Amateur Radio - Ralph Katz (Ann Arbor, MI)
(last updated 02/14/2025) ralphkatz48105 at gmail dot com
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In an emergency, amateur radio is the last line of communications. HAMs volunteered 14,356 public service man-hours in 2008 alone. We are there to help whenever we are needed. Unreasonable antenna restrictions could hamper these efforts.
Please help us to be there when you need us by supporting PRB-1! Click here to find out more:
http://www.prb1michigan.org/
Callsign: AA8RK (vanity callsign granted 1/1/2008)
Ex-KB8ZOY - granted 1995
- Extra Class license (via Tech, Tech Plus, General 13wpm)
- Grid Square: EN82dn
- Volunteer Examiner (ARRL-VEC)
- Washtenaw County, Michigan ARES/RACES
- ARRL Emergency Communications Honor Roll (Level III)
- Skywarn Spotter credentials good through May 31, 2021.
- Public Information Coordinator, ARRL MI Section, appointed Sept, 2019
- Michigan AUXC 2/13/2025
==>Ann Arbor Ham Radio Links http://RalphKatz.pbworks.com/AnnArborHam
==>Museums with Ham Radio Stations: http://ralphkatz.pbworks.com/MuseumHamRadioStations
==>My Complete Ham Radio Links http://RalphKatz.pbworks.com/HamRadioLinks
==>Amateur Radio photos http://ralphkatz.pbworks.com/HamPhotos
Other hams in the family: spouse Deb KD8ESJ, daughter Rachel KD8GTU, daughter Naomi KD8GTV, brother Louis W0IT, brother-in-law Chuck N8DNX (SK 10/20/2020), sister-in-law Jan KC8NEW, niece Krista KD8SLO, brother-in-law Dave N8ZKF, brother-in-law Marty KD8VOV, father Joe (SK) ex-K8JZT. mother Fern (SK) KD8GTT.
- Active on phone, CW, and FT8. Antennas for 2m, 1.25m, 70cm, 10M-40M. (No antennas yet for 6M, 60M, 75/80M, or 160M).
BUT: my antennas were all taken down for multiple home construction projects, and are still down (January 2024).
Talk to me - I regularly monitor these:
Allstar 51501 - local UHF node
IRLP 8578 - local VHF simplex node (OOPS it is down)
DMR 3126615 (local node) or 3126 (Michigan statewide)
Hamshack Hotline: 6100002202
Hames Over IP: 100812
Amateur Wire: 1252
I am a member of these groups (Note that all breakfasts have gone virtual during Covid - contact me for links.):
- ARROW Communications, Inc. (formerly Amateur Radio Repeater of Washtenaw) W8RP, Ann Arbor, MI: https://www.w8rp.org
Breakfast: monthly - see the website. Also, "The Clinic": Saturdays, 8:30AM, Barry's Bagels, Westgate Shipping Ctr, Ann Arbor, MI 48103. Talk-in for both on 146.96/100.0 or 145.150/100.0. E-mail per club website for access to The Clinic via Zoom.
- Ham Radio at the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum WA2HOM, Ann Arbor, MI: http://www.wa2hom.org/
- (club disbanded) Stu Rockafellow Amateur Radio Society W8NJH, Plymouth, MI: http://www.qsl.net/w8njh/
- University of Michigan Amateur Radio Club W8UM, Ann Arbor, MI: http://www.umich.edu/~umarc/index.html
First on the air as 8XA in 1913, this might be the oldest club in the world.
- Chelsea Amateur Radio Club WD8IEL, Chelsea, MI: http://www.qsl.net/wd8iel/
- Hazel Park Amateur Radio Club H8HP, Hazel Park, MI: http://www.hparc.org/
- South Lyon Area Amateur Radio Club N8SL, South Lyon, MI: http://www.slaarc.com/
- Livingston Amateur Radio Klub W8LRK, Howell, MI: http://w8lrk.org/
- Thursday Morning Breakfasts: not a club but a tradition for 25 years - 6:00AM every Thursday, The Early Bird Restaurant, 333 E Main St, Northville, MI, 248-348-1920. Talk-in on WR8DAR Northville 443.100/82.5. Recent attendees Rick WR8W, Dan W2PUT, Jim AD8DX, Mark W8FSA, K8JK Jim. Stop in to yack and have a good breakfast.
- Quarter Century Wireless Assocation
I have this radio equipment currently operational:
ADI AR-146 FM 2m mobile 50W (packet station)
Alinco DR235 FM 220 mobile 25W (IRLP simplex node 8578)
Alinco DJ280T FM 220 HT 5W
Alinco DJS11T FM 2m HT .35W
Alinco DJS41T FM 440 HT .35W
AlphaDelta Transi-Trap surge protectors on all antenna feed cables
AMBE3000B vocoder USB stick (used for BlueDV software)
Amtek dual band base antenna
Arrow dual-band hand-held yagi antenna
Baofeng UV-5R dual-band FM HT
Bencher CW paddle
BridgeCom BCH220 FM HT 220MHz
Bulldog CW paddle
Cisco SPA-5250 VoIP desk phone (see above for configurations)
Cushcraft R7 multiband HF vertical antenna
DK9SQ Super Quick Loop portable antenna (10, 20, 40)
G5RV HF wire antenna (10-80)
Grecom PSR-600 digital trunking desktop scanner
Icom IC-7300 HF SDR base transceiver
ICOM ID-31 analog/D-Star dualband 5W HT
Kantronics 1296 TNC
Kantronics KAM Plus TNC
Kenwood TMV71A FM dualband 50W/50W (vehicle)
Kenwood TMV71A FM dualband 50W/50W (shack)
LDG Z-11 Pro automatic antenna tuner(go-kit)
MFJ 220 MHz ground plane base antenna
MFJ-817 VHF/UH SWR/Power meter
MFJ-4245MV switching power supply 45A
MMDVM DMR mini-node
Optoelectronics Explorer near-field receiver, with hi-pass, low-pass, and broadcast FM notch filters
Pico CW Keyer
Radio Shack HTX-202 2m HT 5W
RigRunner 4010S power strip (Anderson PowerPole connectors)
Sangean ATS808 portable receiver
SHARI AllStar mini-node
Tytera MD-380 DMR HT
uBitX QRP kit transceiver 10-80 10W (build in-progress)
Uniden Bearcat BC200XLT scanner
Vibroplex mechanical keyer (1946)
West Mt. Radio Rig Runner 4010S Powerpole 12v distribution strip
Wolf River Coils Silver Bullet 1000 portable HF antenna
Yaesu FT50 VHF/UHF HT 5W
Yaesu FT100D HF/VHF/UHF compact multimode transceiver 100W (go-kit)
Yaesu VX6 HT 144/220/440 5W
Other HT's tend to change and are not listed.
Completed these classes:
ARRL Emergency Communications Level I (2004)
ARRL Emergency Communications Level II (2005)
ARRL Emergency Communications Level III (2007)
ARRL PR-101 Public Relations for Radio Amateurs (2020)
IS-001 Emergency Program Manager (2002)
IS-002 Emergency Preparedness, USA
IS-003 Radiological Emergency Management (2002)
IS-005 Hazardous Materials - A Citizen's Orientation (2002)
IS-007 A Citizen's Guide to Disaster Assistance (2002)
IS-008 Building for the Earthquakes of Tomorrow (2003)
IS-022 Are You Ready? An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness (2005)
IS-029.a Public Information Officer Awareness (2020)
IS-100.c Introduction to the Incident Command System (2020)
IS-200.c Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response (2020)
IS-271.A Anticipating Hazardous Weather & Community Risk (2023 - packed with a lot more information than the previous version)
IS-393 Introduction to Mitigation (2003)
IS-700.b An Introduction to the National Incident Management System (2020)
IS-706 Intrastate Mutual Aid - an Introduction (2020)
IS-800.c National Response Framework, an Introduction (2020)
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