You should be able to see the last reported position of our van. Route of travel
is: CT to Plankinton SD, to Steamboat Springs CO, to Plankinton SD, and then return to
Connecticut.
It may take a few minutes for this screen to load and update, so
please be patient.
Send me an email and tell
how it looked.
Look for:
N1QKP-9 = Knut's vehicle
For the non-amateur radio person:
A GPS in the vehicle is connected to a radio transmitter. The position of
the vehicle is relayed via other Amateur Radio Stations to the Internet. This picture
takes position information from this internet server and filters out only Knut's position
and displays it. There is a few minutes lag between the transmission of position until is
displayed on this map. For this purpose, it is 'real-time'.
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Vacation Trip ] [ Go to Live Map ] [ Go to
Equipment Description ] [ Go to Travel Updates ]
Equipment:
OK, so to make all of this stuff work, here is a list of the installed
equipment:
12 to 115 Vac inverter to provide power for:
2 laptops
TV/VCR (Have to keep the kids happy)
Nintendo 64 (ditto)
Misc. low power equipment (CD player, etc)
Yaesu FT-8500 Dual Band Mobile for 2m and 440
Standard HT + 35W amp for APRS.
Kantronics KPC3 TNC
Standard 528 Dual Band HT for hand-held work
Austin Dual Band Antenna on Mag-mount for voice
Workman 5/8 Dual Band Antenna on Mag-mount for APRS
Garmin GPS 45 supplying GPS data to the two laptops and TNC for:
Laptop 1: Real-time mapping / Navigation. Great tool that is making the trip much
easier.
Laptop 2: An old laptop used to log APRS data as we travel for HST files.
TNC: for transmitting our position.
This GPS data network was simply made by the using the ideas listed in the
"Standardized Cabling" somewhere else on this web-site.
Electric Supply to maintain all of this:
An auxiliary battery installed to supply the above items independent of the van's battery.
To keep this battery charged, a 10 gauge cable is running from the the van battery to the
auxiliary battery through a 25 amp fuse and a relay that will allow paralleling of the
batteries when the van's accessories are powered. This provided a stable power supply for
these electronics independent of the operation of the van (starting etc.). This system was
also designed as plug and play by using the ideas in the "Standardized Cabling".
[ Go to Top] [ Go to Vacation Trip
] [ Go to Live Map ] [ Go to Equipment Description
] [ Go to Travel Updates ]
Travel Updates:
The primary purpose for this trip was to go to our niece's wedding.
Secondarily to take a few days in Colorado, away from the daily hustle. Normally we would
simply fly to South Dakota, but it is difficult to find flights in the summer to Steamboat
Springs, hence I decided to catch up with the family in SD. They spent another week to
help preparing for the wedding.
APRS MAPS:
Sadly, the APRS server must have been down during my trip westbound. The
map did not function. I hope it will work during our trip eastbound.
Day 1:
Departed Enfield, CT at 01:30 (in the middle of the night). The goal is to
drive 1200 miles the first day. Passing Toledo around noon. "Smooth sailing" to
Chicago. Got stuck in construction traffic. Drove 6 miles in 2 hours. Not a lot of ham
activity so far. West of Joliet, IL I make a call on 146.52 and Sean (forgot his call)
answered, and stated "you are the guy in the green van". I had just passed his
semi. He kept me with company (and awake) until Davenport. I arrived at Ken N1RGK and his
wife Carol's house outside Des Moines, IA at 11pm (could have been there at nine if it
wasn't for the construction in Chicago). 1234 miles for the day. Boy, did their guest-bed
feel good!
Day 2:
The plan for day 2 was to take the interstate from Des Moines to Omaha to
Sioux City. A peek on the map showed that some country roads would take me just about
straight across. This is where the GPS/Computer Map really gave me an advantage. There was
never a doubt when and where to turn to stay "on course". 350 miles in five
hours (including a quick pit-stop)! Great with speedlimit of 75 mph. Pulled in to
Plankinton, SD (population 500) at 3:30, plenty of time for the 7 p.m. wedding. Total
mileage 1589.
Day 3:
Wedding is over and the kids (my son and his cousin) are stumping at the
bits to head for Colorado and fishing and four-wheeling and....... 10am departure
and 700 miles to go. That's about a 12 hours drive. This is where the TV/VCR/Nintendo was
useful. A movie later we are in the Badlands of South Dakota. Great sight - these rock
walls sticking up out of the otherwise boring prairie. Looks like we are in the middle of
no-where until the Cellphone rings. This is actually a working-vacation. Cellphone
coverage was nearly 100% on this trip, even through the backroads of Wyoming and Colorado.
No sightseeing on this leg - kids want to fish in CO before bedtime. All sightseeing is
planned for the return drive eastbound. Total distance 2289.
Day 4 - 7:
We're at Steamboat Lake, about 20 miles north of Steamboat Springs, CO.
The kids are busy with their fishing, ATV'ing and simply having fun. No schedule, no
watch, no program, just watch the kids have fun. The in-law's house is located at 8,200
feet elevation, with mountains all around. Cellphone coverage - 100%.
Day 8 Friday 7/22 Plan:
Time for the return eastbound. The plan is to drive through WY, to the
Black Hills. We want to (again) stop by Mt. Rushmore and take in the view. Eventually we
will arrive in Plankinton, SD. APRS coverage is next to nil.
Day 9 Saturday 7/23 Plan:
Relax in Plankinton and Mitchell, SD before the 1600 mile haul to CT.
Visit our daughter and friends.
Day 10 Sunday 7/24 Plan:
The plan is to drive I-90 from SD to Toledo, OH. There should be
intermittent APRS coverage most of the way. This map should be updating provide the APRS
Server stays online.
Day 11 Monday 7/25 Plan:
Toledo, OH to Enfield, CT - it shouldn't be all that bad. I'll tell you
later.
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[ Go to Vacation Trip ] [ Go to Live Map ] [ Go to Equipment Description ] [ Go to
Travel Updates ]
This is a "reprint" of this summers drive from Steamboat Lake,
CO to Enfield, CT. 2,300 mile over three driving days! Total milage for the trip was 4800
miles over six driving days.
Right-Click on Chicago to center the map. |
