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APRS in the middle of nowhere...

Bob Brown

Bob Brown

Well Known Member
I was surprised to find that my APRS got a signal out on today's flight from Independence, OR (7S5)to Winnemucca, Nevada (KWMC). I see it lost the signal as I descended to 7500'...but I'm still amazed it got out in some of that terrain. Gives me a comforting feeling!
Here's the track:
http://aprs.fi/?call=N174bk&mt=m&z=11&timerange=43200
 
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Whats the difference between the locations on the track map with the green stars and the locations with the house icons?

Just curious

erich
 
erich weaver said:
Whats the difference between the locations on the track map with the green stars and the locations with the house icons?

Just curious

erich
Click to expand...

Erich,

As a general rule the green stars are primary (wide coverage) digipeaters that may or may not be serving as iGates (portals to the internet). The houses are most likely "fill-in digis", lower level digipeaters that don't have the same coverage as the larger digis. Since each APRS user is free to use whichever symbol they wish, they aren't totally standardized.

As long as our beacons find their way to the APRS internet servers it really doesn't matter what route they take, provided we are using an appropriate path for aviation purposes in our tracker config.
 
No, not here for a model rocket launch, here on a business trip. I'd like to have a plug n play iGate to put on top of Winnemucca Mountain, it's 3000' above surrounding terrain and has high speed internet and power...that would provide coverage in just a huge area of Oregon, Idaho, Northern Nevada and eastern California...hmmm, Pete or Sam, since you're the resident geeks (that's a compliment) maybe you could rig one up and sell it to me in the interest of expanding the coverage. ?

I'm heading back to Oregon Thursday morning, I suspect I'll see about the same coverage, but my route will most likely be more direct. Interesting to note that on the trip down here, I had coverage almost all the way through the Columbia River Gorge between Portland and the Dalles...I thought that narrow corridor wouldn't have coverage at all and I was only at 2500'.
 
Flying the Gorge

Bob Brown said:
... through the Columbia River Gorge between Portland and the Dalles...I thought that narrow corridor wouldn't have coverage at all and I was only at 2500'.
Click to expand...

Bob,

I could have given you a PIREP! I flew the Gorge the opposite direction the day before, also noting the good coverage at 2500 MSL. Glad to see we were each were keeping on the proper side of the river <g>.

My track: http://tinyurl.com/mwquzy
Your track: http://tinyurl.com/lua7tw
 
Bob Brown said:
No, not here for a model rocket launch, here on a business trip. I'd like to have a plug n play iGate to put on top of Winnemucca Mountain, it's 3000' above surrounding terrain and has high speed internet and power...that would provide coverage in just a huge area of Oregon, Idaho, Northern Nevada and eastern California...hmmm, Pete or Sam, since you're the resident geeks (that's a compliment) maybe you could rig one up and sell it to me in the interest of expanding the coverage. ?

I'm heading back to Oregon Thursday morning, I suspect I'll see about the same coverage, but my route will most likely be more direct. Interesting to note that on the trip down here, I had coverage almost all the way through the Columbia River Gorge between Portland and the Dalles...I thought that narrow corridor wouldn't have coverage at all and I was only at 2500'.
Click to expand...

Bob, sounds like that would be a great location for an iGate. I wish there was such a thing as a plug-n-play iGate--configuring one can sometimes be quirky. Of course, once you have a computer with the software installed and set up, installing the iGate on the mountain would be plug-n-play. :)

Maybe a simple iGate can be Pete the Geek's next project. :D
 
Very impressive.

BTW, what kind of flight vs. drive times are we talking on this trip. I'm guessing that it's quite an improvement by RV and the direct'ish route you were able to take.
 
Bob and Sam....

Who you calling a Geek? I'll fly my atomic hovercycle, with my scrawny arms and taped up glasses to insult you guys in hexadecimal!

Working on a "igate for everyone design". I'll let you know!
 
were those clouds on the mountains the reason why you went up to the gorge? What time of day was your flight- did you finish it at 9 am?
 
Clouds in the Valley...and time saved

Yep, it was overcast at 2000' when I took off and I didn't want to risk flying south to Eugene only to find more cloud cover...and the gorge is so reliable (and only added 25 minutes to the trip) I just took the reliable route out of the valley.

Another poster asked about time saved on this trip...it took 2:40 to fly it...I had a friend drive down from Portland, it took him a little over 12 hours. He's driving back tomorrow, we'll leave at the same time, I'm flying. I'll be home for breakfast and he'll be home in time for dinner.
 
Joe said:
Bob,

I could have given you a PIREP! I flew the Gorge the opposite direction the day before, also noting the good coverage at 2500 MSL. Glad to see we were each were keeping on the proper side of the river <g>.

My track: http://tinyurl.com/mwquzy
Your track: http://tinyurl.com/lua7tw
Click to expand...

Just like in Alaska...fly a couple hundred feet below the cloud deck to maximize working space and stay on the right in the canyons...except no Dall sheep on the slopes in the gorge. Well neighbor, you can track me in the morning, I look to launch from KWMC at about 1330Z, but will see if I can just fly direct instead of re-gorgitating.
 
Bob Brown said:
... re-gorgitating ...
Click to expand...

"Re-gorgitating" -- I love it!

Is there a common radio frequency (like 122.75) for Gorge flyers? Would have been nice to announce; I silently passed a couple of Cessnas.

I'll be tracking you in the first part of the morning but then I'm flying to Arlington for the fly-in. Let's hope the forecast morning overcast doesn't affect either of us.
 
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