Had My First Long Range Contact This Morning

[DeltaEchoVictor]

I spoke with a fellow named Ian on my 2M mobile this morning while taking my wife to work.  I was rather amazed, it started out as a fuzzy signal between this chap from England and another fellow from Japan. 

It was pretty fuzzy & I couldn't make out either of their call signs which is pretty disappointing, but after the fellow from Japan stopped tx, I was actually able to make contact with Ian.  We spoke about the weather & how amazed I was that I was able to make contact while rolling in my Cherokee with my 65W Yaesu.  I couldn't find a good spot to stop so we'd go from having a really good signal to having a pretty bad signal where I could only understand every 4th word or so.  It sounded at one point like he said he was out for a stroll and that we had about 30 repeater links between us.  He also said something about IRLP but I was in a bad spot and only could make out the IRLP part.  I had my radio tuned to our local simplex frequency, so I'm not really sure how that worked into having all those repeater links between us.  I need to do some investigating.

Anyway, it was exciting because I've never had a long range contact like that, & now I really want to get a base station set up.

[firetoad]

Too cool DEV!  I have no clue how that works either, especially being on simplex.  Moonbounce?   

That is what has me looking at 6M stuff until I would eventually get my General and one of those high dollar HF rigs.  I guess I should slow down though since my callsign hasn't even been posted on the ULS database yet.   

[DeltaEchoVictor]

LOL...Okay, so I just got back in the house after having a chat with a fellow from Michigan.  Also talked to the chap from England again, his call sign is M1OOO (Mike1TripleOscar). 

I believe what's going on is this...One of the local guys here (KD0ARN) has switched his Echolink link, which he has a 2M hooked up to, over on the frequency that some of us here in town uses to ragchew on simplex.  The frequency is 146.540, so I'm guessing that by him doing this it's acting as a repeater node across the internet?  Amiright?  He previously had it on another frequency, which I had no idea about.

Obviously I have only a minimal amount of experience with IRLP, if even that much.  What can I say, I need to read up.

So one of you Elmers come & tell me if the rest of you folks out there can tune in to 146.540 & chat with me over here in Missouri.  I'm guessing you probably have to get on the internet to do so?  I would be able to talk to you on my mobile, which is what I have been doing this AM, with Napoleon's node hooked up?

Too cool DEV!  I have no clue how that works either, especially being on simplex.  Moonbounce?  

That is what has me looking at 6M stuff until I would eventually get my General and one of those high dollar HF rigs.  I guess I should slow down though since my callsign hasn't even been posted on the ULS database yet.  

It's been about long enough, hasn't it?  A couple weeks or ten days is usually about all it takes.  I'd think it'd hit any day now.

[firetoad]

As guessed, 540 is dead here over the radio - no echolink, irlp, QQQQ or ABCD here.   

It's been about long enough, hasn't it?

I would have thought it has been (tested on the 17th), but things tend to slow down around the holidays.  As you said, any day now.  Thread hi-jackers unite!   

[DeltaEchoVictor]

lol...looks like we're the only ones on the thread anyway, so hijack away!

Lemme know when you get your call sign.

[Beetle]

Sounds like your getting into an IRLP node somehow. 2 Meter shouldn't reach England....lol that would be one heck of a bounce.....

[DeltaEchoVictor]

Sounds like your getting into an IRLP node somehow. 2 Meter shouldn't reach England....lol that would be one heck of a bounce.....

Yeah, that's what I thought too.

Yeah, it's a node.  In fact, I think it's an Echolink node.  One of the guys here in town hooked up his radio to it & it just happened to be the freq. I have programmed into my mobil that myself and a few of the other local guys use for simplex.  Of course I didn't know that at 5:30 this morning.   I didn't find out until later when I was sitting in the parking lot of the license bureau jawin' with a HAM club buddy, & Napoleon came on the air & I had a chance to talk to him.

It was still cool either way.  Plus it kind of got me fired up about some stuff that I haven't read much about.