KR9RK Remote HF Station: LRA Project North Star
Q&A
- What is Project North Star?
- It is a proposed construction project of an LRA owned HF radio station. Project North Star is a project of the Lakeshore Repeater Association whose kickoff was authorized by the LRA board and approved by the LRA membership at the last quarterly meeting. Approvals were preliminary and final approval to begin construction and equipment acquisition will be sought at the April 29 general membership meeting. The project is under the sole control of the LRA and is led by a committee formed by order of the LRA board.
- Who is on the LRA committee?
- A committee has been formed by order of the President to investigate and promote LRA construction of an exclusive LRA owned HF radio station and network. Members are N9JOS, N9OIG, AF9Q, W9FTG, K9SO, and N9PYA as well as many others who have participated in the discussions.
- What is the cost to the LRA?
- An investment would be required for equipment (radios, power supplies, routers, etc.) which is estimated at $3000-$3500. Equipment ownership will be retained by LRA.
- Where would the funds come from?
- Funding will come from the GoFundMe drive authorized by the board that has already raised $3000 towards implementation. The target is $4000. These donated funds have come from individual supporters and, if applied to purchases of North Star equipment, will increase the net worth of the LRA organization.
- If we decide against building the club HF station, what happens to the donated money?
- The funds must be applied only to LRA’s Project North Star. Otherwise, the money will not be available for LRA use and must be refunded.
- What is the LRA commitment?
- LRA will enter a lease agreement with the property owner for $1.00/year and agree to share in the actual cost of Internet service and electricity use (LRA share est. to be less than $600 annually).
- What commitments have been made by LRA to date?
- None. Membership must formally approve the project at the April 29 general meeting
- Will we be using our LRA repeater maintenance funds?
- No. If we meet our fundraising goal, no LRA treasury funds will be required.
- Is this activity within our charter?
- The board and several members have reviewed the bylaws and have not identified anything that would prevent us from entering into the lease agreement or this activity.
- Where does the project stand?
- Because LRA involvement is not official yet, no final decisions have been made and no permanent network or radio equipment has been installed. But in order to expedite and overcome some anticipated technical hurdles, the committee has already installed loaner radios and borrowed networking equipment at the site for testing purposes. Temporary radio test equipment at the Raymond location. Flexradio 8400, 85A 12v power supply, managed NW switch, and router.
- Will it cost me to participate in this?
- While participation is optional, user costs are still under discussion and a user fee of $5-$10/month is being considered to fund repair maintenance and future equipment expansion. Again, club members would be under no obligation to participate.
- Who paid for all the external towers, bases, and antennas already in place?
- The site owner has installed nearly $7000 worth of infrastructure including concrete tower bases and Rohn 25 sections, enough to build three 40’ towers with 900 feet of LMR400DB coax in buried conduits at his sole expense. Everything would be available for our use under the $1.00 annual lease agreement including an existing Titan Gap antenna and an on-site TA-33 beam with rotor.
- Who will own the radio equipment?
- Providers of all site equipment will retain individual ownership. Any equipment purchased using GoFundMe donations will become the property of LRA and will immediately increase the value of the LRA assets.
- Will the site be Internet secure?
- Matt, AF9Q, has designed and installed a Wireguard VPN using his own equipment. That will provide state-of-the-art Internet security.
- How will I access the radios?
- A simple and free Wireguard client program must be installed on all connecting devices. Such devices can be PCs, MACs, tablets, and even cellphones. Following site access, and passing the two-step authorization, users will be able to select and turn on multiple radios as our network expands. Radio selection will be similar to what is seen on other FlexRadio networks:
- Will this be too busy?
- A single shared radio station may be very active, but adding additional radios and sites will alleviate congestion. We hope to have at least three radios available for participant use by the end of 2025. We already have other site owners lined up that will allow us to operate other stations at other locations from within our network. If congestion is problematic, the technical team can implement user time and connection limits.
- How will we monitor the network?
- All activity will be automatically logged and identified by registered usernames.
- What is the timeline?
- If the project is approved, the first station using the existing Titan Gap antenna and a possible secondary station located on the East Coast can be operational within weeks. Towers must still be installed at the site for installation of better antennas. Project donors will probably be given initial beta-testing access until operational testing bugs are identified and fixed. The timeline goal for opening to participating club members is mid-June.
A more detailed explanation, and something you should read if you plan on
participating, may be found in this presentation: Remote Radio