August 2020 - PSDR - mailman.hamwan.org

Shout-out for Blyn workparty yesterday
by Doug Kingston 17 Aug '20

17 Aug '20

This is a grand thank you to the dedicated work party that attended at Blyn yesterday for 9-10 hours yesterday (plus travel time). It was a big success Here is what I remember we accomplished: - Lifted a fully assembled cross-arm assembly with sector to 90ft - Reterminated 5 cables into surge protectors, and dressed all cables - Relocated a repeater antenna impacted by earlier work - Confirmed all HamWAN devices fully functional (3 panels and 2 PtP links) + PTZ camera - No injuries or equipment damage - (and probably more that Dale or Bart can detail) Attending: Bart Kus, John Miller, KX7JM Dale Nelson, AH6ET Elaine Bradtke, KG7CME Doug Kingston, KD7DK Mike, our site sponsor was onsite as we commenced operations but needed to leave shortly after we started due to a serious family emergency. Our sympathy goes out to him and his family. -Doug-

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Re: [HamWAN PSDR] Shout-out for Blyn work party yesterday
by Jamie Hughes 17 Aug '20

17 Aug '20

You guys might also enjoy this video from Smarter Everyday about pullies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2w3NZzPwOM Jamie Hughes WA7JH Phone: (360) 362-4575<tel:+13603624575> From: PSDR <psdr-bounces(a)hamwan.org> On Behalf Of John C. Miller Sent: Monday, August 17, 2020 14:34 To: Puget Sound Data Ring <psdr(a)hamwan.org> Subject: Re: [HamWAN PSDR] Shout-out for Blyn workparty yesterday Hello all, FYI - I've attached a PDF conceptual diagram of the 2:1 lifting rig that we used at Blyn to lift the fully assembled cross-arm assembly with sector with two people lifting. The rig employed one 600ft spool of kernmantle 8mm rope, 3 single pulleys, and a tree strap wrapped around a big stump as an anchor point. The load lifted was roughly 70lb, but the effective weight to the lifters was a bit more than half of that weight, owing to some friction. We also used rope ascenders to grip, pull and hold the lift rope. My observations of using ascenders: - One person alone with an ascender was able to easily and reliably hold the entire load in place while the other lifter re-positioned; - An ascender acts as a safety device that limits how far a load will fall if lifters stumble or lose their grip. Given that (at Blyn) we were having to pull walking over fallen trees, stumps, and down an uneven slope, this extra safety measure was welcome; - An ascender can be used to lock the load in place at any point during the lift (See diagram). This is helpful in that you are not reliant on human strength alone to keep the load secured, and the load can be held in place indefinitely as required by the tower climbers. I think that the ascender is particularly helpful with limited human-power doing the lifting. Speaking for myself, I may not have had enough physical strength to get the job done without use of a rope ascender. https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/Ascenders/ASCENSION<https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.petzl…> p.s I also attached a diagram for a 3:1 mechanical advantage lifting rig, but the rope starts getting a little messy using this setup. p.p.s. I put up a temporary 30dBi dish pointed at Blyn S1, and got about -70 dBm with just rough aiming using the LEDs on the radio. - John Miller kx7jm ---- On Sun, 16 Aug 2020 22:10:46 -0700 Doug Kingston <dpk(a)randomnotes.org<mailto:dpk@randomnotes.org>> wrote ---- This is a grand thank you to the dedicated work party that attended at Blyn yesterday for 9-10 hours yesterday (plus travel time). It was a big success Here is what I remember we accomplished: * Lifted a fully assembled cross-arm assembly with sector to 90ft * Reterminated 5 cables into surge protectors, and dressed all cables * Relocated a repeater antenna impacted by earlier work * Confirmed all HamWAN devices fully functional (3 panels and 2 PtP links) + PTZ camera * No injuries or equipment damage * (and probably more that Dale or Bart can detail) Attending: Bart Kus, John Miller, KX7JM Dale Nelson, AH6ET Elaine Bradtke, KG7CME Doug Kingston, KD7DK Mike, our site sponsor was onsite as we commenced operations but needed to leave shortly after we started due to a serious family emergency. Our sympathy goes out to him and his family. -Doug- _______________________________________________ PSDR mailing list PSDR(a)hamwan.org<mailto:PSDR@hamwan.org> http://mail.hamwan.net/mailman/listinfo/psdr<https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmail.hamwa…>

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Volunteers needed for Blyn Mtn deploy Sat, Aug 15th
by Bart Kus 13 Aug '20

13 Aug '20

Hello, We'd like to do one last push to get Blyn Mtn site on the air. If you can help with ground crew or climbing, please email me. Thank you, --Bart

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East Tiger – PTZ Camera
by Rob Martin 10 Aug '20

10 Aug '20

Just a follow up on a detail. We have looked at the labelling on the Ethernet cable that failed at ETiger, and can confirm that it is Ubiquiti Networks TC-PRO ToughCable Pro Level 1 Outdoor Cat5e. RobK7QJ

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5GHz modems for APs, Clients and Point-to-Point links
by Rob Martin 09 Aug '20

09 Aug '20

On the HamWAN website there are different 5GHz modems recommended for APs and Clients, and Point-to-Point links. This is because the higher power model does not support HW's narrow sector channels. https://hamwan.org/Standards/Component%20Engineering/Radio%20Modem.html Question: Is this information still current? Thank you. RobK7QJ

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Re: [HamWAN PSDR] PSDR Digest, Vol 90, Issue 2
by Rob Martin 09 Aug '20

09 Aug '20

Thanks for all of the comments and suggestions. I am told that the cable we used was (most likely) Ubiquiti Networks TC-PRO ToughCable Pro Level 1 Outdoor Cat5e. I am trying to get that verified. To mount the camera on a pole I created a bracket to which the camera and a weatherproof box were mounted and sealed. The seal on the lid of the box is the one that will need to be opened, not the seals between the camera and the bracket, nor the bracket and the box. That said, it is possible that we will remove the dome and clean things, as a part of the repair. I have attached a rather poor photo showing the camera mounted to a metal plate. The plate is clamped with u-bolts to a vertical pipe of the antenna offset mounting. The interconnection box is on the rear of the plate. I cannot find the photos I took of the mounting bracket assembly. More searching to do. We had two devices connected with this type of cable that failed; two cable runs. The contacts on the connector of the other device (inside a Mikrotik POE adapter) had burn marks, soot, and that special odour suggesting a spark. Both cables had water ingress. With reflection, if water was dripping from inside the cable jacket into the Ethernet connector, corrosion would be likely, even without the help of a lightning strike. Suffice to say, the cable and the POE power supplies need to be replaced. I intend to run a temporary cable for basic functional testing straight to the camera's interconnection box before doing anything else. No question, installing a "new", known good camera with a replacement cable is the best way to ensure that the repair can be effected with one tower climb. If the current camera seems undamaged, and will be installed elsewhere, I would prefer to create a second mounting bracket assembly for the new camera. In this manner the most of sealing and bolt tightening can be done beforehand, before getting to the site. Before whatever happened, this camera - QCN8035Z - worked really very well and landed some lovely images. RobK7QJ On Sunday, August 9, 2020, 12:00:24 PM PDT, psdr-request(a)hamwan.org <psdr-request(a)hamwan.org> wrote: Send PSDR mailing list submissions to psdr(a)hamwan.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://mail.hamwan.net/mailman/listinfo/psdr or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to psdr-request(a)hamwan.org You can reach the person managing the list at psdr-owner(a)hamwan.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of PSDR digest..." Today's Topics: 1. East Tiger – PTZ Camera (Rob Martin) 2. Re: East Tiger – PTZ Camera (Rob Salsgiver) 3. Re: East Tiger – PTZ Camera (Kenny Richards) 4. Re: East Tiger – PTZ Camera (Doug Kingston) 5. Re: East Tiger – PTZ Camera (Darcy Buskermolen) 6. Re: East Tiger – PTZ Camera (Doug Kingston) 7. Re: East Tiger – PTZ Camera (Bart Kus) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Sat, 8 Aug 2020 20:35:40 +0000 (UTC) From: Rob Martin <rgmrob(a)yahoo.com> To: Puget Sound Data Ring <psdr(a)hamwan.org> Subject: [HamWAN PSDR] East Tiger – PTZ Camera Message-ID: <543170601.721612.1596918940341(a)mail.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" The PTZ camera at ETiger has been unreliable for some time. Rich (KF7BJI) and I were at the site yesterday (2020-08-07),and now I can fill in some of the details. The camera is located about three-quarters of the way up thetower used by the SeaTac Repeater Association. This tower is about 50m awayfrom the ETiger HamWAN site. STRA uses the callsign W7WWI on most of itsrepeaters. The POE power supply and the Cat5 cable up the tower have beendamaged by a lightning strike. The power supply needs to be replaced. The Cat5 cable has water inside the jacket, something that wentunnoticed until the damaged Ethernet connector was cut off. Water dripped out,lots of it. Most of the cable runs tight against the tower, and I speculatethat the outer jacket was punctured by the lightning. I am hoping that the camera itself may still be functional. Despitethe above problems, there were occasions when images could be recovered. If thepower to the camera was disconnected for an hour or so, the camera worked for afew minutes after restart. The repair will involve a tower climb to replace the cable.Unfortunately we will have to open the camera’s sealed enclosure to access thecable end. We hope to have this work done soon. No promises! Rob K7QJ

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East Tiger – PTZ Camera
by Rob Martin 09 Aug '20

09 Aug '20

The PTZ camera at ETiger has been unreliable for some time. Rich (KF7BJI) and I were at the site yesterday (2020-08-07),and now I can fill in some of the details. The camera is located about three-quarters of the way up thetower used by the SeaTac Repeater Association. This tower is about 50m awayfrom the ETiger HamWAN site. STRA uses the callsign W7WWI on most of itsrepeaters. The POE power supply and the Cat5 cable up the tower have beendamaged by a lightning strike. The power supply needs to be replaced. The Cat5 cable has water inside the jacket, something that wentunnoticed until the damaged Ethernet connector was cut off. Water dripped out,lots of it. Most of the cable runs tight against the tower, and I speculatethat the outer jacket was punctured by the lightning. I am hoping that the camera itself may still be functional. Despitethe above problems, there were occasions when images could be recovered. If thepower to the camera was disconnected for an hour or so, the camera worked for afew minutes after restart. The repair will involve a tower climb to replace the cable.Unfortunately we will have to open the camera’s sealed enclosure to access thecable end. We hope to have this work done soon. No promises! Rob K7QJ

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Gold - Buck PtP Update
by Kenny Richards 01 Aug '20

01 Aug '20

With the help of Rob-NR3O and Mike-N7NFY, a nearly 12 month old to-do item was finished today. We were able to complete the installation of the Buck.Gold PtP, so the Buck site is no longer dependent on the link to Capitol Park. On my last visit to Buck, I installed a PtP dish and pointed it at Gold using one of the Gold sectors. The plan was to install the Gold PtP last summer, but the list of work items for the Gold visit exceeded our time and no real mount point was available. The plan was to go back up with the necessary mount and install the PtP, but it never happened and winter came. This morning the crew got onsite around 9:30am and we proceeded to lift the new mount in place and install the dish/radio for the Buck.Gold PtP link. The installation actually went pretty painless, I was able to eyeball the alignment enough to get the initial connection even. The final signal strength wasn't wonderful (~62 I think), but I know the Buck side needs some biological interference removed on the next trip. (which we have permission todo) The dish is mounted on the north facing side of the tower at ~90 feet(?). I was able to run the CAT5 along an existing path, so no additional cable cushions were even needed. https://www.ku7m.net/drop/Buck.Gold.PtP.jpg I'll get to work adding the new radios to Cacti tomorrow, along with the Rattlesnake and Blyn radios. NOTE1: I don't have a portable label printer and didn't think about pre-printing one for the CAT5 in the rack for the new radio. I 'made' a label with some scrap paper, magic marker and a zip tie. NOTE2: There was a complete 921netmetal and dish in the building at Gold. I have a bad feeling I bought it last summer for the Buck.Gold link, left it onsite when we weren't able to get it installed and completely forgot about it. HamWAN purchased a new one last month for this link, so I'll confirm what happened with Doug and donate it to his stock.... Thanks Kenny

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First Oregon node?
by Justin Roberts 01 Aug '20

01 Aug '20

After finally receiving all the components from Lithuania I got online yesterday! The client node configuration instructions couldn’t have been easier to work with accompanied with the video from K7MM. Initially I popped the antenna up there and pointed in what I calculated to be the right location and surprisingly I was nearly spot on. I did a little fine tuning this morning. Granted, my day job involves aiming microwave antennas. It looks like there is only one other node online connected to Larch, KD7RYY in Vancouver. Does that make me the first Oregon node online? I plan to leave the station online with my DMR hotspot and some low bandwidth weather station logging for a few weeks then I wanted to offer an uplink node. I am hoping this will aid in supporting coverage further into Oregon. W6UDF Portland, Oregon

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