[aprssig] N1BQ-3 ... end of an era, beginning of a new one

[Brian B. Riley]

Over the last couple weeks I have  noticed the digipeater here at  
Wulfden was 'printing' to APRS_IS barely once a day ... I finally got  
some time   to check things out and found that the output was really  
low.

The transceiver for N1BQ-3 was given to me by the Burlington Amateur  
Radio Club 18 years ago to put up as a packet node with the call  
KA2BQE-3/UCV (Underhill Center, Vt). It was a Kenwood TM231A and was  
in 24/7 packet service for the last 18 years. I have no exact figures,  
but my best estimate is  that it had less than 96 hours total down  
time in the entire 18 years. The dial light was long gone, the backup  
battery was shot and every now and then it lost its mind and sent  
itself to 144.020 (why that number I have no idea!) .. fortunately not  
often and not at all in the last two years. But now the finals just  
don't have enough smoke left in them. So this afternoon the 321 was  
replaced with a more recent cousin  a lightly used Kenwood TM261A and  
N1BQ-3 was back on the air. I checked Findu and the position packets  
have 'printed' to the APRS-IS every ten minutes for the last 6 hours.  
Once again, all is well in Mudville!

N1BQ-3 is located at 1600 ft ASL on the Western slope of Mount  
Mansfield. It is a 'new-paradigm' digipeater and it serves  
Northwestern Vermont and Eastern Northern New York, as well as link  
the Montreal, PQ APRS LAN to the Albany/Saratoga NY APRS LAN, so it  
sees a lot of traffic.

Would that all our equipment would even give half that much  reliable  
service.

--
cheers ... 73 de brian  riley,  n1bq , underhill center, vermont
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