[NLRS] 6M operations at KTCA

[Doug Reed]

I've been talking with friends over at KTCA to find out what their plans 
were for after the analog TV stations go dark next February. The answer 
is they plan to play radio on 6M, of course....

Scott, Don, and Ray are inclined to put a 6M SSB/CW station on the air 
from Shoreview using the Ch 2 antenna after the analog stations go dark. 
Scott likes to say it only requires a few watts into the main amplifier, 
but where are you going to find a TR relay capable of handling the 
output?  :-)

In the real world, they intend to have a double-shielded coax coming out 
to the ham equipment from the main antenna feed. Scott has already 
purchased one of the 8 or 10 section DCI 6M filters. It has claimed 
attenuation over 120 dB by the time you hit the FM band. Hopefully that 
will be enough. If anyone has experience doing this, please comment on 
the required filtering and remaining RF noise. By the time we attempt 
this, the closest remaining stations will be in the FM band and channel 
9 digital. But that doesn't mean we still can't get knocked out by 
simple broadband RF hash from the nearby transmitters. We will not know 
until we try.

The very best news is that no tower work is scheduled on the antennas 
until mid-August at the soonest. That means we have a super antenna site 
to play with for 6 months, including at least 3 contests and the summer 
Es season. The down side is the companies involved will probably NOT 
allow wide-open visits by the horde and assorted friends. I'm just 
saying don't be too disappointed if the ground rules include limited 
access, certainly only when an employee is available.

Once we have proof-of-concept and make required changes to get things 
working, and the three contest weekends are out of the way, what other 
suggestions do you have for potential activities? Where would NLRS want 
to participate in events? Or are there only a few more people who want 
to play?

If I don't hear anything better, my own suggestions are along the lines 
of a PropNET PSK31 propagation beacon on 50.291 for most of the summer. 
The propagation beacon might be useful spotting openings and it would 
certainly be interesting to compare results from one station at 200 feet 
and another at 1100 feet.

Or (possibly and) a temporary 6M FM repeater or a remote base on 
52.525MHz. The repeater or remote base would be fun for the rest of the 
ham community.

It might even be interesting to try one day or weekend where that 
station is run at the legal limit, just to see how far we can talk when 
the band isn't supposed to be open.... That is where it would be 
interesting to have an "activity day" scheduled for late February or 
early March when all the Ch 2 - 3 stations we can find nationwide get on 
the are with high power at the same time. Then see what the paths look 
like... But we've been using Ch 2 for a propagation beacon for a long 
time now, so the results probably wouldn't be that different or 
exciting....

No, I will not be at this breakfast, but I hope to read some discussion 
on the reflector.

73, Doug Reed, N0NAS.