<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><font size="4">Back in Sept. 2021, I decided to connect with </font><span style="font-size:large">HamWAN's Puget Sound Data Ring (PSDR) in order to have Winlink capability in an emergency.  Based on</span><span style="font-size:large"> HamWAN's PDF comparing various devices that shows the QRT 5 ac along with many others       </span> <a href="http://hamwan.org/Standards/Component%20Engineering/Client%20Hardware/antenas_mantbox.pdf" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" style="">http://hamwan.org/Standards/Component%20Engineering/Client%20Hardware/antenas_mantbox.pdf</a> <<a href="http://hamwan.org/Standards/Component%20Engineering/Client%20Hardware/antenas_mantbox.pdf" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" style="">http://hamwan.org/Standards/Component%20Engineering/Client%20Hardware/antenas_mantbox.pdf</a><span style="font-size:large"> I decided to investigate if the QRT 5ac would work on the PSDR.  Flytec Computers had it in stock and the salesperson assured me it would work or they would take it back and refund my money.</span></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">So I purchased a MikroTik </font><span style="font-size:large">QRT</span><font size="4"> </font><span style="font-size:large">5ac</span><font size="4"> flat panel antenna and had it operational on HamWAN's Puget Sound Data Ring (PSDR)  using the guidance on </font><a href="http://hamwan.org/Standards/Network%20Engineering/Client%20Node%20Configuration.html" target="_blank">http://hamwan.org/Standards/Network%20Engineering/Client%20Node%20Configuration.html</a><font size="4"> and Dan K7MM Ransom's Feb. 2016 video </font><a href="http://hamwan.org/Standards/Network%20Engineering/Client%20Node%20Configuration/Configure%20Radio%20Modem_1080%20dlr%20.mp4" target="_blank">http://hamwan.org/Standards/Network%20Engineering/Client%20Node%20Configuration/Configure%20Radio%20Modem_1080%20dlr%20.mp4</a><font size="4"> demonstrating how to use the guidance.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">When I first turned it on, I found that within about 48 degrees of bearing the antenna was picking up three HamWAN sites: Gold (19 miles); Buck (30 miles) and Blyn (42 miles).  Cloud cover on the Buck Mt. site Line of Sight (LOS) frequently reduces the signal strength to such a degree that it is dropped from the "scan" list.  Depending on the weather and clouds, the QRT 5ac picks the best signal at any particular moment which was generally Gold.  So Gold was the site which I kept  the QRT 5ac pointed at.  After Gold and Blyn were decommissioned, I pointed the QRT 5ac at Buck and Winlink messages would transmit within a few seconds even in bad weather.  I did not keep the QRT 5ac on continuously as my primary interest was having emergency communications. </font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Be sure to order the "International" version and not the "US" version.</font></div><div><br></div></div></div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><font size="4">73</font></div><div><font size="4">Alan WX7L</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">P.S.  Below is an email to Nigel <span style="background-color:rgb(247,245,255);color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">K7NVH</span><span style="background-color:rgb(247,245,255);color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"> </span></font><span style="font-size:large">on my Sept. 26, 2021 PSDR experience.  My thanks to Nigel for generously volunteering to Elmer me.   The email contains information from the QRT 5ac via the WinBox operating software utilizing the "/interface wireless scan 0" and  "/interface wireless monitor 0" commands.</span></div><div><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">---------- Forwarded message ---------<br>From: <span dir="auto"><<a href="mailto:WX7L@winlink.org" target="_blank">WX7L@winlink.org</a>></span><br>Date: Sun, Sep 26, 2021 at 1:05 PM<br>Subject: QRT 5ac Signal Reports for radio-name: S2.Blyn/K7WAN; Buck-S2/K7WAN; and, Gold-<br>To: <<a href="mailto:nigel@nigelvh.com" target="_blank"><span class="gmail-il">nigel@nigelvh.com</span></a>><br>Cc: <<a href="mailto:wx7l@westseattlearc.org" target="_blank">wx7l@westseattlearc.org</a>></div><br>Nigel,<br>The clouds rolled in over Gold Mt., so I thought I would see what sort of connection I could get with Buck.  While swinging the QRT 5ac further north I found another signal and locked onto it.  I then checked the signal in WinBox and found I was connected to S2.Blyn/K7WAN and getting a much better tx/rx rate than with Gold.  Below is the information for  Blyn, Buck, and Gold.  These were taken within the past half hour.  If you have the location and radio information for the Blyn site I would appreciate it.<br>73<br>Alan<br><br><br><br>admin@WX7L-Gold] > /interface wireless scan 0<br>Flags: A - active, P - privacy, R - routeros-network, N - nstreme, T - tdma, W - wds, B - bridge<br>       ADDRESS           SSID                            CHANNEL                       SIG   NF SNR  RADIO-NAME                          ROUTEROS-VERSION                         <br>A RT B E4:8D:8C:F1:6D:22 HamWAN            5900/5/an                        -82  -109  27   Gold-S2/K7WAN                     <br>A RT B C4:AD:34:D3:8D:8C HamWAN           5900/10/an                      -80  -111  31   S2.Blyn/K7WAN                     <br>A RT B 64:D1:54:98:2F:21 HamWAN              5900/10/an                     -86   -111  25   Buck-S2/K7WAN                     <br><br><b>[admin@WX7L-Gold] > /interface wireless monitor 0                                                      radio-name: S2.Blyn/K7WAN</b><br>                  status: connected-to-ess<br>                 channel: 5900/10/an<br>       wireless-protocol: nv2<br>                 tx-rate: 21.6Mbps-10MHz/2S/SGI<br>                 rx-rate: 13Mbps-10MHz/2S<br>                    ssid: HamWAN<br>                   bssid: C4:AD:34:D3:8D:8C<br>              radio-name: <b>S2.Blyn/K7WAN</b><br>         signal-strength: -81dBm<br>     signal-strength-ch0: -83dBm<br>     signal-strength-ch1: -84dBm<br>      tx-signal-strength: -78dBm<br>  tx-signal-strength-ch0: -82dBm<br>  tx-signal-strength-ch1: -80dBm<br>             noise-floor: -111dBm<br>         signal-to-noise: 30dB<br>                  tx-ccq: 48%<br>                  rx-ccq: 32%<br>   authenticated-clients: 1<br>        current-distance: 68<br>                wds-link: no<br>                  bridge: no<br>        routeros-version: 6.47<br>                 last-ip: 44.24.245.1<br>     notify-external-fdb: no                                                                                                      radio-name: S2.Blyn/K7WAN<br><br>[admin@WX7L-Gold] ><br><br>[admin@WX7L-Gold] > /interface wireless scan 0   <br>Flags: A - active, P - privacy, R - routeros-network, N - nstreme, T - tdma, W - wds, B - bridge<br>       ADDRESS           SSID                            CHANNEL                       SIG   NF SNR  RADIO-NAME                          ROUTEROS-VERSION                         <br>A RT B E4:8D:8C:F1:6D:22 HamWAN            5900/5/an                        -86 -107  21    Gold-S2/K7WAN                     <br>A RT B 64:D1:54:98:2F:21 HamWAN              5900/10/an                     -76 -112  36     Buck-S2/K7WAN                     <br>  RT B C4:AD:34:D3:8D:8C HamWAN            5900/10/an                      -90 -112  22    S2.Blyn/K7WAN                     <br><br><b>[admin@WX7L-Gold] > /interface wireless monitor 0                                                             radio-name: Buck-S2/K7WAN</b><br>                  status: connected-to-ess<br>                 channel: 5900/10/an<br>       wireless-protocol: nv2<br>                 tx-rate: 21.6Mbps-10MHz/2S/SGI<br>                 rx-rate: 14.4Mbps-10MHz/2S/SGI<br>                    ssid: HamWAN<br>                   bssid: 64:D1:54:98:2F:21<br>              radio-name: Buck-S2/K7WAN<br>         signal-strength: -78dBm<br>     signal-strength-ch0: -81dBm<br>     signal-strength-ch1: -81dBm<br>      tx-signal-strength: -78dBm<br>  tx-signal-strength-ch0: -80dBm<br>  tx-signal-strength-ch1: -82dBm<br>             noise-floor: -111dBm<br>         signal-to-noise: 33dB<br>                  tx-ccq: 38%<br>                  rx-ccq: 38%<br>   authenticated-clients: 1<br>        current-distance: 48<br>                wds-link: no<br>                  bridge: no<br>        routeros-version: 6.42.6<br>                 last-ip: 142.250.69.202                                                             <br>     notify-external-fdb: no                                                                                                         radio-name: Buck-S2/K7WAN<br><br>[admin@WX7L-Gold] ><br>[admin@WX7L-Gold] > /interface wireless scan 0   <br>Flags: A - active, P - privacy, R - routeros-network, N - nstreme, T - tdma, W - wds, B - bridge<br>       ADDRESS           SSID                            CHANNEL                       SIG   NF SNR   RADIO-NAME                          ROUTEROS-VERSION                         <br>A RT B E4:8D:8C:F1:6D:22 HamWAN            5900/5/an                        -70 -109  39     Gold-S2/K7WAN                     <br>A RT B 64:D1:54:98:2F:21 HamWAN             5900/10/an                       -80 -112  32     Buck-S2/K7WAN                     <br><br><b>[admin@WX7L-Gold] > /interface wireless monitor 0                                                    radio-name: Gold-S2/K7WAN</b><br>                  status: connected-to-ess<br>                 channel: 5900/5/an<br>       wireless-protocol: nv2<br>                 tx-rate: 7.2Mbps-5MHz/2S/SGI<br>                 rx-rate: 3.6Mbps-5MHz/1S/SGI<br>                    ssid: HamWAN<br>                   bssid: E4:8D:8C:F1:6D:22<br>              radio-name: Gold-S2/K7WAN<br>         signal-strength: -71dBm<br>     signal-strength-ch0: -73dBm<br>     signal-strength-ch1: -75dBm<br>      tx-signal-strength: -71dBm<br>  tx-signal-strength-ch0: -74dBm<br>  tx-signal-strength-ch1: -74dBm<br>             noise-floor: -108dBm<br>         signal-to-noise: 37dB<br>                  tx-ccq: 38%<br>                  rx-ccq: 21%<br>   authenticated-clients: 1<br>        current-distance: 31<br>                wds-link: no<br>                  bridge: no<br>        routeros-version: 6.43.4<br>                 last-ip: 172.217.14.206<br>     notify-external-fdb: no                                                                                                   radio-name: Gold-S2/K7WAN<br><br>[admin@WX7L-Gold] ><br></div></div><div class="gmail_quote"><br></div><div class="gmail_quote">=========================================================================================</div><div class="gmail_quote"><div><br></div><div><b><font size="4">P.P.S.  Here is some additional information on the radio sites and from where I purchased my QRT 5ac:</font></b></div><div><br></div><div><b><font size="4">Google Maps for Blyn Radio Site: </font></b><a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Blyn+Radio+Site/@48.006345,-122.972436,231m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xdc9d4176b55add1a!8m2!3d48.0062919!4d-122.9729022?hl=en-US" target="_blank"><font size="1">https://www.google.com/maps/place/Blyn+Radio+Site/@48.006345,-122.972436,231m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xdc9d4176b55add1a!8m2!3d48.0062919!4d-122.9729022?hl=en-US</font></a></div><div><br></div></div></div></div><b style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif">WX7L QTH to Blyn Radio Site </b><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif"> </span><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif">Latitude: 48.00625  Longitude: -122.972917</span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif">Locator: </span><b style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif"><a href="https://k7fry.com/grid/?qth=CN88MA31GM&from=CN87TM38HV" target="_blank">CN88MA31GM</a></b><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif">  (</span><a href="https://k7fry.com/grid/?qth=CN88MA31GM&from=CN87TM38HV&t=n" target="_blank" style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif">map</a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif">, </span><a href="https://k7fry.com/grid/?qth=CN88MA31GM&from=CN87TM38HV&t=s" target="_blank" style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif">sat</a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif">, </span><a href="https://k7fry.com/grid/?qth=CN88MA31GM&from=CN87TM38HV&t=t" target="_blank" style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif">terrain</a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif">, </span><a href="https://k7fry.com/grid/?qth=CN88MA31GM&from=CN87TM38HV&t=h" target="_blank" style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif">hybrid</a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif">)</span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif">Distance from </span><b style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif">CN87TM38HV</b><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif"> - </span><b style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif">68.087 km</b><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif"> (42.31 mi)      </span><b style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif"> </b><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif">             </span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif">Bearing ~ </span><b style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif">320.32°</b><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif"> (reverse bearing ~ 140.32°)</span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif">Midpoint - lat: 47.772071 lon: -122.679586</span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif"><br></span></div></blockquote><div><b style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif"> WX7L QTH to Gold Mt.</b><font color="#000000" face="Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, sans-serif"><br></font><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><div><div class="gmail_quote"><div style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif;margin:7px 10px 8px;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><div style="margin:7px 10px 8px">Latitude: 47.547743  Longitude: -122.804514                </div></div></div></div></div><div><div><div class="gmail_quote"><div style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif;margin:7px 10px 8px;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><div style="margin:7px 10px 8px">Locator: <b><a href="https://k7fry.com/grid/?qth=CN87ON31&from=CN87TM38HV" target="_blank">CN87ON31</a></b>  (<a href="https://k7fry.com/grid/?qth=CN87ON31&from=CN87TM38HV&t=n" target="_blank">map</a>, <a href="https://k7fry.com/grid/?qth=CN87ON31&from=CN87TM38HV&t=s" target="_blank">sat</a>, <a href="https://k7fry.com/grid/?qth=CN87ON31&from=CN87TM38HV&t=t" target="_blank">terrain</a>, <a href="https://k7fry.com/grid/?qth=CN87ON31&from=CN87TM38HV&t=h" target="_blank">hybrid</a>)</div></div></div></div></div><div><div><div class="gmail_quote"><div style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif;margin:7px 10px 8px;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><div style="margin:7px 10px 8px">Distance from <b>CN87TM38HV</b> - <b>31.217 km</b> (19.4 mi)</div></div></div></div></div><div><div><div class="gmail_quote"><div style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif;margin:7px 10px 8px;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><div style="margin:7px 10px 8px">Bearing ~ <b>272.37°</b> (reverse bearing ~ 92.37°)</div></div></div></div></div><div><div><div class="gmail_quote"><div style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif;margin:7px 10px 8px;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><div style="margin:7px 10px 8px">Midpoint - lat: 47.542679 lon: -122.596593</div></div></div></div></div></blockquote><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div style="margin:7px 10px 8px"><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif;margin:7px 10px 8px"><br></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif;margin:7px 10px 8px"><b>Bearing Degrees from WX7L QTH to Gold Mt Less WX7L QTH to Blyn Radio Site   </b></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif;margin:7px 10px 8px"><div style="margin:7px 10px 8px">                         320.3 - 272.4  = 47.9 </div><b>Note:  </b><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">I became interested in the flat panel antennas because Ian KE7MAP Gallagher and Kevin KI7HRC Gow had brought in their HamWAN nodes to club breakfasts several years ago, which were smaller than mine and very portable.  I also read the test results of WA7ONY using the predecessor QRT model from various locations (see </span><a href="http://www.stargazing.net/david/sdr/HamWAN.html" target="_blank" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">http://www.stargazing.net/david/sdr/HamWAN.html</a><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">) in Oregon and southern Washington.  It seemed like the newer model would be a good choice for both portable operations and also for linking to Gold Mt. which is 19 miles from my QTH.  I was amazed when I linked 42 miles to Blyn.</span></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif;margin:7px 10px 8px"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div style="margin:7px 10px 8px"><h1 style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;box-sizing:border-box;margin:20px 0px 10px;font-size:24px;line-height:1.1">Mikrotik QRT 5 ac dual chain 5GHz outdoor flat panel 24dBi antenna with built in routerboard International Version  <a href="https://mikrotik.com/product/RB911G-5HPacD-QRT">https://mikrotik.com/product/RB911G-5HPacD-QRT</a></h1><h1 style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;box-sizing:border-box;margin:20px 0px 10px;line-height:1.1"><span style="font-size:24px"><span style="font-weight:500"> </span><a href="https://flyteccomputers.com/mikrotik-rb911g-5hpacd-qrt" style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif;font-size:small;font-weight:normal">https://flyteccomputers.com/mikrotik-rb911g-5hpacd-qrt</a>    </span><font size="4">currently out of stock</font></h1><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">                        I purchsed from FlyTec for $167.99 + $25.04 tax = $193.03 and received it in about a week</span></div><div style=""><br></div><div style=""><a href="https://www.streakwave.com/mikrotik-rb911g-5hpacd-qrt-5ghz-qrt-720mhz-24dbi-11ac-1xgb-od-row">https://www.streakwave.com/mikrotik-rb911g-5hpacd-qrt-5ghz-qrt-720mhz-24dbi-11ac-1xgb-od-row</a>   $164  buy International version not the US version<br><div class="gmail-yj6qo" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif"></div><div class="gmail-adL" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Trebuchet MS",Trebuchet,sans-serif"><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>