Drone Grounded – Sorry, the drone flight was not approved in time to send it up last week. We did a couple of range tests from high points in the area of the VA and were able to get confirmed messages to Springdale, certainly good for ground height, but not the test we were hoping for. We will make another attempt.
Tony Mountain – The Spec5 relays have held up well in the weather and I have secured proper climbing equipment for the Tony Mountain tower install. I was going to wait for this node to be placed at the Fayetteville VA tower, but have acquired a RAK wireless unit that can be used for that. So the plan is to move forward with placing the Spec5 on Tony Mt. This will be named WFR1. Based on network usage, we might change the role of the West Fork Water tower, WFR2, to router late.
VA Water Tower – The VA is moving forward with the proposal to start a radio club. Mesh will be part of the club, and we hope to get approval for placing a node this year (if we are lucky).
NWAMesh Members – I have been in contact with a dozen people so far across the area. I ask that we all look at how we can contribute to grow the mesh. If you have access or know people with access to high-altitude sites, please let us know. If you have ideas about node placement, we can do calculations to save you from climbing. Also, spread the word and reach-out to those nodes that pop up to help us grow. Lastly, if you have other ideas for contributions, let us know.