Tag: AmateurRadio

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AREDN at Waggoners Gap is live!

After some troubleshooting, and more troubleshooting, and even more troubleshooting, I am happy to announce that the AREDN node at Waggoners Gap is live and is connected to the AREDN network! The node is a 360° node with three sector antennas: 0° on channel 171, 120° on channel 175, and 240° on channel 179. All are running a bandwidth of 10 MHz

The backbone connections available to me use two different types of internet switches: Juniper and D-Link. The node on Blue Mountain north of Harrisburg is on a Juniper switch. The node on Waggoners Gap north of Carlisle is on a D-Link switch. It appears the D-Link switches implement Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) differently than Juniper does. Once STP was turned off for the switch port I was assigned, the node connected to the outside world in a matter of seconds.

Back in January, I did a little research and discovered that the Cumberland County DPS building is only seven miles away from Waggoners Gap, 5° off of the center line of the 120° sector antenna. Once it gets warmer, I’ll be testing the node’s coverage; for now, I hope the folks in Carlisle and Mt. Holly can connect and provide me with some coverage data.

If you are in Cumberland or Perry County, test the node out, and send a report to me at N3FUD at Krohsnest.com. Include your location

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Waggoners Gap AREDN Node installation

The Waggoners Gap AREDN node was installed on Saturday, January 17, 2026, with help from Rick KR3EE, Matt KB3CAT, and Dee KD3CCF. A 360° node, it features three sector antennas on 5GHz; 0° on Channel 171, 120° on Channel 175, and 240° on Channel 179. All of the nodes are running 10 MHz bandwidth and are on the 4.26.1.0 firmware. The antennas are at 20 feet AGL and are on a separate tower and channels from the CPRA microwave antennas.

There are some additions to be made to the node once the weather is a bit more conducive to outdoor activities:

  • The external surge suppressor needs to be installed.
  • The sector antennas will be moved higher, hopefully to the top of the tower at 30 feet. If the range is not as good as expected, the node may move to the Audubon tower at the 60-foot level (above the treeline).

If you have a signal report, please send it to N3FUD at krohsnest.com.

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December 2025 updates

November and December were very busy months…..

Equipment:

  • Finished GoKit Nodes: three kits, powered by 12VDC, that host an AREDN router with the ability to connect to the Internet or AREDN RF, a Raspberry Pi with a NetRom node and a file server, and a 48VDC Active POE switch with eight ports to support cameras and  VOIP telephones.
  • Added telephone go-kits: Three kits of six phones each, ready to be attached to a GoKit Node.
  • Added a camera node with a router and four cameras to mount to a tripod or pipe support
  • Three separate cameras with routers to mount to a tripod or pipe support.
  • Finished two site kits, ready for installation

Users/Links Added:

  • NA2T, Steubenville, OH
  • W3CCB, Corry, PA
  • W3ICK, Hanover, PA
  • KB3CAT, Mount Holly Springs, PA

Potential Node Installations:

  • Pigeon Hill, York County
  • Waggoners Gap, Cumberland County
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W3ND-7 BBS, NetROM, and Packet Node Now Live on Blue Mountain

As of August 2, 2025, the W3ND-7 BBS, NetROM, and packet node is up and running on Blue Mountain—marking a major advancement in amateur radio digital communications across Central Pennsylvania. Operating on 145.01 and 145.03 MHz, the system offers broad coverage, reaching well into southcentral Pennsylvania. Plans are to add VARA FM to the system by the end of the year.

This milestone was made possible through the hard work of the Central Pennsylvania Repeater Association and their generous support in providing access to their Blue Mountain site. The system is now fully functional and performing reliably.

Work is underway to establish RF pathways, with Internet connectivity expected to come online over the next four weeks via traditional Internet access, AREDN, and APMRnet (44NET). Stay tuned for more updates as the network continues to grow and evolve!