| WARC |
| WESTCUMB AMATEUR RADIO CLUB |
| Westmorland County, NB & Cumberland County, NS |
| VE1TRO Repeater Work - December 2011 |
| Nuttby Mountain VE1TRO Date: Monday December 19th, 2011 Site: Nuttby Mnt. Colchester Co. NS Packet Network Link Visitors: Bruce VE1II - Brad VE1ZX - Lorne VE1BXK George VE1GLM - George VE1XP Here is a report on our activities yesterday along with a few of the pictures Brad took. Approximately a year ago a trip was made to the radio site on Nuttby Mountain. You might recall reading about it and seeing pictures of the trip. On that day we were unable to drive all the way up the snow covered roads and we had to resort to carrying all of our equipment over the last kilometer or so of icy snow covered road. On that day it was difficult to see objects only one 100 meters away. I recall how strange it seemed to be hearing the roar of the wind turbine blades as they swooped downwards with each rotation and yet you couldn't even see them. It sounded almost like jet planes flying over our heads! We have had problems with the packet equipment at the VE1XK/VE1TAL site for some time and we thought that we would have to wait until spring to affect repairs. However everything came together so it was decided that we would attempt to find the problem and resolve it even though it was getting late in the year for a trip up the hill. On Monday, Lorne, VE1BXK, Brad, VE1ZX drove down from Parsborro and met up with George, VE1GLM and Bruce, VE1II in Truro. We started off for Nuttby at approximately 10 am. In advance of the trip, Lorne had prepared a replacement TNC for the VE1TAL-1 section of the installation. Brad and Lorne had also brought various pieces of antennas, and other things and Bruce had a power supply ready just in case one of the ones at the site had failed. We were not sure just what was in store for us especially remembering the trip a year earlier. We didn't encounter any snow until we were two or three kilometers from the site. It was not anything like last year! The drive up the last bit of roadway, was a complete contrast to our trip a year ago. This time we were able to look off in the distance and see some of the wind turbines slowly turning. There was hardly any wind but yet they were still turning, making you wonder how so little wind would have any effect on the huge blades. We passed a couple of ladies hiking up the road to the top. They had a small dog running along beside them and conditions were just right for their hike. Nothing at all like the hike we had made the year before! When we arrived at the site, we logged in and set up the equipment needed for the repair work. We soon discovered part of the reason for the packet system to have failed. Wouldn't you know it, Lorne had surmised almost exactly what was wrong and the TNC he had prepared for the trip was soon replacing the one that had locked up and was stopping the whole installation from working. Lorne made a few adjustments to get everything working just so. With a load off our minds, we set about tracing antenna feedlines trying to get a better understanding about which antennas on the towers were connected to which radios inside the equipment cabinets. If you could have seen the physical condition of some of the antennas, due to them having been bombarded by ice over the last few winters, you would easily understand why some of the signal paths were not quite what we would have hoped for. One antenna in particular was a small three element UHF beam. You can likely see a picture of it attached with this report. It would be a real stretch to call it an antenna at all. Brad replaced the beam with one of the antennas we brought with us and on checking with Ron, VE1AIC on PEI, we were told that the signal at his QTH was vastly improved. From his end, Ron was tweaking up the parameters on the packet network to take advantage of the changes in the packet installation on Nuttby. At about this time, George, VE1XP, arrived on the scene. George has been a packet operator for many years and though he was busy with other things in the morning, George made the trip up Nuttby to provide encouragement and to make sure we were doing things correctly! :-) |
| All in all, the entire trip was very successful. When Lorne got home to Parsborro he was busy checking out how things were working. Ron was providing encouragement from PEI and we are very hopeful that things will last. It is our hope that even though packet radio is not used as often as in the past, we can continue to have a good network that we can use during times of emergency. Packet doesn't rely on the internet or phone lines and can provide an excellent means of passing important messages between the different areas of the Maritimes. We try to make use of packet during Exercise Handshake sessions each month. Over time we hope that the system will be repaired and improved so that it can be a reliable mode of communicating. If you were once on packet but you have stored your TNC's under a pile of dust or equipment, you might consider blowing the dust off and getting things in operation again. If you have TNC's and have no interest in packet in the future, you might consider passing them along to us so we can get things cleaned up and put service in the system. There must be a pile of TNC's hiding away that could be used as part of our packet network or for use as spares for when replacements are needed. Funding for new packet equipment is always a problem so any donated gear would be welcome I am sure. The NSARA has committed to setting up packet nodes in areas that require coverage or better coverage. I would especially like to thanks Lorne and Brad and George, VE1GLM for helping me out on the Nuttby visit, Thanks to George, VE1XP for his continued interest and a big thank you to Ron, VE1AIC who has been faithfully working to make sure packet remains a useful mode of communication in the Maritime provinces. We had a very worthwhile trip to Nuttby. For most of the time there were no clouds in the sky and the temperature was quite decent for a December work party and no black flies or mosquitos. Not quite picnic weather but a real contrast to our trip last year! 73, Bruce Harvey, VE1II Please credit photos to VE1ZX Please credit article to VE1II. |