2 Meters 147.195 MHz Offset: Pos CTCSS: 100Hz 70 Centimeters 449.575 MHz Offset: Neg CTCSS: 100Hz The club repeaters are located inside a small shack atop Namaqua Hill, west of Loveland. The 2m repeater is controlled via an S-Com 7K repeater controller. The 70cm repeater is controlled via an S-Com 5K repeater controller. These controllers are programmed by sending touch-tone codes to them from either the phone line or over the air. A computer program is used to upload control information to the 2m repeater over the phone line using a modem to create touch-tone codes. A control password is used for each command, and this password is maintained only by official repeater control operators. This makes updates easy and provides ready documentation of who has what control codes. In the event of a hardware upgrade or catastrophic failure of the controller, it also provides a quick and easy way to restore operation when the controller is back on-line. Among the many programmable features of the controllers is the ability to accept one to four digit codes called "macros" to provide quick access to certain functions. Club membership provides each member with two (2) free macros, which can be made to activate the autopatch, reverse patch, or to announce things (like your call letters) in voice or cw. Macros are terminated with the * key. So, for example, if you want to call your home using (say) macro 9999, you would transmit " access patch", then transmit 9999*. You would hear a phone ring over the air, and when your party answers, you would conduct a half-duplex phone conversation. Transmit the # tone to end the call, then announce " clear of the patch". The repeater announces "Call complete". - Special thanks to SkyBeam Internet for providing the VoIP phone link to the club's repeater. There is a six minute timer on the repeater. You can't keep your mike keyed for more than that time (not that you'd want to) and expect to hold the repeater. This timer is reset when no carrier is present for one second (as indicated by the courtesy beep). This delay is intended to allow other stations to announce their need to use the repeater, so it is a good practice to allow the beep to occur before keying your mike. If AC power is lost at the repeater site, batteries maintain the power, and the controller announces "AC power off", in voice, and changes the courtesy beep to a single high pitch. A control operator can then restore the normal courtesy beep via a special macro after power is restored. Please limit use of the repeater to necessary calls only when it is running on batteries. |