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*                  ATGP 2017 Leo's Newbee report for Katahdyn            75
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Hi All,

First, I have to share a little beginner's joy -- this was my first Golden 
Packet event.  It was really awesome.  Something I've been looking for for 
years!  I'm here now so it's all good.  Thanks a million to Tim (KA1YBS) 
for welcoming me into the Katahdin team!  Also big thanks to Dan (VA2KEY) 
and Bram (VA2XE) on Mt. St. Joe in Canada and John (WA1KLI) on Mt. 
Washington, and Lynn (KJ4ERJ)!  All my interactions with each of you was 
helpful and fun.  Thanks again.

Again, this was my first GP, however I had some thoughts that I thought 
I'd share with the group in case they are helpful.

1) It seems that it would be helpful to break the path setup into a few 
phases.  Phase 1 - placement and alignment.  Phase 2 -- Voice comms. 
Phase 3 - 1200 baud. Phase 4 - 9600 baud phase 5 - ?

Have the 1200 baud phase before a higher speed phase would make trouble-
shooting more accessible with advanced software and inexpensive radios. 
 Once all stations are seen and the path established and traversed both 
South to North and North to South THEN make the jump to 9600 baud.  
At that point the logical configuration and physical setup and alignment 
is tested good.

Examples of the value of 1200 baud: Just listening on 144.340 would be 
helpful to identify the quality of the signal and frequency of beaconing.  
Also, a lightweight tablet with APRSDroid can be used with a common 
VHF/UHF handheld for more advanced control.  More advanced and 
standardized logging and configurations could be managed with a Raspberry 
Pi and Direwolf.

It boils down to: at 9600 baud ONLY special equipment can be used to 
send-receive-monitor the packets.  At 1200 baud any old device works.  
That makes troubleshooting easier and accessible to folks like me with 
a BaoFeng budget ;).  It seems essential to make the process of 
establishing a 2000+ mile 13 hop path as simple as possible.

2) Our spreadsheet is REALLY handy and so well laid out with useful info 
it was super helpful.  It seems the only thing I could imagine changing 
about it is possibly adding distance and bearing to the next hop -- the 
row below any given row.  That might be a good way to help pick where 
we stand, which side of obstructions or newly grown trees we setup on, 
or how we manage a change of venue.  I know many peaks have internet 
access and laptops handy to compute and re-compute those things.  Maybe 
it is just Katahdin where we can't pack too much gear because we have to 
carry everything up pretty agressive terrian to the summit at 5,267'.  
Maybe it would benefit some other stations too?

3) Is there any broader interest in a set of local tests to prepare for 
the event?  We could work with our neighboring peaks to establish a 
scheudle to do mini-golden packet events over a small region with our GP 
neighbors?  It could be a time to test alternative peaks and test gear 
and settings.  Maybe in late spring to warm up for the event or later 
in the fall, before the snow flies up here?  I'm open to it.

4) Wow, my legs hurt the next day after the up/down Katahdin.  I need to 
do a little more pre-event intense hiking!

Thanks again to everyone for making this possible and all the insightful 
reports.  I learned a lot!  I can't wait to do this again next year!

Leo Edmiston-Cyr