Hotspot Users,

Please check the settings in your hotspot to see which Brandmeister server it’s configured to use. If you’re using 3108, make an effort to switch to one of the other US-based master servers before May 30, 2020. 
The 3108 master server is located in Atlanta so, from the standpoint of low latency/shortest round trip time, it likely provides the best results but only when communicating with others that also happen to be pointing to 3108. 

It is also their “testing/staging” server. Brandmeister rolls out newer versions of software to 3108 before to 3101, 3102, and 3103. I’m not sure how they plan to test new code in the future. Suffice it to say, the most likely reason for this move is due to the operating expense. Space in datacenters, Internet access, power, cooling, etc are not cheap! I’m not sure where Brandmeister gets their funding from - someone is paying a lot of money for the infrastructure!

What Should I Do?

Most of the repeaters and c-Bridges in the southeast use 3102 as their master server. My recommendation is that’s where you should focus your efforts on going forward.
The following information will give a bit more detail - general rule of thumb - pick the location closest to you for the best results:

Master 3101
New York
3101.repeater.net
107.191.99.14

Master 3102
Dallas, TX
3102.repeater.net
74.91.114.19

Master 3103
San Jose, CA
3103.repeater.net
74.91.118.251

Please let us know if you have any questions. The official announcement is below:

Brandmeister server 3108 being taken down effective May 30

Hurricane Irma Excitement

What does a ham, and especially an ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) member think when he or she watches a hurricane brewing in the Caribbean for 10 days? There is only one thing to think, and it can be summed up in one word—deployment. That's exactly what happened Monday when hurricane Irma finally came roaring through Georgia on her way to Cherokee County and beyond.

Monday morning, I awoke to the news that Irma was predicted to arrive sometime later that afternoon. I quickly got my morning routine out of the way, and came outside to the shack. I had no intention of setting up a net, formal or otherwise. However, when I checked my morning mail, I saw that our Emergency Coordinator (EC) Stephen, KK4YQV had sent ARES members a message to be prepared for possible deployment later in the day. 

When I identified on the TAC 1 VHF repeater, fellow hams began to check in. After a few checked in, I thought it might be good to keep a list of those checking in for future reference. Then I began a more structured system, asking for check ins, and keeping track of them with a list. It seems we had an informal net after all.

By noon, we had 21 hams check into the net, and many stayed with us until that evening. About 12:30 PM, Ken McIntire KJ4PQX and I were told to report to the Cherokee County Emergency Operations Center, the EOC at 2:00 PM. I asked Darren KK4AHX and Scotty KN4BJJ to relieve me on the net, and I made preparations to leave.

This was my first deployment to EOC, in fact this was my first deployment anywhere as an ARES member. When we arrived at the EOC, Stephen met us, and we were escorted into the bowels of the EOC to get started.

When I got to our ARES station I was pleasantly surprised. We had a very nice Yaesu FT 950 connected to an 80 M dipole on the roof. We also had an Icom for D-STAR operation, and a VHF/UHF Kenwood for the regular net. Stephen got us signed in, and gave a brief orientation of the operation. He showed us how to use the EOC software that we would use to relay incident reports our net operators sent us.

We called a formal ARES net about 2:15 PM. Ken and I took turns running the net, first on TAC 1 and then moving over to TAC 5 when the TAC 1 repeater began to show signs of possible antenna problems. It’s good to have a backup.

As it turns out, thankfully it was a very light day. We only relayed three or four incidents to the EOC before being told to stand down the net about 9:00 PM. Most of the damage seemed to be south of Cherokee County.

Considering the minimal number of reported events, was this deployment a waste of time, energy, money and manpower? No not at all! Obviously, we were glad there was not a lot of damage to report. Further, because this was my first visit to EOC I was happy not to be swamped with calls.

However, it was good practice for the next event. When will the next event occur? What will the next event be? We have no way to predict that. Nevertheless, you can count on there being another event sooner or later. When that time comes, you can also count on Ham Radio operators, and the folks at EOC to be standing by to do what we can to protect the public.

Many thanks to those 35 hams who checked into the net helping with reports. My personal thanks to Stephen for allowing me to go to EOC, and to Ken for showing me the ropes while I was there.

If you're a licensed Amateur, but not a member of ARES, consider joining. Join ARES. If you are not yet a licensed Ham, consider getting your license so you can pitch in and help us. Become a licensed Amateur. It is now easier than ever to become a licensed Amateur Radio operator.

73,
Don ~ KJ4UC

 New website launched as WX4CAR!