How are we all getting on with the meshcore projects?
Whos planning what?
Whats going up next and where?
Show me some photos of it all
Lee
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Wellā¦ taking down the yagi and replacing it with an omni was a step backwards, could hear loads of repeater adverts but no one could hear me.
So this weekend its back up with the yagi and try to to achieve 6 meters above the chimney, this will also involve guying the mast.
In other news, my first very local range test of 433 with a fairly low repeater antenna height was a success and coverage in town knocked the socks off of 668 and intend to raise the antenna a couple of meters just to see what happens ( Howeverā¦ for a few reasons its a kinda pointless experiment, but !!)
Will put pictures up as soon as work progresses
getting my antennas outside and in boxes up a pole in the garden is currently on hold while christmas bleeds my funds dry. 
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I was picking you up Dave, but wasnt replying right away because i was out.
Others were abswering your messages too,
Richard MM1BH0 as just put up a repeater near to you too and theres others going up
Yeah I hate Xmas !
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Thank you Lee for thatā¦ it answered a question but raised more issues, lol
So after much head scratching, I worked out what should of been the main issue.
Also Iāve looked at Richards location using the antenna coverage map, and it looks like he will have the same issues with hills as I have.
At a bit of a loss as to where to put that ārockā of Deanās so heāll be able to reliably connect with it ? His location is much worse than mine , really bad for UHF , and Kells is about the only location he has a decent path to which can get a signal out of the town as well . Might be an idea if we put that or the other repeater up there so thereās a back up if one goes down ?
From that hill behind me the path is blocked by the Loop Rd South . He has a good path to the high ground overlooking the harbour , I know the area well , but where youād secrete a repeater with hardly any cover and so much pedestrian traffic and council ground workers coming and going ? Southern end of Bransty might be OK but concealing it while giving the solar panels a chance is something that will need to be thought about .
Richard
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Richard what abiut up is it Binsey near Keswick ? ive got this brand new kells one to go up ill try next week for it. Needs up on a mountain that rock one if you ask me. You can buy cheaper ones for local hills, id be putting the rock one up high very high on a mountain 100%
We need a link to carlisle from us so not sure which hill top to recommend, but binsey i think is a good one?
Lee
I think the idea is to have a 2nd accessible repeater , that can also get a signal out of town just in case one goes down , the Kells one is the only one we can get signals out of the town with , but yes a cheaper local one that can be put on a mast might be better , because the camouflaged rocks are limited to being on the floor so need to be on high ground ideally .
Richard.
HI Richard
Local āish to you is Cuil Hill 420m high, and would give coverage to you and Cumbria (also into Dumfries) .
I donāt know the hill, but it looks like a major slog / treck to get to, if its doable then let me know and Iāll donate a bat box and all the fillingsā¦ but the down side is that it looks like a heck of a way to go for any maintenance.
Carlisle is still blocked by Criffe 569m though
Iāll have a v3 board and antenna I could donate to fit that bat box once my new v4 turn up if that helps out
Got an aerial technician coming on the 23rd to install the bracket for my westwards facing yagi. I have everything else ready, just need the bracket installed.
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And here at the hobbit hole, the ongoing task of replacing the wobbly aluminum mast with some taller scaffold poles continues ā¦.. apart from one ātinyā issue. in that Iām sure that 45 years ago 3m lengths of galvanized scaffolding were not this darn heavy (they must weigh about a ton each) , but Iām sure that with a pully or two a fulcrum and a few sky hooks, I may just manage.
haha. 2 of my repeaters have gone off line at the moment too. My outdoor ones Solar Omni and West Yagi are both down off the mast, the wind spun them round the pole. A re design of the omni mounts and a rebuild in the next few days ill get the omni back up at least.
The Rock I gave to Richard is for a fell somewhere. If it can improve the link between Whitehaven a further north then thatāll be great.
I do also think we need a second repeater in on the Kells in case one goes down. Let me know if I can be of assistance on that. I have a spare Heltec V3 but would need a high point to install it. There is a new repeater popped up in Hensingham which I can reach so this could also be a route for traffic to higher ground. I have no idea how that one is powered.
My second rock is ready to go and I would like to use this to provide a possible bridge to Egremont.
I have 10 more radios on the way and have started printing more rocks. So suggestions on placement locations would be appreciated.
Dean (M9LAD)
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Dean what radios have you got coming to go in the new rocks? not just banging Heltec V3ās in em are you?
Well done Dean thats awsome
Lee
Seeed XIAO nRF52840 radios with Lora expansion board. Iāve made 2 rocks from these already and they seem to be performing well on both signal and battery life.