The 444.750 frequency coordination has been approved by the Western Pennsylvania
Repeater Council. This “initial coordination” allows for a six moth period in
which to build the repeater.
Posted 26-March-2008
PARA’s application for a coordinated 70 cm band repeater frequency was denied by the Western Pennsylvania Repeater Council (WPRC). This happened because the WPRC changed the minimum repeater spacing standards and the new standards have not yet been published on the WPRC website. As a result, our application would have worked under the old standards, but does not work with the new standards. The new standards call for 120 mile separation between 70 cm band repeaters. Under the old standards, 100 miles was sufficient. This makes our proposed repeater short-spaced with a repeater in Pittsburgh PA at 102 miles.
To proceed, we were given a choice of either applying for a waiver between the affected repeaters or choosing a new frequency. A new frequency study based on the new repeater separation standards was conducted and a new frequency selected. After some e-mail exchanges with Joe K3RP (the WPRC Frequency Coordinator) he confirmed that, at first glance, our new frequency choice appears to fit the new standards. On 26-March-2008 a new application was mailed to WPRC for the frequency in question - 444.750. It will take about 60 days for the WPRC to act on this application, but based on what Joe K3RP said, it is expected to be approved.
Meanwhile the 440 band Motorola R100 repeater which PARA owns is sitting on the workbench awaiting word of which frequencies to program into it. The repeater is a DPL version meaning that an external CTCSS board is necessary to work with standard amateur radio equipment. The controller is a bit fancy compared to the one we installed on the 2-meter .43 machine. This one is a CAT 200B controller that talks to you, has built in remote base and link capabilities, and much more. Probably more than we needed, but hey - for an extra $20, why not?
All that’s necessary to finish this project is the coordinated frequency, an external CTCSS board, some coax, an antenna, and labor for programming the repeater. All totaled, this comes to an estimated $500. Already invested in this project is $580.
Posted 16-February-2008
A new 70 cm band repeater project is currently under construction for the Philipsburg area. The repeater will operate on 444.400+ and have an RF output of 25 watts. Most of the equipment is already on hand, but we still lack the antenna and feedline.
Coordination of the frequency pair ahs been applied for through the Western PA Repeater Council. This repeater is expected to be operational by Summer 2008.
