On April 5, 2019, Steve Forinella N6SFX, Tom Turner KI6CCW, Wayne McGartlin N7HWM, Tim Duerson W9AYK and Tom Davis KB7HTA did a field test of mesh equipment, which will be used for video and communication coverage of the Nevada Open Road Challenge near Hiko, NV on May 19, 2019. The test determined that using mesh for race coverage and communications is a real possibility, and the mesh team is working with John Bigley N7UR, Tim Duerson W9AYK, and the rest of the NORC team to make this happen.

The node setup went slower than expected due to the brutal climb up to where the node would be located.  If it looks like a short walk/climb on Google Maps, then be very worried; a lesson learned. The planed location for a node at the North narrows of the White River would have been just as difficult, if it were not for Tim, who suggested an excellent nearby alternative, which could be reached by car. The remaining two end point nodes were setup in short order and testing began. The mesh network backbone provided a perfect end-to-end connection with data transfer rates greater than 50 Mbps.  The VoIP telephones worked at the end points and at some intermediate points a well. However, there seems to be a problem using the telephones at the relay nodes.  The team believes it is a problem with the programming of the Netgear GS105e VLAN switches.  Time ran short and a complete test of the video camera was not done.