Latest update September 18, 2025

As of today, it appears all internet services have been restored to all MRA repeaters.  224.420 AllStar connection to KG4HOT 220 network restored, including Boredom Breakers at 1 PM daily.

KG4MRA-10 Digipeater Internet Gateway service restored.

KG4MRA 145.430 MHz repeater has a new time out timer (TOT) setting of 1 minute.  This is required by the 200 Watt setting of the 145.430 downlink power amplifier.  Reset of the TOT requires the downlink carrier (145.430) to drop.  If another station "slides in" on the squelch tail (2.5 seconds) of a prior transmission on the uplink (144.830), the TOT does not reset, and the aggregate time continues to accumulate until the carrier drops, from either exceeding the TOT, or until ALL uplink stations stop transmitting, and the TOT resets itself.  If TOT triggers, the "time out" continues until all uplink stations stop transmitting.  So if some station goes on for several minutes transmitting on the uplink, the TOT automatic reset waits until they stop transmitting.  Including, but not limited to, a station "sitting on the mic", or other cases of long/continuous transmissions, thus saving the amplifier from a self protection thermal limiting event, which is yet another "time out" until the amplifier cools significantly, back to acceptable temperature limits.  A thermal event protection "time out" could take several minutes to "reset".

We will likely extend TOT to 1.5 minutes, after the user community gets accustomed to the 1 minute TOT, but not immediately, and no further extentions to 2/3/4/5/10 minutes.  Prior setting was 10 minutes, for other reasons (a continuous duty cycle amplifier was in service), but the amplifiers in use now are NOT continuous duty, and may well thermal out, or worse, suffer damage.

A good practice to help with this new limitation, is to set a TOT on the your station, a typical feature, which many turn off, or set to maxium.  That way, your rig will alert you to release the PTT, and may well interrupt your transmission for you automatically at your TOT setting.

Latest update September 12, 2025

KG4MRA-10 Digipeater Internet Gateway service restored.

Other internet services, specifically 224.420 AllStar connection, is not restored, we are working on it.  No Boredom Breakers, or networking with KG4HOT repeaters, until AllStar connection is restored.

224.420 remains in service for local (RF) repeater uses.

Latest update September 3, 2025

KG4MRA-10 Digipeater Internet Gateway down again!

This failure is not the same flavor as the last, VPN failure most likely, which takes out several services (AllStar on 224.420, gateway to WWW, etc etc.)

But!  We are working on it!

145.430 and 224.420 remain full service (local OTA only),

 and the digipeater standalone.

  Please standby, and thanks.

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Latest update August 23, 2025

KG4MRA-10 Digipeater Internet Gateway restored!

At some point, late July, the internet gateway of KG4MRA-10 went out of service.  Dave White W4IIA, was on vacation in UK, and not able to diagnose or repair the issue remotely.  As of this last week (August 17+) the gateway issue has been fixed, internet gateway restored.  73's

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MRA "Digi-peaters" now online!

For several months now, and updated since the 145.430 feed line replacement on June 27, 2025, the MRA is now operating several digipeaters from the WTVR TV tower (downtown Richmond) at the 700 foot AGL level.  This preliminary information is provided for those stations wanting to access/use the digipeater services, for Winlink etc.  MRA BoD member, Dave White, W4IIA is the coordinator of the entire MRA digipeater services, and directly contacting him for further information is encouraged.  General information is as follows:

Update on the MRA V/UHF Packet / VARA-FM digipeater and RMS Gateway for the Richmond area.  

The MRA digipeater is co-located with the MRA 145.430 and 224.420 MHz repeaters on the WTVR TV tower, on Broad Street, in Richmond VA.

The MRA digipeater provides two services on 440.450 MHz: 

1. Packet (1200 baud) and VARA-FM digipeater 

2. Winlink RMS Packet & VARA-FM Gateway

KG4MRA    - is the Packet & VARA-FM Digipeater 

KG4MRA-10 - is the Winlink RMS Packet & VARA-FM Gateway for sending Winlink messages.

The MRA is also currently testing a digipeater service on 145.730 MHz

1. Packet (1200 baud) digipeater, call KG4MRA

We are working through some digipeater receiver de-sensitivity issues.  It currently goes deaf (blocked) when the 145.430 MHz repeater is transmitting.

As always, thanks for your support of EMCOMM for Central Virginia.

73,

W4IIA, Dave, Glen Allen, Henrico, VA   EMAIL:  w4iia@arrl.net

Thanks to all!

Friday June 27, 4 PM, the 145.430 KG4MRA repeater returned to service, full power, sensitivity, and range.

The long saga that was the last ~3 months, will be captured with pictures and narrative at a later date.

Of note, MRA spent the entire Treasury down to $0, $13K to the tower crew, that worked 6 days, 6 man crew, in blazing heat and humidity at 700 feet up the tower.  Several BoD are also "out of pocket" even more, to the level of about $2000.  So anyone out there using "MRA writ large" please at least renew your memberships, or donate more.

"MRA writ large" means, 145.430, 224.420, and now adding UHF and soon VHF digipeaters (including VARA FM), at the 700 foot AGL tower level, on fresh new feed lines and antennas.  So "MRA" is more than the original 145.430 that it was since 1982, and more recently, in 2016 with the move to the WTVR Tower.

Big thanks to all the members and patrons, and to WTVR CBS6, and to Radio Communications of Virginia (Joe Buttner AD4DJ) without whom the MRA would be in a very decimated status.

73's and thanks again to all!

KG4MRA H

Welcome to the KG4MRA

  Metropolitan Repeater Association (MRA) Web Site

ONLINE PAYMENT OF MRA DUES & DONATIONS

IS NOW AVAILABLE!

You can pay your MRA dues or make a donation electronically using your Bank’s free Bill Pay service.    

Here’s the information you’ll need:

Name                      Metropolitan Repeater Assn

Account Number    IMPORTANT: use your Amateur Radio Call as your account number 

Address                              PO Box 553

                                             Chesterfield, VA 23832

Phone                     (804) 424-1270

It may take up to 7 days for the payment to be received. 

Most Bill Pay services provide a Memo or Comment field when you submit the payment.  Please add anything that you think may be helpful.  For example:  “2025 membership”  or “2025 membership and extra $45 towards the repeater upkeep”

/**********************/

PLEASE SUPPORT THE MRA:

If you enjoy and use either of the MRA Repeaters (145.430, 224.420, and now UHF/VHF digipeaters) please consider joining the MRA and contributing annual dues of $15.00.  To do so, simply pull a copy of the Membership Application (from this site, in the Documents tab) and mail your check for $15 (per year) dues, to the NEW MRA address:

Metropolitan Repeater Association (MRA)

P.O.Box 553

Chesterfield, VA 23832

The KG4MRA 145.430 repeater antenna is located at 730 feet AGL, with dual support arms, as shown in this photo

The photo above shows one of the challenges to the MRA repeaters

The Metropolitan Repeater Association, MRA, is a group of Amateur Radio Operators dedicated to providing a high quality, wide coverage area two meter repeater for the Richmond Virginia metro area and surrounding counties.  The MRA is not a club, rather, it's an association of people interested in ensuring the repeaters remain maintained, supported and most importantly, used!

MRA operates two repeaters in Richmond Virginia, the 145.430 and 224.420 MHz.

The KG4MRA 145.430 MHz repeater uses a standard -600 KHz offset uplink, and requires a CTCSS tone of 74.4 Hz on the uplink.  The KG4MRA is now operating with Yaesu DR-2X repeaters, and therefore APCO 25 (P25) is no longer an available service on the repeater.  Currently KG4MRA is operating in split Fusion mode, C4FM or NBFM Automatic Mode Selection (AMS) on the uplink, and NBFM only on the downlink.  This split mode of Fusion service allows for NBFM (Analog) only radios to hear all traffic and communications when receiving KG4MRA, and use of 74.4 Hz CTCSS Tone Squelch (to block C4FM on the downlink) is no longer necessary.

The repeater transmits a CTCSS tone of 74.4 Hz on the 145.43 MHz output, to enable using 74.4 Hz RX tone squelch on users radios to block whatever noise and interference they may experience receiving the 145.43 MHz downlink.  Use of the 74.4 Hz RX tone squelch on users radios is optional.  The occurrence of interference on 145.43 MHz in central VA is rare, but there is a repeater in the Washington DC area running full Fusion on 145.43 MHz, and occasionally propagation will cause that repeater being received in the Richmond area.  The vast majority of users of 145.430 use analog NBFM.  But there are a significant number of hams in the Richmond area with Yaesu Fusion mobiles and HT's, so there may be more C4FM traffic on the repeater, versus the very low usage of P25 when that was supported.

The MRA also operates the KG4MRA 224.420 MHz repeater which uses a standard -1.60 MHz offset uplink, requires a CTCSS tone of 74.4 Hz on the uplink, and transmits with a CTCSS tone of 74.4 Hz on the downlink.  Use of the 74.4 Hz RX tone squelch on users radios is optional.  The 224.420 is analog NBFM only, uplink and downlink, and the antenna is mounted at 400 feet.  This repeater is connected full time to the KG4HOT 220 MHz repeater network node, and that connection includes carrying the "Boredom Breakers Net" between 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM every day, a world wide AllStar (and other interconnection methods) net.

The KG4MRA 145.430 repeater was located on the WRLH Channel 35 Analog TV tower in north Chesterfield County (intersection of Routes 288 & 60) from 1982 to 2016.  Original call sign of the repeater was W4SQT (Trustee Rod Kieper W4SQT/SK).  In 2014 the call sign of the repeater was changed to KG4MRA.  On December 28, 2016, the entire KG4MRA repeater was moved to its new location on the WTVR TV Channel 6 tower, when the old WRLH Channel 35 TV tower was scheduled for demolition in 2017.  The WTVR TV Channel 6 tower is located in central Richmond (intersection of I-195 & Broad Street), ~13 miles ENE of its prior location at WRLH.

The KG4MRA antenna at the new WTVR site is a Sinclair SD-224, 4 bay stacked folded dipoles, centered on 730 feet AGL, on the north tower leg of the WTVR tower.

The Metropolitan Repeater Association owes it's continued operation to the gracious hosting of WTVR TV CBS6, on the iconic free standing 849 foot AGL (1053 foot ASL) tower erected in 1953.