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Monitor audio and video streams from D24

District 24 is capable of using the Internet to transport ATV transmissions over large distances using a Streaming Media Server. The Streaming Media Server sits in a location that has a public IP address available and serves as the receive site for over-the-air ATV transmissions. The received analog ATV signal is then encoded to a streaming format at various bitrates and can then be accessed by virtually any computer on the Internet that can run Windows Media Player and has enough bandwidth available to see the stream.

Under normal circumstances, we are streaming the audio from the WØCRA 447.150 repeater. Please note that you need to have a MP3 player installed such as WinAmp or Windows Media Player to hear the stream. You can download WinAmp here.

Important to know also is that there can be a significant buffering delay (up to 1 minute) between live audio from the repeater and hearing it through the streaming server. This has to do with the fact that the Shoutcast media server wants to fill up it's 1MB buffer before starting to stream the content. Since we stream very low bandwidth audio, it takes a while for the buffer to fill up.

If you are using Windows Media Player, click here to start the stream. This will pop-up an in-browser player window and will start streaming right away.

If you'd like to listen to the MP3 audio stream using WinAmp, please click here.

You may also manually enter the following URL into your MP3 streaming audio player to start the stream: http://stream.aresd24.org:8000

Packet Operations and Download Packet Software

Photo by W6AUN Our group has standardized on a software package called RCWinPacket for packet operations. It allows for off-line message creation and is lightweight in that it will run on pretty much any computer running Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP or 2003. To download it, click here.

Please note that by default, the program is configured to operate with a Kantronics KPC-III+ TNC. If you have a different TNC, take a look in the RCWinPacket program directory (usually c:\program files\RCWinPacket) and see if you can find a filename that includes the type of TNC you have. Then open the RCWinPacketStartup.txt file in NotePad to remove the * (asterisk) character in front the of the filename you would like to use for your TNC and put a * (asterisk) character in front of the filename that you no longer wish to use. Don't forget to save the RCWinPacketStartup.txt file before exiting NotePad. Next time you start up RCWinPacket, it will use the configuration file you selected.

If you have a Kenwood D-7, D-700 or TS-2000, you will find that RCWinPacket does not support it out of the box. To use the Kenwood rigs with built in TNC, you will need to download the correct configuration files by clicking here. Unzip the files and make sure to put these files in the RCWinPacket program files directory and overwrite the RCWinPacketStartup.txt file with the one supplied in the zip file you just downloaded (usually all files can be found in the c:\program files\RCWinPacket directory). No other changes are needed. RCWinPacket will then automatically select the correct Kenwood initialization file when you start it up.

You may want to customize the RCWinPacketStartupD700.txt file to add the MYCALL MYMCALL MYALIAS and BTEXT parameters with your callsign and appropriate SSID. If your TNC needs a hard reset, starting up RCWinPacket will then automatically set ALL parameters back in a jiffy rather than having to remember which parameters you will have to set by hand.

We recommend the following convention for console callsign (parameter MYCALL), mailbox (parameter MYMCALL (Kenwood) or MYPBBS (Kantronics)) and digi (parameter MYALIAS) call signs: The console (for keyboard to keyboard communications) is usually your full callsign without any added station identifiers (e.g. AB0WV). The mailbox is usually your callsign with an SSID of 1, which results in something like this: AB0WV-1. The digipeater is usually the suffix of your callsign, which in the case of AB0WV reads WV. Please set your appropriate TNC parameters to reflect these settings using your own callsign.

For those running on MS-DOS, you can still download the ARESPack software by clicking here.

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Installation instructions for Anderson Powerpoles

The standard power connector for the ARES/RACES group in district 24 is the Anderson Powerpole. Click here to read an article about how to install Anderson Powerpoles. These connectors are inexpensive and can be easily obtained by ordering them from various vendors on the Internet. The connectors are genderless and easy to install. Various types exist to fit your power needs. Check our Vendor links section (click on Links on left) to find vendors that sell Anderson Powerpoles and compatible products.

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Building J-pole Antennas for 2 meters

These are plans for constructing two types of portable J-pole antennas from readily available materials. Click on the small image for a full-size view of each J-pole.
  • J-pole constructed from 300 ohm twinlead.
  • J-pole constructed from 450 ohm ladder line.
  • J-pole constructed from 1/2" copper pipe.

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