I think we had a meaningful and constructive conversation
regarding repeater work and maintenance last night. Harley is burdened
by the number of repeaters under him, needs help,?and will be
letting?the?club/community know how we can all be involved and of use.
We have plenty of folks that want to volunteer and have offered help in
the past. We would all like to be in the loop regarding what needs to be
done, where it needs to be done, and what's currently being worked on
so?we can be of service and learn the systems.??
Hopefully
Harley can help put together a list of other repeaters in despair and
work that needs to take place. He mentioned there are 13 repeaters he
takes responsibility for. I'm not sure how we organize and prioritize
these.?
Any documentation?on site access and repeater
configuration?would?be greatly appreciated and very useful to organize
help.
Long Term Plan for the .82 / Buck Ridge
Repeater:
-Building needs a roof. We had
volunteers?ready to do the work, but never got the work scheduled. I
will bump that?email chain. This will need to happen in June when the
road opens back up to wheeled traffic. Road is restricted to 50"
vehicles.
-Separate?non-profit and for-profit power systems,
while maintaining good relations with commercial site users. We will
still provide our services and collaborate.
-New batteries.
Not recycled batteries. ERA has room in the budget for this. I
recommend?AGM. QTY to be determined. I would like to start with around
200ah.
-Determine power requirements for both systems by
measuring idle and transmit current.
-Reconfigure existing
solar panels in series to minimize current loss on the lengthy?12
gauge?wiring.
-Add MPPT Solar controller?to utilize high
voltage from new panel arrangement?and provide low volt disconnect to
protect battery investment.?
? ? ?I had previously offered a
modern controller, but the PWM got used instead. I have already ordered
another. Hopefully 20a will carry our system. New controller can provide
historical data for solar and load.
-Determine if higher
gauge?wire can be pulled through existing underground conduit.
-Consider
Bi-facial solar panels to make better use of vertically oriented panels
at this site if funds become available.
Weather
and time depending, this weekend I may try to make a quick motorcycle
or ATV trip up to get some preliminary notes and data.
There
will be more to this thread as information becomes available. This
could also be a useful thread to organize and track progress and
volunteers for the 82.
Here is the controller I
will provide:
I
can get these batteries for 50$ off retail:
These
can get for 98$:
?
My
corporate rate unfortunately cuts the warranty in half, so that will
need to be considered.
Thanks
for everyone's time and input.
-Trevor KG7KCV
