[W5SFA] Club Repeaters, Downtown Houston and Future Direction

Tue Mar 9 12:02:02 CST 2021

 ³Good day Group,
For sake of of discussion I will throw my two cents.
First of all I would like to validate everyone's opinion on the subject of the Houston repeater.  I do believe that an open discussion is necessary.
It should be remembered that this started because of the distance and time that Roger had to dedicate to the support of a repeater that was seldom used by the members of the club.  If I recall correctly the last several outages were reported by persons in the Houston area and not by club members.
As for keeping the site in Houston, if the club wants to maintain a presence at the site, then leave some equipment there and don't power it up.
Is the frequency pair really that important? I don't have the those frequencies in the memory of my equipment. Does anyone?
As I understand it, the county is going to supply new equipment for us at the new site. Is the equipment from the Houston site that important to us?
I'm not trying to change anyone's opinion concerning this discussion, just asking questions.  I feel that this is an important subject and the whole of the club should be involved. The important issue here is Roger has worked hard for the benefit of the club and should not asked to maintain a remote repeater site that has limited benefits to the club.
Thanks to all for taking time to read this email.
Again this just my thoughts and should be taken with a grain of salt.
73RayWA5IWB

    On Tuesday, March 9, 2021, 2:33:11 AM UTC, Roger W Klein <rwklein at katyweb.net> wrote:  

Folks, 

Following up on Kat's questions:

There is  a nice 6 foot lockable rack, as well as a set of high quality VHF cans, and of course an antenna left on site.  If we vacate downtown Houston, we would likely leave the antenna behind since someone would need to go up on the roof and remove it.  Perhaps that would qualify as the required piece of equipment (it certainly won't be operational!). I can't comment competently on the legal aspects of retaining the location, though - way out of my pay grade!  The rack and cans could be used in Wallis.

Regarding the frequencies:  I don't know the answer yet, but I agree it would be desirable to keep them for the new Wallis site.  We will have to work with our Texas VHF/FM society coordinator to see if this will work.  Wallis is about 30 miles west of the downtown Houston location, so it is possible the new location could interfere with a existing repeater further west.

Please keep the comments and questions coming - there are lots of members we have not heard from yet!

73

Roger N5RWK

On March 8, 2021, at 6:33 PM, Kat Croker <katcroker at yahoo.com> wrote:

I am in agreement with needing to find a solution. I do have a couple questions:1. When relocated, will the new location retain the current frequency pair? And,2. The location downtown was granted perpetually, originally, as long as equipment is onsite. I don’t know that the requirement is a working piece, but that may be splitting hairs. Do we have an older piece of equipment that can be left onsite to retain our right to the space in the event we want to expand again in the future?
Thanks!KatKB5ITB
Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 6, 2021, at 9:14 PM, John Gervais <jsbgervais at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

I mirror everyone’s comments. Set it Free!! Thanks for all you do Roger!!

Thanks!John

On Mar 6, 2021, at 12:48 PM, Joe Cucuzza <cucuzza18 at gmail.com> wrote:

Hi all 
 I agree with Jim KE5FN Same reasons, which I copied below:

  I agree with your assessment.  The fact that there are no means to effectively perform the required control operation function pretty much seals the deal for me.  Your other points just add reinforcement to the decision. 
 Roger, thanks for all the work you do on the repeaters.
 73
 Joe KA8WEP

 On 3/6/2021 9:33 AM, Roger Klein wrote:

Club Members,

As you probably know, our club maintains three repeater locations:  Bellville, Columbus and downtown Houston.  We have had problems over the past few months with the downtown Houston location, requiring "house calls" to replace and reset the equipment.  We also have a new repeater location that will be available to us near Wallis.  Therefore, I suggest that the club needs to consider the future of the downtown Houston location.  The following pros and cons concerning downtown Houston come to mind:

Pros:

·         The downtown Houston location is an established site with a long (30 year?) history 

·         We have an excellent repeater location on top of a skyscraper with a wide coverage area

·         If we vacate the downtown repeater site at 1221 McKinney, it is not clear if we will be able to return in the future

Cons: 

·         I can't respond quickly to repeater issues (at least 24 hours or more is needed to arrange for building access plus planning to travel down there)

·         As the responsible control operator, my home is out of range of the Houston repeater so I can't verify its proper operation without involving others

·         We have no internet service available to us at the site, so remote maintenance like we have at Columbus and Bellville is not possible

·         I perceive a low activity level with the downtown Houston repeater - not many club members utilise it

·         Downtown Houston is a long way away. From my home in New Ulm, it is a 180 mile round trip.  The club approved reimbursement of travel expenses to downtown Houston at the January meeting.  That is appreciated, but at the current $.56/mile rate plus parking, one visit to downtown Houston costs the club more than $100.  Also, it takes 4 or more hours to make the round trip, including time spent onsite.  That time and expense could be put to better use.

The new Wallis location can take the place of downtown Houston and resolve these issues.  This location with its 400’ tower will be able to cover much of west and southwest Houston, it will have internet access, it is much closer and will therefore be less costly and easier to maintain.

 To summarize, I’d like the club discuss the above issues and decide on a future direction.  In my opinion, the cons far outweigh the pros for continuing to maintain the downtown Houston location.  Instead, we should take advantage of the benefits and flexibility the new Wallis location will give us.   I don’t expect everyone to agree with my opinion, so please let your thoughts be known and respond to the reflector so everyone can participate and comment. Specifically, have I missed any pros or cons, or are there other options we should look at? 

 Thanks,

 Roger N5RWK

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