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Hello,<br>
<br>
A lot has happened recently, and I've been lagging on communication,
so here's an oversized update. If you would like to take some of
the tasks below off my hands, let me know! The to-do list is kind
of overwhelming right now.<br>
<br>
<div align="center"><b>Administrative</b><br>
</div>
<br>
HamWAN is now officially a non-profit corporation in the state of
Washington. We've also got a business license and an IRS EIN for
tax purposes. Because of the nice legal statuses, we've now got a
bank account, a PayPal account and a credit card! Just like a real
boy!<br>
<br>
This has all allowed HamWAN to launch the DONATION PROGRAM! Right
now, yes right now, you can hit up HamWAN.org and make donations!
You can also become a long-term supporter and donate on a recurring
monthly or yearly basis. I don't want to drown the rest of this
status update email with donation details and why they're important
and what donating gets you, so please read the details at the <a
href="https://www.hamwan.org/t/tiki-index.php?page=Service+Levels">Service
Levels</a> page.<br>
<br>
The next steps on the legal front will be making a 501(c)(3)
filing. The process has begun and the board should be approving it
in early November. Processing time with the IRS will be a few
months.<br>
<br>
Speaking of the board, it is composed of:<br>
<br>
<table height="113" width="964" border="1" cellpadding="2"
cellspacing="2">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="top">Position<br>
</td>
<td valign="top">Name<br>
</td>
<td valign="top">Callsign<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">Bart Kus<br>
</td>
<td valign="top">Chairman<br>
</td>
<td valign="top">AE7SJ<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">Curt Black<br>
</td>
<td valign="top">Director<br>
</td>
<td valign="top">WR5J<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">Benjamin Krueger<br>
</td>
<td valign="top">Director<br>
</td>
<td valign="top">N2IHK<br>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br>
I would like the board to grow, so if you or anyone you know is
serious about contributing, please get in touch.<br>
<br>
<br>
<div align="center"><b>Technical</b><br>
</div>
<br>
Here at HamWAN Labs (aka: my home) engineers (aka: me) were
successful in setting up an MPLS network with 4 MikroTik routers:<br>
<br>
<tt>[admin@D] > /tool traceroute 192.168.44.10 <br>
# ADDRESS RT1 RT2 RT3
STATUS <br>
1 10.0.2.1 10ms 8ms 8ms
<MPLS:L=29,E=0>
<br>
2 10.0.3.1 13ms 7ms 10ms
<MPLS:L=23,E=0>
<br>
3 10.0.1.1 10ms 9ms 8ms
<MPLS:L=28,E=0>
<br>
4 192.168.42.1 9ms 8ms
9ms
<br>
5 192.168.44.10 11ms 10ms
9ms
<br>
</tt><br>
MPLS-TE is next up on the network test agenda. IPv6 was tested
successfully. Maximum over-the-air data throughput was tested as
123Mbit/s.<br>
<br>
On the RF side of things, maximum throughput was measured on two RF
links simultaneously, within close proximity to each other, and
configured to use adjacent spectrum. The results showed
interference and slow-downs. So now it is important to measure the
inter-antenna coupling and relate it to some minimum guard band
size. In this harshest of conditions (no inter-antenna shielding) a
guard band of 20MHz was sufficient to eliminate all interference and
slow-downs. Although the tests were only being done @ 10mW not the
full 1.3W, so as to not saturate the receivers.<br>
<br>
Speaking of antennas, HamWAN Labs has a couple candidate models in
stock and is about to perform analysis! Doing work at 6GHz is no
easy feat, but for about $700 it looks like we're all geared up to
pull it off. The test setup is something <a
href="https://www.hamwan.org/t/tiki-index.php?page=Antenna+Testing&structure=HamWAN">like
this</a>. But due to budget constraints only one power meter is
available (although it's dual-channel!), and the coupler is
unidirectional, not bidirectional, so it'll have to be switched
around to perform the two different measurements. A little
sprinkling of GPIB control software and these instruments should
take a few hours to perform a complete sweep of each antenna,
measuring:<br>
<br>
1) Incident power<br>
2) Reflected power<br>
3) Received power<br>
4) Frequency<br>
<br>
This will characterize the SWR of each antenna and their claims of
16dBi maximum gain.<br>
<br>
The next antenna experiment will be to measure radiation patterns,
as the manufacturer specs are not trustworthy. HamWAN Labs has
bought a rotor for this purpose and it needs to be rigged with a
custom controller circuit to step it accurately. It also needs to
be subject to computer control.<br>
<br>
We'll need to figure out a way to control elevation as well as
azimuth to produce 3D models. Given the short transmission ranges
involved, a typical Az-El rotor setup will introduce excessive
sideways motion of the antenna under test and will skew the
results. I'm open to suggestions. The TX and RX antennas are
spread about 20ft apart.<br>
<br>
Finally, and this is the stretch goal, it would be good to measure
radiation patterns as they vary with frequency.<br>
<br>
Once the antennas are fully characterized, inter-antenna coupling
can be modelled and interference can be minimized. The coupling
should also be directly measurable by setting up the antennas as
though they were part of a distribution node (3-sector cell site),
injecting a known signal, and measuring the RX. This type of
measurement will just verify the antenna models are correct, and
that the measurement methods are sound.<br>
<br>
I'm also trying to calibrate the Boonton 4200 power meter and the
power probes. To this end, I'll be trying to construct a copy of a
Boonton 2500 DC calibrator unit. The ones on eBay are prohibitively
expensive for what amounts to a 10VDC supply in a box with a bunch
of resistors. I don't have a good AC calibration source (50MHz from
+20dBm to -20dbm for one sensor, and down to -60dBm for another), so
I'll be faking it with signal generators and an oscilloscope I have
on-hand. If you happen to have an accurate and calibrated signal
source @ 50MHz, do let me know!<br>
<br>
<br>
<div align="center"><b>Sites</b><br>
</div>
<br>
On the site front, Cougar is still in the works and taking longer
than expected. Please do talk to people you know and help secure
sites for the project. There's a map of desired sites <a
href="https://www.hamwan.org/t/tiki-index.php?page=Puget+Sound+Data+Ring&structure=HamWAN">here</a>,
towards the bottom of the page. Gold Mtn, Blyn Mtn, Capitol Peak,
Hatfield's Daughter, Sugarloaf Mtn, Graham Hill, Cougar Mtn, Tiger
Mtns and that one Unknown one is apparently Cultas Mtn...these all
need to be landed. Paine Field and Mt.Constitution are secured.
Lyman Hill is securable with money.<br>
<br>
<br>
<div align="center"><b>Speaking of Money<br>
</b></div>
<br>
Just to file for 501(c)(3) charity status is a $400 application fee,
so please, people, donate! And spread the word to other
hammy-compu-nerds!<br>
<br>
Thanks,<br>
<br>
--Bart<br>
<br>
PS: Real-time project discussion / coordination is on
irc.freenode.org in #HamWAN.<br>
<br>
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