Just a heads up from NoVa-Mesh:
We have starting growing out our AREDN network from Reston and Chantilly all the way through Bull Run Mountain and to the existing western AREDN network in Front Royal/Winchester. We have about 8-9 nodes set up and are planning on adding more very soon. NoVa-Mesh strives to have monthly meetings in the Nova Labs Makerspace center in Reston.
We'll keep you posted on new nodes going up.
Damon Schaefer
K9CQB
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Growing AREDN Mesh Network in Northern Virginia
Thu, 08/30/2018 - 15:12
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K9CQB
Growing AREDN Mesh Network in Northern Virginia
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Good to see you guys on the network!
There have been various technical issues on High Knob affecting the connectivity out this way but at the moment it is working and there are plans for improvements.
The East-to-West distance is something like 56 miles as we also have a node NW of Winchester on North Mountain.
73 - Mike ab4yy
Awesome news. I am just joining ARDENmesh..I got some hardware on its way so I can connect. The closest node is on 2.4 and is about 11.5 miles away. I will see what I can get.
Folks,
Also concerning about line of sight between myself and the closest mesh participants. Did some LOS analysis from my Herndon location (south of Toll Road) at 2M, 3M, and 4M AGL. Not very promising. If I had the location and elevation of other nodes, I'd know more.
Hi John - you are only 3 miles from a strong node in Reston and - geometrically - you have an excellent shot at it. But you will have to get above the treeline to hit it. From the looks of your leafy location I would think you need an antenna support on the order of 25 meters high. see picture. The direction to the node is shown as a pale yellow line.
In any case, suggest you join the Virginia AREDN group https://vaaredn.groups.io/g/main
GL
Ken
Thanks for the return.
Wow. 25m mast. That's a tall order (no pun intended). Also considered slewing a possible antenna towards N4CV-NBM5-275 in Chantilly. A little farther, but the LOS might be better. I guess there is not way to know other than to try it out?
Best,
Jack
PS: I did join the groups.io. Thanks for the suggestion.
Shoulder surgery has come and gone. Ready to get started.
With all the options, I'm just not sure how to get started. I'd like to see what I can do from my QTH to reach the Reston node--at least get something up while the weather is good and, if no joy, try again when the leaves fall. Perhaps we should chat on the phone?
Jack
We're glad to welcome you to the NoVa Mesh group. As Ken pointed out, you really do need true line of sight to access the existing mesh infrastructure. The Reston node is quite high but you need to be able to see the top of the Reston Town Center buildings to be able to reliably link. I might suggest that you pick up a 2.4 GHz or 5.8 GHz LHG (see https://www.arednmesh.org/content/supported-platform-matrix) that you can use while you experiment with links. You can easily take that out to a park (or the RTC Green parking garage roof) and jump on the mesh. The N4CV node in Chantilly is directional pointing west toward Ken's QTH, but you might be able to get into it from a high spot in South Riding.
Ben N4CV
Thanks. Appreciate it and will start "fooling around" soon!!
Best,
Jack
NG2E
Had great success. Went to the top of the Reston Town Center Orange parking garage. Basically pointed the antenna in the direction of several known stations, and took some screen shots. Solid links to K2SRN, KE2N (Bull Run Mtn), and K9CQB.
Jack
I recently picked up a pair of GL-USB150s and a MikroTik hAP ac lite and got them flashed.
I've worked the Marine Corps Marathon in years past and wanted to start getting ready for the next one. Anyone know which applications are going to be used in the next MCM? Also, what are common apps in NoVA before I try and get them loaded up?
TIA,
John - WB8WTK
John, there is a Google Group called MCM AREDN. You can ask to join. It will become more active later in June 2021 after some of the local leadership of AREDN and the MCM get together and come up with a game plan.
For the 2019 MCM I ran a pbx, a time server, and a couple of other things. Another ham was running a chat server. I also ran a reverse proxy server as the primary goal of the AREDN mesh network was to have access to the MCM registration data at all the medical tents and aid stations.
Ed, K4ESC
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Hello Northern Virginia AREDN team, new to the DC metro area and getting started with AREDN mesh, eager to learn. Are there any meetups, or anyone with experience on here available to do some type of consultation (paid, of course)? So far I've flashed the firmware successfully on to my Mikrotik hAP ac lite and watched some YouTube videos, but looking to tie all the various components together end-to-end. Feel free to reach out to me sidebar, thanks!