New KD0YJZ-10 Minneapolis/St. Paul VARA FM WIDE Gateway In Service

Submitted by KD0YJZ on Tue, 2020-12-22 07:10

I am happy to announce the installation of my new public VARA FM WIDE Gateway in the MSP area. Located immediately NW of the Twin Cities, it sits in an excellent close-but-not-too-close location in Rogers, MN with a 2 meter yagi pointed directly at the Twin Cities.
Currently, this gateway is the only of it's kind in the MSP area, and with the exception of St. Cloud, in the state. I have initiated discussion with the K0LTC Maple Grove Radio Club about the implementation of VARA FM in local EmComm roles. The reception I have received has been positive, and I am looking forward to working with the members of the K0LTC club in getting our digital communications up to par, following the example of some other forward-thinking metro areas in the US.
Though I know my gateway will likely be lonely for an upcoming indeterminate amount of time, I believe it is a necessary step in the progression of the art.

In the upcoming weeks, I will be driving around the cities with my portable Winlink setup and gauging the new gateway's coverage area. Though I will be operating only with a 5 watt HT and a mobile mounted omni antenna, I am confident the gateway's coverage will be impressive. I am optimistic to providing updates on my findings.

See my station page on qrz.com/db/kd0yjz

Details:
Winlink Gateway running VARA FM WIDE/NARROW. 1200 bps and 9600 bps capable.
Yaesu 897D @ 25 watts w/ MastersCommunications DRA-50 TNC
2M Arrow II Yagi antenna pointed South East. Vertical Polarization. Elev. ~35'
Dedicated desktop computer Dell Optiplex 9020M running de-bloated Windows 10 Pro w/ RMS Packet + VARA FM Modem + RMS Relay (No HF Forwarding at this time)
Serving Minneapolis/St. Paul metro and surrounding area. (Exact coverage area TBD)

Image: 
Winlink Linkomatic