CASE STUDY:
The Case of Hawke’s Bay Interference: How Did We Resolve It?
Following our National Coordinator Linc’s first presentation to keen radio enthusiasts in Hawke’s Bay, a group of ten people made the investment in PRS radios.
Initial reports were good, using whip antennas for short range connection, and the group began to erect their roof antennas.
Linc reported:
“I helped with two roof antennas, and did some testing at both ends. The expectation was that these two parties, about 15kms apart, would be able to talk to each other but we couldn’t establish communications, which was disappointing. We could hear some static on the radio, but it wasn’t performing very well.”
Having had a previous experience in the Marlborough area—where a pocket of interference had been resolved with a Techoman-supplied filter—Linc determined that the Hawke’s Bay issue may also potentially be filtering.
Acquiring a few handsets with improved filtering, Linc arranged for testing in several locations.
Because the use of these handsets resolves interference issues, they consequently provide better range.
Further testing helped the Hawke’s Bay pair that Linc was supporting to communicate across 15kms easily with the improved equipment, and double that distance to another point-of-contact.
As a result, the radio group has been recommended to upgrade their PRS to the handset with improved filtering.
The equipment will help them connect, provide better range, and is slightly more water resistant. However, it is a little more expensive.
Supplier, Techoman, can provide a small trade-in rebate of $30 on a returned radio upgrade, but a better option for the Hawke’s Bay group was to sell their existing PRS radios—secondhand but barely used—to interested people in other regions.
While the cause of the interference issue in Hawke’s Bay remains a mystery, thanks to connection and communication between Linc and the group, a resolution to the problem has at least been found, which may prove useful in other areas facing similar issues as time progresses.
