While the SOTA MT are waiting to receive the source code for RBNGate from the estate of KU6J, I’ve knocked together a string-and-duct-tape version that should provide a bit more service. As a gate is a nice, refined, well-designed hole in a fence, I’ve called this “RBNHole” because it’s unrefined and lacking a lot of the features that Eric’s tool provided. It will try to spot you within a 2 hour window of your alert.
It will only be online temporarily until RBNGate can be resurrected, and it may be removed in the event it malfunctions (probability somewhere between possible and highly likely). No Service Levels guaranteed and no correspondence entered into
Hopefully this helps the CW activators a little bit. During my testing phase, I noticed a few times that it picked up activators that weren’t yet spotted.
I had a problem getting the thing to actually spot, so obviously had to iron that out first. On the plus side, you were great test data! On the negative side, I could see you in the rbn data trigger a spot that just wouldn’t post.
Thank you for this incredibly positive piece of work! I can see the spots earlier today, and late in the day (27 Jan).
When I was out activating today, between 1856 and 2042Z, I called CQ for many minutes - I was on 5 bands at a wonderful radio site, with a good setup. I just looked at my RBN spots, and they are really nice on every band I was onI However, I was not spotted at all by RBN Hole. Perhaps the system was down during my time on Horsetooth Mountain? Please tell me if that’s why I wasn’t spotted - or is there another problem,
Thanks to the several chasers who spotted me after finding me - I stuck to the plan of my alert, and several chasers found me where I said I would be!
In any case I plan to be out again tomorrow, so we’ll try it again.
Yeah, sorry, minor glitch - the connection into the RBN dropped while I was asleep. Restarted this morning. I’ll keep an eye on it to see how flaky that aspect is.
Looking at your great job Andrew, it’s just a bit ungrateful/unfair that on SOTAwatch repeatedly incorrect comments such as “RBN wrong” or “RBNHole wrong” be made, if the cause is clearly an incorrect made/managed Alert!
Andrew, going forward I wonder if the code could be designed so that one or more mirror sites could be set up to also be running RBNHole. In case one of them goes dead, the other(s) could take over.