Wayne Technical Fanatics is retiring the moniker “Megalink” from the WW8TF ecosystem. A number of years ago, we acquired the domain name megalink.network because “Megalink” was a cool-sounding name and was a fun label for interests of some of the members at the time. Namely, that interest was multi-protocol linking…
Steve Stroh N8GNJ gave the Wayne Technical Fanatics a nice shout-out in Zero Retries 0229. If you aren’t familiar with it, the Zero Retries newsletter is a first-class, cutting-edge publication on amateur radio. Also, if you haven’t seen them, the first Zero Retries Digital Conference (ZRDC 2025) had some great…
The KE8LDG repeater on 442.7375 in Rittman will be off the air until further notice. To replace it, the WW8TF repeater on 442.375 is being resurrected in Rittman. Testing is currently taking place for a multimode analog & digital voice mode repeater, supporting at least FM, DSTAR, and YSF/Fusion. Currently…
It’s been almost a year since XLX330 removed transcoding into BrandMeister and it’s been almost a year since I had to restart xlxd and ambed.
WW8TF has decided to terminate some services in 2024 as part of a general clean-up of unused, inefficient, and underutilized services. Notably, the WW8TF-10 Winlink Gateway on 145.070 MHz in Rittman, OH has been shut down to free up the antenna and equipment for other things. An area alternative on…
I discovered that RT Systems’s programming cables which use an FTDI EEPOM-capable UART chip can be reprogrammed have it work perfectly as a generic FTDI serial device with CHIRP.
Kenwood in its various incarnations has been a well-known name in the radio world since the 1960s. While Kenwood is well-known specifically in amateur radio for it’s HT, mobile, and base station radios, it is also a maker of repeater radios. Most well-known from Kenwood for amateur repeaters is likely…
Some changes have been made to the Megalink Reflector XLX330. With decline in local DMR traffic and increase in YSF traffic, it has been decided to terminate the cross-mode linking of DMR BM 311070 into YSF/DMR Room #83603. The default connections have changed. DCS330A/XLX330A is still the preferred D-STAR connection…
A concept to use common, low-cost parts to mount a VHF/UHF dual-band antenna to help people who have HOA restrictions, are renters, or desire low-visibility characteristics get on the air.
For many years, the City of Rittman has graciously hosted an amateur radio repeater on the water tower north of town. It is an excellent location with a good elevation and HAAT. Unfortunately, with the shift to the state-wide radio network of local municipalities, the facilities used by WTF for…
