Category Archives: Repeater

W1SYE Repeater On The Air

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Thanks to the efforts of Dave W2DAN and Mark W1MBF, the W1SYE 2-meter repeater is back on the air.  Dave and Mark went to the site at 9 AM this morning (Oct 8th) and within about 90 minutes had the new Bridgecom repeater and cans installed and operating.  Initial testing indicates an improvement in receive sensitivity and better sounding transmit audio.

The original GE MASTR II, over 60 years old, has been intermittent for the past month or so.  It was restored to operation and remains at the repeater site ready to swap over should it be required in the future.

W1SYE Repeater Back On The Air

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Dave W2DAN, Kelly K1GKW, and Willy W1LY went to the repeater site on January 3rd.  With the availability of a service monitor, it was determined that one of the duplexer “cans” had failed, which has damaged the repeater amplifier.  Both the duplexer and repeater will be shipped out for repair.  In the mean time, the original GE MASTRII repeater and old set of duplexers was serviced and put back on the air.  We plan on keeping the GE as a backup in the event of future difficulty.

Its nice to hear the “Little man in the box” IDing again.

Repeater Repair Fundraiser

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By this point, members should have received an email asking those that are able to participate in a fundraiser with proceeds going toward the repair of our ailing 145.45 W1SYE repeater. The first $2,500 of donations will be matched by sponsors, potentially doubling your gift.  Any donation amount would be appreciated.

A “Donation” button can be found at the bottom of our “Pay Dues or Donate” tab.  Of course you may also mail checks to:

NEWPORT COUNTY RADIO CLUB
P.O.BOX 3103
Newport, RI 02840

NCRC is a 501(c)(3) Charitable Organization, so your dentations are fully tax deductible.

Thermal Issues with W1SYE Repeater

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Some of you may have had difficulty using the W1SYE (145.450) repeater recently.  The hardware appears to have developed some thermal issues.  The symptom is you can kerchunk the repeater and it will beep back at you, but it does not pass audio.

However, if you are persistent, hold your PTT and talk for about a minute, then the repeater warms up enough that it starts passing audio (distorted at first, then perfectly fine).  After that, the repeater will work fine until things cool back down.

The repeater committee is aware of the issue, will try to see if it can be fixed, or improved, but has been working on a longer range fix to replace the repeater hardware.

W1SYE Repeater Back on-air in Limited Capacity

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The W1SYE repeater is back on the air in a reduced capacity experimental mode. It is in a temporary location and is using separate transmit and receive antennas (no duplexer.) The transmit power output is intentionally quite low (670 milliWatts) to avoid clobbering the repeater receiver with RF from the too closely spaced transmit antenna. The transmit antenna is higher than the receive antenna, which is opposite to the conventional way of running separate antennas for a repeater. But it works, and we will keep it on the air in this configuration until it can be returned to service in its regular location later this spring.

Please try out the Mini-Me W1SYE if you have a chance. Don’t expect normal performance, but you might be surprised at how well you can hear a very low power signal from a modest antenna. The receive antenna is quite low, so don’t be too disappointed if the repeater can’t hear you.

<Editor Comment:  The audio quality of this new repeater is unbelievably good and it is quite amazing how well 0.7 watts gets out as it is a full S9+ across the bay.>