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.
Node#: 52515
Talkgroup: 3167813
*Various Dashboards located at n2ugs.com
BARRA Tech Net Topics
most all past nets incude an archive of the presentation and audio
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,...
More Effective Use of Netlogger
Level up your use of Netlogger when you are the logging station for an amateur radio net
How to Set Up an ADS-B Station
ADS-B, or Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast, is a system used by aircraft to transmit their position, altitude, speed, and other flight data. With a simple receiving setup, amateur radio operators and aviation enthusiasts can collect this data and share it to...
Weather Stations and APRS/CWOP
Many amateur radio operators integrate personal weather stations with APRS and CWOP—the Citizen Weather Observer Program—to share live weather data over RF and the internet. APRS weather reports are transmitted via packet radio to local iGates, which forward the data...
Playing with RF Propagation Maps
Join N4NJJ and the Buffalo Amateur Radio Repeater Association (BARRA) for tonight’s Tech Net on RF propagation maps—fun, practical, and eye-opening!
BARRA-Tech Shop
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