We are trying to determine our effective/possible radio coverage area from our ground station / ham shack. This information is designed to help us plan radio coverage for possible future missions where we may be able to establish 2-way communications between mobile and stationary units to exchange mission data. This page will have various maps to estimate coverage from hand-held and other mobile radio stations, and will assist in determining the feasibility of keeping a stationary ground-station well informed of real time mission activity.
2-way Radio Link Studies
These studies have been prepared with Radio Mobile software. If you would like to learn more, please ask someone in W7UQ when their next workshop on this software will take place. The studies on this page were created by Cliff (KE7PHG).
Launch 2008, April 13th
This launch takes place in Jerita, WA. There is 1 repeater that might provide coverage near the launch area and steptoe butte, but we have not talked with the owner and do not know if it is open or not. If necessary we can get in contact with KA7FAJ on his 145.390MHz repeater.
As can be seen above, the W7UQ Ham Shack will not be able to communicate with the launch site. But a link between the launch site and Steptoe Butte should be possible if both sites have a D700/D710 radio - some noise will be present. Note that this model has the radio at the top of steptoe butte, but communications should still be possible even if vehicles can not reach the top (ie, due to snow cover).
Since we only have 2 'mobile' radios and they are both necessary to establish contact with the launch site and steptoe butte, the W7UQ Ham Shack will not have a high power radio for use. To alleviate this issue, we have permission to use the Moscow Mountain Repeater. This will allow a lower power HT radio to be used at the W7UQ Ham Shack while still allowing reliable communications with the vehicles at Steptoe Butte.
| Steptoe Butte to Jerita Link w/ D700/D710 Radios At Both Locations |
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| Moscow Mountain to Steptoe Butte Link w/ D700/D710 |
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| W7UQ Ham Shack to Moscow Mountain Repeater w/ HT |
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Below is a predicted coverage Map where communications between a mobile unit (in this case assumed to be a HT) and a unit at the top of steptoe butte may be possible. It is unknown how this map will reflect actual performance, especially since we were not been able to establish a unit at the top of steptoe butte due to snow during the previous launch. Take these numbers with a grain of salt…
