Perry County Amateur Radio Society
Resources
Useful amateur radio resources for licensing, operating, repeaters, digital voice, portable operation, emergency communications, and getting on the air.
There is no shortage of amateur radio information on the Internet.
Finding the useful parts can occasionally be the challenge.
This page collects resources that PCARS thinks are useful for learning, operating, experimenting, and finding reliable information.
It isn’t intended to contain every amateur radio link ever created.
That way lies madness.
Licensing and FCC Resources
FCC Amateur Radio Service
The Federal Communications Commission is the regulatory authority for amateur radio in the United States.
The FCC Amateur Radio Service pages contain licensing and regulatory information for U.S. amateur radio operators.
FCC Examinations
The FCC examination page explains the U.S. amateur-radio license classes and written examination elements.
FCC Amateur Radio Examinations
FCC CORES
The FCC Commission Registration System is used to manage an FCC Registration Number and related FCC account functions.
Studying and Finding an Exam
HamStudy.org
HamStudy provides study tools, practice exams, and current question pools for amateur-radio licensing.
HamStudy Exam Sessions
HamStudy also maintains a searchable listing of amateur-radio examination sessions, including in-person and remote sessions.
PCARS Learn
The PCARS Learn section walks through the process from figuring out what amateur radio is through making your first contacts.
Operating References
ARRL Band Plan
The ARRL band plan provides voluntary band-planning information intended to help operators avoid interference between incompatible operating activities.
Remember that a band plan and FCC operating privileges are not the same thing.
Know both before transmitting.
ARRL Quick Reference Operating Aids
ARRL’s Quick Reference Operating Aids include the standard ITU phonetic alphabet, RST information, and other useful operating references.
ARRL Quick Reference Operating Aids
ARRL Frequency Allocation Charts
ARRL provides graphical information showing U.S. amateur-radio frequency allocations.
ARRL Graphical Frequency Allocations
Repeaters and Frequency Coordination
RepeaterBook
RepeaterBook maintains a searchable amateur-radio repeater database with filtering by location, frequency, band, and operating mode.
Mississippi Repeaters
For operators in Mississippi, RepeaterBook provides a state-specific listing.
Mississippi Repeaters on RepeaterBook
Repeater information changes.
Systems move, tones change, modes change, equipment fails, and occasionally a repeater listed as available simply isn’t having its best day.
Use repeater directories as useful references, not divine revelation carved into stone.
Southeastern Repeater Association
The Southeastern Repeater Association, commonly known as SERA, provides amateur repeater frequency coordination resources for Mississippi and other southeastern states.
SERA maintains frequency-utilization plans, coordination policies, information about the coordination process, and state-specific frequency coordination contacts.
This is particularly relevant to PCARS because our planned VHF and UHF repeaters use coordinated frequency pairs.
Southeastern Repeater Association
SERA Mississippi District
SERA maintains information and contacts specifically for repeater coordination in Mississippi.
SERA Frequency Coordination
If you’re considering building or substantially changing a repeater, SERA provides information about its frequency-coordination process.
Starting there is considerably better than finding an apparently unused frequency, declaring it yours, and waiting to discover who else disagrees.
Southeast Mississippi Resources
George County ARES
George County Amateur Radio Emergency Services maintains resources useful to operators in Southeast Mississippi.
George County ARES Frequency Guide
The George County ARES Frequency Guide provides a useful starting point for commonly used frequencies and repeaters in our part of Southeast Mississippi.
It also includes information for several DMR repeaters used by operators in the area.
George County ARES Frequency Guide
As always, verify current repeater information before assuming the programming file you found three laptops ago is still correct.
Digital Voice
Digital voice is one of those parts of amateur radio where a general statement like “my radio does digital” isn’t particularly useful.
Different systems are different systems.
Here are some good places to start.
DMR
DMR doesn’t have one universal amateur-radio network.
Different repeaters may use different networks, and some systems provide connections between networks.
That’s another reason it’s useful to understand how the particular repeater you’re trying to use is configured.
DMR-SE CBridge
DMR-SE is a C-Bridge network providing access to a variety of regional, U.S., and worldwide talkgroups.
This network is particularly relevant in our area because DMR repeaters used around Southeast Mississippi may use DMR-SE services and talkgroups.
BrandMeister
BrandMeister is another DMR network used by amateur-radio repeaters and hotspots.
DMR-MARC
DMR-MARC is another amateur-radio DMR network and maintains resources related to repeaters and DMR identification.
RadioID
DMR radios normally use a numerical DMR ID associated with the licensed amateur operator.
And Then There’s the Programming
DMR involves concepts such as:
- Radio IDs
- Talkgroups
- Time slots
- Color codes
- Static and dynamic talkgroups
- Repeaters
- Hotspots
- Network configuration
If that sounds like somebody accidentally combined amateur radio with networking, you’re beginning to understand DMR.
Before programming a DMR repeater, find out which network or networks it uses, which talkgroups are available, and how the repeater’s time slots are configured.
The fact that two repeaters both say DMR doesn’t mean they’re configured the same way.
Yaesu System Fusion
Yaesu maintains information about System Fusion, C4FM radios, repeaters, and related technology.
This is particularly relevant around Southeast Mississippi because System Fusion repeaters are in use in the region.
D-Star
Icom maintains introductory information about D-Star, including system information and compatible equipment.
D-Star is an open digital communications protocol established by the Japan Amateur Radio League.
M17
M17 is an open-source digital radio project developing open hardware, software, and a digital voice/data protocol for amateur radio.
If your reaction to digital radio is:
“Yes, but how does it actually work, and can I change it?”
M17 may be worth exploring.
Portable Operating
Parks on the Air
Parks on the Air encourages amateur-radio operation from qualifying parks and other participating locations.
POTA can be enjoyed from either side of the contact.
You can take a station into a park and become an activator, or stay home and hunt activators.
Either one is amateur radio.
Only one requires remembering where you put the folding chair.
POTA Spots and Activations
The POTA application provides current spots, activations, park information, maps, and other operating tools.
Summits on the Air
Summits on the Air encourages portable amateur-radio operation from qualifying summits.
SOTA includes both activators operating from summits and chasers contacting them.
You can therefore participate in SOTA without personally developing a close relationship with gravity.
Emergency and Public-Service Communications
Amateur Radio Emergency Service
ARRL’s Amateur Radio Emergency Service is made up of licensed amateur-radio operators who voluntarily register their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in public service when needed.
ARES is particularly relevant to PCARS because emergency communications is one of the areas in which amateur radio can provide practical community service.
SKYWARN
The National Weather Service SKYWARN program trains volunteer weather spotters to provide timely reports of severe weather.
NWS Mobile/Pensacola
The National Weather Service Mobile/Pensacola office provides weather and SKYWARN information relevant to its forecast area.
Winlink
Winlink provides radio-based email and messaging capabilities using amateur-radio pathways and supporting infrastructure.
Winlink is widely associated with emergency and disaster communications, but like any communications tool, it’s considerably more useful if you learn how to use it before the day you need it.
Repeater Building and Technical Information
Repeater Builder
Repeater Builder contains an enormous collection of repeater-related technical information, manuals, equipment information, conversion material, and other references.
This resource is particularly relevant to the PCARS UHF Repeater Project because commercial equipment often requires considerably more documentation than the front panel is willing to reveal.
Some of the information on Repeater Builder concerns older equipment.
That’s not necessarily a problem.
A great deal of amateur repeater infrastructure has discovered that retirement from commercial service was merely the beginning of its second career.
PCARS Projects
Want to see what we’re building locally?
Current projects include:
We’ll add additional projects as there are actual projects to document.
We don’t need to invent them merely to make the page longer.
This page seems perfectly capable of doing that on its own.
A Note About External Resources
PCARS links to external resources because they’re useful.
That doesn’t mean PCARS controls them.
Websites change.
Organizations change their documentation.
URLs move.
Repeaters change configuration.
Software gets updated.
And occasionally an amateur-radio website built during the Clinton administration remains online exactly as it was, because apparently HTML 3.2 is immortal.
Always verify information when it matters.
For regulatory questions, prefer the FCC itself.
For operating systems or software, check the project’s current documentation.
For repeater information, verify the system you’re actually trying to use.
Did We Miss Something Useful?
Probably.
Amateur radio is a large hobby.
If you know of a resource that would be genuinely useful to amateur radio operators in Perry County, let us know.
We’re interested in useful resources, not building the Internet’s 47,000th undifferentiated ham-radio link directory.
And if you find a broken link, please tell us.
Amateur radio websites occasionally disappear with roughly the same warning as a 20-meter opening.
Contact us at info@pcars.club.