Six Meter APRS Experiment this weekend March 28th to the 30th.

[Michael Chisena]

Six Meter APRS Experiment this weekend
  March 28th to the 30th.
   
   
  Note, I’m sharing this out on a bunch of forums and reflectors, if you can answer, please do so on 

   
   
  SixMeterAPRSexperimentersgroup at yahoogroups.com
   
   
  Other wise it’s real easy to get confused and answer on the wrong forum.
  TNX
  M
   
  




















.
   
   
  Week Two
   
   
  Dudes,
   
   
  That was a way better response than I expected.
  Stations were put on the air.
  Some beaconing, some sniffing for signals.
  Way cool.
   
   
  Some of you are doing some very innovative stuff.
   
   
  A couple of the local guys here in Northern Virginia heard the truck, that’s good.
   
   
  Then this message from N0GSZ shows up in the e mail

   
   
  “I left my spectrum analyzer on 50.62 MHz with a 250
kHz span and peak-hold enabled over the weekend here
in Texas, connected to a 2m quarter-wave whip. The
peak-hold retained a spike of about -65 dBm at 50.62
(actually looked closer to 50.619) relative to
surrounding peak noise of about -74 dBm. Since the
50.62 peak and the surrounding noise peaks presumably
occurred at different times, the actual S/N should be
higher than that indicated by comparing the peak
values.”
   
   
  I think that’s stunning. No matter who’s beacon the S/A recorded.
  Something worked!
   
   
  That’s the needle in the haystack we are looking for. 
  Until more base stations are up and running meteor scatter is going to be a real hit and miss process. But once in a while everything is going to line up and zap, through it goes.
   
   
  Details.
   
   
  Beyond a doubt, I gave real short notice last week, and this note is to avoid that issue.
  Sorry about that. 
   
   
  So here is the plan, and I’m asking for input on how to make this a better success. 
  We can bounce this around the 

   
   
  SixMeterAPRSexperimentersgroup at yahoogroups.com
   
   
  ‘e mail reflector.
   
   
  Here is what I have planed.
   
   
  This is the weekend for the Timonium Maryland Ham Fest.
   
   
  http://www.gbhc.org/
   
   
  It’s one of the large ones on this side of the country.
  Got friends from New York coming down to sell and hang out.
   
   
  Anyhow here is the schedule I’m thinking about.
   
   
  I usually take the truck to work on Fridays because Washington DC traffic is so bloody awful. 
   
   
  I turn the radio on at 06:30 on Friday 28 March.
  Leave it running until 18:00 Sunday the 30th.
   
   
  During that time I’m going to be exhibiting with the AMRAD www.amrad.org team in the Exhibition Hall at the ham fest.
   
   
  My truck is going to be chirping in a parking lot someplace.
   
   
  So during this test, there will be significant mobile in motion activity.
   
   
  Figure depart Herndon (Near Dulles Airport IAD) between 04:00 and 05:00
  Arrive in the Timonium area a few hours later.
   
   
  http://www.mapquest.com/maps/Herndon+VA+20170/Timonium+MD/
   
   
  Do the show. On the trip home, I might visit my sister in Wheaton MD, got some things to drop off.
   
   
  Drive back to Herndon.
  Leave the radio on until Sunday.
   
   
  Improvments and tweeks.
   
   
  Guess what I’m asking you guys to work out is this.
   
   
  Altitude
  Do we want to use the Altitude information?
  Might come in handy for propagation testing. 
  I don’t know enough to have an opinion.
   
   
  Message Box
  On the Byronics Software there is a space to inject a message. 
  Right now I have my mobile phone number and mention the station is EXP for experimental. What should be put in there?
   
   
  Is there something we can do with the call signs to show this is a 6m experimental system? 
   
   
  Interval
  Is once every two minutes too often or not enough?
  The trucks battery seems not to have suffered during the test, so more often is not a problem.
   
   
  Other projects.
  I have more or less finished some side projects.
  Pending minor items the two base station units are done.
   
   
  Got two 100 watt base stations finished.
  This is the construction article on how it was done.
  We can nit pick about the audio pick off’s but for the moment this will work.
   
   
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/90108848@N00/sets/72157604141562372/
   
   
  They are big and clunky but the price was right.
  Not a bad use for elderly radios.
  In this photo you can see it actually catching a signal from the mobile in the truck.
   
   
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/90108848@N00/2356602104/in/set-72157604141562372/
   
   
  Used a screw driver stuck in the antenna port.
   
   
  On the mobile conversion, as of a moment ago, 344 people have looked at this.
   
   
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/90108848@N00/sets/72157604093886156/
   
   
  That’s just slick. I wonder how many people are actually thinking of building one.
  I’ve made three in the last 30 days. Two on 2m and the one on 6m.
  If anybody is going to build one, let me know how it turns out please.
   
   
  Please respond by using the 
   
   
  SixMeterAPRSexperimentersgroup at yahoogroups.com
   
   
  Forum. That way we can all stay on the same page.
   
   
  Thanks in advance.
  Mike


"You are, what you do, when it counts"  
The Masso

"Gravity, the quickest way down"  
Mayor John Almafi

"You ever drop an egg, and on the floor you see it break? 

You go and get a mop so you can clean up your mistake.  

But did you ever stop to ponder why we know it's true? 

If you drop a broken egg you will not get an egg that's new?" 

MC Hawking
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