mistasteve at gmail.com (S Charlesworth) Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2013 15:47:20 -0500 Subject: [Bloominglabs-announce] Midwest Reprap Festival Message-ID: Greetings all- Wanted to let everybody know about the Midwest RepRap Festival, happening in Elkhart IN March 15-17. I know some people in the group or on the list either have a RepRap or are interested in them, so I thought I'd pass this along. http://midwestreprapfest.org/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.bloominglabs.org/pipermail/bloominglabs-announce/attachments/20130207/683d536a/attachment.html From dosman at packetsniffers.org Tue Feb 12 14:42:19 2013 From: dosman at packetsniffers.org (dosman) Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2013 14:42:19 -0500 Subject: [Bloominglabs-announce] Check out what we've been up to Message-ID: Greetings, Haven't been by our space in a while? Keep up with our activities on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bloominglabs Thanks! -Nathan From jtillots at cogbots.com Wed Feb 13 15:24:12 2013 From: jtillots at cogbots.com (Jenett Tillotson) Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2013 15:24:12 -0500 Subject: [Bloominglabs-announce] Public meeting today, 7pm Message-ID: We will be open at 7pm for our public meeting. Loads going on. I for one am anxious to check out our new closed-circuit TV system. Woot! Jenett -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.bloominglabs.org/pipermail/bloominglabs-announce/attachments/20130213/ff3431be/attachment.html From zach at packetsniffers.org Sat Feb 16 22:27:36 2013 From: zach at packetsniffers.org (Zach P) Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2013 22:27:36 -0500 Subject: [Bloominglabs-announce] All Call to Arms! (Open Arena Event) Message-ID: <20130216222736.jd8ng48dfcwg40ks@www.netforonline.com> So it appears that there will be a meetup online with various hackerspaces via Open Arena. It will be a good chance to meet members of other spaces and then re-arrange their faces with a shotgun! To play you will need to get OpenArena. Get it at https://openarena.ws download the package, it has .exe, .app and .rpm for all of your needs/ I believe the other spaces that are meeting up to play will be doing so ~1:30pm our time and are all based out of .sk and surrounding areas. We will have fashionably high pings of course ;) This game is being hosted by Progressbar.sk and you can talk to them directly for more information irc://freenode.net #progressbar. I believe their server will be listed in the OpenArena lobby as 'Progressbar OpenArena'. Members and non members alike are welcome and we will have wifi and ethernet aplenty for anyone wanting to play! If any one desires pizza let me know. If I recall Little Cesar's has pretty cheap pizzas and I would be happy to kick in for a little bit o' the greasy'! From zach at packetsniffers.org Sun Feb 17 11:11:05 2013 From: zach at packetsniffers.org (Zach P) Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2013 11:11:05 -0500 Subject: [Bloominglabs-announce] Open Arena Event Message-ID: <20130217111105.m3z93pm0lc8kg8so@www.netforonline.com> This will be happening today : Sunday the 17th. I forgot to mention that initially... Sorry for the little notice! From mistasteve at gmail.com Wed Feb 20 13:49:15 2013 From: mistasteve at gmail.com (S Charlesworth) Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2013 13:49:15 -0500 Subject: [Bloominglabs-announce] Meeting night Message-ID: Hey all, it's that time again - public meeting tonight at 7pm. Stop by between 7pm - 9pm-ish and join in the fun. We're at 3927 W Roll Ave, across 2nd St from the Wal*Mart, in that BUGS gym/Fed Ex area. Steve -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.bloominglabs.org/pipermail/bloominglabs-announce/attachments/20130220/2c3764d6/attachment.html From jtillots at cogbots.com Thu Feb 21 10:24:11 2013 From: jtillots at cogbots.com (Jenett Tillotson) Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2013 10:24:11 -0500 Subject: [Bloominglabs-announce] Bloominglabs to be on WFIU Message-ID: I did an interview with Yael Ksander who does a show called Artworks for WFIU. She was interested in talking about the maker movement in Bloomington and interviewed me, a guy from the School of Education who studies the maker movement, and Steve Backs from MCPL. The show will air Tuesday, February 26 at 7:00pm on WFIU. You can stream it from the internet at indianapublicmedia.org. It's the WFIU HD1 stream. They will also have it on their site as a podcast shortly after it airs. Jenett -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.bloominglabs.org/pipermail/bloominglabs-announce/attachments/20130221/b1166170/attachment.html From zach at packetsniffers.org Thu Feb 21 11:56:53 2013 From: zach at packetsniffers.org (Zach P) Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2013 11:56:53 -0500 Subject: [Bloominglabs-announce] Pizza and Senseless violence this Sunday! Message-ID: <20130221115653.8228ppgv1usg8sk8@www.netforonline.com> Hi everyone! I am planning to be at the space Sunday around 1:30ish with some Pizza and will be playing Open Arena against no one in particular. These things are always more fun with other people so if you'd be interested feel free to contact me or stop by. For more information on installing and playing OpenArena check out openarena.ws. Members and non members alike are invited! Kids welcome as long as they can handle copious amounts of bloody giblets flying through the air. -Zach From mitprice at umail.iu.edu Thu Feb 21 13:01:12 2013 From: mitprice at umail.iu.edu (Mitchell Price) Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2013 13:01:12 -0500 Subject: [Bloominglabs-announce] [Bloominglabs-members] Pizza and Senseless violence this Sunday! In-Reply-To: <20130221115653.8228ppgv1usg8sk8@www.netforonline.com> References: <20130221115653.8228ppgv1usg8sk8@www.netforonline.com> Message-ID: Done! On Thu, Feb 21, 2013 at 11:56 AM, Zach P wrote: > Hi everyone! > > I am planning to be at the space Sunday around 1:30ish with some Pizza > and will be playing Open Arena against no one in particular. These > things are always more fun with other people so if you'd be interested > feel free to contact me or stop by. For more information on installing > and playing OpenArena check out openarena.ws. > > Members and non members alike are invited! Kids welcome as long as > they can handle copious amounts of bloody giblets flying through the > air. > > -Zach > > _______________________________________________ > Bloominglabs-members mailing list > Bloominglabs-members at bloominglabs.org > http://www.bloominglabs.org/mailman/listinfo/bloominglabs-members > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.bloominglabs.org/pipermail/bloominglabs-announce/attachments/20130221/a7719203/attachment.html From cshields at gmail.com Fri Feb 22 21:01:27 2013 From: cshields at gmail.com (Corey Shields) Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2013 21:01:27 -0500 Subject: [Bloominglabs-announce] Ham Cram - Sat. March 2nd Message-ID: Hi all! tl;dr - if you are interested in learning about amateur radio (ham radio) and getting a license, keep reading. Saturday, March 2nd, 9am-5pm I'm going to offer a 1-day "ham cram" at the space where I attempt to cover everything you need to know to pass the Technician class license exam. Some people follow these cram days immediately with a testing session, but we have another group, a Monroe Co CERT team, looking to do a special testing session in March as well. Amateur radio testing is not done by the FCC these days but by Volunteer Examiners (VE's), that are vetted by a couple of authorized organizations to administer tests. It takes a minimum of 3 VEs to administer an exam session. So, to avoid stretching some of these guys too thinly I'm going to forego any testing as they will already be offering a special session in March. This will be on Sunday March 10th at 4:30pm (logistics below). This gives you a chance to listen to me for a day and try to soak it all in, and have a week to practice and brush up on flash cards online. If that date does not work, they also do testing the first Saturday of every month in Bloomington at noon (I can get details if you'd like) Logistics: There is a lot to cover and it will be a long day, so we will start early (9am) and promptly on 3/2. The class is free, though I will ask that if you are not a Bloominglabs member you make a donation to help pay for the use of the space (which you can do in person or through paypal at http://www.bloominglabs.org ). I will arrange for some pizza to be delivered so please bring a few bucks for that, and PLEASE RSVP to me directly (even if you don't need pizza) so I know how many are coming and can arrange the space accordingly. The next available test will be on 3/10 at 4:30 (registration opening at 4:00) at the Maple Grove Christian Church, 1503 W Simpson Chapel Rd. I am told that "the meeting room is in the building next to the airplane" which I can only hope is a literal interpretation. There are NO MORSE CODE requirements to ANY amateur radio exam since 2003. Testing is $15 (not refundable if you fail), and when you pass you will typically get your callsign through the FCC ULS database within a few business days and then are legal to transmit. Also required is a photo ID and SSN or FCC FRN. More details on that at http://www.arrl.org/what-to-bring-to-an-exam-session About the test: The nice thing about amateur exams is that the entire question pool (and answers) are publicly available. For the technician exam there are 35 questions from a 394 question pool. Don't let that number scare you, there are a lot of questions that are repetitive in topic. A lot of them cover electronic topics that many of you know already (ohm's law, anybody?). Since the question pool is public, there are plenty of online practice exams and flash card style sites. My recommendation is https://hamstudy.org/browse/E2_2010/T1 Basically, you can in fact "study to the test" and pass. If you fail, you're out $15. Don't sweat the test! There is no age requirement to getting a license, and I won't put an age requirement on the session - though this is a "cram" session and as such I'll be going through topics quickly. Why Ham Radio and Bloominglabs? I have many reasons for proselytizing ham radio: 1 - Amateur radio gives you a license to experiment in various radio waves (within certain boundaries, of course). This goes hand in hand with the Hackerspace movement. For example, there are radio shields for Arduino that would allow you much longer range communication, albeit slower, than with wifi. 2 - It is another way for hackerspace members to communicate! Sure, IRC and email are great; radio gives you all a chance to chat on the air as well. 3 - A more selfish reason, I am the emergency coordinator for Monroe County ARES (amateur radio emergency services). Along with a very similar RACES organization (radio amateur civil emergency services), we offer communications during emergencies and serve the county and state EMA. I'm always looking for more volunteers, especially as we branch out into more digital communications in emergency situations. Oh, and that point about ARES and RACES providing communications in times of emergency, that's a question on the test. You're getting this already.. 4 - Similarly, we do a few public service events throughout the year where we provide communications across an area that makes cellular difficult, and we always need more help. A good example being the Hilly Hundred bike ride, where we provide SAG vehicles with voice communication and GPS tracking through the hills of the course, along with communications to all rest areas and race headquarters, all without cellular or internet.. And its not all work, we have fun testing out new methods and modes through these events. 5 - dozens of different things to do in this hobby. I haven't even touched on the global communications aspect of it. There's something cool about talking to a person in New Zealand using no infrastructure - just a radio and an antenna you built to go along with it. Just as cool is taking a portable HF radio and an Eeepc on a backpacking trip, setting up a low-powered station and doing digital chat with people across the country. Here's a not-so-cheesy video advertising Field Day a few years back that shows a few things possible: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=varHL752Odk Cost of gear: With the introduction of cheap radios from new Chinese manufacturers in the past few years, getting into the hobby is cheaper than it has ever been. A cheap Handheld Transceiver ("HT") that covers the popular local frequencies can be found for $50-$100, and with the repeaters we have in town that is all you need to get started. Mobile radios (also used as a base radio) tend to have about 10x the power and start in the $200-$300 range, plus the cost of an antenna. Of course, as you add features, power, and frequencies the cost goes up and the sky is the limit. One nice thing about the hobby is that the gear does not depreciate in usefulness the way a lot of tech gear does (like your computer or phone). The mobile radio I put in the space is a model from the mid 90's. So - if you've made it this far in the email, drop me a line and let me know that you'll be there! (feel free to email me questions as well) Cheers, -Corey (ham callsign KB9JHU) Other links to study with: http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed http://www.hamradioinstructor.com/guides.html -- Corey Shields -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.bloominglabs.org/pipermail/bloominglabs-announce/attachments/20130222/f35921ec/attachment-0001.html From cramer.owen at gmail.com Sat Feb 23 18:00:01 2013 From: cramer.owen at gmail.com (Owen Cramer) Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2013 18:00:01 -0500 Subject: [Bloominglabs-announce] [Bloominglabs-members] Pizza and Senseless violence this Sunday! In-Reply-To: References: <20130221115653.8228ppgv1usg8sk8@www.netforonline.com> Message-ID: <002601ce1219$83a564e0$8af02ea0$@gmail.com> Open arena: I has it. From: bloominglabs-members-bounces at bloominglabs.org [mailto:bloominglabs-members-bounces at bloominglabs.org] On Behalf Of Mitchell Price Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2013 1:01 PM To: Zach P Cc: bloominglabs-members at bloominglabs.org; bloominglabs-announce at bloominglabs.org Subject: Re: [Bloominglabs-members] Pizza and Senseless violence this Sunday! Done! On Thu, Feb 21, 2013 at 11:56 AM, Zach P wrote: Hi everyone! I am planning to be at the space Sunday around 1:30ish with some Pizza and will be playing Open Arena against no one in particular. These things are always more fun with other people so if you'd be interested feel free to contact me or stop by. For more information on installing and playing OpenArena check out openarena.ws. Members and non members alike are invited! Kids welcome as long as they can handle copious amounts of bloody giblets flying through the air. -Zach _______________________________________________ Bloominglabs-members mailing list Bloominglabs-members at bloominglabs.org http://www.bloominglabs.org/mailman/listinfo/bloominglabs-members -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.bloominglabs.org/pipermail/bloominglabs-announce/attachments/20130223/8f8c818f/attachment.html From cshields at gmail.com Tue Feb 26 10:38:55 2013 From: cshields at gmail.com (Corey Shields) Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2013 10:38:55 -0500 Subject: [Bloominglabs-announce] Ham Cram - Sat. March 2nd In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi all, I've had 1 response - will decide tomorrow night if there is enough demand to do this on Saturday. Another option would be to spread it out over some wednesday nights (one per test element maybe?) but my wednesday nights are not very consistent. So, please let me know soon if you were planning on attending. Thanks, -Corey On Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 9:01 PM, Corey Shields wrote: > Hi all! > > tl;dr - if you are interested in learning about amateur radio (ham radio) > and getting a license, keep reading. > > Saturday, March 2nd, 9am-5pm I'm going to offer a 1-day "ham cram" at the > space where I attempt to cover everything you need to know to pass the > Technician class license exam. Some people follow these cram days > immediately with a testing session, but we have another group, a Monroe Co > CERT team, looking to do a special testing session in March as well. > Amateur radio testing is not done by the FCC these days but by Volunteer > Examiners (VE's), that are vetted by a couple of authorized organizations > to administer tests. It takes a minimum of 3 VEs to administer an exam > session. So, to avoid stretching some of these guys too thinly I'm going > to forego any testing as they will already be offering a special session in > March. This will be on Sunday March 10th at 4:30pm (logistics below). > This gives you a chance to listen to me for a day and try to soak it all > in, and have a week to practice and brush up on flash cards online. If > that date does not work, they also do testing the first Saturday of every > month in Bloomington at noon (I can get details if you'd like) > > Logistics: > > There is a lot to cover and it will be a long day, so we will start early > (9am) and promptly on 3/2. The class is free, though I will ask that if > you are not a Bloominglabs member you make a donation to help pay for the > use of the space (which you can do in person or through paypal at > http://www.bloominglabs.org ). I will arrange for some pizza to be > delivered so please bring a few bucks for that, and PLEASE RSVP to me > directly (even if you don't need pizza) so I know how many are coming and > can arrange the space accordingly. The next available test will be on > 3/10 at 4:30 (registration opening at 4:00) at the Maple Grove Christian > Church, 1503 W Simpson Chapel Rd. I am told that "the meeting room is in > the building next to the airplane" which I can only hope is a literal > interpretation. There are NO MORSE CODE requirements to ANY amateur radio > exam since 2003. Testing is $15 (not refundable if you fail), and when you > pass you will typically get your callsign through the FCC ULS database > within a few business days and then are legal to transmit. Also required > is a photo ID and SSN or FCC FRN. More details on that at > http://www.arrl.org/what-to-bring-to-an-exam-session > > About the test: > > The nice thing about amateur exams is that the entire question pool (and > answers) are publicly available. For the technician exam there are 35 > questions from a 394 question pool. Don't let that number scare you, there > are a lot of questions that are repetitive in topic. A lot of them cover > electronic topics that many of you know already (ohm's law, anybody?). > Since the question pool is public, there are plenty of online practice > exams and flash card style sites. My recommendation is > https://hamstudy.org/browse/E2_2010/T1 Basically, you can in fact "study > to the test" and pass. If you fail, you're out $15. Don't sweat the test! > There is no age requirement to getting a license, and I won't put an age > requirement on the session - though this is a "cram" session and as such > I'll be going through topics quickly. > > Why Ham Radio and Bloominglabs? > > I have many reasons for proselytizing ham radio: > > 1 - Amateur radio gives you a license to experiment in various radio waves > (within certain boundaries, of course). This goes hand in hand with the > Hackerspace movement. For example, there are radio shields for Arduino > that would allow you much longer range communication, albeit slower, than > with wifi. > > 2 - It is another way for hackerspace members to communicate! Sure, IRC > and email are great; radio gives you all a chance to chat on the air as > well. > > 3 - A more selfish reason, I am the emergency coordinator for Monroe > County ARES (amateur radio emergency services). Along with a very similar > RACES organization (radio amateur civil emergency services), we offer > communications during emergencies and serve the county and state EMA. I'm > always looking for more volunteers, especially as we branch out into more > digital communications in emergency situations. Oh, and that point about > ARES and RACES providing communications in times of emergency, that's a > question on the test. You're getting this already.. > > 4 - Similarly, we do a few public service events throughout the year where > we provide communications across an area that makes cellular difficult, and > we always need more help. A good example being the Hilly Hundred bike > ride, where we provide SAG vehicles with voice communication and GPS > tracking through the hills of the course, along with communications to all > rest areas and race headquarters, all without cellular or internet.. And > its not all work, we have fun testing out new methods and modes through > these events. > > 5 - dozens of different things to do in this hobby. I haven't even > touched on the global communications aspect of it. There's something cool > about talking to a person in New Zealand using no infrastructure - just a > radio and an antenna you built to go along with it. Just as cool is taking > a portable HF radio and an Eeepc on a backpacking trip, setting up a > low-powered station and doing digital chat with people across the country. > Here's a not-so-cheesy video advertising Field Day a few years back that > shows a few things possible: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=varHL752Odk > > Cost of gear: > > With the introduction of cheap radios from new Chinese manufacturers in > the past few years, getting into the hobby is cheaper than it has ever > been. A cheap Handheld Transceiver ("HT") that covers the popular local > frequencies can be found for $50-$100, and with the repeaters we have in > town that is all you need to get started. Mobile radios (also used as a > base radio) tend to have about 10x the power and start in the $200-$300 > range, plus the cost of an antenna. Of course, as you add features, power, > and frequencies the cost goes up and the sky is the limit. One nice thing > about the hobby is that the gear does not depreciate in usefulness the way > a lot of tech gear does (like your computer or phone). The mobile radio I > put in the space is a model from the mid 90's. > > So - if you've made it this far in the email, drop me a line and let me > know that you'll be there! (feel free to email me questions as well) > > Cheers, > -Corey (ham callsign KB9JHU) > > Other links to study with: > http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed > http://www.hamradioinstructor.com/guides.html > > -- > Corey Shields > -- Corey Shields -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.bloominglabs.org/pipermail/bloominglabs-announce/attachments/20130226/7c4cc9b4/attachment.html From jtillots at cogbots.com Tue Feb 26 10:52:22 2013 From: jtillots at cogbots.com (Jenett Tillotson) Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2013 10:52:22 -0500 Subject: [Bloominglabs-announce] Ham Cram - Sat. March 2nd In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Wednesdays are too crazy to do this. It would never work with all the chaos going on. I'm planning on being there on Saturday. Jenett On Tue, Feb 26, 2013 at 10:38 AM, Corey Shields wrote: > Hi all, > > I've had 1 response - will decide tomorrow night if there is enough demand > to do this on Saturday. Another option would be to spread it out over > some wednesday nights (one per test element maybe?) but my wednesday nights > are not very consistent. So, please let me know soon if you were planning > on attending. > > Thanks, > -Corey > > > On Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 9:01 PM, Corey Shields wrote: > >> Hi all! >> >> tl;dr - if you are interested in learning about amateur radio (ham radio) >> and getting a license, keep reading. >> >> Saturday, March 2nd, 9am-5pm I'm going to offer a 1-day "ham cram" at the >> space where I attempt to cover everything you need to know to pass the >> Technician class license exam. Some people follow these cram days >> immediately with a testing session, but we have another group, a Monroe Co >> CERT team, looking to do a special testing session in March as well. >> Amateur radio testing is not done by the FCC these days but by Volunteer >> Examiners (VE's), that are vetted by a couple of authorized organizations >> to administer tests. It takes a minimum of 3 VEs to administer an exam >> session. So, to avoid stretching some of these guys too thinly I'm going >> to forego any testing as they will already be offering a special session in >> March. This will be on Sunday March 10th at 4:30pm (logistics below). >> This gives you a chance to listen to me for a day and try to soak it all >> in, and have a week to practice and brush up on flash cards online. If >> that date does not work, they also do testing the first Saturday of every >> month in Bloomington at noon (I can get details if you'd like) >> >> Logistics: >> >> There is a lot to cover and it will be a long day, so we will start early >> (9am) and promptly on 3/2. The class is free, though I will ask that if >> you are not a Bloominglabs member you make a donation to help pay for the >> use of the space (which you can do in person or through paypal at >> http://www.bloominglabs.org ). I will arrange for some pizza to be >> delivered so please bring a few bucks for that, and PLEASE RSVP to me >> directly (even if you don't need pizza) so I know how many are coming and >> can arrange the space accordingly. The next available test will be on >> 3/10 at 4:30 (registration opening at 4:00) at the Maple Grove Christian >> Church, 1503 W Simpson Chapel Rd. I am told that "the meeting room is in >> the building next to the airplane" which I can only hope is a literal >> interpretation. There are NO MORSE CODE requirements to ANY amateur radio >> exam since 2003. Testing is $15 (not refundable if you fail), and when you >> pass you will typically get your callsign through the FCC ULS database >> within a few business days and then are legal to transmit. Also required >> is a photo ID and SSN or FCC FRN. More details on that at >> http://www.arrl.org/what-to-bring-to-an-exam-session >> >> About the test: >> >> The nice thing about amateur exams is that the entire question pool (and >> answers) are publicly available. For the technician exam there are 35 >> questions from a 394 question pool. Don't let that number scare you, there >> are a lot of questions that are repetitive in topic. A lot of them cover >> electronic topics that many of you know already (ohm's law, anybody?). >> Since the question pool is public, there are plenty of online practice >> exams and flash card style sites. My recommendation is >> https://hamstudy.org/browse/E2_2010/T1 Basically, you can in fact >> "study to the test" and pass. If you fail, you're out $15. Don't sweat >> the test! There is no age requirement to getting a license, and I won't >> put an age requirement on the session - though this is a "cram" session and >> as such I'll be going through topics quickly. >> >> Why Ham Radio and Bloominglabs? >> >> I have many reasons for proselytizing ham radio: >> >> 1 - Amateur radio gives you a license to experiment in various radio >> waves (within certain boundaries, of course). This goes hand in hand with >> the Hackerspace movement. For example, there are radio shields for Arduino >> that would allow you much longer range communication, albeit slower, than >> with wifi. >> >> 2 - It is another way for hackerspace members to communicate! Sure, IRC >> and email are great; radio gives you all a chance to chat on the air as >> well. >> >> 3 - A more selfish reason, I am the emergency coordinator for Monroe >> County ARES (amateur radio emergency services). Along with a very similar >> RACES organization (radio amateur civil emergency services), we offer >> communications during emergencies and serve the county and state EMA. I'm >> always looking for more volunteers, especially as we branch out into more >> digital communications in emergency situations. Oh, and that point about >> ARES and RACES providing communications in times of emergency, that's a >> question on the test. You're getting this already.. >> >> 4 - Similarly, we do a few public service events throughout the year >> where we provide communications across an area that makes cellular >> difficult, and we always need more help. A good example being the Hilly >> Hundred bike ride, where we provide SAG vehicles with voice communication >> and GPS tracking through the hills of the course, along with communications >> to all rest areas and race headquarters, all without cellular or internet.. >> And its not all work, we have fun testing out new methods and modes >> through these events. >> >> 5 - dozens of different things to do in this hobby. I haven't even >> touched on the global communications aspect of it. There's something cool >> about talking to a person in New Zealand using no infrastructure - just a >> radio and an antenna you built to go along with it. Just as cool is taking >> a portable HF radio and an Eeepc on a backpacking trip, setting up a >> low-powered station and doing digital chat with people across the country. >> Here's a not-so-cheesy video advertising Field Day a few years back that >> shows a few things possible: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=varHL752Odk >> >> Cost of gear: >> >> With the introduction of cheap radios from new Chinese manufacturers in >> the past few years, getting into the hobby is cheaper than it has ever >> been. A cheap Handheld Transceiver ("HT") that covers the popular local >> frequencies can be found for $50-$100, and with the repeaters we have in >> town that is all you need to get started. Mobile radios (also used as a >> base radio) tend to have about 10x the power and start in the $200-$300 >> range, plus the cost of an antenna. Of course, as you add features, power, >> and frequencies the cost goes up and the sky is the limit. One nice thing >> about the hobby is that the gear does not depreciate in usefulness the way >> a lot of tech gear does (like your computer or phone). The mobile radio I >> put in the space is a model from the mid 90's. >> >> So - if you've made it this far in the email, drop me a line and let me >> know that you'll be there! (feel free to email me questions as well) >> >> Cheers, >> -Corey (ham callsign KB9JHU) >> >> Other links to study with: >> http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed >> http://www.hamradioinstructor.com/guides.html >> >> -- >> Corey Shields >> > > > > -- > Corey Shields > > _______________________________________________ > Bloominglabs-announce mailing list > Bloominglabs-announce at bloominglabs.org > http://www.bloominglabs.org/mailman/listinfo/bloominglabs-announce > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.bloominglabs.org/pipermail/bloominglabs-announce/attachments/20130226/be113477/attachment-0001.html From austintoombs at googlemail.com Tue Feb 26 11:14:25 2013 From: austintoombs at googlemail.com (Austin Toombs) Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:14:25 -0500 Subject: [Bloominglabs-announce] Ham Cram - Sat. March 2nd In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I plan on being there as well, but I might have to call it a "maybe" since I have not been feeling well recently and may not be able to stay for as long as it lasts. It sounds awesome though! Austin On Tue, Feb 26, 2013 at 10:52 AM, Jenett Tillotson wrote: > Wednesdays are too crazy to do this. It would never work with all the chaos > going on. > > I'm planning on being there on Saturday. > > Jenett > > On Tue, Feb 26, 2013 at 10:38 AM, Corey Shields wrote: >> >> Hi all, >> >> I've had 1 response - will decide tomorrow night if there is enough demand >> to do this on Saturday. Another option would be to spread it out over some >> wednesday nights (one per test element maybe?) but my wednesday nights are >> not very consistent. So, please let me know soon if you were planning on >> attending. >> >> Thanks, >> -Corey >> >> >> On Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 9:01 PM, Corey Shields wrote: >>> >>> Hi all! >>> >>> tl;dr - if you are interested in learning about amateur radio (ham radio) >>> and getting a license, keep reading. >>> >>> Saturday, March 2nd, 9am-5pm I'm going to offer a 1-day "ham cram" at the >>> space where I attempt to cover everything you need to know to pass the >>> Technician class license exam. Some people follow these cram days >>> immediately with a testing session, but we have another group, a Monroe Co >>> CERT team, looking to do a special testing session in March as well. >>> Amateur radio testing is not done by the FCC these days but by Volunteer >>> Examiners (VE's), that are vetted by a couple of authorized organizations to >>> administer tests. It takes a minimum of 3 VEs to administer an exam >>> session. So, to avoid stretching some of these guys too thinly I'm going to >>> forego any testing as they will already be offering a special session in >>> March. This will be on Sunday March 10th at 4:30pm (logistics below). This >>> gives you a chance to listen to me for a day and try to soak it all in, and >>> have a week to practice and brush up on flash cards online. If that date >>> does not work, they also do testing the first Saturday of every month in >>> Bloomington at noon (I can get details if you'd like) >>> >>> Logistics: >>> >>> There is a lot to cover and it will be a long day, so we will start early >>> (9am) and promptly on 3/2. The class is free, though I will ask that if you >>> are not a Bloominglabs member you make a donation to help pay for the use of >>> the space (which you can do in person or through paypal at >>> http://www.bloominglabs.org ). I will arrange for some pizza to be delivered >>> so please bring a few bucks for that, and PLEASE RSVP to me directly (even >>> if you don't need pizza) so I know how many are coming and can arrange the >>> space accordingly. The next available test will be on 3/10 at 4:30 >>> (registration opening at 4:00) at the Maple Grove Christian Church, 1503 W >>> Simpson Chapel Rd. I am told that "the meeting room is in the building next >>> to the airplane" which I can only hope is a literal interpretation. There >>> are NO MORSE CODE requirements to ANY amateur radio exam since 2003. Testing >>> is $15 (not refundable if you fail), and when you pass you will typically >>> get your callsign through the FCC ULS database within a few business days >>> and then are legal to transmit. Also required is a photo ID and SSN or FCC >>> FRN. More details on that at >>> http://www.arrl.org/what-to-bring-to-an-exam-session >>> >>> About the test: >>> >>> The nice thing about amateur exams is that the entire question pool (and >>> answers) are publicly available. For the technician exam there are 35 >>> questions from a 394 question pool. Don't let that number scare you, there >>> are a lot of questions that are repetitive in topic. A lot of them cover >>> electronic topics that many of you know already (ohm's law, anybody?). Since >>> the question pool is public, there are plenty of online practice exams and >>> flash card style sites. My recommendation is >>> https://hamstudy.org/browse/E2_2010/T1 Basically, you can in fact "study to >>> the test" and pass. If you fail, you're out $15. Don't sweat the test! >>> There is no age requirement to getting a license, and I won't put an age >>> requirement on the session - though this is a "cram" session and as such >>> I'll be going through topics quickly. >>> >>> Why Ham Radio and Bloominglabs? >>> >>> I have many reasons for proselytizing ham radio: >>> >>> 1 - Amateur radio gives you a license to experiment in various radio >>> waves (within certain boundaries, of course). This goes hand in hand with >>> the Hackerspace movement. For example, there are radio shields for Arduino >>> that would allow you much longer range communication, albeit slower, than >>> with wifi. >>> >>> 2 - It is another way for hackerspace members to communicate! Sure, IRC >>> and email are great; radio gives you all a chance to chat on the air as >>> well. >>> >>> 3 - A more selfish reason, I am the emergency coordinator for Monroe >>> County ARES (amateur radio emergency services). Along with a very similar >>> RACES organization (radio amateur civil emergency services), we offer >>> communications during emergencies and serve the county and state EMA. I'm >>> always looking for more volunteers, especially as we branch out into more >>> digital communications in emergency situations. Oh, and that point about >>> ARES and RACES providing communications in times of emergency, that's a >>> question on the test. You're getting this already.. >>> >>> 4 - Similarly, we do a few public service events throughout the year >>> where we provide communications across an area that makes cellular >>> difficult, and we always need more help. A good example being the Hilly >>> Hundred bike ride, where we provide SAG vehicles with voice communication >>> and GPS tracking through the hills of the course, along with communications >>> to all rest areas and race headquarters, all without cellular or internet.. >>> And its not all work, we have fun testing out new methods and modes through >>> these events. >>> >>> 5 - dozens of different things to do in this hobby. I haven't even >>> touched on the global communications aspect of it. There's something cool >>> about talking to a person in New Zealand using no infrastructure - just a >>> radio and an antenna you built to go along with it. Just as cool is taking >>> a portable HF radio and an Eeepc on a backpacking trip, setting up a >>> low-powered station and doing digital chat with people across the country. >>> Here's a not-so-cheesy video advertising Field Day a few years back that >>> shows a few things possible: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=varHL752Odk >>> >>> Cost of gear: >>> >>> With the introduction of cheap radios from new Chinese manufacturers in >>> the past few years, getting into the hobby is cheaper than it has ever been. >>> A cheap Handheld Transceiver ("HT") that covers the popular local >>> frequencies can be found for $50-$100, and with the repeaters we have in >>> town that is all you need to get started. Mobile radios (also used as a >>> base radio) tend to have about 10x the power and start in the $200-$300 >>> range, plus the cost of an antenna. Of course, as you add features, power, >>> and frequencies the cost goes up and the sky is the limit. One nice thing >>> about the hobby is that the gear does not depreciate in usefulness the way a >>> lot of tech gear does (like your computer or phone). The mobile radio I put >>> in the space is a model from the mid 90's. >>> >>> So - if you've made it this far in the email, drop me a line and let me >>> know that you'll be there! (feel free to email me questions as well) >>> >>> Cheers, >>> -Corey (ham callsign KB9JHU) >>> >>> Other links to study with: >>> http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed >>> http://www.hamradioinstructor.com/guides.html >>> >>> -- >>> Corey Shields >> >> >> >> >> -- >> Corey Shields >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Bloominglabs-announce mailing list >> Bloominglabs-announce at bloominglabs.org >> http://www.bloominglabs.org/mailman/listinfo/bloominglabs-announce >> > > > _______________________________________________ > Bloominglabs-announce mailing list > Bloominglabs-announce at bloominglabs.org > http://www.bloominglabs.org/mailman/listinfo/bloominglabs-announce > From kallbac at iu.edu Tue Feb 26 22:29:06 2013 From: kallbac at iu.edu (Kallback-Rose, Kristy A) Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2013 03:29:06 +0000 Subject: [Bloominglabs-announce] Ham Cram - Sat. March 2nd In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Corey, I am interested in this. However, depending upon the health of my kiddo and the sanity of my husband who has been caring for sick kiddo this week I may only stay for half of the session. Thanks for offering this. I think it's a great idea. -Kristy On Feb 22, 2013, at 9:01 PM, Corey Shields > wrote: Hi all! tl;dr - if you are interested in learning about amateur radio (ham radio) and getting a license, keep reading. Saturday, March 2nd, 9am-5pm I'm going to offer a 1-day "ham cram" at the space where I attempt to cover everything you need to know to pass the Technician class license exam. Some people follow these cram days immediately with a testing session, but we have another group, a Monroe Co CERT team, looking to do a special testing session in March as well. Amateur radio testing is not done by the FCC these days but by Volunteer Examiners (VE's), that are vetted by a couple of authorized organizations to administer tests. It takes a minimum of 3 VEs to administer an exam session. So, to avoid stretching some of these guys too thinly I'm going to forego any testing as they will already be offering a special session in March. This will be on Sunday March 10th at 4:30pm (logistics below). This gives you a chance to listen to me for a day and try to soak it all in, and have a week to practice and brush up on flash cards online. If that date does not work, they also do testing the first Saturday of every month in Bloomington at noon (I can get details if you'd like) Logistics: There is a lot to cover and it will be a long day, so we will start early (9am) and promptly on 3/2. The class is free, though I will ask that if you are not a Bloominglabs member you make a donation to help pay for the use of the space (which you can do in person or through paypal at http://www.bloominglabs.org ). I will arrange for some pizza to be delivered so please bring a few bucks for that, and PLEASE RSVP to me directly (even if you don't need pizza) so I know how many are coming and can arrange the space accordingly. The next available test will be on 3/10 at 4:30 (registration opening at 4:00) at the Maple Grove Christian Church, 1503 W Simpson Chapel Rd. I am told that "the meeting room is in the building next to the airplane" which I can only hope is a literal interpretation. There are NO MORSE CODE requirements to ANY amateur radio exam since 2003. Testing is $15 (not refundable if you fail), and when you pass you will typically get your callsign through the FCC ULS database within a few business days and then are legal to transmit. Also required is a photo ID and SSN or FCC FRN. More details on that at http://www.arrl.org/what-to-bring-to-an-exam-session About the test: The nice thing about amateur exams is that the entire question pool (and answers) are publicly available. For the technician exam there are 35 questions from a 394 question pool. Don't let that number scare you, there are a lot of questions that are repetitive in topic. A lot of them cover electronic topics that many of you know already (ohm's law, anybody?). Since the question pool is public, there are plenty of online practice exams and flash card style sites. My recommendation is https://hamstudy.org/browse/E2_2010/T1 Basically, you can in fact "study to the test" and pass. If you fail, you're out $15. Don't sweat the test! There is no age requirement to getting a license, and I won't put an age requirement on the session - though this is a "cram" session and as such I'll be going through topics quickly. Why Ham Radio and Bloominglabs? I have many reasons for proselytizing ham radio: 1 - Amateur radio gives you a license to experiment in various radio waves (within certain boundaries, of course). This goes hand in hand with the Hackerspace movement. For example, there are radio shields for Arduino that would allow you much longer range communication, albeit slower, than with wifi. 2 - It is another way for hackerspace members to communicate! Sure, IRC and email are great; radio gives you all a chance to chat on the air as well. 3 - A more selfish reason, I am the emergency coordinator for Monroe County ARES (amateur radio emergency services). Along with a very similar RACES organization (radio amateur civil emergency services), we offer communications during emergencies and serve the county and state EMA. I'm always looking for more volunteers, especially as we branch out into more digital communications in emergency situations. Oh, and that point about ARES and RACES providing communications in times of emergency, that's a question on the test. You're getting this already.. 4 - Similarly, we do a few public service events throughout the year where we provide communications across an area that makes cellular difficult, and we always need more help. A good example being the Hilly Hundred bike ride, where we provide SAG vehicles with voice communication and GPS tracking through the hills of the course, along with communications to all rest areas and race headquarters, all without cellular or internet.. And its not all work, we have fun testing out new methods and modes through these events. 5 - dozens of different things to do in this hobby. I haven't even touched on the global communications aspect of it. There's something cool about talking to a person in New Zealand using no infrastructure - just a radio and an antenna you built to go along with it. Just as cool is taking a portable HF radio and an Eeepc on a backpacking trip, setting up a low-powered station and doing digital chat with people across the country. Here's a not-so-cheesy video advertising Field Day a few years back that shows a few things possible: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=varHL752Odk Cost of gear: With the introduction of cheap radios from new Chinese manufacturers in the past few years, getting into the hobby is cheaper than it has ever been. A cheap Handheld Transceiver ("HT") that covers the popular local frequencies can be found for $50-$100, and with the repeaters we have in town that is all you need to get started. Mobile radios (also used as a base radio) tend to have about 10x the power and start in the $200-$300 range, plus the cost of an antenna. Of course, as you add features, power, and frequencies the cost goes up and the sky is the limit. One nice thing about the hobby is that the gear does not depreciate in usefulness the way a lot of tech gear does (like your computer or phone). The mobile radio I put in the space is a model from the mid 90's. So - if you've made it this far in the email, drop me a line and let me know that you'll be there! (feel free to email me questions as well) Cheers, -Corey (ham callsign KB9JHU) Other links to study with: http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed http://www.hamradioinstructor.com/guides.html -- Corey Shields _______________________________________________ Bloominglabs-announce mailing list Bloominglabs-announce at bloominglabs.org http://www.bloominglabs.org/mailman/listinfo/bloominglabs-announce -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.bloominglabs.org/pipermail/bloominglabs-announce/attachments/20130227/c7457616/attachment.html From jtillots at cogbots.com Wed Feb 27 14:10:22 2013 From: jtillots at cogbots.com (Jenett Tillotson) Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2013 14:10:22 -0500 Subject: [Bloominglabs-announce] Public meeting tonight Message-ID: Bloominglabs will be open tonight at 7pm until 10pm-ish for more making fun! See you there. Jenett -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.bloominglabs.org/pipermail/bloominglabs-announce/attachments/20130227/deeaa262/attachment-0001.html From kallbac at iu.edu Wed Feb 27 22:10:26 2013 From: kallbac at iu.edu (Kallback-Rose, Kristy A) Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2013 03:10:26 +0000 Subject: [Bloominglabs-announce] Ham Cram - Sat. March 2nd In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Corey, My husband has arranged for the kids to go to grandma's so I can do the whole thing. Have you decided whether to hold it or not? Thanks, Kristy On Feb 26, 2013, at 10:29 PM, "Kallback-Rose, Kristy A" > wrote: Corey, I am interested in this. However, depending upon the health of my kiddo and the sanity of my husband who has been caring for sick kiddo this week I may only stay for half of the session. Thanks for offering this. I think it's a great idea. -Kristy On Feb 22, 2013, at 9:01 PM, Corey Shields > wrote: Hi all! tl;dr - if you are interested in learning about amateur radio (ham radio) and getting a license, keep reading. Saturday, March 2nd, 9am-5pm I'm going to offer a 1-day "ham cram" at the space where I attempt to cover everything you need to know to pass the Technician class license exam. Some people follow these cram days immediately with a testing session, but we have another group, a Monroe Co CERT team, looking to do a special testing session in March as well. Amateur radio testing is not done by the FCC these days but by Volunteer Examiners (VE's), that are vetted by a couple of authorized organizations to administer tests. It takes a minimum of 3 VEs to administer an exam session. So, to avoid stretching some of these guys too thinly I'm going to forego any testing as they will already be offering a special session in March. This will be on Sunday March 10th at 4:30pm (logistics below). This gives you a chance to listen to me for a day and try to soak it all in, and have a week to practice and brush up on flash cards online. If that date does not work, they also do testing the first Saturday of every month in Bloomington at noon (I can get details if you'd like) Logistics: There is a lot to cover and it will be a long day, so we will start early (9am) and promptly on 3/2. The class is free, though I will ask that if you are not a Bloominglabs member you make a donation to help pay for the use of the space (which you can do in person or through paypal at http://www.bloominglabs.org ). I will arrange for some pizza to be delivered so please bring a few bucks for that, and PLEASE RSVP to me directly (even if you don't need pizza) so I know how many are coming and can arrange the space accordingly. The next available test will be on 3/10 at 4:30 (registration opening at 4:00) at the Maple Grove Christian Church, 1503 W Simpson Chapel Rd. I am told that "the meeting room is in the building next to the airplane" which I can only hope is a literal interpretation. There are NO MORSE CODE requirements to ANY amateur radio exam since 2003. Testing is $15 (not refundable if you fail), and when you pass you will typically get your callsign through the FCC ULS database within a few business days and then are legal to transmit. Also required is a photo ID and SSN or FCC FRN. More details on that at http://www.arrl.org/what-to-bring-to-an-exam-session About the test: The nice thing about amateur exams is that the entire question pool (and answers) are publicly available. For the technician exam there are 35 questions from a 394 question pool. Don't let that number scare you, there are a lot of questions that are repetitive in topic. A lot of them cover electronic topics that many of you know already (ohm's law, anybody?). Since the question pool is public, there are plenty of online practice exams and flash card style sites. My recommendation is https://hamstudy.org/browse/E2_2010/T1 Basically, you can in fact "study to the test" and pass. If you fail, you're out $15. Don't sweat the test! There is no age requirement to getting a license, and I won't put an age requirement on the session - though this is a "cram" session and as such I'll be going through topics quickly. Why Ham Radio and Bloominglabs? I have many reasons for proselytizing ham radio: 1 - Amateur radio gives you a license to experiment in various radio waves (within certain boundaries, of course). This goes hand in hand with the Hackerspace movement. For example, there are radio shields for Arduino that would allow you much longer range communication, albeit slower, than with wifi. 2 - It is another way for hackerspace members to communicate! Sure, IRC and email are great; radio gives you all a chance to chat on the air as well. 3 - A more selfish reason, I am the emergency coordinator for Monroe County ARES (amateur radio emergency services). Along with a very similar RACES organization (radio amateur civil emergency services), we offer communications during emergencies and serve the county and state EMA. I'm always looking for more volunteers, especially as we branch out into more digital communications in emergency situations. Oh, and that point about ARES and RACES providing communications in times of emergency, that's a question on the test. You're getting this already.. 4 - Similarly, we do a few public service events throughout the year where we provide communications across an area that makes cellular difficult, and we always need more help. A good example being the Hilly Hundred bike ride, where we provide SAG vehicles with voice communication and GPS tracking through the hills of the course, along with communications to all rest areas and race headquarters, all without cellular or internet.. And its not all work, we have fun testing out new methods and modes through these events. 5 - dozens of different things to do in this hobby. I haven't even touched on the global communications aspect of it. There's something cool about talking to a person in New Zealand using no infrastructure - just a radio and an antenna you built to go along with it. Just as cool is taking a portable HF radio and an Eeepc on a backpacking trip, setting up a low-powered station and doing digital chat with people across the country. Here's a not-so-cheesy video advertising Field Day a few years back that shows a few things possible: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=varHL752Odk Cost of gear: With the introduction of cheap radios from new Chinese manufacturers in the past few years, getting into the hobby is cheaper than it has ever been. A cheap Handheld Transceiver ("HT") that covers the popular local frequencies can be found for $50-$100, and with the repeaters we have in town that is all you need to get started. Mobile radios (also used as a base radio) tend to have about 10x the power and start in the $200-$300 range, plus the cost of an antenna. Of course, as you add features, power, and frequencies the cost goes up and the sky is the limit. One nice thing about the hobby is that the gear does not depreciate in usefulness the way a lot of tech gear does (like your computer or phone). The mobile radio I put in the space is a model from the mid 90's. So - if you've made it this far in the email, drop me a line and let me know that you'll be there! (feel free to email me questions as well) Cheers, -Corey (ham callsign KB9JHU) Other links to study with: http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed http://www.hamradioinstructor.com/guides.html -- Corey Shields _______________________________________________ Bloominglabs-announce mailing list Bloominglabs-announce at bloominglabs.org http://www.bloominglabs.org/mailman/listinfo/bloominglabs-announce _______________________________________________ Bloominglabs-announce mailing list Bloominglabs-announce at bloominglabs.org http://www.bloominglabs.org/mailman/listinfo/bloominglabs-announce -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.bloominglabs.org/pipermail/bloominglabs-announce/attachments/20130228/9e4ee006/attachment.html From cshields at gmail.com Thu Feb 28 08:31:00 2013 From: cshields at gmail.com (Corey Shields) Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2013 08:31:00 -0500 Subject: [Bloominglabs-announce] Ham Cram - Sat. March 2nd In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Just to close the loop on this, I've gotten a lot more responses (thank you!) and we'll hold this on Saturday. Testing will still be offered Sunday the 10th (or the first saturday of any month). Cheers, -Corey On Tue, Feb 26, 2013 at 10:38 AM, Corey Shields wrote: > Hi all, > > I've had 1 response - will decide tomorrow night if there is enough demand > to do this on Saturday. Another option would be to spread it out over > some wednesday nights (one per test element maybe?) but my wednesday nights > are not very consistent. So, please let me know soon if you were planning > on attending. > > Thanks, > -Corey > > > On Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 9:01 PM, Corey Shields wrote: > >> Hi all! >> >> tl;dr - if you are interested in learning about amateur radio (ham radio) >> and getting a license, keep reading. >> >> Saturday, March 2nd, 9am-5pm I'm going to offer a 1-day "ham cram" at the >> space where I attempt to cover everything you need to know to pass the >> Technician class license exam. Some people follow these cram days >> immediately with a testing session, but we have another group, a Monroe Co >> CERT team, looking to do a special testing session in March as well. >> Amateur radio testing is not done by the FCC these days but by Volunteer >> Examiners (VE's), that are vetted by a couple of authorized organizations >> to administer tests. It takes a minimum of 3 VEs to administer an exam >> session. So, to avoid stretching some of these guys too thinly I'm going >> to forego any testing as they will already be offering a special session in >> March. This will be on Sunday March 10th at 4:30pm (logistics below). >> This gives you a chance to listen to me for a day and try to soak it all >> in, and have a week to practice and brush up on flash cards online. If >> that date does not work, they also do testing the first Saturday of every >> month in Bloomington at noon (I can get details if you'd like) >> >> Logistics: >> >> There is a lot to cover and it will be a long day, so we will start early >> (9am) and promptly on 3/2. The class is free, though I will ask that if >> you are not a Bloominglabs member you make a donation to help pay for the >> use of the space (which you can do in person or through paypal at >> http://www.bloominglabs.org ). I will arrange for some pizza to be >> delivered so please bring a few bucks for that, and PLEASE RSVP to me >> directly (even if you don't need pizza) so I know how many are coming and >> can arrange the space accordingly. The next available test will be on >> 3/10 at 4:30 (registration opening at 4:00) at the Maple Grove Christian >> Church, 1503 W Simpson Chapel Rd. I am told that "the meeting room is in >> the building next to the airplane" which I can only hope is a literal >> interpretation. There are NO MORSE CODE requirements to ANY amateur radio >> exam since 2003. Testing is $15 (not refundable if you fail), and when you >> pass you will typically get your callsign through the FCC ULS database >> within a few business days and then are legal to transmit. Also required >> is a photo ID and SSN or FCC FRN. More details on that at >> http://www.arrl.org/what-to-bring-to-an-exam-session >> >> About the test: >> >> The nice thing about amateur exams is that the entire question pool (and >> answers) are publicly available. For the technician exam there are 35 >> questions from a 394 question pool. Don't let that number scare you, there >> are a lot of questions that are repetitive in topic. A lot of them cover >> electronic topics that many of you know already (ohm's law, anybody?). >> Since the question pool is public, there are plenty of online practice >> exams and flash card style sites. My recommendation is >> https://hamstudy.org/browse/E2_2010/T1 Basically, you can in fact >> "study to the test" and pass. If you fail, you're out $15. Don't sweat >> the test! There is no age requirement to getting a license, and I won't >> put an age requirement on the session - though this is a "cram" session and >> as such I'll be going through topics quickly. >> >> Why Ham Radio and Bloominglabs? >> >> I have many reasons for proselytizing ham radio: >> >> 1 - Amateur radio gives you a license to experiment in various radio >> waves (within certain boundaries, of course). This goes hand in hand with >> the Hackerspace movement. For example, there are radio shields for Arduino >> that would allow you much longer range communication, albeit slower, than >> with wifi. >> >> 2 - It is another way for hackerspace members to communicate! Sure, IRC >> and email are great; radio gives you all a chance to chat on the air as >> well. >> >> 3 - A more selfish reason, I am the emergency coordinator for Monroe >> County ARES (amateur radio emergency services). Along with a very similar >> RACES organization (radio amateur civil emergency services), we offer >> communications during emergencies and serve the county and state EMA. I'm >> always looking for more volunteers, especially as we branch out into more >> digital communications in emergency situations. Oh, and that point about >> ARES and RACES providing communications in times of emergency, that's a >> question on the test. You're getting this already.. >> >> 4 - Similarly, we do a few public service events throughout the year >> where we provide communications across an area that makes cellular >> difficult, and we always need more help. A good example being the Hilly >> Hundred bike ride, where we provide SAG vehicles with voice communication >> and GPS tracking through the hills of the course, along with communications >> to all rest areas and race headquarters, all without cellular or internet.. >> And its not all work, we have fun testing out new methods and modes >> through these events. >> >> 5 - dozens of different things to do in this hobby. I haven't even >> touched on the global communications aspect of it. There's something cool >> about talking to a person in New Zealand using no infrastructure - just a >> radio and an antenna you built to go along with it. Just as cool is taking >> a portable HF radio and an Eeepc on a backpacking trip, setting up a >> low-powered station and doing digital chat with people across the country. >> Here's a not-so-cheesy video advertising Field Day a few years back that >> shows a few things possible: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=varHL752Odk >> >> Cost of gear: >> >> With the introduction of cheap radios from new Chinese manufacturers in >> the past few years, getting into the hobby is cheaper than it has ever >> been. A cheap Handheld Transceiver ("HT") that covers the popular local >> frequencies can be found for $50-$100, and with the repeaters we have in >> town that is all you need to get started. Mobile radios (also used as a >> base radio) tend to have about 10x the power and start in the $200-$300 >> range, plus the cost of an antenna. Of course, as you add features, power, >> and frequencies the cost goes up and the sky is the limit. One nice thing >> about the hobby is that the gear does not depreciate in usefulness the way >> a lot of tech gear does (like your computer or phone). The mobile radio I >> put in the space is a model from the mid 90's. >> >> So - if you've made it this far in the email, drop me a line and let me >> know that you'll be there! (feel free to email me questions as well) >> >> Cheers, >> -Corey (ham callsign KB9JHU) >> >> Other links to study with: >> http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed >> http://www.hamradioinstructor.com/guides.html >> >> -- >> Corey Shields >> > > > > -- > Corey Shields > -- Corey Shields -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.bloominglabs.org/pipermail/bloominglabs-announce/attachments/20130228/59ea906e/attachment-0001.html