Proposed Alternate OpComms Test Sites

Now that the OpComms team has successfully accomplished a 10km test, the group intends to scale up. The next set of testing locations has not yet been determined, but many sites were brought up in the initial search for a long-range test site pair. These are listed below:

Goat Mountain/Mendocino National Forest (10km)

Lat: 39.260165, Long: -122.714713 / Lat: 39.244135, Long: -122.835233

Cowell Ranch Beach Access/San Gregorio State Beach (11.1 km)

Lat: 37.421368, Long: -122.434249 / Lat: 37.322547, Long: -122.402297

Santa Cruz Surfing Museum/Moss Landing (27.5km)

Lat: 36.95145, Long: -122.026718 / Lat: 36.8044, Long: -121.786895

Santa Cruz Surfing Museum/Point Pinos Lighthouse (36.2 km)

Lat: 36.95145, Long: -122.026718 / Lat: 36.633372, Long: -121.933698

The primary elements that determine a good test site pair are accessibility by car (due to equipment transportation requirements), access at night, and a clear line of sight. Night access can be difficult in public locations, but the possibility of requesting special permits for some of the beach sites has been proposed, although never investigated. The line of sight criterion can be predicted using a Geocontext Profiler tool [1], which generates an elevation map between two points. Creating an offline software tool for generating terrain profiles would be an excellent project.

In the next year, the group hopes to test at 100km and 300km, which will require substantial research into good long-range test sites. The cost of testing increases with distance to and between locations, so it will be important to identify and evaluate promising sites carefully. The current amateur record holders completed their successful test across the Great Salt Lake Desert [2].