The BARRA Tech Net
Buffalo Amateur Radio Repeater Association
The BARRA Tech Net was started as a weekly gathering place for hams in Western New York to discuss the technical side of amateur radio. While many on-air nets focus on traffic handling, ragchewing, or public service, the Tech Net was designed specifically for exchanging ideas, sharing knowledge, and answering questions about the equipment, modes, and innovations in the hobby.
Hosted on the Buffalo Amateur Radio Repeater Association’s repeaters, the net provides an open forum where hams of all experience levels can check in, learn something new, and share their projects. Over time, the Tech Net has covered a wide range of subjects, including:
Linking systems such as AllStarLink, EchoLink, and Hams Over IP
Digital voice modes (DMR, Fusion, P25, FreeDV)
Satellite and space communications, including contacting the ISS
RF infrastructure such as station grounding, antennas, and simulcast repeaters
Modern ham-adjacent technologies like SDR, ADS-B, Meshtastic, HamClock, APRS, and weather systems
The net runs Wednesday nights at 8:00 PM Eastern, with rotating topics and occasional guest speakers (such as Ted, WA2HKS, describing the technical design of the WA2HKS simulcast system). Each net includes a short topic preamble followed by discussion questions to encourage check-ins and participation.
The BARRA Tech Net continues to grow as a resource for hams in Buffalo and beyond, promoting technical learning, experimentation, and fellowship over the airwaves.
Showing 5–8 of 9 results
Past BARRA Tech Net Topics
most all past nets incude an archive of the presentation and audio
RTL-SDR and SDRTrunk
Tonight’s BARRA Tech Net dives into one of the most powerful and affordable tools available to today’s radio hobbyist: RTL-SDR and SDRTrunk. Whether you are new to software-defined radio or already experimenting with digital systems, this session will show how a...
Windstorm After-Action & Station Preparedness
The next BARRA Tech Net will focus on the recent Western New York windstorm that brought gusts nearing 70 mph and challenged many amateur radio stations across the region. This session will give members an opportunity to share how their antennas, towers, and mounting...
New Year’s Eve Open Forum
You are invited to join the BARRA Tech Net New Year’s Eve Open Forum as we gather on the air to close out the year together. This net is an open, relaxed conversation where you can listen in, check in, and participate at whatever level you are comfortable. Operators...
Christmas Eve Open Forum
The BARRA Tech Net Christmas Eve Open Forum is a relaxed, informal net designed to give members and guests an opportunity to get on the air, check in, and take part in open discussion during the holiday week. Unlike a typical Tech Net with a scheduled presentation,...
Can a Baofeng Save the World?
Emergency Communications – Talking Points Outline Purpose of Discussion Explore practical, realistic emergency communications Focus on what the average ham operator can do Serve as a springboard for future emcomm discussions Not a survival fantasy or gear showcase...
Your Most Useful Radio Tip or Trick
This week’s BARRA Tech Net is all about sharing the little things that make a big difference in our radio lives. As participants, we’re each bringing one simple tip or trick that has helped us become better, more organized, or more effective operators. It might be a...
Introduction to SDR Dongles
Tonight’s BARRA Tech Net focuses on Software Defined Radio (SDR) dongles, one of the most affordable and versatile tools in modern radio. An SDR dongle, such as the popular RTL-SDR based on the RTL2832U chipset, turns any computer into a wide-band radio receiver...
Thanksgiving Eve Net 2025
Tonight’s BARRA Tech Net is a special Thanksgiving Edition, focused on gratitude, community, and the things we appreciate both in amateur radio and in our everyday lives. Instead of a technical topic, we’re opening the floor for operators to share what they’re...
Your Journey Into Amateur Radio
This evening, we’re focusing on how we all got here—the personal stories behind our amateur radio callsigns. What first inspired you to get your license? Was it curiosity, emergency communications, a friend or family member, or maybe a fascination with radios,...
HamClock
HamClock is a versatile, interactive clock and information display designed for amateur radio operators. It can run on devices like the Raspberry Pi, desktop computers, or even ESP32-based displays. HamClock provides real-time UTC and local time, DX cluster spots,...
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