Well we have finally gotten to a point where a construction date has been set. Construction on the new tower at Camp Wilderness will begin the week of October 11, 2011! The long awaited construction of the base for the 85 foot freestanding Rohn communication tower is about to begin. Diversified Builders and Design of Bemidji, MN will begin preparing the site and hope to be able to pour the concrete during that week. It will be necessary for the concrete to cure for approximately three weeks before the final construction of the tower can take place.
Bill Jones, N0CIC and Dave Quam, W0CIA will be working with Ranger Andy over the next couple of weeks to get the tower pieces moved to the site, located near the Winter Trading Post. Additionally, they will bolt the sections together and help to prepare the tower, for its long awaited date with a crane to place it on the newly constructed base.
This 85 foot communications tower will not only provide the platform for the amateur radio repeater, but also will be erected with stand-offs that will allow for addition of other vertical communication antennas as well as one standoff with a pulley system specifically for raising HF wire antenna systems.
The project does not end with the erection of the tower. Members of the CWARC will still need to work together to bring the hard line into the Winter Trading Post and put the repeater into service. Currently the club is looking for some individuals who could help by designing and building a ventilated, secure cabinet into which the radio, power supply and duplexers will be housed. It is imperative we have a way to secure this system before we put it into service, curious hands on the system or duplexers could be disastrous to it operation.
Wayne Stephens, KD0AAA has been working with the Minnesota Repeater Council to transfer the operation of this repeater to K0NLC. Since the repeater has been physically moved, the MNRC requires it go through the coordination process. The MNRC has received all the information required for coordination and we are currently in a waiting and comment period which should be finished around the time the base is poured. Jerry Dorf, N0FWG from the MNRC does not anticipate there being any problems.
CWARC hopes to have the new K0NLC repeater on the air and serving the camp and Hubbard County operators by the end of November.