Mount Uncanoonuc

Many of you are probably aware that we have been building a new site on Mt. Uncanoonuc in NH. The site is located just west of Manchester. MURP is our abbreviation for Mt. Uncanoonuc Radio Project. The site was originally owned by the Manchester Radio Club and sold to Dave Franco, N1EMC. From the first survey with Mike, N1IW, it became part of the overall plan for NEDECN. But this was not going to be overnite! This was a plot of land that Dick, W1KGZ, used to camp in his RV and operate in VHF contests. The original repeater tower base remains, with the call letters in concrete, W1HPM (after Hiram Percy Maxim).

MURP Site

So, the site progressed from dirt. Milestones have been:
- 55′ Antenna (Telephone) Pole installed, 12/1/15
- Ground excavation, leveling for vault, 3/14/16
- Crushed stone delivered, 3/14/16
- Vault delivered, 3/14/16
- Electrical Inspection Approved, 3/16/16
- Roofing and painting, 3/18/16
We have several teams assembled for these tasks and further work;
- Roofing (K1SUB, N1IWV)
- Fencing/Landscaping (WA1VIB, NI1F)
- Electrical (KB1SGK)
- Painting (N1EMC)
- Security (N1EMC)
- Network (KB1POR, NE1B, K1OX)
- Repeaters (K1JC, KM3T, NE1B)
Remaining work party targets:
- Antenna pole work, 3/18
- Fence hole (rock) drilling, 3/23
- Fence installation, 3/23
- Antenna installation, ?
- Eversource Power hookup, 3/30
If you can help with any of these tasks, let us know!

Update

This week: (3/21)
- Tuesday- 1 PM to 4 PM. Resume climbing bolt installation. KB1SGK, NI1F, K1SUB, NE1B, N1EMC
- Wednesday- 11 AM Meet Fence contractor. N1EMC, NE1B
- Thursday- TBD
- Friday- TBD
- Saturday- Complete bolt installation and Antenna Mount Installation KB1SGK, NE1B +?
Next week (3/28):
- Retaining wall installation
- Fence installation
- Antenna line installation
- Microwave link installation
- PSNH/Eversource installation
While we slipped a little on our timeline due to crane availability, several milestones were accomplished this week.
- Antenna Raising on 4/18 -> Success!
- Cable runs on 4/18 – > Success!
- Wall planning, 4/18
- Eversource scheduling on 4/19
- Fence contractor survey 4/26
- It is likely that we will have Eversource complete next week, by 4/27.
- The microwave link will then be tested and optimized. Repeaters will be installed, just in time for NEAR-FEST!
Thanks to all team members who helped on Sunday, 4/18 with the antenna raising, including:
- KB1SGK
- K1OX
- N1GLT
- KM3T
- K1SUB
- NI1F
- N1ZKO
- N1EMC
- NE1B
- W1RCF
Week of 15 May
By now, you all know that the VHF and UHF repeaters and microwave link have been a resounding success on Mt. Uncanoonuc.
The retaining wall was completed by Bill F. and Jesse and looks great! The remaining work now is a short list:
- Building a 14′ x 14′ Fence
- Installing the security cameras
- Installing the signage
- Installing environmental sensors
- Installing battery backup
- Slight duplexer optimization on UHF
- Mitigation of 157 MHz paging system sideband noise
We want to thank everyone for their help on this project and your donations of time and money! You are all great team players!
Next Critical Path milestones will include:
- Fence Construction
- Cameras and Sign Posting