[SIERA] Fw: Project Seventy-three

[Dick Young]

Some have asked us about the mobile repeater we have put together.  If you're interested, following is a few words on the subject that have appeared in a couple Newsletters.  It continues to be a fun project, with many sources of input - both talent and product.

PROJECT SEVENTY-THREE

It started off innocently enough.  During a casual conversation with Paul (WA6EWV), TARA's President, it was mentioned that a couple of us were interested in pursuing a project that would allow mobility of a 'drop off' container type "repeater" at various events.  Maybe a dual band transceiver that could be box portable and dropped off at a high point during a race or ride.  It would allow V/V or U/V operation and wouldn't require on-site manpower during the event.  The Yaesu 8800 or Icom 2720 come to mind.  You know how these things go; one thought leads to another and, then, another.  Paul mentions that TARA has a 'real' repeater stashed away in the garage and gaining some use of it would be very welcome.  It wasn't of the existing Heavenly quality and, besides, the club already has a duplicate of that repeater, ready for use in case of need.  Why not consider a mobile repeater?

So we did.  Consider a mobile repeater that is.  Talking to Dale (KV7S), Pete (W6DXJ), Will (KD7NIR) and Tony (KB7NV), among several others, we concluded it might be a fun project and would present a valued alternative to our communications capabilities during emergency conditions and even support some of our volunteer efforts.  Dubbed Project Seventy-three we put our heads together to determine what we could accomplish and how it could be done without costing an arm and a leg.  We wanted to be sure it was flexible enough and truly portable, so it could be used by most any group or individual with a stated and obvious need.

This seems to be one of those projects that needs a catalyst to really get moving along.  Some might think just having the repeater would be enough, but the repeater has been there all along, so we needed something more.  Vacillate long enough and pretty soon things start to come together, at least mentally. Figuring out what needs existed (beyond the repeater, of course) helped the thought process.  You know - antennas, mast, battery, chargers, AC when necessary, storage, mounting arrangements and all that stuff.  Then you start thinking about the best guying practices, what kind of an enclosure is necessary, how to access the coax and a myriad of other details.

Deciding this might be a project too long, and not wanting to reinvent the wheel, we looked around for input from others that already have a mobile repeater.  Finding a couple, we asked some questions, finding that all were more than happy to share their thoughts, ideas and experiences.  Learning a lot even before we turned a spade, a cargo trailer was finally procured and this was the push for our moving forward.  Picking up the repeater and duplexer from Paul and turning it over to Dale was the first best move.  Dale assembled the package, rebuilt the entire harness arrangement and set things up in his shack, spending the next week or so tweaking the package into great usable form, ably assisted by Pete.  In the interim, we completed a mast mounting arrangement on the trailer tongue area, ran coax from outside to the interior and did the same with AC.  Hearing of the project and showing real interest, Tony loaned a 200Ah AGM battery to Project Seventy-three.  Will loaned a really fine vertical and, with that, we were truly on our way to a completed package.

That package has now been accomplished - in other words, everything is in the trailer - and all the testing we can do in the laboratory (the driveway) is completed.  The next step is to access real life conditions.  We're on our way to success with that goal, recognizing that snow pack will hinder our efforts for the next several weeks.

So far it's been a really fun project and one that has potential to be of service to our community.  Stay tuned to determine when this thing of beauty will be in your neighborhood.  It was completed in just about the timeframe allotted and well over budget.  This Executive Summary is designed to get your attention.  The devil is in the details, so we'll pass those on to you in the near future.