07.11.2020 DR-2X Repeater installs begin

Post date: Jul 12, 2020 2:17:26 AM

This evening, Mike Owens K4RKO and Brewer Pedin W4MGA installed the first of the two Yaesu DR-2X repeaters in the KG4MRA rack at the WTVR tower site. See photo in the "Photos" tab. I must say the DR-2X is very nice looking equipment, with the touch screen front panel, very nice front panel layout, and feature rich capabilities. K4RKO and W4MGA each took a manual set home for some "lite reading", before we put them on the air. We got as far as setting the "A side" frequencies, and the repeater ID. We have much to do before cut over to these new repeaters. Meanwhile, just to satisfy curiosity, we did power up the spare Quantar, the one that had failed big time several weeks ago, and of course, it booted up, full normal, all green LED's, ready to play ball. But we pulled it out the rack and set it aside, to make room for the DR-2X's. We will totally re-arrange the rack on the next visit, after we plan the install. Probably retain the main Quantar, which has been flawless for the last several weeks, keep it as a spare, in the low probability case the both of the new DR-2X's might fail.

We will be purchasing a Henry VHF Power Amplifier to boost the DR-2X power, which has a maximum 50 Watt ICAS output power. Probably run the DR-2X's at a conservative 10 Watts, and let the Henry do the continuous duty high power, to get through the ~800 feet of coax to the antenna. I believe I calculated the aggregate losses, thru the duplexer and feedline at ~4.7 dB.

The MRA would like to thank all that have contributed to the DR-2X replacement fund, and especially the two big clubs in the Richmond area, RATS (Richmond Amateur Telecommunications Society) and RARC (Richmond Amateur Radio Club) for their VERY GENEROUS donations!

Take a look over on the "Photos" tab for a picture of one of the new DR-2X's installed in the KG4MRA rack.

73's

Brewer W4MGA