[NLRS] Preparing for this weekend's contest

[John P. Toscano]

Hi, all.

I got a call from John, KC�LBT, and Jon, W�AMT, a couple of nights ago,
asking me to send some RF their way so they could test out their new
rover setup (50 MHz - 2304 MHz!).  I went out to my garage and turned on
the power supply to the remote 902/1296 transverters, went back down
into my shack, and tried to select either one -- no dice.

Climbed back up into the attic of the garage, only to find that the
Astron RS-35A power supply had bit the dust.  (Only putting out 0.8
volts DC, even with the load disconnected).

Anyway, I picked up an Astron SS-30M yesterday, and tonightI got around
to hooking it up to the remote transverters, after doing some basic
in-shack testing.

I'm now getting power upstairs to the transverter equipment, and I do
hear "stuff" as I tune around the band on the IF rig (and different
"stuff" when I flip between 902 and 1296), but I have not yet been able
to confirm that the transverters are working "properly".  Sometime
tomorrow I will climb back up there with power meter in hand, along with
some extra RF jumpers and a dummy load, etc., and ask someone down in
the shack to key things up so I can measure the power output and SWR.
Once that is done, (assuming reasonable results with the first tests),
I'll be ready for a brief on-the-air test of some sort.  If anyone is
likely to have a few free minutes Thursday night, I'd love to give both
of the transverters a try.

By the way, I've heard many folks mention that on 1296 they can hear the
Farmington radar.  Can anyone give me more details?  Best frequency to
tune?  Mode (FM, SSB, other)?  Transmitter location so I can figure the
bearing from EN34js?  I can't say that I've ever heard it, nor that I've
ever tried before.

Thanks in advance.
W�JT