WWPUG Tours VA3SED BBS AND KSR-0

The Packet Group made its first winter excursion on Sunday January 25 to downtown Baden, to see the Packet bulletin board system (BBS) VA3SED. Tedd Doda VE3TJD gave us a demonstration of message passing, and some of the System Operators (SYSOPs) special bag of tricks. A trek up the Baden Hill capped our visit. What better time for a Ham excursion than in mid winter when the snow is deep and the temperatures sub-zero! L-R: Steve Grechi, VE3VEW, Dave Wartman VE3OUA, Norm Perault VE3DEQ, Tedd Doda VE3TJD, Dave Schwartz VA3DGS, Gord Hayward VE3EOS, Ian Gorman VE3IOE and kneeling our club Treasurer, Greg Hollinger VE3NXB Those of us who made it all the way were treated to a tour of the "bunker". The compact assembly of equipment in the KSR-KWQ stacks helped to demystify some of the operations of Kwarc repeater system. The photo to the left shows the gaggle of GE Phoenix Radios, TNC's AX.25 switches and various power-supplies. Thanks to Ben VA3BNY for transporting the less athletic members of the group to the top. The downhill return was equally invigorating and thanks to Tedd, coffee was enjoyed by all to warm the chily bodies. 73 de Larry VE3LGN

VA3SED BBS News by Tedd Doda VE3TJD About 3 months ago, the high speed packet link between Baden Hill and Hamilton became intermittent. At times, the connection would work "ok", at other times, the link was non-existent. By observing the times (and weather) that the link was down, it appeared that it failed during times of high winds. This made us believe that there was something wrong with the antenna or feed-line, as all other equipment is sheltered. Therefore, a new antenna was installed, leaving the original one in place so that more test could be done. The original antenna was a 6 element UHF beam which was mounted on the smaller of the 2 large towers. The new antenna is an 11 element UHF beam mounted on the roof of the "shack" using an existing feedline (9913). No adjustments had to be made, as the antenna responded with a 1.30 to 1 SWR at the operating frequency (slightly above 441 MHz), re-enforcing our choice in purchasing an antenna manufactured by TMG Communications in Stratford, Ontario. During the installation, we had Jerry, VA3GB (co-sysop of VE3DTV), at the Hamilton site so that aiming of the beam could be accomplished. Jerry supplied us with a low level (about 100 mW) RF signal at the frequency of our link. After careful aiming, full quieting was observed, both in Hamilton and at the Baden site, both sides using about 100 mW drive. Initial test looked promising, but after a week of monitoring, the performance is still not as good as expected. Although we rarely "loose" the link, the re-try rate (a rating of the throughput of a digital path) is still high. Due to the Hamilton end of the link having very limited test equipment, efforts will be made in the near future to have all the equipment tested for frequency error, and proper deviation. Our end has been will be checked at the same time. What does this mean for the users of VA3SED? Very little, as "most" of the bulletin forwarding is done during the evening hours, and personal mail, due to the small physical size, will pass regardless. 73, de Tedd VE3TJD / sysop-VA3SED

For more information email info@kwarc.org

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