KD0TLS: MN APRS update 12/10/22

  There have been a few big losses in infrastructure recently, both in the metro and across the state. While new additions such as KC0KUR-10 and AD0MI-1 have expanded coverage greatly in some areas, other big gateways have dropped off the map or are ailing. 

 The metro 

• The big south-east metro gateway, K0JDD-1, has been off-air for a month now. While we still have baseline coverage in the area, and KC0FXY-2 reaches fairly well, the coverage for the south-east metro is now much less robust. 
• The gateway in Apple Valley, N9MEC, continues to struggle. It's been deaf for over a week, and now hardly picks up anything more than very local traffic.

Current N9MEC coverage

 I've avoided the suggestion for new digipeaters in the metro for some time, but the apparent demise of these two stations makes a strong case for a new digipeater in Cottage Grove, or the general vicinity. The gateway coverage for the south metro has long been weak, and an RX-only gateway in Eagan would really help to make metro coverage more reliable and redundant. 

 The west 

  Once a bright spot of new growth, this area has seen a dramatic loss of coverage. 

• K1LEO-10 in Rockford has been deaf for a month now. This TX gateway remains connected to the -IS, but has stopped transmitting over RF and is no longer sending heard traffic to the servers. 
• NY0I-1, the powerful new gateway in Paynesville, went off-air a week ago. This is a huge loss, as it plays a critical role in connecting to St. Cloud.
• N0GEF-7, the new TX gateway near Annandale, has been off-air for over a week. The twin digi N0GEF-15 is a poor substitute, and it also now seems to be deaf.
• The big western digipeater KD0JOU-2 went off-air Friday afternoon. This wide-coverage station is the glue that holds the western network together. 
• Perhaps due to the loss of other infrastructure, the RX-only gateway KC0CAP-1 in Litchfield has failed to gate any traffic in a week. It remains connected to the -IS, however.

 Brainerd 

 The big TX gateway in Brainerd, W0UJ, has been off-air for two weeks now. Its RF connection to the AD0MI-1 digi in Askov promised great potential for a time. A big hole is now left in central MN coverage. 

 Conclusion 

 As always, this points to the need for redundancy in coverage. Operators may feel that they don't need to add a small digi or gateway in their area because it's already covered by another station. But when that primary source of coverage goes down, that supposedly unnecessary small station becomes critical. 

 We are in a winter season that may see serious weather, and large areas are now left with no coverage at all. Also, just as interest in APRS messaging has increased in the hobby, many RF operators now find themselves without any access to the infrastructure.