JimJ
5,000+ posts
Tangled Up in Blue
The amateur radio organization I'm a member of in NC mostly works with the local office of Emergency Management for disaster relief operations, but sometimes we work on projects in the community, such as setting up a local FM station in Carrboro, and this project at a local elementary school in Chapel Hill. The teachers plan on integrating it into the science/technology curriculum, and it's a good idea in case the school is ever used as an emergency shelter during a disaster. The equipment was all bought on grant money; close to $7,000 worth of it.
This project has taken about six months to complete, with today being the final set up and 'smoke test'. I helped install the tower and antennas back in November, but they weren't on the air until today. I know most of you couldn't care less, but sometimes it's good to show that there is life beyond caraudio.com //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif
Wiring up the combination manual Morse key and automatic key.
A view of the what's on the roof of the school. The tower is about 17' high, and the roof is two stories up.
A better overall view of the antenna setup. The big antenna is for 10 meters and down, the little one is for VHF/UHF.---------
Close up of the feedpoint and lightning protection. This is what I did in the morning today, soldering and connecting all those lugs to the terminal strips. Fun stuff in a stiff breeze.
The weather station that I put in today, before I ran and dressed the cable. That amenonmeter (sp) was moving pretty fast, the fast shutter speed hides that //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif
The station in the classroom...almost two grand worth of gear right there. First contact was a guy in the Bahamas that came back to my call...so I'd say it works //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif Would have talked to more people, but the band conditions sucked. Sunspot numbers are way down this month...VHF range is solid out to about 50 miles; best you can expect with the surrounding terrian and antenna height. I'm very jealous of the setup, but then again, I don't have public money to play around with //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/naughty.gif.94359f346c0f1259df8038d60b41863e.gif
That is all, feel free to return to the useless threads...
This project has taken about six months to complete, with today being the final set up and 'smoke test'. I helped install the tower and antennas back in November, but they weren't on the air until today. I know most of you couldn't care less, but sometimes it's good to show that there is life beyond caraudio.com //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif
Wiring up the combination manual Morse key and automatic key.
A view of the what's on the roof of the school. The tower is about 17' high, and the roof is two stories up.
A better overall view of the antenna setup. The big antenna is for 10 meters and down, the little one is for VHF/UHF.---------
Close up of the feedpoint and lightning protection. This is what I did in the morning today, soldering and connecting all those lugs to the terminal strips. Fun stuff in a stiff breeze.
The weather station that I put in today, before I ran and dressed the cable. That amenonmeter (sp) was moving pretty fast, the fast shutter speed hides that //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif
The station in the classroom...almost two grand worth of gear right there. First contact was a guy in the Bahamas that came back to my call...so I'd say it works //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif Would have talked to more people, but the band conditions sucked. Sunspot numbers are way down this month...VHF range is solid out to about 50 miles; best you can expect with the surrounding terrian and antenna height. I'm very jealous of the setup, but then again, I don't have public money to play around with //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/naughty.gif.94359f346c0f1259df8038d60b41863e.gif
That is all, feel free to return to the useless threads...
