I will die if I go to vegas, but ill keep the offer in mind :-) Im bringing him in on this because at one point, all these links met the link planner specs (exception is one that was always 10dB low, but link planner now alerts on earth curvature, at the time it didnt.
I have exaggerated tree data in the profiles even. Our techs have been there multiple times aligning, never up to par. I dont have the time, nor the inclination to go out aligning these with no good tech on my far end, the contractor used to work here, he and I aligned them when they were good. The feedhorns/leads are the only variable I have no way to attest to. The links have the expected fade, but with them being so far off (20db) there is no margin he and his guys have the testing scope I dont, and the reliability in alignment my monkeys dont. These are Radio Waves High Performance parabolics, so theyre not a super cheap antenna. The data sheets have the spectrum sweep info, so we know what theyre tuned for. My time on this would be more than twelve hours because i would have to be communicating with the ass monkey tech on the other end, or driving back and forth, plus my fear of tower heights means that 160 foot climb takes 45 minutes each time I go up, and two of them are on towers, so if I go up 3 times each thats 4.5 hours and three sets of underwear alone. and I still dont know if im fighting damaged or failed gear. But If I know the antennas are tested and professionally aligned, then my only remaining variable are radios and the fact Jesus hates me, I can get new radios. If I had my druthers, id just put the dough toward three licensed links and be done with the whole thing On Thu, Jul 7, 2016 at 1:43 PM, Paul McCall <[email protected]> wrote: > Steve, > > > > Just pay me to consult and we can split the difference. I will use Google > Earth and Street view and certify the alignments that way. I’ll even meet > you in Vegas to deliver my report personally. > > > > You get to maintain your budget and get a trip to Vegas! > > > > Paul > > > > *From:* Af [mailto:[email protected]] *On Behalf Of *That One Guy > /sarcasm > *Sent:* Thursday, July 7, 2016 2:40 AM > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* [AFMUG] outside contractor expectations > > > > So, Im really a cheap bastard, Ive had like 10k in outside > consultant/funtime contractor retard budget for a few months since our 12 > dollar guy left us, Ive spent 0 bucks and done everything myself but need > to deplete the budget so I can renew it. > > > > We have three ptp links that arent at the path profile we need to get back > into the party. Im bringing in a guy to test the antennas/ leads/ output. > On the antenna tests, I have no clue what to realistically expect on a > deployed unit, nor can I probably read the results. > > > > My expectations are that I provide them with the FCC ID of the antenna, > they tell me if theyre still up to snuff (these are all radiowaves 2' high > performance connected to antiquated PTP500 (some are software upgraded from > 300). I dont know thats its worth testing the leads, all 12 are worth maybe > 200 bucks and the contractor time is 65 bucks x 2 guys, probably best to > just have them verify 12 leads in the shop and replace them all since > theyre getting disconnected for testing anyway. assuming none of the > parabolics were hit by meteorites or .22s the only thing that might have > been degraded is the feedhorns. Ive been doing this nonsense for a decade > and only seen one damaged feedhorn on one of these thing, and it was > exploded from lighting, so I think for 6 units, 2 spares should be > sufficient. Hes verifying he can test the RF output of the Radio itself, if > not he says he can do a "spectrum" in front of the antenna after verifying > the horn and lead loss. I expect FCC testbed results, can someone bring me > closer to earth and tell me what my actual expectations should be for this? > > > > After the antenna/lead/output verification theyre going to update > linkplanner with verified GPS and AGL and align. Ive never seen a valid > input on linkplanner be outside the installation report on a single link I > installed. so I think this is worth the budget, I have a 12 hour > expectation so about 1500 before the incidentals like drive and a hotel > which is maybe 300 bucks more for 1800 or so dollars. > > > > To you folks who have been doing this much longer than me, is what Im > getting worth the dough given I dont have the personal ability to verify > any hardware and dont have the staff to reliably be on the other end of the > alignments? Im the guy a jew calls a cheap prick (no offense to jews) so > anything over 8 dollars seems like alot to me and Ive been sitting on ten > grand like its my last mortgage payment, so burning almost 20% of it hurts > my chiseler heart, if I had a heart > > > > A note on previous expense, we have burned probably 30 or 40 staff man > hours over the last year sending not me guys out looking at these links at > various times already. Two are on towers, I quit climbing towers a few > years ago and only climb in emergencies or days with Y now, but havent been > personally involved in realignment, my fear of height on towers makes it > hard for me to focus on alignment. > > > > > -- > > If you only see yourself as part of the team but you don't see your team > as part of yourself you have already failed as part of the team. > -- If you only see yourself as part of the team but you don't see your team as part of yourself you have already failed as part of the team.
