The NLARC Web page History List

This page contains previous references to Recent Changes, Update, or new Items.

• 2003.10.01 - The main antenna was replaced on a slightly shorter steel pipe mast. Additionally, the MOSFET preamp was replaced and left at full gain.

• 2003.09.25 - The 07/67 repeater stayed on-air during the entire duration of Hurricane Isabel. However, we did note a signal degredation on input and output after 1600 hours on 18 September. The peak wind gust on the ground was recorded at 85 MPH so it is estimated the peak wind gust at 240 feet was approximately 100+ MPH. The first day we were allowed to inspect the site was 25 September. At that time it was determined that the antenna was bent over in two locations. One was a bending failure in the steel mast and the other was a bend in the j-pole base as the copper support was creased over the gantry structure. Pictures of the damage were taken and will be presented soon. The repeater is currently on a temporary antenna that is subject to intermodulation interference. The damaged antenna was removed and repaired in a few hours at Jim Byrd's home. A new coating of epoxy paint is being allowed to throughly dry. On 26 September the plan is to restore the repaired antenna to the original position and reconnect to the repeater at that time for evaluation.

• 2003.08.22 - The 448.65/443.65 repeater is off air. The PA lasted for about three days on the gantry. The unit was removed and an initial assessment determined the high voltage switch circuitry in the PA has failed. Other data indicate that the duplexer may need tuning on the receiver side.

• 2003.08.22 - The 146.07/67 repeater is now using 173.8 Hz tone on both transmit and receive. Other repeaters on 146.67 (Baltimore) have been coming in on bay skip propagation and this has made it difficult for those who live near the water. Now these users can activate the 173.8 Hz tone squelch on their receivers.

• 2003.05.13 - The 07/67 autopatch timeout timer was changed from 5 to 10 minutes. This was in response to comments that most public service organizations need ususally more than 5 but no more than 10 minutes to effectively communicate with hams. The autopatch inactivity timer is still set to one minute. You must transmit at least once each minute or the autopatch will self-terminate. If you need to reset the 10 minute autopatch timer, use the [*1] (star + 1) keys in sequence.

• 2003.05.13 - The SPARK 146.13/73 and 449.55/444.55 repeaters are off air. SPARK members were invited to use NLARC 146.06/67 until the difficulty can be resolved.

• 2003.05.09 - The 146.07/67 FM repeater is showing enough occassional interference that it seems best to keep the system on 173.8 Hz tone.

• 2003.05.07 - The 146.07/67 FM repeater has been showing signs of still suffering, but only slightly from the intermodulation interference from five of the local transmitters that are 600 kHz apart at the site. This is infrequent and so the repeater will be kept off of tone access.

• 2003.04.30 - The 146.07/67 FM repeater frequencies, deviation, and audio limiting levels have all been set properly with a Cushman CE-50.

• 2003.04.28 - The 146.07/67 FM repeater continues be utilized more as more people hear about it. We plan to set the the TX/RX frequencies and deviation more accurately with a laboratory instrument on Tuesday, 29 April. At present we know all three items need some fine tuning. Please read the NLARC Repeater Guidelines & Commands for completed information.

• 2003.04.24 - The 146.07/67 FM repeater is now in service. It appears that all three sources of interference have been eliminated. The repeater is currently on carrier squelch (no PL tone required). We are learning about it's range now that the interference is no longer there. Also, the web page references and docuemnts are being changed to reflect the new 146.07/67 frequency pair. Use it and enjoy!

• 2003.04.17 - The 146.34/94 FM repeater was taken out of service. The plan is to return it to service on 146.07/67 MHz on Monday April 21.

• 2003.04.24 - The Tropical Storms Prediction Center.

• 2002.09.20 - The 146.34/94 repeater now has the Autopatch enabled. Please read the NLARC Repeater Guidelines & Commands for completed information.

• 2002.09.11 - The 146.34/94 repeater uses an early TS-32P Tone Encoder/Decoder made by Circuit Specialists. Nowadays this same board is enhanced as the TS-64 board.

• 2002.09.06 - If your vintage radio does not have a PL tone generator then you might take a look at this neat PL Encoder project from the RASON page to find something that can be installed inside a radio or even the microphone.

Web page operations: James E. Byrd
Responsible NASA Official: Richard S. Eckman