Contacting Through Keller Pk

[KX6D]

IIRC it's on Blackjack Peak...

The antenna for 147.090 has a very high angle of radiation to assure hitting the meaty part of LA and Orange County.

The repeater is at the airport in the hanger. They use an antenna with a low angle of radiation in order to blanket San Diego to Santa Barbara.

Its a great system with a bunch of great people. The repeater has some amazing coverage...even into Palm Springs when the weather is right.
http://www.cara.nu/

[sarah]

I set up my little handheld in my office to try to hear Materdaddy through Keller Peak over Echolink (via iPhone!). I wasn't hearing anything, so I moved the radio around until I could hear him - wow! It's driving me nuts that I can't talk yet....

Oh! And the best part is, the radio works best on the opposite side of the office that my desk sits

[Roger]

Oh! And the best part is, the radio works best on the opposite side of the office that my desk sits

Simple- move your desk

[sarah]

Simple- move your desk

I was thinking antenna tower

[Roger]

I was thinking antenna tower

Good thinking!

[OU812]

I talked to Materdaddy on Keller peak today too. iPhone to iPhone! I guess I could have just called him. lol

[Roger]

I also caught up to him but I was on Keller Peak and he was on his iPhone. So I'm going to claim to be his very first contact through a repeater!

Mat, I didn't realize you were talking to Scott via echo link phone to phone!

[Materdaddy]

I also caught up to him but I was on Keller Peak and he was on his iPhone. So I'm going to claim to be his very first contact through a repeater!

Mat, I didn't realize you were talking to Scott via echo link phone to phone!

Haha, yeah, we were just experimenting. I'm basically only waiting on my antenna mount now. I have everything else I need.

I had a long discussion about antennas at HRO yesterday and I hope I don't regret my purchase.

I did buy a little Comet B-10 antenna after a LONG discussion about antennas and being talked down to for thinking everybody's steel whip antennas were "probably fine": http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/4027. The reviews actually look pretty good, my my fear is the people claiming unexpected performance for something so small are all mounting them on car roofs with a good counterplane to help a little bit with radiating the signal and I'm going to be mounting it near the rear of my Jeep. We'll see! I might buy a different antenna for every-day use, and only use this one offroad so I don't snag a tree.

[Roger]

I really don't think VHF & UHF antenna placement is as critical as HF antennas are. If you are pushing 35 - 50 watts to a repeater, normally there's never a problem except mountains or tall buildings etc. interfering with the signal. Then it doesn't matter where you mount an antenna on your vehicle you can't talk through a mountain!

[Materdaddy]

Good point. I guess I'll find out soon enough. I'm hoping to get the radio installed soon.

[Nipple Twister]

Materdaddy

I am currently using that antenna on my Jeep and on my "city" truck and it works very well. The Jeep is mounted on the rear tire rack. I have not found a longer antenna that can withstand the off road enviroment, the constant bouncing seems to break the elements.......

[troyboy162]

i think i just got on the victorville win repeter
Victorville CA K6PNG 448.900* (-) 162.2
it beeps at me when i key up and i hear it giving morris code every once and awhile, but i dont hear anyone. is it possible at 1230am on a friday that no one would be on this huge system? i probably messed up some settings.

[Russ Chung]

i think i just got on the victorville win repeter
Victorville CA K6PNG 448.900* (-) 162.2
it beeps at me when i key up and i hear it giving morris code every once and awhile, but i dont hear anyone. is it possible at 1230am on a friday that no one would be on this huge system? i probably messed up some settings.

I was in the area yesterday and tuned into the Victorville WIN System repeater. I heard some local hams chatting on it, but it appears that the repeater was not linked into the WIN System. The link could have been down due to equipment problems or the owner of the repeater may have disconnected it for some reason. My biggest gripe about the WIN System is that there is no timely information about the status of the repeaters in the system. The WIN System control group (K6JSI, KI6IXQ and a few others) know the system status, but ordinary users (and ordinary members) don't have an easy way to find out the current system status.

According to the IRLP web site (which does have very current information), the Victorville IRLP node is node 3358, and its current status is [COLOR="Red"]down[/COLOR] for four days
http://www.irlp.net/

[troyboy162]

great thanks for the follow up! setting up the memory channels it kinda weird so i figured i had botched it

[Materdaddy]

i think i just got on the victorville win repeter
Victorville CA K6PNG 448.900* (-) 162.2
it beeps at me when i key up and i hear it giving morris code every once and awhile, but i dont hear anyone. is it possible at 1230am on a friday that no one would be on this huge system? i probably messed up some settings.

Keying up and not identifying is technically illegal. Most people will call it "kerchunking" and it's frowned upon. Just ask for a radio check and somebody monitoring will gladly chat with you and let you know if you're hitting the repeater.

I was in the area yesterday and tuned into the Victorville WIN System repeater. I heard some local hams chatting on it, but it appears that the repeater was not linked into the WIN System. The link could have been down due to equipment problems or the owner of the repeater may have disconnected it for some reason. My biggest gripe about the WIN System is that there is no timely information about the status of the repeaters in the system. The WIN System control group (K6JSI, KI6IXQ and a few others) know the system status, but ordinary users (and ordinary members) don't have an easy way to find out the current system status.

According to the IRLP web site (which does have very current information), the Victorville IRLP node is node 3358, and its current status is [COLOR="Red"]down[/COLOR] for four days
http://www.irlp.net/

I have a neighbor who knows Shorty (K6JSI). He stays off the WIN system and has told me that a lot of their ops (including K6JSI) have a chip on their shoulder. The few times I've been on one of their repeaters, I get the same impression.