[OZAPRS] Ballina area pretty dead for APRS

[dave at hunterlink.net.au]

Ray/all

High from a lurker/shirker.

I've been in Cairns for  8 months following 15 in Wooli (near Grafton).
Since these were only 'temporary moves' as part of a 'Work around Aus'
plan, and I had to take enough work tools and personal stuff to overfill
the 4WD and Camper Trailer, I haven't carried any Amateur gear with me
(not that I've ever been very 'active'). My gear is still in Newcastle,
and I'd gladly donate anything that could be useful.

Ray, it's good to have an update every now and then. And thanks for your
efforts over many years!

Anyone contemplating digi's or gates, put your 'wish list' out there, we
may be able to help.


Dave



> Hi Shaun/All,
>
> It was the loss of the major packet hub on Mt Sugarloaf (Newcastle) that
> started the demise of the packet network for northern NSW. The rent
> jumped to $5000 per year, from memory, when the government decided the
> user must pay.
>
> Home based digis are not without problems either, but are still a
> possibility in some cases. A couple of issues to face up here would be;
> 1. finding an amateur living in a suitably high location who is able to;
>      a) access the nearest digi (vk2rmc-1 around these parts) or,
>      b) has decent internet access to be able to provide a gateway
> (broadband is not universally available),
>      c) is prepared to run the equipment 24/7 and,
>      d) suffer desense to other 2m equipment (if they use 2m).
>
> Just thinking about some "local" towns ...
> Macksville - poor coverage due to low elevation but could access
> vk2tmc-1 from many locations.
> Nambucca Heads - the town proper would provide good fill-in but most
> residences are not on the ridge where the town is located (mobiles
> easily access vk2rmc-1 from the town area).
> Urunga - the water reservoir is a reasonable site but it's owned by
> local government (enough said) (could probably access vk2rmc-1 from
> water tower).
> Coffs Harbour  - mostly in a hole, being that it's surrounded on three
> sides by The Great Dividing Range (no access to vk2rmc-1).
>
> I wouldn't consider looking further north due to distance from here
> (Coffs is 120km away). I can't for the life of me remember the name or
> callsign of the  guy who installed a packet digi south of Graftion some
> years back. Bob, I think, but that's the extent of my memory.
>
> Nambucca Heads has a couple of potentially interesting sites in the town
> that I "might" be able to gain access to that I'll plot for coverage.
>
> Steve vk2sl is going to install a digi at his place behind Telegraph
> Point. We've plotted and surveyed the site which will cover Port
> Macquarie and fill in the Pacific Highway down to about Kew, leaving a
> small gap from there to Coopernook. Some Wauchope coverage as well.  The
> site can access vk2rmc-1 easily and, probably also vk2uni-1. Steve runs
> a couple of properties that normally keep him busy enough but, recently,
> he took on a beast and lost, leaving himself badly injured. We'll have
> to await Steve's recovery before that project can continue.
>
> Ray vk2tv
>
>
> On 08/11/10 06:49, Shaun wrote:
>> Hi Ray,
>>
>> Ahhh yes, the good old cost of the site.  We went through the same thing
>> in
>> Sydney re a repeater site that just became to expensive.
>>
>> I had assumed Digis would be run from the home QTH, which could be an
>> option
>> however would need close coordination and obviously would be sub
>> optimum.
>>
>> In any case you are still welcome to my junk box.  I will probably be
>> passing
>> in early Jan for the Coffs field day.
>>
>>
>>
>> 73 Shaun VK2XPP
>>
>>
>> On Sun, 7 Nov 2010 18:11:07 Ray Wells wrote:
>>
>>> Shaun,
>>>
>>> It takes a lot more than some bits from junk boxes to get a reliable
>>> digi to air.
>>>
>>> If it only required some hardware - radio, TNC, antenna, coax and power
>>> supply - there'd be lots more digis. Hardware is the easy part.
>>>
>>> The difficult part about getting a digi to air is finding a site that
>>> has;
>>> 1. affordable rent at a respectable location
>>> 2. decent access to that location, both in terms of vehicular access
>>> and
>>> no time restrictions.
>>> 3. security of installed equipment
>>> 4. power
>>> 5. building or other suitable housing
>>>
>>> Garry, vk2uni, has access to a commercial site at the "right" price and
>>> I'm fortunate to have vk2rmc-1 installed on private property that meets
>>> conditions 1 to 5 above. The rent is free, the licence is not at $63
>>> (from memory) per year. A pair of crystals for an FM828 is about $60
>>> (for reliable crystals - read Hy-Q).
>>>
>>> I look at an aprs map every day that is set to show from Forster to
>>> Grafton and out to Gunnedah. I'm probably more aware than anybody else
>>> on this list about the gaps in coverage and, there's hardly a day goes
>>> by that I don't ponder over how I can fill them, or at least some of
>>> them. One day, Shaun, one day.
>>>
>>> Ray vk2tv
>>>
>>>
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>
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