[HamWAN PSDR] Request for onsite HamWan signal strength test (John Spady)

Bart Kus me at bartk.us
Thu Feb 1 13:31:56 PST 2018


Hi John,

You have roof access to this condo?  The landlord lets you mount stuff 
up there?  If so, are you able to take a zoomed photo of the Westin 
building from there?  (not the round hotel towers, but the square office 
building)  I'm curious which floor(s) you can see.

--Bart


On 2/1/2018 12:24 PM, Carl wrote:
>
> The coordinates I’m using for Haystack are 47deg 48.555 min by 121 deg 
> 45.048 min. There is a visible radio site at these coordinates. The 
> HamWAN map agrees with this location, but elsewhere on their website 
> are coordinates that are about one mile east of my coordinates.  
> Coordinates are based on WGS84 datum.
>
> Beacon is the Seattle Housing Authority building at 1311 S. 
> Massachusetts St. That is 47-35.293N, 122-18.930W (WGS84).
>
> Capitol Park is the SHA building at 47-37.429N, 122-18.902W (14^th Ave 
> E and E Mercer St.)
>
> Capitol Peak is south-west of Olympia at 46-48.382N, 123-08.293W
>
> Carl
>
> *From:*PSDR [mailto:psdr-bounces at hamwan.org] *On Behalf Of *Mark 
> Weisenfeld
> *Sent:* Thursday, February 1, 2018 10:17 AM
> *To:* psdr at hamwan.org
> *Subject:* Re: [HamWAN PSDR] Request for onsite HamWan signal strength 
> test (John Spady)
>
> John Spady <jspady at mac.com <mailto:jspady at mac.com>>
>
> Request for onsite HamWan signal strength test (John Spady)
>
> I'm still getting used to where all these antennas are located. I 
> disagree with nothing Carl says below, but here are some tools to use 
> on Haystack and some fun.
>
> Can someone get me coords for Beacon and the ones that are not on 
> prominent, easy to locate, hilltops?
>
> The 3D view of Google maps shows you have line-of-sight to Haystack.
>
> But http://www.heywhatsthat.com/profiler.html seems to think there is 
> something immediately in the way. However, it also shows a ridge at 
> 8-9 miles that could be a challenge, and little help from 5.8 Ghz 
> refraction.
>
> Inline image 1
>
>
>     ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>     From: John Spady <jspady at mac.com <mailto:jspady at mac.com>>
>     To: psdr at hamwan.org <mailto:psdr at hamwan.org>
>     Cc:
>     Bcc:
>     Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2018 19:57:29 -0800
>     Subject: [HamWAN PSDR] Request for onsite HamWan signal strength test
>     Hello folks, I had a person (whose name I can’t recall
>     unfortunately) come out to my condo building a short time ago and
>     take signal strength reading to various HamWAN sites in the area
>     (gold/beacon/and haystack). But my original plans for the antenna
>     location have changed and I really need someone with a portable
>     system to visit again and take some readings from a new location
>     on my condo roof.
>
>     I live at 2801 1st Ave, in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle.
>
>     I could also use a materials inventory list or an Elmer kind
>     enough to stop by and help me figure it up.
>
>     I will compensate for someone’s time if that would help get
>     someone here.
>
>     Thank you.
>     John WA7UAR
>     206-465-6963 <tel:206-465-6963>
>
>     Sent from my iPhone ;-)
>
>
>     ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>     From: Carl <carl at n7kuw.com <mailto:carl at n7kuw.com>>
>     To: "'Puget Sound Data Ring'" <psdr at hamwan.org
>     <mailto:psdr at hamwan.org>>
>     Cc:
>     Bcc:
>     Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2018 20:29:12 -0800
>     Subject: Re: [HamWAN PSDR] Request for onsite HamWan signal
>     strength test
>     John,
>
>     If you still have line of sight from the new location, the signal
>     strength should be virtually identical to what you had before
>     (given the same type of antenna). The real question is if you will
>     have line of sight to at least one of those locations (that's all
>     you want to shoot to).  So, standing at your new antenna location,
>     look and see if you can actually see (visual) each of those
>     destinations. Of course, clouds and weather may prevent you from
>     actually seeing it, but you should be able to look in that
>     direction to determine if there is anything blocking.
>
>     As to actual signal strength, that will depend on what antenna you
>     use. You have several choices from a 30dbi dish to a 19dbi panel.
>     The higher the dbi number, the more gain, hence more signal
>     strength, you will have.
>
>     What type of antenna did the person who came out before use? Was
>     it an actual dish (round or oblong), was it a flat panel roughly
>     12" square, or was it a flat panel roughly 4" square?  The smaller
>     should work well for Beacon. The larger 12" flat panel should work
>     for Gold and maybe for Haystack.  A 30dbi dish will absolutely
>     work for Haystack.
>
>     Attached is a screen capture of Google Earth with bearing lines to
>     each of the following from the center of your roof, going
>     clockwise - Haystack, Capitol Park, Beacon, Gold.  From where you
>     plan (are able to) mount your dish, which of those is the best to use?
>
>     If you got a decent signal from a previous test, I have no doubt
>     you can get a good signal from another test.  The real question is
>     exactly where will you mount your antenna, what will it be mounted
>     to (how secure), how much clearance is there around it, and what
>     (if anything) is in the way of one of the paths on the attached
>     screen captures?
>
>     Shooting to Beacon is probably your best option if you have a
>     clear path. That is close by, so much stronger signal (and smaller
>     antenna needed), plus it has paths to Baldi, Gold and Haystack -
>     so lots of redundancy. Shooting to Gold would be my second choice.
>     Shooting to Haystack would be my third choice, and shooting to
>     Capitol Park my fourth choice. The last two have less reliability
>     than the first two (longer shot to Haystack, Capitol Park shoots
>     to Haystack so is just one more thing in the middle of going to
>     Haystack).
>
>     For Beacon, the two buildings directly to your south might be the
>     obstacles you have to avoid. If you can get past/over them, you
>     should have no problem.  One of the small 4" square panels mounted
>     on top of a pole as high as you can get it might serve your purpose.
>
>     I'm happy to stop by some day with a 12" and 4" panel to test
>     with. I've got a bigger dish, but it is cumbersome and hard to
>     move.  If you'll cover the cost of parking, I'll make the trip.
>
>     Carl, N7KUW
>
> -- 
>
> ******************************************
>
> Mark Weisenfeld K7TUM
>
> Tumwater, WA
>
> **************************
>
>
>
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