[OZAPRS] DIGI Costs - [was] Ballina area pretty dead for APRS

[Bob - VK5FO]

All,

I thought that I would chime in having recently 100% self funded a 
fill-in digi, and just go over the costs that most people probably don't 
realize!

First off, There was a hole in the VK5 Network and I have a specific 
need to track in the area, so I set about solving the problem.

I own the site, which is remote and has no 240V power so there was a 
fair bit to do.

1. Site - I own it - a huge advantage as I don't need to rely on a 3rd 
party to gain access.

2. I had to install a tower (pole) on the roof of an existing building 
to get sufficient height.  I chose to use a 6.5M Aluminum pole cost $70, 
and about another $100 to guy it.

3. I had some existing solar and batteries to power the site, but the 
batteries were 7 years old and I replaced them last week.  $200 (and I 
hope this is sufficient, otherwise I will have to double the capacity). 
  Yes, I cut corners here and will need to regularly maintain the 
batteries, but the alternatives would have meant that the site was down 
for at least another 6-10 weeks and the cost for batteries would have 
been over $600.

4. Antenna/Feed/Connectors - 6db antenna - $150, 15M RG213 - $70, $20 
for connectors and cable ties.  The whole tower/antenna/feed system was 
a compromise - I would have liked to go up another 6m, but to do so 
would be more than triple the costs.

5. I have a heap of 828's lying around but decided to use something with 
more power.  I would have had to source Rocks for them anyway.  As luck 
would have it, I picked up a 2800 Yaesu for just under $200,

6. A Tracker/Digi - TT4 - $75,  Misc cables etc another $30.

7.  Solar panel - I needed additional Solar capacity, and dropped $350 
on another panel and a Solar Regulator.

 From doing this, I can see that other sites might have more or less 
requirements in terms of equipment

OK, all up that comes in to just over $1k, not to mention the several 
trip (fuel) to site to get everything installed and working.

Sure, If I had cut a few corners it would have been cheaper, but then 
again it might not have had the coverage to provide a decent fill-in (or 
even been able to reliably hit the rest of the network).

Not complaining at all as the personal motivation for coverage was the 
primary concern, but with the recent discussions, and having fairly 
recently gone thru the exercise, just wanted to point this out.

Every (potential) site offers it's own unique challenges and I guess it 
comes down to one's desire to have good coverage and someone (or group 
of someone's) to come up with ~$1k per installed digi.

Bob
VK5FO / VK5THB

On 8/11/2010 11:55 AM, David Hopkins wrote:
> Ray,
> I have a couple (4) of FM828's
> These were given to me by VK3YHT to use in APRS service.
>
> I had one working as a fill in repeater here for a while.
>
> The major problem with it was I used a Fox Digi as the TNC.
> I soon realized the limitations of that.
>
> In the meantime I came into a few Tait trunking radios.
> These are running VK2RAP-3 and VK3ANR-1as well as the current VK4ZF-1
>
> So if the FM828 are any use they are yours. Only condition is they must
> be used for APRS (the condition they were given to me)
>
> David
>
  Lots trimmed.