Category Archives: Repeaters

Repeaters

WARG Practical and Information sessions – Meetings

WARG is changing the way meetings are run to include more informational/practical sessions. We’re considering bi-monthly General Meetings, where the alternate month will involve informational/practical sessions. We’re also looking at the restructure of formal General Meetings to ‘compress’ the formalities to enable simular informative sessions to follow.

Please let us know any topics you’d like to learn about related to Repeaters/AR.

Some Ideas we have so far…

Meeting:

Radio measurements – Bring along your mobile/HT radios and we’ll test things like audio levels, deviation, power output, frequency shift etc.
Learn how/why different stations sound different via the repeaters

Meeting:

Roleystone site visit – Come along and see what a repeater site looks like.
Learn about all of the devices required for a repeater, how they connect, and what they look like.

Meeting:

WARG network and features – Learn what repeaters are out there and what features they have availabale to users.
APRS network – Learn what APRS digipeaters/gateways are out there and what features they have availabale to users.

Meeting:

sweep/tune a complete set of new cavities for Tic Hill
sweep/tune/test other cavities in container
test/refurbish spare antennas in container

Meeting:

Repeater theory – Learn how a repeater works, what parts there are, what functions are available
building up spare repeaters

Meeting:

Program up APRS digipeaters x3
Manufacture/mount APRS enclosures x3
presentation on APRS graphs/monitoring

Meeting:

Brainstorming/presenting smart controller features for smart linking
old network design
current network design
future network design
System Expansion planning
System refurbishment planning

Meeting:

Build new DC distribution boards x3
testing of old Walliston Batteries

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Fremantle VK6RFM’s new QTH – Echolink/IRLP

The Fremantle repeater VK6RFM has now settled into it’s new home.
Coverage from the new QTH i currently limited due to suspected cavity issues (thanks to a lightning strike) and being run off atemporary discone antenna.

March should see the cavities either retuned or replaced, and see the installation of a new co-linear antenna which should see the repeater back to full operation.

Due to current coverage limitations, the Echolink/IRLP access node hosted by VK6DN can’t get into the repeater so use of this service is currently ‘out-of-order’. It’s expected that with the work on the cavities and the new antenna that Echolink and IRLP services will return to operation.

Thanks to Don VK6DN, James VK6FJA, Bob VK6KW, Anthony VK6AXB, John VK6JAH and Heath VK6TWO for their wok on the relocation and getting the repeater back into service.

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23cm DSTAR Digital Voice now on air!

Perth now has 23cm DSTAR Digital Voice coverage from the Roleystone repeater site thanks to the purchase of a 23cm diplexer.

Coverage on 23cm from this site is yet to be field tested but computer generated coverage plots show that it is quite healthy.

Members are encouraged to purchase Icom ID-1 23cm DSTAR/FM mobile radios or an Icom IC-9100 (with 23cm and DSTAR options fitted) to utilise. DSTAR home brew is also becomming quite popular so perhaps give this a try too.

Thanks to Rob VK6LD for spotting the cavity purchase opportunity, and VK6TWO for the purchase and installation.

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APRS Telemetry scripting

Rob VK6UFO has been busy working on a script to configure the reporting of telemetry data from the Argent OT2 APRS units at WARG sites. The telemetry reports and graphs information such as battery voltage and temperature. With minimal ancillary hardware, other information can also be ‘beaconed’ such as RF output, SWR, Current etc. These additional features will evolve to our sites where the existing repeater hardware supports it.

Many thanks to Rob VK6UFO for his work on this.

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Roleystone Working Bee – 18th Feb 2012

Another productive ~5hr working bee at Roleystone on Feb 18th. Tasks carried out were:

New Cavities swept, tuned and tested on 146.700
Old Cavities swept and tuned (then returned to service – new ones will now go to Tic Hill)
Foliage under Guy Wires removed
Foliage around Shacks removed
Foliage around HF Beacon Antenna removed
Foliage along driveway removed
Mute levels adjusted
re terminated 23cm coax connector
took measurements in preparation for cable tray between mast and shack.
Took several photos
Consumed Coffee
Consumed Muffins
Consumed Smartie Choc Chip Cookies
Suffered many prickles/thorns/splinters from bushes.

Thanks to those who gave signal reports at the time. We’d appreciate if everyone could give an indication of access coverage since the changes.

Sweep plots were captured and will either get published on the WARG website or emailed out on this list. (please contact me if you would like me to send you a copy directly)

We will require another working bee at some stage in the near future to:

Install cable tray
recover coax/ethernet cables from Mast
Possibly swap main antenna (pending changes to coverage reports)
Commission 3rd run of LDF5-50 (already installed)
remove foliage around perimeter/fire break
Level checks on audio interfaces (repeaters and news link)
Sweep DSTAR 2m Cavities
General tidy up of cable routing within shack
Possibly recommission VK6BBR
Document cables/connectors/interfaces for all equipment (for site database)

Many Thanks to VK6TWO, VK6FMON, Bruno, VK6AIF, VK6ZRW, VK6DB, VK6AXB, VK6LV, VK6JAH, VK6ZMS

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Roleystone – Q1 2012 Working Bee

The Roleystone Repeater site requires another Working Bee to do a bit of a tidy up and make some improvements to the installation.

With the installation of 3 new LDF5-50 up the 80m mast, the old rigid line needs to be removed and sold/disposed of.

Cable tray is required to tidy up the coax runs between the Radio Shack and the Tower. Ray VK6ZRW is looking into a source for materials.

After a prolonged ‘Mains Failure” around August 2011, two spare 80W Solar Panels were placed flat on the roof and connected to the main batteries by Heath VK6TWO. These will have to be mounted in a more robust and efficient way. Some redesign of the DC power/Batteries would also be worthwhile.

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Warradarge – New site for coverage to Geraldton

In November, Martin VK6ZMS, Heath VK6TWO and Monique VK6FMON traveled to a potential new site in Warradarge to assess the suitability for extending 2m Voice and APRS coverage up to Geraldton.

Warradarge is aproximately 260km north of Perth along the Brand Highway, and about 180km NLOS SSE of Geraldton.

A 10m mast was raised to enable some propagation/coverage testing from the 290m HASL Warradarge Hill.

The VK6RPT  2m APRS Digipeater was installed, along with 4.5dB antenna, deep cycle battery and 80W solar.

APRS packets from Warradarge have been received by VK6RCT, VK6RTH, VK6REX and VK6RAV.

Performance from the site has been much less than expected so a higher gain antenna will replace the current one to better assess the site for suitability.

Great thanks goes to Craig VK6FLAM who did a lot of the prep-work for this trip, but unfortunately had a last minute emergency which stopped him from attending.

It’s expected that 2012 should see permanent APRS and 2m Voice in this area, enabling coverage from Geraldton through to Cateby.

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WARG Shop – LDF4-50 and LDF5-50 DIN connectors for sale – CHEAP

We currently have a very large supply of NEW DIN connectors suitable for LDF4-50 and LDF5-50 Coax.

We are looking for a Commercial / Bulk purchaser who may be interested in purchasing these connectors.

DIN connectors are used for high power coax connections in many commercial installations such as Telstra/Optus/Vodaphone base station sites, FM and TV broadcast sites etc.

All connectors are NEW, sealed in individual plastic bags, with instructions and individual boxes.

We also have many NEW mast/tower feedline securing brackets to suit LDF4-50, LDF5-50, LDF6-50, LDF7-50.

Lengths of LDF4-50 may also be available for purchase.

If you know of a company or individual who may be interested in purchasing some or all of these connectors, please get in contact with us for a list of model numbers and quantities.

Thanks to Bob VK6KW and Heath VK6TWO for the aquisition.

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Fremantle VK6RFM – Lightning Strike & New QTH

There has been an ongoing effort by many to find a new site for the Fremantle Repeater VK6RFM. Don VK6UT has hosted the Fremantle reapeater for many years at his QTH, however due to unfortunate circumstances, wouldn’t be able to host it for too much longer. WARG is very greatful for Don’s hospitality.

Several letters were sent to site owners around the Frementle area by Anthony VK6AXB, Craig VK6FLAM, Ian VK6SKY in an attempt to find the repeater a new home.

Bob VK6KW who lives in the vicinity of the existing repeater location, offered to host the repeater at his QTH, however it was preferred that the repeater went to a more suitable and permanent location.

December saw a lighning strike to the repeater which took it off air. Fault finding by John VK6JAH and Bob VK6KW resulted in the repair of the repeater back to operation, though it’s suspected that there may still be an issue with the cavity filters.

Once the repeater was returned to an operational state, it was installed to it’s new home at Bob VK6KW’s QTH.

Thanks to John Don VK6UT, Anthony VK6AXB, Craig VK6FLAM, Ian VK6SKY, VK6JAH, Bob VK6KW.

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