KE4LWT-10 is back up and running, and so far the comments have been positive. It can now reliably connect an extra 10 miles (or more) in all but directly West of its location. W lies the Blue Ridge Mountains, and no getting over that.
The KE4LWT-10 VHF gateway will be intermittent during phased upgrades.
Phase one replaces existing 2m only J-pole with a collinear VHF/UHF antenna. This will also be 10' (3m) higher up. The gain of 6db (2m) and 8db (70cm) should prove useful.
Phase two upgrades the computer with a new-to-me newer model, capable or running WinLink (on 2m) and EchoLink (on 70cm) simultaneously. This will provide improved operations and a second mode for local emergency use.
I'm located in Greene County, VA in Ruckersville. That's about 15 miles north of Charlottesville. System is running on a dinosaur Dell Inspiron 820US laptop with an equally old GE MVS NPH20 VHF radio and a TNC-X. Antenna is a homemade J-pole up 30', soon to go up some more. Backup power by large UPS and also generator provides 24/7 operations. I'm currently running RMS Packet with RMS Relay for hold-and-forward when internet is down. I eventually plan on adding a WinMor HF system, but that's awaiting time to get it all together and tested.