August 2014 - PSDR - mailman.hamwan.org

Questions from poking around Cacti view of network?
by Kenny Richards 16 Sep '15

16 Sep '15

I was going through the graphs/data available via Cacti server and had few questions. 1) What are the Rainier and Tacoma PTP links for on Baldi? Both are showing no traffic recently, are they for future growth? 2) There are three PTP links at Paine I was curious about. I'm guessing the 'Monroe' link is really Bart's client node. But is the Shoreline and 'Bruce' PTP links purpose? The Shoreline link is showing lots of traffic, is that the uplink from the Westin? 3) There seems to be a big hole in the data in the last 24 hours, any idea what happen? Seems to impact all the data sources, so probably something on the server side? Thanks Kenny

6 7

An important note on RF safety and human exposure limits
by Bart Kus 29 Aug '14

29 Aug '14

http://englishrussia.com/2012/12/23/listening-to-the-radio-with-help-of-gra… --Bart

1 0

Switch to 10 MHz channel plan ACTION REQUIRED
by Tom Hayward 09 Aug '14

09 Aug '14

We will be switching the network from the 5 MHz channel plan to the 10 MHz channel plan. This affects sectors and client nodes. Client nodes that are live on the network and have shared administration enabled will be updated automatically. Other clients will need to update their own channel list. With the following channels configured in your modem, it will scan for the new channel as soon as the old channel disappears: /interface wireless channels # Current 5 MHz plan add band=5ghz-onlyn comment="Cell sites radiate this at 0 degrees (north)" frequency=5920 list=HamWAN name=Sector1 width=5 add band=5ghz-onlyn comment="Cell sites radiate this at 120 degrees (south-east)" frequency=5905 list=HamWAN name=Sector2 width=5 add band=5ghz-onlyn comment="Cell sites radiate this at 240 degrees (south-west)" frequency=5890 list=HamWAN name=Sector3 width=5 # New 5 MHz bandwidth in 10 MHz channel plan (first channel is identical to old 5 MHz plan) add band=5ghz-onlyn comment="Cell sites radiate this at 0 degrees (north)" frequency=5920 list=HamWAN name=Sector1-5 width=5 add band=5ghz-onlyn comment="Cell sites radiate this at 120 degrees (south-east)" frequency=5900 list=HamWAN name=Sector2-5 width=5 add band=5ghz-onlyn comment="Cell sites radiate this at 240 degrees (south-west)" frequency=5880 list=HamWAN name=Sector3-5 width=5 # New 10 MHz bandwidth in 10 MHz channel plan add band=5ghz-onlyn comment="Cell sites radiate this at 0 degrees (north)" frequency=5920 list=HamWAN name=Sector1-10 width=10 add band=5ghz-onlyn comment="Cell sites radiate this at 120 degrees (south-east)" frequency=5900 list=HamWAN name=Sector2-10 width=10 add band=5ghz-onlyn comment="Cell sites radiate this at 240 degrees (south-west)" frequency=5880 list=HamWAN name=Sector3-10 width=10 For optimal performance, some sectors will continue to use 5 MHz bandwidth on the new 10 MHz-plan center frequencies. Add all the above channels to ensure your modem will connect in this situation. This change will be implemented in 7 days, August 9th. Please update your configuration before then for a smooth transition. Tom KD7LXL

3 7

Haystack coming up as a 2nd gen site
by Bart Kus 01 Aug '14

01 Aug '14

Hello, After some discussion we decided to deploy Haystack as a 2nd generation site. It has a huge view of the Puget Sound, it will have a very fast uplink (via the new Queen Anne facility), so it will do well with the extra throughput capacity. What this means is: 1) The sector modems are dual-channel (MIMO, RB911) instead of single-channel (SISO, Metal). This, in theory, doubles speed while still using the same bandwidth. 2) The sector antennas are dual-polarity, and higher gain to (mostly) compensate for the power loss of going to the lower-powered MIMO modems 3) The sector antennas and dishes feature shielding materials to minimize interference between the radios 4) All the modems are in metal enclosures to prevent any stray radiation and interference This 2nd gen architecture is fully compatible with 1st and 2nd gen clients. Going to a 2nd gen client may not actually be the speediest thing for you! The 1st gen client setup (Metal 5SHPn + Poynting 30dBi grid) offers better gain + EIRP than a typical RB912 + 2ft dish 2nd gen client setup. That added signal power may actually prove to achieve faster speeds than the added 2nd channel of dual-polarized MIMO signals when your signal levels are low. If your signal levels to the site are high, then switching to a 2nd gen client should be beneficial. I have footed the $601 bill (shipping included) for the upgrade. I have also allocated one of my personal MIMO sector antennas (~$150 value) to the cause. If someone feels like raising a vote to compensate me fully or partially, that'd be awesome. The reason for the rapid action is I got word our site sponsor would like to deploy this weekend. I'm not sure if the hardware will make it in time at this point, but at least I tried. If it doesn't make it, we'll do a 2nd round of deployment later. There's plenty of work to be done at the site with installing the mounting points and solar power system. BTW, if you'd like to volunteer your time and energy, the deployment is sometime this weekend. The mountain is near Sultan, WA. I don't know which day(s) we're going up. Let me know if you'd like to help. Thanks, --Bart

3 4