Project North Star
Update 4/29/25
LRA Remote HF Proposal
We did it on:
Let’s do it again on HF!
The following motion was passed unanimously by the membership present at the January meeting.
Motion to proceed (from the January presentation):
I move to instruct the LRA president to set up a committee to organize and plan a remote HF station to be used by LRA members. This committee shall:
Subsequent board approval:
At a follow up board meeting, I asked the question “if the GoFundMe drive falls short of the $4000 goal, what amount, if anything, would the board approve to cover the gap?
The board unanimously approved that an amount up to $2000 to cover any funding gap would be presented to the membership at the April meeting.
The drive produced $3100 to date so the “gap” has been reduced to $900.
The View
3. The $4K plan covers 1rst year 1 expenses incl. Incl. Internet fees
10,000 foot view
More details as we dive in closer of course, but the overall concept is pretty simple.
6” buried corrugated conduit
Tower bases
Gap Titan
TA-33 Beam @55’
6m yagi @ 65’
Fan dipoles @40’
& Expansion
N9JOS
Raymond, Wi
Thank you!
The site:
9 acres in Raymond, Wi (1300’x350’)
$1 annual lease + Internet cost ($500-$600)
3 tower bases with 600’ runs of LMR400 and rotor cable installed
Sections available for two 40’ towers and one 55’ tower
GAP, rotor, TA-33 beam, 6m beam use included
The Radios
FlexRadio
Easy to use / contest level remote performance
Expandable Network
One of the best performing 100w radios available today
Multiple ways to access
All modes, including FT-8, SSB, CW, and RTTY built in.
The Vision
Start small: one radio, one site, one antenna
When more antennas are installed, 2 Flex radios (one LRA, one loaner)
Network structure includes potential for other volunteer FlexRadio sites around the country
The Benefits
The Support
The Support
The Support
The Support
The Organization
The $4K Plan
Flex6400 $2400
DLI Controller $150
12v @ 85A system power supply $300
Remotely Switched Power strip $40
Router $140
19” rack and shelves $250
Lightning arrestor $90
1rst year shared expenses (shared fiber Internet and power) $600
Total $3970
Current donations $3100
Any equipment purchased by LRA using club or GoFundMe funds will be wholly owned by the LRA
If membership rejects the project, GoFundMe funds will have to be returned.
Note: some of this equipment may be available on indefinite loan further reducing LRA costs
The Risk
$4000 less the $3100 already raised = $900
For only $900 of gap coverage, the LRA gets ownership of nearly $3400 of equipment.
First year lease and cost coverage already in the $4K plan
Because of our donor base, this is a win/win situation for the LRA
The Status
Encouraged by initial support, the committee has done a lot of work in anticipation of final club approval. All equipment on site is currently on loan and no club funds or GoFundMe donations have been applied:
The Status: our first antenna!
The Security
FlexRadios send out “discovery” UDP Broadcast packets. These cannot be passed through a router or a VPN. In order for a radio to be seen by the control software, we must “translate” these packets to something that can be sent over the Internet. We are investigating:
All three of these methods work, but the committee must evaluate them all.
The Congestion
FlexRadio “MultiFlex” seems unmanageable: committee (all users would have TX control simultaneously)
Many members will initially want to try. We want to avoid disappointments but there will be bumps in the road and modest antennas to begin with.
User time limits can be imposed immediately and data logging via DLI Controller
Multiple radios, both at Raymond and elsewhere will relieve congestion.
A reservation system needs development
📅 Operating Schedule for Thursday, April 24, 2025
----------------------------------------------------┌──────────────┬────────────────────────────┬──────────────┐
│ Time Slot │ Status │ Action │
├──────────────┼────────────────────────────┼──────────────┤
│ 08:00–08:30 │ 🟢 Available │ [ Reserve ] │
│ 08:30–09:00 │ 🔴 Reserved by K9XYZ │ [ Unavailable ]
│ 09:00–09:30 │ 🟡 Reserved by YOU (W1AW) │ [ Cancel ] │
│ 09:30–10:00 │ 🟢 Available │ [ Reserve ] │
│ 10:00–10:30 │ 🔵 ACTIVE (Reserved by K9XYZ)│ [ Unavailable ]
│ 10:30–11:00 │ 🟢 Available │ [ Reserve ] │
│ 11:00–11:30 │ 🟢 Available │ [ Reserve ] │
│ ... │ ... │ ... │
│ 23:30–00:00 │ 🟢 Available │ [ Reserve ] │
└──────────────┴────────────────────────────┴──────────────┘
PROGRAMMING SKILLS and HELP NEEDED
Timeout flow
consideration
Runs on RPi at radio site
Programmers needed
Voluntary website reservation sheet
The Decisions
Open discussion and questions
The Motions (passed unanimously by club membership on April 29, 2025)
Motion 1: The membership approves the allocation of GoFundMe donations toward the $4,000 plan as outlined for establishing a club HF radio station and the necessary infrastructure to support remote operations. All equipment purchased with these funds will be owned by the LRA.
Motion 2: The membership authorizes the LRA board to cover the immediate funding shortfall up to an additional $1000.
Backup
3 Flex Radios in K9SO system (8600/6600/8400)
2 operational sites under full remote control
3 all band 1500+ watt SS amplifiers
11 antennas incl. SteppIR at 70’, 500’ Beverage, full ….size 80m vertical, steerable 160m/80m RX array, …160m inv L, and SteppIR BigIR vertical, misc dipoles
Icom 9700 remote satellite station w / AZ-EL antennas
Kenwood TS2000 / DM710 all band HF to UHF remote station
Icom IC706MKIIg system with 5.remotely controlled …….heads