TIDEWATER WIRELESS W4VB NEWS

 

September 1997

145.33 Repeater Maintenance

The repeater has been off the air temporarily while undergoing maintenance.  We apologize for any inconvenience experienced during the loss of service, however, it should be back on very soon.  Autopatch supporters will receive a membership extension as indicated on a separate enclosure which includes the new access codes.  The final maintenance item we’re waiting on is a factory overhaul and tune-up of the duplexers.  Dave NS3F will be taking them to WACOM’s lab in Waco , Texas during the middle of September.  Soon after that they’ll be back in Norfolk ready to go online.

Remote Receiver

During a check of the Virginia Beach remote receiver at Fort Story this summer, it was discovered that quite a bit of corrosion had occurred.  The Astron power supply was totally wiped out.  Dave KS4GC is checking the gear to see if it can be made functional again.  If so, we’ll look for a new site that provides some weather protection.  There has been interest in having a remote receiver on the Peninsula .  Virginia Beach and the Peninsula both seem to have the repeater’s largest coverage gaps.  Ideally we would have a remote receiver in both places.  That would require installing a voting selector with more channels and having sites available.  Getting good site is probably the hardest part of this project.  A good goal would be to have enough remote receivers strategically located so that an HT could hit the system from anywhere in Tidewater.

Repeater Upgrades

Some upgrades to the control links are being made to further enhance a control operator’s ability to command the system.  Also, we’re studying the idea of installing a digital voice recorder (DVR) on the system.  That would basically max out the capabilities of the ACC RC-96 controller that we use.

W4VB Home Page

Check out the new W4VB Home Page on the World Wide Web.  It can be found at http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/3488/

There will be an e-mail roster on the page, so let us know your e-mail address to be added.  We would like to have any ideas or suggestions that you might have for the page.  The idea is to have a useful and up-to-date resource for members and others interested in Tidewater Wireless W4VB.  Please let us know if you have ideas or suggestions to enhance the page.

Norfolk ARES

The Norfolk Amateur Radio Emergency Service (NARES) uses 147.075 MHz (+600 input) as their primary repeater.  The 145.33 repeater is available to NARES as an alternate or for special activities anytime they can make use of it.  At times we use the link capabilities on 145.33 to link both repeaters together.

Autopatch and Autodial

Contact Dave NS3F for autopatch and autodial programming and memberships.  We’ve been asking the autopatch users to send $18 per year.  It is possible to make long distance calls through the autopatch, however, contact NS3F first to make arrangements to get the codes for this.  Many thanks to those who continually renew and support the repeater.

Repeater Committee

Many thanks go to Dave KS4GC for all of his hard work and dedication while handling nearly all aspects of maintaining the repeater by himself for the past few years.  In order to make it less cumbersome for any one person, a Repeater Committee has been put together.  Many thanks also go to Dave KF4APJ for his hard work and dedication as the Net Manager for the Link Crossband Net on Sundays at 8pm .  Everyone is working hard to make the 145.33 repeater a premier amateur radio resource for you and the area amateur community.  

Ideas and Suggestions

Please let us know your ideas, suggestions, comments, etc.  Although the primary focus has been on the repeater, the ideas and initiatives of individual members could lead us all towards greater participation in other amateur radio activities in the area.