On Tue, 5 May 2009 16:48:13 -0400, "Chuck Kelsey" <[email protected]> said: > Nate - > > May I suggest that you do a write-up with photos that could be posted on > the > RB site? Maybe "the right way" and "the wrong way" would be helpful for > guys > making installs. And explain why it's done this way, not that way. > > Chuck > WB2EDV
Much of it is there, but maybe not in "one document"... but it's a great idea, Chuck. I think I'll add it to the ever-lengthening "to-do" list. Probably will have to be a winter project though -- site work, some other personal hobbies, and a yard that really needs to just be scraped off and the landscaping re-done, plus two presentations at the upcoming ARRL Regional Convention on D-STAR... realistically probably blows my entire summer at this point in time. (My wife was booking family visits out into the end of July already today in our shared calendar... ugghh!) One of my elmers has a story where he got permission to have repeaters on a VERY nice site in NY a decade ago. A local Federal agency came up to inspect the site once, and the big-wig started talking about how the Amateurs and others on the site needed to "make their installations look as good as THIS one", as he pointed to a cabinet full of MASTR II's installed 100% to factory specifications, down to the lock washers and grounding kits in the LBI diagrams. One of his underlings had to interrupt him and quietly tell him that WAS the ham repeater, and "this other rack over here sir, is OUR repeater"... the big-wig immediately declared the Federal installation as "not up to par", and the site owner smiled and nodded at the ham who'd installed the gear. In other words, he told me... "Try to make your installation look better than everyone else's." You do it right, and EVERYONE else on the site looks bad for NOT doing it right, and you get to STAY when the axe falls. I'm definitely NOT saying all of my installations are up to perfect standards ... but let me add the word: YET. We're always working on making them look and operate better. If the Amateur that installed the "junker" has the same attitude, and is willing to work hard on it -- there were at least three people on the site who were already saying things like, "Man, we need to find him some 7/8ths hardline!" and other such comments. Hams are a community and we're not trying to see him tossed, but it's GOT to be a little better than RG-58 jumpers to the mobile duplexer... for most of us to want to "get involved", because we've all also been in situations where you offer to HELP someone get the right things and get their system right, and they immediately think you're DOING it for them... it can't work that way. (Raise your hands if you've put personal money into a club radio system to make it better... and never gotten reimbursed! I bet more than 1/2 the room's hands go up on this one!!!) Good repeaters are an investment that last a long time, and don't need tons of maintenance. That guy's "stuff" next to my cabinet could interfere with us, mix and make it so that we're interfering with others, etc... and generally cause me to have to make multiple 100 mile trips to this site to figure it out. That gets painful after a while. When everything's CLEAN at a site, and these things happen -- you know the other "participants" are willing to take the time to go fix whatever it is. When there's a junk-box on the site, you sit there with your test gear trying to prove/disprove that they're the culprit. It just wastes an enormous amount of time. I love the idea of some photos and a documentation series on well-installed repeaters. Maybe we could make it into a "grading" system and discuss the pros/cons of some of the different techniques? Anyone willing to step into the breach and share your photos first? I'd be willing to do so, if I had any decent photos of the last three years of re-work on our sites... I'll try to get some and share this summer. But maybe someone already has some photos they'd share and a good attitude that they won't get personally offended at constructive criticism? Nate WY0X -- Nate Duehr [email protected]
