September 2018 - PSDR - mailman.hamwan.org

HamWan 900 MHz
by Stan 23 May '19

23 May '19

if this is up and running, I'd sure like to buy a 900 Mhz modem and get the HamWan a bit farther into Mason County. Any suggestions? -- Stan KF7LTT Spams/Scams Forwarded To WA State Attorney For Prosecution.

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CapitolPark <-> QueenAnne link
by Bart Kus 19 Apr '19

19 Apr '19

After hours of debugging, I got this 20MHz single-polarity link moving up to 55Mbit. A high resolution spectrum analysis on both sides did indeed show a better frequency to use for the link. Spectrum analysis captures here: https://imgur.com/a/4H7GB There was also an IP conflict between two modems @ Capitol Park. The conflicting IP has been removed from CapitolPark-S3. The QueenAnne modem used for the link is not one used anywhere else on the network. It's a very low-end modem, and as a result it was having CPU/RAM starvation issues when running our regular diagnostic tools, which lead to out-of-memory conditions and kernel crashes. A different test methodology had to be used to verify the link speed (testing through the modem, instead of to the modem). The modem that links QueenAnne with the Westin building (on the QueenAnne side) had a mis-configured OSPF router-id. This was fixed. I'm still seeing weird routing decisions being made by OSPF. These are triggered by our point-to-point route entries (44.24.242.0/24 space). More research needs to be done here, and perhaps a re-write of how we define point-to-point interface addresses. Any OSPF experts in the house? I also discovered R1.QueenAnne was still vulnerable to hacking due to a mis-configuration of its control software. It missed the updates that were sent out to the whole network. This has been fixed now. R1.QueenAnne also didn't have the diagnostic bandwidth-server setup correctly. This was fixed. With the CapitolPark-QueenAnne link performing well now: [eo@CapitolPark-QueenAnne] /system resource> /tool bandwidth-test 44.24.241.81 direction=both status: running duration: 57s tx-current: 28.0Mbps tx-10-second-average: 28.4Mbps tx-total-average: 27.5Mbps rx-current: 27.6Mbps rx-10-second-average: 28.0Mbps rx-total-average: 27.0Mbps lost-packets: 288 random-data: no direction: both tx-size: 1500 rx-size: 1500 its OSPF config has been reset to a normal preference level, so that packets no longer try to avoid that link as they are routed through the network. This link can be sped up by upgrading to a dual-polarity modem @ CapitolPark. While testing if the OSPF hop cost was being calculated correctly in the Beacon-Haystack-QueenAnne RF link (they both connect to the same dish @ Haystack), I discovered a mis-config on the Haystack.Beacon modem (bad LAN IP binding) which was preventing it from bringing up OSPF on its LAN interface. This was fixed and that modem should act like an actual router now, moving traffic. During the same Beacon testing, I was reminded that our Baldi-Beacon RF link sucks <https://monitoring.hamwan.net/cacti/graph.php?action=view&local_graph_id=91…>. It was optimized for speed to Tukwila, which is now gone, so a trip needs to be scheduled to Baldi to rotate the dish a few degrees north and get that link going strong. I normally wouldn't send this kind of verbose email to psdr@, but I hope it's illuminating as to the type and extent of work required to keep this network running well. --Bart

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Puget Sound Project Status update (sites)
by Rob Salsgiver 28 Oct '18

28 Oct '18

Back on 8/21 I sent out a request for info regarding the following sites that were discussed earlier this year: 1. Lookout Mtn 2. Gold Mtn 3. Buck Mtn 4. Rattlesnake Ridge 5. Blyn Mtn 6. Added since initial email: a. Mt Constitution b. Gig Harbor c. SnoCo SERS Granite Falls (possible – next year candidate) To date I’ve only received responses for the following locations: 1. Buck Mtn – in process w/Kenny. (info in other threads) 2. Gig Harbor – time TBD, not weather critical (Kenny) 3. Rattlesnake – Any day now. Priority project for DMR support before the weather changes. Being coordinated between Rob Ghatham AF7PR and Tom for tech support. Equipment funded by Rob AF7PR. Climber needed. 4. Lookout – Weather limiting by end of October? Rob Chatham AF7PR is the site contact. Rob S willing to coordinate. Equipment BOM in review between Bart and Scott Honaker. SnoDEM potential assistance with hardware (hoops exist to jump through). This site has significant regional improvements it could offer into Skagit/Whatcom/Island counties. Ready immediately per Rob AF7PR but we have to schedule the timing and resources. I’m working to schedule a site visit to survey. Need to know from others what PTP links we are looking to do here and develop BOM. I have received no information regarding Blynn or Gold, and have very little on Constitution. Given the short remaining season and available help, I recommend we hold Blynn until next year. What remains for Gold? CLIMBERS NEEDED. We are extremely limited for climbers at this time. Our existing climbers have been tapped for time, particularly as they have also been “on the hook” for building/configuring the equipment as well. I am willing to build and configure equipment (others are welcome as well). We MAY be able to get short windows from our current climbers if the rest is done, but we really need MORE climbers. Let me know if anyone is willing to do the climbing work, whether you are certified and/or have your own gear. If you have any additional info on the above projects, please let me know. At a minimum I would like to see us get Rattlesnake, Lookout, and Buck done in the next 30 days before the snow flies. There are other low-elevation projects to keep us busy this winter. Thanks, Rob Salsgiver – NR3O

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Haystack SDR unreachable for 3 days
by David Haworth 03 Oct '18

03 Oct '18

Hi, Haystack SDR was working fine last weekend. http://www.stargazing.net/david/sdr/HamWAN.html#P1d <http://www.stargazing.net/david/sdr/HamWAN.html#P1d> For the past three days Haystack SDR This site can’t be reached http://44.24.241.55:8073/ is unreachable. Has Haystack SDR URL changed? 73 David WA9ONY

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Larch Mnt Uplink Node
by Scott J. Burrows 26 Sep '18

26 Sep '18

Hello, does the Larch Mnt site have an Uplink Node? The online network engineering documentation indicates ask to be an Uplink Node, and if approved, assigned PtP IP pair and OSPF password. The Larch Mnt site does have a single sector antenna. Scott, N7DOD

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Certificate
by B.J. Guillot 23 Sep '18

23 Sep '18

Sorry again for the basic question... Is the LoTW certificate only needed for the HamWAN admin portal, or is it needed to utilize the HamWAN network itself? i.e., is using the HamWAN admin portal actually needed for a client node setup? (i.e., will a DHCP connection work just fine, and is the portal just for static IP assignment?) I'm a bit unclear from the setup instructions on exactly what I'm supposed to do with the certificate after installing it into the older Opera browser. I wasn't sure if I'm also supposed to install it somewhere into the Mikrotik modem configuration. When I try to go to the admin portal page I still get the "Uh oh, it looks like there's something wrong with your certificate." error message even in the older Opera 12.16 browser with 0-bit SSL for authentication enabled and LoTW certificate imported (after removing the invalid root CA). I don't know if I need to first "register" the certificate with someone, or if the portal will sense it's the first time I've tried to use that certificate and automatically create a new account. Regards, Burt J. Guillot, N7CS

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Remote SDR receiver available
by Bart Kus 19 Sep '18

19 Sep '18

Hello, The recent Haystack work party managed to install a receive-only SDR up there. It is provisionally available for use by anyone at: http://44.24.241.60:8073 I'll move it to a more permanent address, with proper DNS, at some future point. In the meantime, I'd like to solicit advice on how to minimize the QRM it's picking up. The noise is being emitted by the site itself, from the Ethernet cables and such. I've connected all the shields to site ground, but the emissions are still there. The current antenna is a ground rod with vertical whip. 1) Is there a better antenna design that can serve the broadband (DC-30MHz) omnidirectional receive duties? 2) Are there any suggestions on how to further minimize the noise being emitted by the site? Thanks, and enjoy! --Bart

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EOC Dish/Radio for Seattle EOC - Beacon Link
by Randy Neals 17 Sep '18

17 Sep '18

All parts have arrived for the 2nd EOC link to Beacon and are now in the Burien Warehouse. Doug, KD7DK and I W3RWN are donating this jointly to Seattle ACS to get the EOC diversely connected to HamWAN.

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Mikrotik exploit
by cq.ve5bob＠gmail.com 10 Sep '18

10 Sep '18

Hi all, I am sure this is old news for most but I don't recall seeing it cross this group. Since it has hit mainstream news, here it is. https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-14847 The news says Mikrotik has a patch for it but many haven't applies the patch.Apparently the exploit allows bypassing the security so other code can be installed...mostly cryptocurrency mining has been reported. Regards,Robert VA7MF. Sent from my LG Mobile

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Sector Configuration
by Scott J. Burrows 07 Sep '18

07 Sep '18

Hello. my sector antenna and modem (Mikrotik BaseBox 5 RB912UAG-5HPnD) is scheduled to arrive this weekend. What modifications to the sample sector configuration on the HamWAN website will be needed for my installation? The example appears to be for the ETiger-S3 sector router. Thanks Scott, N7DOD

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