AREDN RF Node Field Experiments - Mesa County ARES Forums https://ares-mesacounty.org/community/aredn-rf-node-field-experiments Discussions on all things ARES en-US Mon, 13 Apr 2026 00:01:56 +0000 wpForo 60 Gateway Adventure https://ares-mesacounty.org/community/aredn-rf-node-field-experiments/gateway-adventure Tue, 12 Oct 2021 16:50:03 +0000 On Sunday October 10 I drove out to Gateway to meet with John Fuller (WJ0Nf). I brought 2 TP-Link CPE 210 units and 2 Mikrotik LHG5 units. We setup a TP-Link and Mikrotik radio on the same mast and pointed them to a spot roughly 5 miles out to microwave tower on a nearby mountain top. After verifying that both units were functioning properly we loaded our gear onto a couple of ATVS and headed out. We followed John Brown road to a less travelled road and stopped at a spot overlooking the valley where Gateway sits. We set up both radios on a tripod mount that John brought. Once we powered up the units we could see the entire mesh on both the TP-Link and Mikrotik 5 GHZ radios. John was connected to his QTH via the 5 GHZ link and saw a steady signal. He was able to connect to the internet. I suggested that we try to improve the signal strength. John adjusted the unit and we did see a considerable improvement in the SNR. Throughput exceeded 15 MBS according to a couple of iPerf tests. For reasons I don’t understand latency on the 5 GHZ was quite high.

As for the 2.4 GHZ link the SNR was running 25 or less. From previous observations I knew that SNRS this low would result in low throughput and that is precisely what I saw. At times my requests to call up MeshChat timed out. Eventually I did manage to post notes to MeshChat. We did try to improve link quality by adjusting the aim point but no improvement was seen. TP-Link says these units will work up to 5 KM or a little over 3 miles. 
I was pleased with the performance of the 5 GHZ units and a little disappointed by the performance of the 2.4 GHZ radios in light of the fact that I had previously set up a RF link to my QTH from Cold Shivers inside the Colorado National Monument a distance that exceeded 8 miles.

All in all it was a great learning experience. Conditions were great. It was sunny with light winds. Only when moving through the canyons did temps become a little on the cool side.

On the way back we stopped at a few of the many mines that exist in the Gateway area. These mines were created to extract uranium and vanadium. John brought along a device to measure radioactivity. At the entrance to the Packrat mine John found some uranium ore that showed radiation levels well above background radiation levels. I picked up a sample and brought it back to GJ.

Many thanks to John for a memorable day.

 

 

]]> AREDN RF Node Field Experiments Steve Delaloye https://ares-mesacounty.org/community/aredn-rf-node-field-experiments/gateway-adventure Exciting Developments https://ares-mesacounty.org/community/aredn-rf-node-field-experiments/exciting-developments Thu, 23 Sep 2021 22:18:29 +0000 Today September 23, 2021 we (Stoney, Bill and Steve) established an AREDN RF link  from Stoney's QTH to Steve's QTH. The two nodes are 3.3 miles apart. The link can be seen on the mesh between KE0BPD-3-TP-LINK-CPE210 and KE0BPD-2-TP-LINK-CPE210. In addition we experimented with several Mikrotik radios and all linked up with the mesh once they were flashed and powered up. We did attempt to establish a RF link from Stoney's QTH to the First Christian Church parking lot. The attempt was not successful in so far as we could not bring the link up but we did learn something from the attempt. We are learning what the equipment is capable of and we are also learning about what conditions must be met for the AREDN radios to link up with each other.

]]> AREDN RF Node Field Experiments Steve Delaloye https://ares-mesacounty.org/community/aredn-rf-node-field-experiments/exciting-developments 20-Mile AREDN RF link to Grand Mesa Thur 23SEP21 https://ares-mesacounty.org/community/aredn-rf-node-field-experiments/aredn-rf-link-to-grand-mesa-thur-23sep21 Thu, 23 Sep 2021 04:56:00 +0000 During the Thursday 10- meter net, I'm planning to operate a portable hf rig near the Lands End Observatory atop Grand Mesa.

Stoney, Steve and I placed a large 5ghz dish with built-in node on Stoney's antenna mast, and aimed the node toward the observatory.

I will take a smaller 5ghz dish node with me to the observatory area.

Steve and Stoney will be fine-tuning the link from the Grand Junction end while I aim the smaller dish toward them from the Mesa.

I'm hoping to join the 10-meter net Zoom meeting via a 20-mile AREDN RF point-to-point link while running the 10-meter net.

 

 

We'll post results of this attempt shortly.

 

Bill

 

]]> AREDN RF Node Field Experiments Bill Tillery KØDZ https://ares-mesacounty.org/community/aredn-rf-node-field-experiments/aredn-rf-link-to-grand-mesa-thur-23sep21 AREDN RF Testing Saturday September 4, 2021 https://ares-mesacounty.org/community/aredn-rf-node-field-experiments/aredn-rf-testing-saturday-september-4-2021 Mon, 06 Sep 2021 17:53:15 +0000 Good morning,

It was a great day to be out and about. Warm not hot with clear skies and light winds. My expectations were low as far as the capabilities of the hardware. I must say my expectations were exceeded. The first shot was very close to a 1/4 mile. After seeing the units link up we realized that John’s garage was within the line of sight. We then repositioned the unit and drove to the far end to check on signal strength and throughput. Both parameters were about the same after repositioning.
Next we setup for a longer shot. John estimated that the spot he picked out was 4-5 miles. His eyeballs are well calibrated. We stopped along Nitch Road and setup the TP-Link CPE 210. John had a good idea as to where the far end unit was positioned. He aimed the unit as I setup the power and connected the ethernet cables. The two units linked up immediately. Throughput was just under 6 MBS. At some point I realized that both units were set to transmit 18DBm. (63mw)
Next I changed the transmit power to MAX at both ends. (27DBm, 500 mw) Unexpectedly the throughput remained the unchanged. Later John used Google Maps to plot the distance between the two points and came up with 4.6 miles or 7.4 KM. TP-Link says the units are capable of reaching out 5+KM. These units operate at 2.4 GHZ. Power consumption runs about 125 milliamps. We used iPerf speed to estimate throughput.
As John says further testing needs to be done.
What I learned.
1) The units are simple to setup. Accurate aiming was not necessary. Pointing in the general direction was sufficient in all cases even when you could not establish line if sight with normal vision.
2) I am convinced that these units would have linked up over considerably longer distances. At some point in the future I hope to get a better idea of just how far apart these units will function.
3) There was considerable variation in signal strength across the gap between transmitter and receiver. Real time receive levels fluctuated as indicated by the receivers signal to noise measuring tool. This was true for both the short and long shots. Connectivity was never lost during our testing. The screen shot below was taken during the 4.6 mile shot.

]]> AREDN RF Node Field Experiments Steve Delaloye https://ares-mesacounty.org/community/aredn-rf-node-field-experiments/aredn-rf-testing-saturday-september-4-2021 Helpful Spreadsheet for Picking Suitable AREDN Hardware for RF Links https://ares-mesacounty.org/community/aredn-rf-node-field-experiments/helpful-spreadsheet-for-picking-suitable-aredn-hardware-for-rf-links Sun, 22 Aug 2021 22:51:57 +0000 Visit this link for the  AREDN device spreadsheet that shows power, sensitivity, approximate cost, etc. for AREDN-compatible hardware that you may be planning to use for a specific RF link (point-to-point or omnidirectional):

Device Selection Chart | Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network (arednmesh.org)

 

]]> AREDN RF Node Field Experiments Bill Tillery KØDZ https://ares-mesacounty.org/community/aredn-rf-node-field-experiments/helpful-spreadsheet-for-picking-suitable-aredn-hardware-for-rf-links