Repeater Coordination

As of August 2011 the Open Repeater System operated and Maintained by KJ6ZD has been Test coordinated. The test is primarily to find any interference problems. At the same time SCRRBA advised that a System in Santa Barbara is currently processed to be coordinated on the same Frequency. I feel very confident that there will be no interference to the systems. The Repeater has been moved to the coordinated frequency on Friday Aug. 11. 2011. After a few hick ups (as usual) the Duplexer has been re-tuned to the new frequency, also some adjustments were necessary on the Exciter and the Receiver.

The system is categorized as OPEN repeater and any licensed HAM is welcome to use it.

We're operating now on 445.560 MHz - Output ( - 5 MHz Shift).

The CTCSS tone remains as on the Test pair at 146.2 Hz.

For the time being, the system is operating at reduced output power (~2.5 W) to ensure that all tuning is at the appropriate levels / resonance points and to prevent, in the event of de-tune, damages that may be the result of overlook conditions.

After a few days on low power, we'll increase it to approximately 75 Watt of feed line power. The Antenna in use claims to have a Gain of 11.7 dBi which should reflect an effectively radiated power in the range of 300-400 W erp. In the past, this was enough to cover all of Vista, Parts of San Marcos, Escondido, Carlsbad and into the Northern Part (Spotty) of San Diego. To the North we might be heard in South Los Angeles, probably not enough to operate through the system. Unfortunately, the system is somewhat shielded to the West and certain locations in Oceanside  maybe tough to reach.

QSO recording

Qso recording is now available again. To enable QSO recording, simply type 81# (DTMF) without any module active. Then use the system as usual. Anything that comes across the audio path will be recorded. To disable recording, de-activate the active module and type 80# (DTMF).

It is possible to activate recording while a module is active by typing *81# (DTMF, note the star in front) and de-activating by typing *80# (DTMF). The generated wave file is stored on the FTP Server for later retrieval. While the recording feature is active the wave file is only temporary until the de-activate code is send. After de-activation the recorded wave file is stored on the FTP server. The filename structure is such as: Start Time /End Time and Date.

QSO Recording

The QSO recording is unavailable since the Linux box has been setup for SVXLINK. There are some issues that have to be resolved regarding the setup. The setup is more difficult as it was with the Echo-Link Windows version.

The entire system is currently undergoing a major restructuring. This includes the removal of proto type gear and replacement with final design circuit. The EI-150 has been removed and replaced by a simple RS232 level translator circuit. The Yaesu Gear was also removed and replaced by "yes" the Hamtronics stuff. The Henry Amplifier is now full time working. The exciter drives the amplifier at about 3 Watt into a 4dB pad. This will leave about 1 Watt at the amplifier input stage. The amp has a gain of about 17dB and measurements at the feedline (LMR600) revealed about 30 Watt coming out of the Duplexer - Bandpass path. The antenna has changed to a Homebrew 8 element Colinear vertical just about 20 feet off the ground. This type of antenna has a gain of about 6dB. The antenna was installed primarily to find out if it would improve IM rejection. At times when all transmitter in the neighborhood go on the air, a tremendous amount of Inter Modulation products cause this system almost or at times to time out itself.

The FTP server is currently offline since the Echo-Link Computer is undergoing a change in Operating system. I was tired of rebooting Microsofts great operating system every week or two because it latched itself up. That's it Microsoft is out and Linux is in. I am running a Linux Box (This webserver) for over three years without any major hickup. Great job Linux community !!!!!

However with the change in operating system there comes a great deal of application setup along.  Also, finding similar software that works under linux is not too easy either. The linux - Echo-Link box will run the wine, a Windows compatibility layer to allow running Windows Software that just can't be replaced by Linux applications.

Update on Repeater and Echo-Link Hardwire

KJ6ZD-L is now hardwired to repeater!

As of February 2nd the KJ6ZD-L node is now hardwired to its 70cm repeater that is located at the same place as the node. Currently the setup is only running as a test to find out about real life problems that may be encountered during this time. The core firmware is doing fine so far and has been tested for an approximate 1 hour conversation to Berlin Germany without any major problems.

What does it mean?

It is now possible to access the Echo-Link System via the 2m Simplex radio or the 70cm Repeater Setup. Both systems are at low level with the antennas just about 40 feet HAAT. This will cover about 20-25 miles in radius from the location.

How does it Work?

The Echo-Link Node is listening to both receiver inputs. On the 2m side a Simplex frequency is monitored at 145.770 MHz and the 70 cm Side a receiver is listening to 441.880 MHz. If a signal with the correct PL tone is detected on either side the controller will key the opposite transmitter. For example a signal is received on the 2 m receiver the repeater will retransmit the same signal out on 70 cm.

If a signal is received on the 70 cm side the signal will be retransmitted to the 2 m frequency.

It is possible to cross band converse.

If the echo-link has an connect and a QSO is desired, it will simply transmit the audio from the Internet to both transmitter. Therefore the audio will be heard on 2 m and simultaneous on 70 cm. Both frequencies can be used to connect to distant echo-link stations via DTMF commands.

What's the difference to the user?

Essential none. The user will operate the Node as it has been for over 2 Years. There are no new commands to learn, to look up or anything else. It just works as before, except that someone might be lurking on the 70 cm output. Also a major advantage is that other users can hear each other provided they use the 70 cm side of the system. Previously two user could possibly not hear each other because of the distance in between their stations. However they both could hear the node. Now all they have to do is check if they can hit the repeater and viola they can hear the user that is using the simplex frequency.

Currently the plan is to let it run for a period of time to find the little problems and correct them in the firmware during or after the test run.