[OZAPRS] re digi costs

[Ron Perry]

Well done Ben and Bob.   Thanks for your efforts.
Ron
vk3ecv


On Mon, 2010-11-08 at 14:35 +1030, Ben Lindner-VK5JFK wrote:
> Hi Bob and others,
> 
> there is a big hole down here in the Lower Sth East of South Aust. I
> have a digi running for many years now at another persons property. He
> does not charge me for power. I have full access to the extremely
> large shed where he keeps his speedway cars.
> 
> The club I belong is not interested in APRS so I setup the digi and
> fully funded it and maintain it.
> 
> The cost, well lets not go down that path. I enjoy APRS so we keep it
> going and travelers when down my way can have the packets digied.
> 
> At Xmas time I take the owner of the property a few bottles of red and
> that keeps him happy and so am I.
> 
> my 2cents worth
> 
> cheers
> Ben
> VK5JFK
> 
> On 8/11/2010 1:48 PM, Bob - VK5FO wrote: 
> > 
> > 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 
> > 
> > 
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