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Re: [HamWAN PSDR] Request for onsite HamWan signal strength test (John Spady)
by Mark Weisenfeld 01 Feb '18

01 Feb '18

John Spady <jspady(a)mac.com> Request for onsite HamWan signal strength test (John Spady) I'm still getting used to where all these antennas are located. I disagree with nothing Carl says below, but here are some tools to use on Haystack and some fun. Can someone get me coords for Beacon and the ones that are not on prominent, easy to locate, hilltops? The 3D view of Google maps shows you have line-of-sight to Haystack. But http://www.heywhatsthat.com/profiler.html seems to think there is something immediately in the way. However, it also shows a ridge at 8-9 miles that could be a challenge, and little help from 5.8 Ghz refraction. [image: Inline image 1] > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: John Spady <jspady(a)mac.com> > To: psdr(a)hamwan.org > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2018 19:57:29 -0800 > Subject: [HamWAN PSDR] Request for onsite HamWan signal strength test > Hello folks, I had a person (whose name I can’t recall unfortunately) come > out to my condo building a short time ago and take signal strength reading > to various HamWAN sites in the area (gold/beacon/and haystack). But my > original plans for the antenna location have changed and I really need > someone with a portable system to visit again and take some readings from a > new location on my condo roof. > > I live at 2801 1st Ave, in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle. > > I could also use a materials inventory list or an Elmer kind enough to > stop by and help me figure it up. > > I will compensate for someone’s time if that would help get someone here. > > Thank you. > John WA7UAR > 206-465-6963 > > Sent from my iPhone ;-) > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Carl <carl(a)n7kuw.com> > To: "'Puget Sound Data Ring'" <psdr(a)hamwan.org> > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2018 20:29:12 -0800 > Subject: Re: [HamWAN PSDR] Request for onsite HamWan signal strength test > John, > > If you still have line of sight from the new location, the signal strength > should be virtually identical to what you had before (given the same type > of antenna). The real question is if you will have line of sight to at > least one of those locations (that's all you want to shoot to). So, > standing at your new antenna location, look and see if you can actually see > (visual) each of those destinations. Of course, clouds and weather may > prevent you from actually seeing it, but you should be able to look in that > direction to determine if there is anything blocking. > > As to actual signal strength, that will depend on what antenna you use. > You have several choices from a 30dbi dish to a 19dbi panel. The higher the > dbi number, the more gain, hence more signal strength, you will have. > > What type of antenna did the person who came out before use? Was it an > actual dish (round or oblong), was it a flat panel roughly 12" square, or > was it a flat panel roughly 4" square? The smaller should work well for > Beacon. The larger 12" flat panel should work for Gold and maybe for > Haystack. A 30dbi dish will absolutely work for Haystack. > > Attached is a screen capture of Google Earth with bearing lines to each of > the following from the center of your roof, going clockwise - Haystack, > Capitol Park, Beacon, Gold. From where you plan (are able to) mount your > dish, which of those is the best to use? > > If you got a decent signal from a previous test, I have no doubt you can > get a good signal from another test. The real question is exactly where > will you mount your antenna, what will it be mounted to (how secure), how > much clearance is there around it, and what (if anything) is in the way of > one of the paths on the attached screen captures? > > Shooting to Beacon is probably your best option if you have a clear path. > That is close by, so much stronger signal (and smaller antenna needed), > plus it has paths to Baldi, Gold and Haystack - so lots of redundancy. > Shooting to Gold would be my second choice. Shooting to Haystack would be > my third choice, and shooting to Capitol Park my fourth choice. The last > two have less reliability than the first two (longer shot to Haystack, > Capitol Park shoots to Haystack so is just one more thing in the middle of > going to Haystack). > > For Beacon, the two buildings directly to your south might be the > obstacles you have to avoid. If you can get past/over them, you should have > no problem. One of the small 4" square panels mounted on top of a pole as > high as you can get it might serve your purpose. > > I'm happy to stop by some day with a 12" and 4" panel to test with. I've > got a bigger dish, but it is cumbersome and hard to move. If you'll cover > the cost of parking, I'll make the trip. > > Carl, N7KUW > > -- ****************************************** Mark Weisenfeld K7TUM Tumwater, WA **************************

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Request for onsite HamWan signal strength test
by John Spady 31 Jan '18

31 Jan '18

Hello folks, I had a person (whose name I can’t recall unfortunately) come out to my condo building a short time ago and take signal strength reading to various HamWAN sites in the area (gold/beacon/and haystack). But my original plans for the antenna location have changed and I really need someone with a portable system to visit again and take some readings from a new location on my condo roof. I live at 2801 1st Ave, in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle. I could also use a materials inventory list or an Elmer kind enough to stop by and help me figure it up. I will compensate for someone’s time if that would help get someone here. Thank you. John WA7UAR 206-465-6963 Sent from my iPhone ;-)

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Need advice.
by Mark Tellez 24 Jan '18

24 Jan '18

Hello, I am wanting to get some advice on the equipment I need to get onto Hamwan. I have read the information on the website and attended a presentation back in the fall to the Seattle ACS group. It was my understanding that some of the suggestions on the list were no longer current or available. I am considering the LHG 5 antenna but the cost on the website is about 3 times the cost noted on the HamWan site so....Suggestions? Thoughts? Mark ------------------------------ [*NOTE*: This E-Mail message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain FOUO, confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is PROHIBITED. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and DESTROY all copies of the original message.]

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Microtik SXT HG5
by Patrick 01 Jan '18

01 Jan '18

I have a Microtik SXT HG5 that I was using on the HamWan from Capitol Hill. https://mikrotik.com/product/RBSXTG-5HPnD-HGr2 If anyone is interested in the hardware ping me off list. Thanks! W7PEA - Patrick --- www.DeepPlaya.com | www.w7pea.us

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Rack PDUs available
by Tom Hayward 27 Dec '17

27 Dec '17

Anybody want these PDUs? They came installed in the racks HamWAN bought a while back. I have six of them I uninstalled from the racks. We don't have any use for them. Tom

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datacenter connection
by Dylan Ambauen 21 Dec '17

21 Dec '17

While considering installing a wireless link from another datacenter in Tukwila, Wowrack, I noticed that Wowrack appears to be in the same Sabey facility as Digital Fortress. Just reaching out to see if I can help strengthen HamWAN in any way, while working on some projects with PNW DMR. Perhaps I could even offer another route out, my datacenter guys are fairly willing to help. --- Dylan KI7SBI

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sector shields
by Rob Salsgiver 20 Dec '17

20 Dec '17

What are we using for sector shields these days now that the previous ones are seemingly unavailable - or are they back now? Cheers, Rob

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Haystack-S3 Sector Outage
by Nigel Vander Houwen 17 Dec '17

17 Dec '17

Evening Everyone, This afternoon the team got an alert regarding Haystack-S3 being unavailable. We’re not certain the exact cause, but it’s looking like the modem has failed. Unfortunately, Haystack-S3 had a few folks associated, so there will be some loss of service until we’re able to replace the modem. The rest of the site is online, including our PTP links, so Haystack is still serving as part of the backbone network connecting a number of other sites. Thanks, Nigel

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Baldi Outage
by Nigel Vander Houwen 07 Dec '17

07 Dec '17

Good Morning Everyone, Earlier this morning the netops team got notice that our gear up at Baldi became unavailable. At this point we’re not certain the cause, but it looks like the site hasn’t lost power, and the evidence so far is pointing to a UPS failure. We’re looking into what gear we’ve got as replacements available, and figuring out what the next steps are in terms of getting Baldi back online. In the meantime, unfortunately, Baldi will be unavailable. Thanks, Nigel

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Wind Storm Update
by Nigel Vander Houwen 13 Nov '17

13 Nov '17

Hey HamWAN Folks, I wanted to give a quick update on how we’ve weathered the wind so far. Very early this morning (~2AM Pacific), Gold Sector 3 went unresponsive. It appears the site saw a power blip, and everything else came back, but sector 3 didn’t. I’ve tried further power cycles to see if we can sort it out, but there’s been no luck so far. I’m not sure if there was anyone on sector 3 specifically, so hopefully the loss isn’t felt too greatly there. We’ll have to keep fiddling to see if we can bring it back, or if it will need more of an intervention. Early this afternoon Baldi lost commercial power. This fall a group of folks went up to install a large battery backup for our gear there, and the last number of hours on battery have barely scratched the surface. I’m extremely pleased with the new backup capacity there given the power issues we had last year at Baldi. We turned off the camera to save a little power, but otherwise the gear is fully operational. Capitol Park had a commercial power outage this afternoon, that resolved a short time ago. A few weeks ago we were able to get a bit of backup battery capacity for the HamWAN gear installed here as well, and it nicely carried us through the outage. Overall I’m very pleased with seeing a couple of our sites lose commercial power today, without having impact to the gear. As such, I’d like to again give a big thanks to the folks who’ve volunteered their time and resources to the betterment of HamWAN. Thanks everyone! Nigel

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