TrojanHam

We ended up besting our last year record. We ran 2B (battery) and it was a little challenging early on making SSB QSOs with 5w but we pulled through. Did a lot of digital this year. Could have done better but we were plagued with bad weather and thunderstorms.

Worked all bands but 10m wasn't good.

I'll check it out. I've been using Breezy Weather and have been happy with it as well.

In addition to what @shortwavesurfer has, I would like to add you go through your house and look for noise inside. I found many noisy electronic devices when I did. I suspect you are more likely to find interferences this way. The call is often coming from inside the house.

I have an OCFD which has the long leg within ~20ft of the neighborhood lines but the don't cross. I don't hear any noise but it is at about a 45° angle to the lines. I have a "kinda ugly" common mode choke I built and put up with the antenna so I can't tell you if it's choking out noise but I would suggest you use one. If you hear interference, you should contract your power company and let them know because the lines aren't supposed to be interfering (at least in the US).

Depending on your geometry and distance between your antenna and the power lines, there may be impacts on your reception and transmission. I don't know enough about thee physics, though.

I believe the band error arises when you have a frequency programmed outside the allocation (amateur vs commercial) for the radio. It must be set in the CPS as well but don't remember where but it is one of the first/early settings you should set.

I would recommend looking it up on the Bridgecom YouTube videos. They can be tedious but they also have some very useful information.

I think what you're looking for is in the Optional Settings > Key Functions tab of the CPS. After you've saved your codeplug, you need to load it to the radio.

What do you mean by "unlock?"

I have an AT-878UVII+ and I only know of 2 options available - amateur or commercial.

I figured it out.

In the settings, if you set up an email address to forward you emails, you won't receive them over the air.

I wouldn't recommend the AT-878uvII+ (or the 878uv) as a first rig. It is a good radio (I have one) but it is DMR and uses a Windows-only CPS that isn't user friendly to program the rig. Similarly, it is a bear to program on the rig. Unless you really want to get into DMR (is there activity in your area?), I would suggest the king of all HTs - the Radio Shack HTX-202 (I have one as well). They're easy to program on the rig, true FM, have a superhetrodyne receiver, are a classic, and can be found at reasonable price on eBay. Drawbacks - only 2m, big, squelch seems sensitive to some of my computer monitors, and you'll probably need to buy a wall charger and new battery.

Don't feel bad. I missed it too and it took forever to figure out. 🤷‍♂️ (see)

Yes

I'm for the preemptive de-federation.

PEF sues Employee Relations Office over worker classification

The union said the state is violating the law when "unilaterally" designating workers as management

By Molly Burke Dec 9, 2023

The Public Employees Federation filed a lawsuit against the state's Office of Employee Relations over a categorization of employees as "managerial or confidential." The union, whose president Wayne Spence, is shown in March at the Capitol, represents more than 50,000 state workers.

ALBANY — The Public Employees Federation filed a lawsuit this week against the state’s Office of Employee Relations for deeming employees as management without going through the legal classification process, the union said.

The union, which represents more than 50,000 state workers, alleges the state is violating the Public Employees' Fair Employment Act, commonly known as the Taylor Law, which requires that a public employer must go through a “detailed process” to classify an employee as managerial or confidential.

The classification requires the employer to file an application with the Public Employee Relations Board. The employee is notified and — often with PEF’s representation — given a chance to respond. The board then decides whether the position should be designated as “management or confidential” or stay within PEF’s bargaining unit, said Rob Merrill, a spokesman for PEF.

PEF claims in the lawsuit that the state Office of Employee Relations' designation of positions as “managerial or confidential was done unilaterally and without any authority.”

The lawsuit names eight employees who PEF claims have been affected by the changed designations since the current collective bargaining agreement was ratified in the summer.

The union is concerned with the process of changing a position’s designation as “employees lose all benefits of union membership” upon being deemed managerial or confidential in these positions. Merrill said the affected employees lose representation, bargaining power, union benefits including discounts, and a sense of solidarity with their coworkers.

Merrill said that the union found out about the state’s designations through a Freedom of Information Law request. PEF says the state has not been notifying the union nor, to their knowledge, the affected employees until the designation has already been made.

The lawsuit, filed in state Supreme Court in Albany, asks the court to overturn the eight named employees' designations and to order the state to follow the Taylor law.