ORIGIN

Because of the "experimental" nature of this node, there will most likely be many changes to performance and facilities. Currently it's a Linux box running an IRLP customised version of CentOS 4.x and a slightly modded IRLP Ver 2.02 board (we fitted an "Aux 1" switch for use with a CW id-er). "The Box" which started life as a Cyrix P150, 64MB ram and a 2GB hdd is now a Celeron 1000 with 128MB ram and a 40GB Hard Disk. Nuthin' fancy (IRLP doesn't need it!!) and after running originally with a SB Vibra 128 (because that's all we had at the time), then a supposedly SB compatible ISA thing which had some "timing issues", we run a GENUINE SB found on EBay for less than a song which fixed the timing issues once and for all.

AUDIO

When the node was first set up, all audio was passed directly, however after much experimentation there's now a fair bit of dynamics processing used on the downlink side, that is, audio coming into the node from the Internet ...... we just "happened" to have (drool) a "spare" Aphex Compellor 320A/Dominator-II 720 chain lying around doing nothing much useful, and so now the Dominator part of it has been patched in circuit to keep levels consistent, and to "brick wall" limit deviation without generating distortion. Probably a bit of overkill, but in the Aphex manner it works brilliantly without being obvious (they didn't pay me to say that).

RX/TX

The Tx is a good old Australian designed and made, computer power-supply-type fan cooled Philips FM900 and from around the middle of 2009 (when we relocated from Adelaide, half way across the country to Lake Macquarie) was shoving 25 watts or so up a short run of nondescript coax to a mag base mounted 5/8ths vertical sitting on the metal roof of the garage at our rented house, virtually at sea level at Rathmines, so not particularly fantastic DX coverage.

As of early 2010 we've now semi-permanently relocated to Buttaba, a short distance from Rathmines but at around 35 metres altitude. The gear is substantially the same as back in Adelaide, however with a location about 200M ASL the coverage there was rather good! The original setup back in Coffs on the roof of the CBD office building had a much more salubrious antenna array with about 5dB more gain. That's still available, and we'll probably put it up, once the neighbors become accustomed to antennas on the property.

INTERNET

Currently 1500/256 ADSL. Very stable.

3G wireless, through "not-the-national-provider", which we ran for 7 months or so from our rented premises at Rathmines, was highly variable from a reliability perspective and thus nearly drove us up the wall with frustration ... non availability of Service, jitter, complete dropouts necessitating physical modem reconnection, and so on, ad nauseam. Email for more unbiased info ;-)

Naturally, because this is a simplex node, both sides of the conversation may not be audible to a casual listener. There are advantages, but at the expense of (relative to a repeater) limited coverage for the Amateur community at large.

The bloke who owns all this is actually within arms reach of it, most of the time. The learning curve was originally 89 degrees, but it's been an amazing experience all the same.

    Website set up by SueEllen February 28, 2003
     Last updated by Johnno June 6, 2011