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Each year the Red River Valley Amateur Radio Club (RRVARC) gets an allocation of eleven (11) Mobile Beacon “hot spots” (T-Mobile) via the organization TechSoup. TechSoup is a clearinghouse for companies to sell deeply discounted items to qualified charitable entities. RRVARC qualifies due to our status as an IRS 501(c)3.
The allocation is available on July 1st each year and we start advertising about them at Club meetings and in website updates leading up to that date. We went a number of years without ordering any (2020-2022) because someone had to front the cash to order them and because the online setup is…pretty administratively burdensome. However, we did another batch in 2023 and the price was $15 per device ($165 total, for the first time ever paid by the Club on the front-end, to be reimbursed by each purchaser.). When each person did the online application and paid for a year of service, their total was $129. So, $15 for the hardware and $12.90 per month for a T-Mobile connected mobile hot spot with unlimited data.
These devices can be used as a fall-back WAN source for some routers. In this configuration if your local provider fails for any reason, your LAN would still perform. They can be used while in a vehicle on the road or out in the field at an emergency site. They are 4G/LTE and the only limit is 10 simultaneous connections. Our members are regularly speed testing them at 10Mbps download and 5Mbps upload.
If one of these mobile hot spots appeals to you, please let us know as we start approaching July 1st each year.
Mobile Beacon (T-Mobile) Hot Spots - 2023 Allocation
First Name | Last Name | Call Sign | Order Number | Serial Number | IMEI | Reimbursed RRVARC $15? | Expiration |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Phillip | Beall | W5EBC | MB-164123 | PALC035528 | 351094080355272 | YES | October 2024 |
Gary | Sorensen | K9AIA | MB-164145 | PALC087323 | 351094080873225 | YES | November 2024 |
Steven Lott | Smith | KG5VK | MB-164125 | PALC035044 | 351094080350430 | YES | October 2024 |
Mike | Rice | WB5KWK | MB-165701 | PALC087130 | 351094080871294 | YES | November 2024 |
Rick | Leonhardt | NN7ET | MB-164133 | PALC086794 | 351094080867398 | YES | November 2024 |
Kelly | Collins | W5KJC | MB-165198 | PALC087436 | 351094080874355 | YES | November 2024 |
Roger | Bullock | KC0OOX | MB-164676 | PALC087876 | 351094080879752 | YES | November 2024 |
Cliff | Leath | KI5OPP | MB-165683 | PALC08766 | 351094080877655 | YES | November 2024 |
Ben | York | K5BLY | MB-165791 | TAN9267271 | 351182072672703 | YES | November 2024 |
Ronnie | Rumsey | KA5LEK | MB-165792 | PALC036137 | 351094080361361 | YES | December 2024 |
Haskell | Maroney | KI5VGQ | MB-164214 | PALC087586 | 351094080875857 | YES | November 2024 |
Renewal information: The 2023 allocation were all registered in October or November. We previously had issues with the renewal information only going to one person and so people did not know how to get their device renewed. We are working to solve that next year and will add some more detail on what to expect and how to proceed, published here, as soon as it is settled.
The records below are no longer being maintained.
Cellular Hotspots 2019
first and last name | serial number |
---|---|
Phillip Beall (W5EBC) - 3G expired | 867695040146838 |
Kelly Collins (W5KJC) - cancelled | 867695040176132 |
Randy Holland (N5DDS) - cancelled | 867695040178468 |
Johnny Thomas (WB5JT) | 867695040617994 |
Terry McFadden (KD5EEZ) - cancelled | 867695040175845 |
Cancelled | 867695040614256 |
Cancelled | 867695040155540 |
Charles Penry (WA5VHU) - Cancelled | 867695040161118 |
Cellular Hotspots 2018
first and last name | serial number |
---|---|
Cancelled | 089877734805853559 |
Cancelled | 089877734805849937 |
Thomas Trellis (KC5ILO) | 089877734805857430 |
089877734805858152 | |
Leo Salas (N5JEP) | 089877734805857362 |
Ronnie Rumsey (KA5LEK) | 089877734806373380 |
George Haneke (NV7Z) | 089877734806370564 |
Joshua Imhoff (KG5LRU) - cancelled | 089877734805850422 |
Club Hot Spot | 256691622701659176 |