VE3OOO

QTH

Located high above the downtown Windsor, Ontario skyline, VE3OOO has returned to the airwaves. From the top of the Ouellette Towers apartment building, near the intersection of Ouellette and Wyandotte, the Mighty 'Triple O' is 200' above street level and currently with no PL tone access. This is a stand alone repeater serving 1.25 meter band enthusiasts throughout the Windsor-Essex region of South West Ontario and the greater Detroit area off and on since it first went on the air in the mid-1980s.

Shown below is a photo of an Advanced Communications System, ACS-6000 repeater. It is the successor to the current device in use, a KRP-5000B repeater which looks almost identical. Unfortunately, it appears from a posting on something called the internet that ACS has gone out of business and with it the line of repeaters that they and the predecessor company Kendecom had produced since the early 80s. Fare thee well.......

Photo right is a Wacom duplexer. This device isolates the RX signal (always on) from the TX signal when present. It is located between the repeater and the antenna.

STATIONS heard on the VE3OOO repeater include:

• • • • VA3BVH Brian Leamington, ON

      • VA3TWT Gord Blenheim, ON

      • VA3RDQ Rick Windsor, ON

      • VA3VS Bob Windsor, ON

      • VA3DSW Kevin Windsor, ON

      • VA3QRM John South Walkerville, ON

      • VA3VA Ed Riverside, ON

• • • • VE3DFN Dave Windsor, ON

      • VE3ES Bill South Walkerville, ON

      • VE3GOL Nilo Windsor, ON

      • VE3IIP Terry McGregor, ON

      • VE3PV Rick Riverside, ON

      • VE3SUA Leo Amherstburg, ON

      • VE3SUB Terry Windsor, ON

      • VE3TGN Tim Windsor, ON

      • VE3TIZ John South Walkerville, ON

      • VE3TPD George Wheatley, ON

      • VE3UK Bob Lakeshore, ON

      • VE3WGW Graham Wheatley, ON

      • VE3RNG Jim Windsor, ON

      • VE3WFD Don Windsor, ON

      • VA3TNJ Tim Windsor, ON

      • VE3VOG Dan Riverside, ON

      • VE3KNI Terry Chatham, ON

      • VE3VLA Gerry Windsor, ON

      • VE3JAN Kyle Tecumseh, ON

      • VE3EXT Jerry LaSalle, ON

      • VE3WF Dave Belle River, ON

      • VE3TMG Terry Sandwich, ON

      • VE3GKO Allan South Walkerville, ON

      • VE3YVT Yvette South Walkerville, ON

      • VE3UCY Mike Leamington, ON

      • VE3MNY Ken Elmstead, ON

      • VE3FME Brett Essex, ON

• • • • K8IGU Brian Luckey, OH

      • AC8FJ Rich Westland, MI

      • N8NYQ Peter Troy, MI

      • N8MLM Chris Allen Park, MI

      • WB8HS Bruce Garden City, MI

220 MHz equipment currently in use on VE3OOO:

• BAOFENG UV-5R tri-band HT (various versions)

• ALINCO DR-235TMkIII mono band mobile

• TYT and QYT HTs and mobiles

• MOTOROLA CDM-1550, 25w, 222,hz mono band mobile

• KENWOOD TH-74A tri-band HT

• KENWOOD TH-F6A, tri-band HT

• YAESU FT-350R, tri-band mobile

Active Regional 220 MHz Repeaters

• 224.120 VE3CBS Chatham, ON 40' 131.8 hz PL VA3OT Chatham-Kent

• 224.140 W8HHF Toledo, OH 100' 103.5 hz PL Toledo Mobile Radio Assoc.

• 224.360 KC8LTS Detroit, MI 103.5 hz PL CMEN.net

• 224.540 WB8OET Toledo, OH 103.5 hz PL WB8OET

• 224.660 VE3OOO Windsor, ON 200' no PL VE3ES

• 224.820 VE3WGW Wheatley, ON 173.8 hz PL VE3WGW

VE3WGW/R 224.820 & 444.200 & 927.4125.

1.25m enthusiasts also have a repeater in the south-west corner of the municipality of Chatham-Kent, located just east of the metropolis of Wheatley. Graham VE3WGW has a few FM analog repeaters up and running, one on 224.820 mhz, a UHF machine on 444.200 mhz and with the only such repeater in the area, a 33cm system on 927.4125 mhz. All three use a PL tone of 173.8 hz to access these systems. Currently the HAAT of these machines is limited. However being along the north shore of Lake Erie allows for nice line of sight coverage over water with several Ohio stations able to access these repeaters. Thanks to Graham, a guru of component level electronic repairs, for his work on the VE3OOO repeater and for his own FM machines in Chatham-Kent!

What's new on two-twenty-two? 17 Aug '19

Yours truly (VE3ES) spent a few days recently in north west Ohio, specifically in the Findlay and Toledo areas. While there are no 222 repeaters in Findlay, there are a couple of such repeaters in Toledo. Had a good QSO with a ham who lives in Michigan but almost right on the state line with Ohio. Griff KE8DNV reports that there is an active cadre of users on the 224.140 repeater (103.5 hz PL) run by the Toledo Mobile Radio Association (TMRA)(which runs the big Toledo Hamfest each March) and that they also hang out on 223.830 mhz simplex in the evening. Give 'em a listen.

Word from Graham VE3WGW that he has been converting some Motorola 220 commercial mobiles over to the 222 mhz amateur radio band with great success. When you hear Graham's voice on the band, either while he is mobile or on his own repeater, that is what he uses!

The KC8LTS repeater on 224.360, 103.5 hz in Detroit was off the air for a few days recently. However, it is back and has the usual good signal into the greater Windsor area. Listened to a QSO the other night between Gord VA3TWT in Blenheim and Rick VE3PV in Riverside. The band was up a bit but that's a nice haul, about 60 miles, out to Gord's QTH. And I understand that Terry VE3KNI has been monitoring VE3OOO from his QTH in the Chatham area. The greatest DX to date was on the day that VE3OOO returned to the airwaves and Rick VE3PV in Riverside had a QSO with Brian K8IGU in the metropolis of Luckey Ohio, about half-way between Toledo and Findlay, about 70 miles or so as the crow flies to the repeater.

Thanks to all who have made the return of VE3OOO to the airwaves a success, in spite of the noise being heard lately. 73, VE3ES

UPDATE......on Saturday, 17 August 2019 and Sunday, 18 August 2019, not a bit of the noise that has bothered the system on Thursday and Friday the 15th and 16th was detected. Could this be some interference from an existing radio source elsewhere in downtown Windsor? Some listening to be done around OOO's input.

Update to VE3OOO antenna. 04 Nov 2019

Thanks to Mike VA3MC for his recent work on the VE3OOO repeater. It appears that the connector at the antenna was faulty so that took has been repaired. The system sounds a lot quieter since the big fix.

As well, Mike worked on the VE3WIN repeaters located at the same site. The VHF repeater is working again and back in place on a new Sinclair 2-bay antenna of it's own while the UHF repeater is now the sole user of the existing Comet high gain vertical antenna. Great work Mike. Thank you!!!!

Essex County 220 MHz Society, Wednesday Afternoon Net

The net meets at 12:50 local time, Wednesday afternoons on the VE3OOO repeater.

1st net was held on Wednesday, 13 November 2019 with VE3ES as NCS.

1st check in was Dave VE3DFN, 1st mobile was John VE3TIZ and the 1st cross band check in from the 144 megacycle band was Mark VE3FEX. A good time was had by all. Further details coming soon.