... for remote-controlled noncommercial/amateur activity, initially involving receive-only operation. Not happy with reception and antenna possibilities at my QTH and it's going to get in the way of some R&D work I want to do. Has anyone tried renting space on another private party's scanner or ham tower? I'd need a stable location with the following attributes:
- A clean, dry, secure indoor location (garage OK) where there's room for a 4U chassis (think: large PC)
- 115V, 1000W max, ~100W average/typical load
- Eligibility for fast broadband net service (DSL or cable, which I would pay for separately)
- Antenna space for a discone, plus a small yagi for the 800 band
- Ideally: room for at least a small wire or vertical HF antenna, not critical
- Mandatory: a good shot at both Columbia Tower and EPSCA sites (868.175 and 868.775), with little/no multipath
- Reasonable driving time from the north end of Lake Washington
- Reasonable likelihood that the site would be available for at least 2 years
- Ideally accessible anytime, day/night -- which would rarely be more than once a month, although I'd preferably have a key of my own
- Probably no 24/7 high-power transmission from the same tower (receiver front end is not especially strong)... so no colocation with pager, cellular, etc. even if I could justify paying for that, which I can't
What are some opinions as to a reasonable 'rent' for a scenario like this? As a first approximation, I'd guess it would be appropriate to pay about as much as I would for a small commercial storage locker. Something in the $50-$100/month vicinity depending on how well the above factors are met? Ideas welcome.
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