Better weather today....

The weather was much better today so, after returning from a mandatory training session on how to manage your RDPE grant, I met up with Ben and we set off to Goodlie Hill.

We managed to construct an 8m pole out of three copper pipes U-bolted together which we fixed with two more U-bolts to a bracket screwed to the tree.  At the top was a NanoStation set as an access point and powered via a 12vdc to 240vac inverter by Ben's pickup car battery.

Temporary mast at Goodlie Hill

We then headed for Maisongill to see if a connection could be made at the farmhouse.  With Ben on the roof holding a 4m fibreglass pole with a NanoStation at the top, it was possible to see the access point at Goodlie Hill.  This suggests that, once there is a node at Goodlie Hill, Maisongill farmhouse can be connected with moderately good signal strength and it may be possible to locate a node there.

When we got back to Goodlie Hill to collect the pickup Ben checked the compass bearing of the NanoStation in terms of its direction of broadcast.  Later, using Memory Map he found that it was pointing too far to the West for Maisongill to be in its direct line of sight which suggests that, with better positioning, an even better connection could be made.  You can see the map here.

So today we've gathered more information to feed back to NextGenUs when we meet with them tomorrow.