KD0TLS: MN APRS update 11-26-22

  I want to take a look at two relatively new entrants to the Minnesota APRS network, and also examine some interesting traffic patterns created by other less-recent entrants. It all adds up to some spectacular advances in coverage and reliability. 

 KC0KUR-10 

 This TX gateway is located near Lindstrom, north-east of the metro. Those with good memories might recall this gateway once operating out of Pine City. While it doesn't transmit on RF often, it has proven its ability to reach the Medina gateway (W0PZT-1) and the Askov digipeater (AD0MI-1). This grants a connection to a wide area, potentially making the gateway very useful for RF-based messaging (including bulletins). As far as RX, KC0KUR-10 is handling digipeated packets from Duluth down to Faribault and Mankato, deep into Wisconsin, and west to Paynesville. Once again, we also see these gateways situated outside of the metro can handle a substantial amount of traffic from metro digipeaters due to a quieter RF environment and less packet collisions. 

 Direct coverage largely mirrors the WB0VGI-1 RX-only gateway further north in Harris. KC0KUR-10 covers I-35 down to Forest Lake, where the gateways in the north-east metro (N0MQL-1 and KG0E) take over. And the metro digipeater K0YTH-13 feeds it with metro traffic.

KC0KUR-10 direct coverage

 As always, you can click on these images to enlarge them.

For its part, WB0VGI-1 has coverage that goes somewhat further north and deeper into Wisconsin. This means that the Lindstrom gateway can leverage the RX-only gateway in Harris for RF-based messaging in areas that once had no such capability. 

WB0VGI-1 direct coverage

 Coverage along the eastern border of the state is now pretty good, though with weak spots in Wabasha and Stillwater. 

 N0GEF-7 

 Located near Annandale and Maple Lake, N0GEF-7 has been on-air for a few weeks now -- and has made a big splash. This TX gateway is paired with the N0GEF-15 digipeater, which has a smaller coverage footprint and is less reliable than the gateway. Still, the digipeater side of the pair serves to accommodate RF-only operators looking for more local coverage. 
 The TX gateway forms a formidable coverage triangle with the St. Cloud N0ANC gateway/digipeater pair and the relatively new Paynesville NY0I-1 gateway/digi. Since all three of these hear the big Litchfield KD0JOU-2 digi quite well, the digipeated coverage of these three gateways mirrors KD0JOU-2's coverage. 

 But NY0I-1 also has good connection with the Askov digipeater, and N0GEF-7 hears a lot of metro digipeaters. Of course, all three are in the range of the digipeaters in Little Falls, Green Isle, and even Mankato. 

 This makes the area an astonishing hub of traffic from most of the state, on equal footing with the metro. 

N0GEF-7 digipeated coverage

 Once a backwater region relegated to the baseline coverage provided by KD0JOU-2, this trio has created a gateway hub with vast reach. And it's backed by local digipeaters and supplemented by an RX-only gateway (KC0CAP-1) that provides redundant coverage for KD0JOU-2 and also maintains objects for the area.

 There are few areas of the state this trio can't reach with a hop or two. And the potential for expansion is exciting. Adding gateway/digis in Willmar, Waconia, or Sauk Centre would reliably expand the network to areas that have never had APRS coverage. 

 The direct coverage of N0GEF-7 isn't as impressive as the potential its ability to leverage its neighbors offers. The amount of local traffic remains low, and it's shared with the (currently impaired) K1LEO-1 TX gateway in Rockford. 

N0GEF-7 direct coverage

 This is another good example of how individual elements of the APRS infrastructure don't stand alone. They are, instead, part of a network that makes larger things possible. 

 Rumors 

 I continue to hear rumors of a new digipeater (sponsored by the Maple Grove Repeater Club) going up in Milaca. This would be a welcome expansion in a part of the state currently without even baseline coverage. It may need a new gateway in the area, though -- unless it's powerful enough to reach St. Cloud, Harris, or Isle. 

 The Ham Lake digipeater continues to remain only a plan. That would be another exciting development that would link disparate elements to the statewide network. 

 As always, the good news is that we have skilled, experienced amateurs in the community motivated enough to make things happen. 

KD0TLS: Redundancy again

  On Friday morning (11/18), the metro's W0YC-5 big gateway/digi went down. It stopped transmitting and receiving, and lost its connection to the APRS-IS network. 

 Many of you probably didn't notice. In fact, as of today (11/20) W0YC-5 is still down. I've notified N0YNT (Matt), who has access to the station at the U of M. I wouldn't be surprised if it came back into operation soon. 

EDIT: W0YC-5 started gating packets again on 11/21, and was fully restored on 11/23.

 At one time, losing W0YC-5 for even a day or two would have been a "big deal". It remains one of the elements of the core infrastructure for Minnesota's APRS network. For many years, the metro has been the hub of MN APRS traffic due to its large gating capacity and digipeaters funneling outstate (and Wisconsin) packets into the metro gateways. Before W0PZT-1 (formerly N0AGI-1) came into existence, W0YC-5 was where the vast majority of metro traffic ended up. Even after the big Medina gateway (W0PZT-1) stepped in, W0YC-5 still provided most of the direct coverage in the urban core and handled digipeated packets for roughly 1/4 of the state -- not to mention about 1/3 of Wisconsin. And it has been the major element for RF-based messaging.

 So, what changed? Why didn't the metro APRS network collapse in the absence of its major gateway? 

The answer is "redundancy". 

 We now have several decent gateways that provide coverage to portions of the metro. And, while W0PZT-1 in Medina can provide baseline coverage for the metro, the Robbinsdale digipeater (K0YTH-13) can move packets in the urban core to the gateways on the metro's edge. 

 Further, new infrastructure has sprung up outside the metro to handle local traffic and messaging without any reliance on the metro. St. Cloud has become a hub for central Minnesota traffic, bolstered by the new gateway/digi in Paynesville (NY0I-1). In southwestern MN, the TX gateway in Mountain Lake (MTLAKE) gates much of the traffic that once had to be relayed to the metro -- and also provides RF-based messaging independent of the metro's network. The big gateway/digi in Knife River now covers Duluth and the North Shore quite well. Several more examples exist on a smaller scale that add up to rural Minnesota gating the majority of its own traffic. In Wisconsin as well, a handful of gateways have been added that reduce the amount of digipeater traffic ending up in metro gateways. 

 In the Big Picture, when W0YC-5 went down, other gateways stepped up. In the east metro, K9MLS and N0ALE-10 saw their coverage move westward somewhat. At the same time, the north metro infrastructure took over areas that were normally covered by W0YC-5 -- most notably W3JF and N0KFB-1. In the west metro, K0GV-10 got a larger share of traffic in Minneapolis proper than it usually does. Even KC0FXY-2 south of Hastings provided some fill-in coverage. 

 The big metro digipeaters also played their part, shifting traffic outside the metro to places like Faribault. My own small gateway, KD0TLS-1, has seen a small uptick in messages being gated. These were probably normally handled by W0YC-5. 

 The only area that probably saw any impact from W0YC-5's absence would be the south metro. We could really use a small gateway somewhere between Powderhorn and Bloomington to bolster coverage of I-35W and snag some of the local digipeater traffic. 

 Does this mean that W0YC-5 is now irrelevant or unnecessary? NO. 

 Consider that the metro has lost the Woodbury TX gateway K0JDD-1 for well over a week now. And the K1LEO-10 TX gateway in Rockford has been down for a similar length of time. In Apple Valley, the N9MEC gateway's coverage shrinks monthly, and often goes completely deaf for a day or more. 

 While it's always sad to see any element of the metro infrastructure fade away, these losses could be compensated for if W0YC-5 was in action. 

 Although I'm sure W0YC-5 will return to the air, I'm equally sure that some other gateway or digipeater will go down in the future. Having a mega-station like W0YC-5 is the best way to cover those inevitable local losses. We need a mix of big and small solutions to make the network redundant. 

 Mega-stations like W0PZT-1, N0HOY-10, and W0YC-5 aside, much of the metro's gating capacity is provided by home gateway/digis. You don't need a 100-foot tower to make an impact on metro coverage. A unity-gain antenna on a rooftop is sufficient to cover up to a ten-mile radius. You don't need to cover the entire metro -- though some home stations come close. You don't even need an expensive and powerful rig. A simple RTL-SDR dongle or old analog scanner can be the "ears" for an RX-only gateway. Any old Chromebook or Win98 laptop can be the "TNC". You don't need to be an experienced General or Extra-Class operator to make a contribution to the amateur community. Consider KF0KFL (John), a new Tech who recently set up an RX-only gateway near White Bear Lake. That gateway now covers the intersection of I-694 and I-35E. It also gates digipeated packets across the metro. You don't need to do everything, but you can do something. That's the nature of a network. 

 And, if your own small contribution to the network ever fails, you will know that other operators will fill that gap until you can restore your station to full capacity. 

 Running an APRS gateway isn't nearly as glamorous as running an FM repeater, but it is a way to be a positive part of the local amateur community. 

KD0TLS: MN APRS update 11/5/2022

  Now that autumn is definitely here, it's a good time to look at the changes in the APRS landscape across the state. Next month, I'll do an end-of-year summary on this same topic. 

 While the metro still remains the major hub for traffic and gating capacity, some impressive developments have materialised over the past few years to challenge that situation. Southern MN used to be a digipeater-oriented network with few gateways, as was northern MN. Western MN was a void, with a few scattered digipeaters trying to cover a vast area. The few gateways that existed outside of the metro were either over-worked or under-utilised. 

 All of that has changed, however. New gateway/digi infrastructure around St. Cloud as the west in general, has allowed a vibrant and locally-created network to arise in cities and towns previously limited to APRS-IS operation. The south-west, too, gained a powerful TX gateway (MTLAKE) to supplement the shaky, RX-only gateway near Tyler. The Iron Range saw a "micro-network" spring up, anchored by a TX gateway in Ely, that moved coverage away from the shore of Lake Superior inland. Technician Class amateurs added new TX gateways around Bemidji and Cloquet that brought RF-based messaging to areas that never had that option before. And the return of the big Knife River gateway/digi twin pair created a new center of gravity in the state-wide network. 

 But let's look specifically at the more recent developments: 

• N0GEF-7 near Annandale appeared as a TX gateway a few weeks ago. Previously, it had been intermittent and frequently "deaf". It has impressive TX coverage, and reaches the metro easily. On RX, it picks up the usual digipeaters one would expect in Paynesville, St. Cloud, and Green Isle. But it also gates a substantial amount of digipeated traffic from the metro due to the lack of packet collisions in its rural location. It further opens up the possibility of new digipeaters in places like Cokato, Delano, and Becker by providing a solid path to gateway. N0GEF-7 is paired with N0GEF-15, a digipeater with a history of questionable reliability. In general, the west needs gateways far more than it needs new digis, so this is a positive step forward. 
• NY0I-1 in Paynesville has switched back to a TX gateway/digi. This moves gateway capacity further west than it has been in years. Aside from seeing more reliable gating of the Litchfield and Green Isle (KC0QNA-1) digipeaters, we now have a solid path to gateway for the Granite Falls digi, as well as direct coverage of the Willmar area. In addition, NY0I-1 has a solid hold on the Little Falls and St. Cloud digipeaters, making it nearly independent of the metro. Even better, it also picks up the MTLAKE TX I-Gate and Mankato N0PBA-1 digi, directly connecting operators within its coverage access to southern MN. Even with its western distance, NY0I-1 picks up a significant amount of digipeated metro traffic -- so it's not completely isolated. By leveraging the Litchfield KD0JOU-2 digi, RF-based messaging is now far more reliable in the area. 
• KC0FXY-2, located south-east of Hastings, has returned to the air. This TX gateway handles a significant number of metro-area packets, probably due to its isolation and ability to avoid the packet collisions found in metro gateways. But it also gates traffic from eastern WI all the way to Chippewa Falls, and supplements the Faribault and Rochester digipeaters. Its location could potentially support needed digipeaters in Red Wing and Cannon Falls. KC0FXY-2 also employs TRACE on its transmissions, something that I thought had been abandoned decades ago.
• A small, local coverage RX-only gateway has been added in Rice (north of St. Cloud. KB0HGM-10 helps solidify coverage of MN-10. 
• Although I've previously written about the new AD0MI-1 digipeater near Askov, it bears repeated mention here given the expansion of coverage it offers. While only operating for a month now, it's proven itself as a hub connecting the metro, Duluth, Brainerd, Paynesville, and the North Shore. Oh, and a substantial portion of Wisconsin, as well. If it were a TX gateway, it would have an impact on MN APRS coverage similar to the Knife River KC0MKS gateway. As it stands, it seems to reach a sufficient number of gateways to allow continuous coverage of I-35W from Forest Lake to Duluth itself -- exactly what we needed. 

There are also rumours of a digipeater in Milaca coming soon -- a project of the MGRC. This should reach the Askov digi. A gateway in Foley or Princeton would be a superior solution, however.

The losses 

 Since my last state-wide update, MN has endured some losses in its infrastructure. 

• The St. Cloud area has lost W0SV-15. This was a TX gateway that had made that area a hub of gating capacity for a wide area, and promised to eliminate the reliance of the west's growth on the metro gateways. 
• K0RQ-2, the TX I-Gate in Detroit Lakes, has been down for a few days now. This was a promising expansion of coverage that mostly relied upon Fargo becoming a west-central gating hub. 
• KE0CRR-10, a digi in Isanti and part of the WINET effort, has faded away when it is most needed. Given the expansion offered by the new N0MQL-1 TX gateway and the new AD0MI-1 digi, this digipeater would (if it were in operation) provide reliable coverage to northern Anoka County and previously abandoned areas like Milaca and Mora. 
• In North Branch, the KC0KUR-10 TX gateway has gone off-air for months now. This could have been the much-needed TX gateway to support the new AD0MI-1 digipeater, providing messaging capability to most of eastern MN. 
• In Grand Forks, the promising expansion offered by K0UND-2 and W1CDN-1 has faded away. The RF links to North Dakota's struggling APRS network are now only ephemeral. And nothing has materialised in Crookston to bolster the Minnesota side of that connection. 

The metro 

  The Burnsville digi N0KGK has finally faded away. We need a TX gateway in this area to cover the southern approaches to the metro and provide RF-based messaging to the south metro. Even a simple RX-only gateway in Richfield or Bloomington would make coverage more reliable for the south metro. A digipeater in Lakeville would also be very useful to allow greater access to the metro for the southern exurbs. 

 In the west metro, a modest TX gateway in Waconia or (even Victoria) would be a much-needed expansion of coverage beyond the baseline. The ability to send/receive messages would be a big boost to amateur EmComm efforts in Carver County. Further, the ability to reach the Green Isle digipeater with RF-based messages would be a significant step forward. 

 As far as the east metro, adding a simple TX gateway in Stillwater or Afton would expand metro coverage into eastern WI and bolster APRS coverage for marathons, bike rides, and SkyWarn activities. It would also provide the basis for our Wisconsin colleagues to add more digipeaters in the east. 

 As always, any bit of infrastructure to the north is sorely needed. Elk River especially would be a prime location for an RX-only gateway to cover the Big Lake digi and I-169. Even an HT in a windowsill (like my KD0TLS-7 station) would be a game-changer. When you have nothing, even a tiny improvement becomes important. A 5W digipeater in Blaine could bring RF messaging to a wide area. A 10W TX gateway in East Bethel could, in conjunction with the N0MQL-1 gateway, provide messaging and mobile coverage to most of Anoka County. As hams, we have a tendency to make the perfect the enemy of the good. But something is always better than nothing... and currently we have nothing.