Outdoor Adventure USA

This weeks net will deal with IRLP. Thanks to the support of our contributors and supporters, the Keller Peak Repeater is now equipped with IRLP.

We will be discussing the benefits and capabilities of IRLP, including how to use it and what to expect. Our guests will be Dennis Hughes of the Keller Peak Repeater, our very own Hector F, KE6VRL, and Ray Arasteh, KC6AGL, the technical director for the BARN Repeater network.

Our immediate goal with IRLP is to open the nets to the greater San Diego area. If you are in this area or know someone who is, and would like to participate in the nets, be sure to check in. For those who are out of range of Keller, you can still participate via echolink.

IRLP gives us the potential to connect to virtually anywhere in the world (as long as they have access to the internet.) Give us your thoughts on what you would like to see.

Dave, what frequency should us San Diegans tune to, to take advantage of IRLP?

BlueFJ wrote:Dave, what frequency should us San Diegans tune to, to take advantage of IRLP?

For the moment, everyone should use the usual means to listen to the net. For those who have a decent RF shot, they should use the Keller Repeater. If not, echolink will be the best bet.

One of the details that should be worked out this week is a decision on which SD repeater to use - Otay or Palomar. For those who participate in the net, we would benefit from your input on which of those two repeaters serves your area best. Preliminarily, my thought was that we should go with Palomar.

If I may toss my 2 coppers in, I'd like to cast a vote for Palomar also. I think it would provide a wider area of coverage than Otay. Ollie, how is the coverage in the Otay area from the Palomar repeater?

I am on the fence. I think most people who can get into Palomar can get into Keller directly. And Palomar is a busy repeater. I'm never on Otay but because it is farther south I would think it would give access to more folks than Palomar would.

OU812 wrote:I am on the fence. I think most people who can get into Palomar can get into Keller directly. And Palomar is a busy repeater. I'm never on Otay but because it is farther south I would think it would give access to more folks than Palomar would.

We may also want to give each repeater a test run to see what gives the best coverage. If we could do both, that may also be a good option and we will check into that.

OU812 wrote:I am on the fence. I think most people who can get into Palomar can get into Keller directly. And Palomar is a busy repeater. I'm never on Otay but because it is farther south I would think it would give access to more folks than Palomar would.

You are spot on with your comments. It's a damned if you do, damned if you don't kind of deal. For me Otay is the best, I live right below it and I don't hear much activity on it. I hear activity on the Palomar repeater quite a bit. Palomar will give us more coverage. Otay is literally right on the border and will limit East County traffic.

OU812 wrote:I am on the fence. I think most people who can get into Palomar can get into Keller directly. And Palomar is a busy repeater. I'm never on Otay but because it is farther south I would think it would give access to more folks than Palomar would.

I'm in coastal north county and I cannot reach Keller directly but I can get to Palomar. Haven't tried to hit Otay yet.

smslavin wrote:

OU812 wrote:I am on the fence. I think most people who can get into Palomar can get into Keller directly. And Palomar is a busy repeater. I'm never on Otay but because it is farther south I would think it would give access to more folks than Palomar would.

I'm in coastal north county and I cannot reach Keller directly but I can get to Palomar. Haven't tried to hit Otay yet.

I'm in coastal North county too. I always got into Keller ok with my Mobile. I am programing my new HT today. I doubt I will be able to get all the way to Keller on 5w. I know I can make it into Palomar though.

Which Otay repeater is a candidate? I am curious if my HT can make it.

OU812 wrote:I am on the fence. I think most people who can get into Palomar can get into Keller directly. And Palomar is a busy repeater. I'm never on Otay but because it is farther south I would think it would give access to more folks than Palomar would.

That's not true. With my HT, I can hit most of the PARC repeaters from most places in North SD County. I can only hit Keller Peak when atop a hill (even the small ones).

I think there's a lot of people south of us that can hit Palomar, but not Keller Peak.

As for the busy... depends on which repeater they link to. 147.130, 146.730, 147.075? (That's in order from most busy to least busy from my observation). I'm sure the linking would be coordinated with PARC officers that would determine the best repeater to link to avoid conflicts with regular traffic and other nets.