Loose Notes 12/7/14

Just a few scattered things that I've run into lately. They don't merit a full post of their own, but worth mentioning: 

• The Columbia Heights 1.25M (220 MHz) repeater on 224.500- (114.8 PL) has considerably improved this week. The receiver has improved enough for me to "ker-chunk" it with an indoor, stock duck, 2.5W HT from here in Plymouth. The signal that comes back is S9 and clear of the noise that plagued it before. A check with the HT and the TYT TH-9000 revealed that it does, in fact, transmit clear audio. N0FKM (Dan) has struggled with this repeater for some time, but he's finally found the issue, judging from the results. The 224.500- joins Dan's other 1.25M machine on 224.660- (100.0 PL) on the band. This makes seven 1.25M repeaters now functioning in the metro, with varying levels of coverage. There's an inside joke that there are more repeaters now than there are people with 1.25M rigs. I don't think that's true, because there are people with Kenwood TH-F6A's that have 220 TX capability, and there are others with dual-band Chinese HT's that cover the band, too. There's also EchoLink on the .660 machine, and there are schemes afoot to cross-band link other machines to 1.25M. So you don't even necessarily need a 1.25M rig to join in the effort to save the 220 MHz band for ham radio. It's "use it or lose it", and you're licensed to use the band, right?

 

• Though it's been a tough time in the personal lives of the two-man team responsible for the LSAC network in northern MN, there are positive developments. The Grand Marais 147.360+ (114.8 PL) linked repeater will be getting a new site on a disused Verizon tower, which should help improve coverage of the eastern end of the remote Superior National Forest. Also, 33cm (900 MHz) repeaters in Duluth are now linked into the LSAC system. And six-metre FM repeaters have joined the network, too! Now if we can only get that 443.325+ (146.2 PL) back into shape, the metro area will have access to the network. N0BZZ (Randy) reports that activity levels are good and that the repeaters are getting use. 

 

• K0LAV (Paul) recently told me about a new site that he has access to in Rockford, which is roughly 25 miles west from downtown Minneapolis. There's a Time-Warner cable building that's no longer used, along with a 150-foot tower (estimated). Paul has plans to put one of the links for the SuperLink network in the building, which would link the St. Cloud node to White Bear Lake. Word is that N0YNT (Matt) is mulling over some plans at the Rockford site, too. Remote receive sites, links to metro repeaters, and APRS digipeaters are possible. The site has a lot of unused antennae that need to be removed, and a lot of old equipment that's been abandoned inside. The 6GHz microwave horns sound especially daunting to remove, as they aren't small or light. There's plenty of (75-ohm) feed-line and arms for mounting antennae on the tower, once the old Yagis are taken down. No internet at the site, so EchoLink, AllStar, and APRS gateways aren't happening. But there's potential for some exciting developments to the west of the metro area in the future. 

 

• I heard the NCO on the HandiHam net Thursday talking about a new trend in amateur radio: micro-nodes and nano-nodes. It wasn't clear to me how the whole thing worked, but I'll mention it in case someone else knows more about it and feels like writing something up for the blog. The idea is that you use a sub-1W HT in your home that's linked to something like an IRLP thin client, allowing you to walk around your place and talk to IRLP-linked machines around the world without creating RF interference with your neighbours or requiring an exterior antenna. More information is here, along with a $500 0.2W UHF FM simplex client with built-in IRLP and EchoLink. There are only about a half-dozen IRLP nodes in MN, but the idea is to be able to connect with machines all over the world -- from Antarctica to New Zealand, from Armenia to Bermuda. IRLP nodes use Linux and a special board -- so if this has been a barrier to adoption, then these thin clients could make the difference in allowing a wider audience of hams make use of the technology.