Rabbits

Yesterday's activities at Santa Ynez Peak went extremely well even though we didn't accomplish everything we had planed.

We arrived at the peak on schedule at 9:00 AM to a temperature of about 28 degrees, light winds and sunny blue skies.

By 9:30 we had everything unloaded and started assembly of the first coax connector on the 7/8" Hard-line. Another hour was spent getting the spool of Hard-line on rollers and in place to feed directly up the 100' tower. At 10:30 using a rope and pulley, we began the arduous task of threading the Hard-line up the leg of the tower. This was especially difficult because of the rats nest of coax already on the tower. Rabbit standards dictate the installation had to be equal to or better than a professional installation.

I the meantime work had begun on cleaning up the Repeaters Controller hook-up wiring and replacing the power switches on each Transmitter assembly that had been giving us such fits during our controller troubleshooting.

We also had a team working general clean-up in the building including replacing burned-out florescent tubes, and a couple others preparing a pot of Chilly Beans to warm our bellies after being outside in the cold.

By noon the temperature hit a high of 40 degrees with only a light breeze.

At 1:30 the Hard-line was connected to our 7db Station Master at the very top of the tower. The Hard-line was attached to the tower leg every 3' to ensure a long lasting secure installation.

We gobbled down 4 quarts of Chilly and lots of sandwiches and drinks during the lunch break. It was sure a treat to have hot chilly to help warm us up!

During the course of the day 2 gliders kept a careful watch on our progress.

By the time lunch was over, it was clear we would not be able to get the Link antennas mounted and Hard-line installed before dark with temperatures expecting to drop well below 20 degrees. The decision was made to install and point the 2 Link Antennas and call it a day on the tower. The only space available on the tower for the Link antennas was on the top cross-arm (curse the bad luck), fortunately we have plenty of 7/8" Hard-line. By 3:30 the Link antennas were securely bolted to the top cross-arm of the tower.

Back in the building the switches had been replaced, clean-up of the controller wiring, mounting of the "IM Panel" had been completed and audio level validation checks were well underway.

The next step was to route the Repeaters Hard-line into the building, install the connector and add grounding for lightning protection. All tasks were completed by 4 PM and general site clean up started. Everything was packed up and we started down the hill at 5 PM, looking at a beautiful purple and red sunset. The temperature as we left the hill was 31 degrees and dropping fast.

The ride home was very fulfilling with everyone chitchatting on the Santa Ynez radio. It rapidly became clear that the 449 radio was performing at the best it had ever performed, with coverage in canyons where before there was little or none. [FANTASTIC 449..eb]

Pictures of the activities will be posted in few days on www.rabbitradio.org. Have a look see! [Really nice when pix are reduced to leaa than 50KB..eb]

As always the success was a team effort with the following people participating: WA6FGK, W1UUQ, KA6GSU, W6KGB, WA6CRE, WA6NSR, WA6LKV, W6RBW, KD6VLO, KD6DUN and the team even allowed me to participate if I didn't give too many orders.

Once the weather warms up a bit we will make another trip to Santa Ynez to finish the remaining work.

Summary The Repeater and Link-1 are fully functional. The repeater is on its permanent antenna and Link-1 is connected to a 460 Mhz Station Master temporarily. The 2-Meter antenna is mounted and Hard-line installed, but the radios transmitter has a audio problem, so its not functional. When it does become functional, it will have a few new frequencies installed, so be sure to consult the new Cactus or Rabbit manuals before use.

WA6COT

REMEMBER Cactus Meeting - Mar 3, 2007 will be in Ontario, reserve soon, hope to see you.

As reported last week the easy part of getting Santa Ynez back in full operation was completed with the installation of the repeaters controller, connecting a couple of low performance antennas and adjusting a couple of audio levels.

Now the real work starts!

To complete all these tasks in a single day (Jan 13), will require 10 to 15
people. As far as repeater sites go, Santa Ynez is very accessable with only about 1/2 mile of dirt road to traverse. On a clear day you can easily see 4 of the Channel Islands.

The current weather forecast is 30% rain on Thursday and Friday with clear but cool on Saturday the 13th. Except for rain and/or high winds the 13th is a firm date.

Please confirm you are planning on helping.

Thanks
Emmett

REMEMBER Cactus Meeting - Mar 3, 2007 will be in Ontario, reserve soon, hope to see you.