JPLARC Repeaters Bob Dengler NO6B ...but first this message Los Angeles Marathon Amateur Communications No Club – Communications Effort Coordinated by a Single Individual for All 34 Marathons • Marathons 1-6, 8-18: Scott Fraser KN6F • Marathon 7: Hank Magid K6YMJ • Marathons 19-34 (present): Greg Powell KD6AIS Scott Fraser KN6F Greg Powell KD6AIS Pre-Event Training Meetings • 2 held: weekday evening & Saturday afternoon. Volunteers attend the one that’s most convenient JPLARC Participation • In the past the JPLARC has been a major contributor to this public service effort. • Total number of volunteers: – First Marathon (1986): 267 – 2017 Marathon: 44 – Any further drop in amateur participation will likely result in dropping all support. • Sign up at lamarathon.ham-radio-op.net Remember: No News is Good News ...but listen to this anyway Definition of a Repeater 97.3 (a) (40): Repeater. An amateur station that simultaneously retransmits the transmission of another amateur station on a different channel or channels. What Is a Repeater? COAX FEEDLINE DUPLEXER RECEIVER CONTROLLER TRANSMITTER POWER SUPPLY What Do They Do? •Allow non line-of-sight communications on line-of- sight frequency bands •Greatly enhance range of low EIRP stations (HTs) •Multiple repeaters can be interlinked, further increasing their range •Operated as an auxiliary station, can serve as a control point for remotely controlled base station First Wide-Coverage Repeater: WA6TDD Mt. Wilson •Owned/operated by Burt Weiner K6OQK •On air: Dec. 1962 •AM •145.424 MHz in/146.400 MHz out •FM input added 1972: 147.435 MHz (Lots) more info at wa6tdd.tripod.com AM User Radio for 1st Repeater? Photo by Joe Oliveira WB6BJM JPLARC’s Repeater History • Feb. 1977: First systems on the air: WR6APQ Mesa 224.04 (-), & WR6AZN Table Mtn. 147.33 (+) & 224.04 (-) • Actual 1st repeater @ TMO: WR6AFX 146.76 (-) installed 4/15/1974, owned by Helmut “Mickey” Mecke W6ZGC. • Aug. 1977: WR6APQ call changed to WR6APS • Feb. 1978: A 220 repeater list published in the club newsletter shows WR6AZN on 223.96 (-); couldn’t find when the freq. change was made. • Mar. 1978: JPL/TMO link, connecting the Mesa 224.04 & TMO 223.96 repeaters, is placed in operation in Bellflower as WR6APQ. • Aug. 1978: Club private autopatch repeater WR6APR noted on-air on 224.08 (-). TMO 2 meter repeater moved from 147.33 (+) to 145.28 (-) due to interference with Mexican repeater on same freq. (still there today). JPLARC’s Repeater History • Feb. 1979: New 220 MHz Super StationMaster antenna installed at Mesa site (was in service until bldg. 35 demo’d recently). • Nov. 1979: Autopatch on WR6APR 224.08 (-) operational. Repeater status changes from open to private. • Sept. 1991: 147.150 (+) coordination issued to JPLARC; originally coordinated as WB6IEA but changed to W6VIO • 1994: W6VIO/R (formerly WR6APS) 224.04 moved to 224.08, WB6IEA/R (formerly WR6APR) 224.08 moved to 224.72 • June 1995: WB6IEA/R moved from 224.72 to 224.70. • 1996: 440 repeater begins operation on the Mesa on 449.975. From Mar. 1979 “W6VIO Calling” JPLARC’s Repeater History • Mar. 1998: 440 repeater moved from Mesa to Cerro Negro, operating briefly on 440.125 (+) (!), then 447.65 (-). • 1999: All club repeaters except TMO change callsign to WR6JPL; TMO repeaters get WR6AZN. • Nov. 1999: 440 repeater moved to permanent freq. of 445.20 (-). • Feb. 2000: WR6JPL (formerly W6VIO/R) 224.08 moved from Mesa to Cerro Negro; WR6JPL (formerly WB6IEA/R) 224.70 moved from Cerro Negro to downtown LA. • Sept. 2013: Cerro Negro repeater site lost; 224.08 & 445.20 repeaters temporarily moved back to JPL Mesa site until a better site can be located. • Aug. 2016: 445.20 test repeater previously installed in 180-R6 replaces Mesa repeater, which is turned off due to unresolved receive issues & access problems. JPLARC Repeaters Configuration prior to loss of site •Cerro Negro Peak (~2.2 miles from JPL) Always •224.08 (-) PL-156.7 WR6JPL linked •445.20 (-) PL-103.5 WR6JPL •Mesa •147.15 (+) PL-100.0 WR6JPL User- accessible link •TMO •145.28 (-) PL-131.8 WR6AZN Linkable by control •223.96 (-) PL-156.7 WR6AZN operator •447.20 (-) PL-94.8 WR6AZN JPLARC Repeaters SYSTEM BLOCK DIAGRAM Jet Propulsion Laboratory Amateur Radio Club Drawn by Bob Dengler NO6B [email protected] 2/4/2013 PL-100.0 147.750 RX PL-156.7 224.080 RX RPT LINK 147.150 TX 222.480 TX PL-131.8 144.680 RX WR6JPL WR6JPL/A RPT 145.280 TX JPL (MESA) BLDG. 180 ROOM R6 PL-156.7 222.360 RX RPT 223.960 TX PL-94.8 442.320 RX RPT 447.320 TX WR6AZN TABLE MTN. PL-156.7 224.080 RX PL-114.8 223.100 RX LINK RPT PL-103.5 440.200 RX 222.360 TX 224.700 TX RPT 445.200 TX PL-156.7 223.960 RX LINK WR6JPL PL-156.7 222.480 RX 222.480 TX RPT DIAMOND BAR 224.080 TX WR6JPL/A WR6JPL CITY OF INDUSTRY LASO CERRO NEGRO PEAK Cerro Negro Peak •~2.2 miles from JPL Coverage plot from “Radio Mobile”: •1887’ AMSL http://www.cplus.org/rmw/english1.html JPL Mesa •<1 mile from JPL •1504’ AMSL Cerro Negro Peak Repeaters •WR6JPL 224.08 (-) PL-156.7 (temporary at JPL Mesa) •Converted Midland 13-509 •12 watt output •WR6JPL 445.20 (-) PL-103.5 (temporarily at 180-R6) •Kenwood TK-805D/860H w/Crescend amplifier •100 watt output Both repeaters controlled by LinkComm RLC-3 controller Both repeaters have IRLP & Echolink capability JPL Mesa Repeaters •147.15 (+) WR6JPL •1991-2012: G.E. Mastr II mobile •50-70 watt output •Replaced with Kenwood NXR-710 repeater & Crescend 100 watt amplifier •Carried space shuttle/ISS audio for many years Photo by Jim Lux W6RMK 180-R6 •445.20 (-) WR6JPL •Kenwood TK-805D (RX), TK-860H (TX, 35 watt output), LinkComm RLC-3 controller •Linked to 224.08 Mesa system via Midland 13- 509 radio •Recently added Crescend 100 watt amplifier Table Mtn. Observatory •30.6 miles from JPL •7500’ AMSL TMO Repeaters •145.28 (-) WR6AZN •“Bill Wood special”: • modified VHF Engineering TX, ESP DFS-V RX •25 40 watt output (once the repaired amplifier is reinstalled) •Current repeater installed in 1994 •223.96 (-) WR6AZN •“Bill Wood special” •25 watt output •447.20 (-) WR6AZN (antenna broken; waiting for replacement) •G.E. Mastr II From May 1995 “W6VIO Calling” •40 watt output All 3 repeaters controlled by LinkComm RLC-3 controller JPL-TMO Link •Autonomous RF link system connecting our 224.08 & 223.96 repeaters •Has 2 minute activity timer •Link on: DTMF “08961” •Link off: DTMF “08960” Fin IRLP: Internet Radio Linking Project •Highly organized VOIP system specifically designed to link amateur repeaters & simplex nodes only •Linux-based •Cross-linking to other VOIP services (i. e. Echolink) generally prohibited; non-radio use strictly prohibited •Detailed network info available at irlp.net •Detailed info on our IRLP node available at wr6jpl.ampr.org IRLP: Internet Radio Linking Project •How it works on our repeaters (224.08 & 445.20): •Every repeater on IRLP has a 4-digit DTMF address (i. e. WB8VSU Dayton is 4235) •Our IRLP node uses a prefix of “8” in front of all IRLP addresses •To access from our repeaters, a prefix is required (33*) to pass DTMF from repeater to IRLP computer •To access Dayton repeater: 33*84235 •Disconnect code is “73” •To disconnect from any repeater: 33*73 Echolink •VOIP system for general amateur use •Runs on Windows or Linux (later via “EchoIRLP”, which is what our node runs), Android OS & iOS •EchoMac for Mac (compatible w/Echolink nodes) •Can be used on repeaters, in the shack or even on your smartphone •Any node can be a conference server •De-centralized nature makes it harder to get info on available nodes •More info at echolink.org Echolink •How it works on our repeaters (224.08 & 445.20): •Every repeater on Echolink has a 4 to 6-digit DTMF address (i. e. NO6B-R is 614325) •Our IRLP node uses a prefix of “A” in front of all IRLP addresses •To access from our repeaters, a prefix is required (33*) to pass DTMF from repeater to Echolink computer •To access NO6B-R: 33*A614325 •Disconnect code is “73” •To disconnect from any repeater: 33*73.