Indiana Emcomm Group in Debate Over Digital Switch

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With emergency communications embracing digital modes more and more, operators increasingly find themselves navigating the tricky landscape of system access and compatibility. 

In April of this year, the Dubois County Office of Emergency Management in Indiana made the decision to migrate from analogue FM to C4FM digital for their 147.195 repeater during activations. The change was made to reduce noise during operation and increase the quality of the copy.

“Our new Fusion repeater system was thoroughly tested to confirm its superior performance when using C4FM.”
— Gary Fritz, WB9LIB

When the announcement was made to the Patoka Valley Amateur Radio Club, not all the club members were enthusiastic. Since some of them did not own a Fusion-compatible radio, this decision would exclude them from emergency operations with SKYWARN.

Fritz told AR Newsline that the change has brought about the desired results in message quality, as proven by recent SKYWARN activation during severe weather.

“We found that by using C4FM, combined with a reasonable reduction in repeater transmit power, our units are now able to check in crystal clear from locations that were previously impossible.”
— Gary Fritz, WB9LIB

A number of local amateurs remain unconvinced regarding the move to digital. Reuben Montgomery, KA9RCM, told Newsline that his main concern is centred primarily on the lack of access to emergency communications by hams without Fusion radios and by visitors who are passing through the area. With the variety of digital platforms, he also sees great difficulty in picking one mode to the exclusion of all others. Regarding participation, Fritz reported that a staff of trained EMA weather spotters comprise the vast majority of those participating in local SKYWARN nets, which are 100% focused on in-county reports when they are under a warning.

Fritz also said that the public and all amateur radio operators can continue to monitor net communications through audio streaming over Broadcastify.

Broadcast Honors Armstrong's Demo of FM Radio

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Broadcast Honors Armstrong's Demo of FM Radio

Be listening on 19th June 2025 for a special FM radio broadcast celebrating Edwin Armstrong's development of FM radio. 

The callsign W2XMN is etched in cement atop the doorway of the small brick transmitter building in New Jersey, not far from the radio tower where history's first FM broadcasts began in 1938. Those steady transmissions became a reality only three years after engineer and inventor Edwin Armstrong had given a public demonstration at an engineering conference, showing that frequency modulation radio could deliver static-free sound, graced with a remarkable fidelity that was previously unheard of.

FM broadcasting will return temporarily to W2XMN's original VHF low-band frequency, 42.8 MHz, beginning at noon on Thursday 19th June. The northern New Jersey tower once used by W2XMN will broadcast a repeat of programming first aired in 2005 to commemorate Armstrong's successful FM demonstration in 1935. The content includes interviews wth Armstrong's niece, Jeanne Hammond, and with Tom Lewis, author of the book, "Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio."

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13 Colonies Event Founder Passing the Reins After 16 Years

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The 13 Colonies 2025, a popular summer operating event, will take place less than a month from now, on 1st July 9:00 AM to 7th July midnight EDT (1 July – 1300 UTC – 8th July – 0400 UTC).

This year, the event will honour founder Ken Villone, KU2US, who is passing the torch to Tony Jones, N4ATJ. Villone has led the event for 16 years by working with state and bonus station coordinators and has grown from making approximately 12,000 contacts in 2009 to making 292,496 contacts around the world in 2024.

This year, one station will be operating in each of the 13 original British colonies, K2A–K2M, along with three bonus stations — WM3PEN, Philadelphia; GB13COL, England; and TM13COL, France — each representing their city, state, or country’s role in America’s colonial period. 

Villone said event actually started in 2008, right after he finished participating in the ARRL Sweepstakes.

“I remembered how fun it was, but I could not figure out why there were not more of these types of special events on the air,” said Villone. “So I decided to try my luck and create one, for one year only, to see what happens and to have some fun. I knew we had to offer a special QSL card and/or certificate, plus have on hand a printer and supplies. The hard part was deciding what the event would commemorate and when to do this. I needed a theme that all could relate to, and the event would have to be the type with multiple event stations involved, like the ARRL Sweeps.

Then it hit me...13 colony states, during the 4th of July week and offer a certificate with the theme for the year. I made sure the theme was different each year with a different certificate design, to make it interesting and to also make the cert collectable. The theme would highlight some event or thing connected to the American Revolution.

The inaugural event was held from July 1st to 4th, 2009, 4 days, with no advertising except on QRZ. I had a hard time getting 13 different ops, one from each colony state, but it worked out. All in all it was a success!”
— Ken Villone, KU2US

Amateur radio operators and SWLs can participate in the event. Complete information about the call for each colony station and the bonus stations can be found on the event website or on Facebook at 13 Colonies Special Event Community.