Where is the Repeater?

With RARS, you have to ask, "Which one"? RARS operates several repeaters to serve local hams and those traveling through our coverage area.

146.640

The .64 machine is on a state owned facility near the fairgrounds and the intersection of I-40 & the beltline. The antenna sits at 250 ft above ground level, which itself is about 500 ft. above mean sea level (MSL). For you aeronautical types, that puts the antenna at about 750 ft. above MSL (remember, this isn't above ground level) .  Most of Wake county is between 250 and 450 feet above MSL, so the tower is on high ground.  The repeater antenna's "Height Above Average Terrain" (HAAT) is almost 400 feet. 

145.130

This machine is very, very close to the .64 machine, also near the fairgrounds between Hillsborough Street and Western Blvd. However this is just a regular base station antenna at 64 ft. That was really cute when we could say it was the "64 at 64", but now it is .13. It isn't very much above the road level that sits up the hill from the antenna, but coverage is still pretty good locally and provides a great place to move off to or to make contact when 64 is busy.  We plan to move this machine in the near future to get some separation from the 64 machine and to provide coverage for the club and the community in other areas like RTP.

444.525      88.5 Tone

The 444.525 machine is located (along with the 222.64 repeater) near the intersection of Six Forks Rd. and Strickland Rd. in North Raleigh. To access it, make sure you have an 88.5 tone dialed in.  Ground elevation and HAAT are about the same as the 146.64 machine. This machine is newly back in service after a long hiatus.  Formerly located about 10 ft away on the old tower that also held the 64 machine, 525 lost it's home when the infringing outer loop construction was in the way of one of the tower guy wires.  Or is it visa versa?  The new tower is up, we have our own building at it's base, and the coverage to north Raleigh and area within 10 to 15 miles is excellent.

224.64 

Co-located with the 444.525 machine, the 222.64 repeater is in North Raleigh near the intersection of Six Forks Rd. and Strickland Rd.  Ground elevation and HAAT are about the same as the 64 machine. This machine is now installed in it's new home and again working after a little bit of repair work. 

444.950      88.5 Tone

The 444.950 machine had been off the air for several years, although it was to the 440 band and RARS what the 64 machine is to 2 meters.  Since that time, people have come to associate 525 as the RARS 70 cm presence.  We are pleased to announce that the 95 machine is now fully operational and located at a temporary spot near the intersection of Lynn and Ray Roads.  While on high ground at 440ft., the antenna is only about 50ft or so above that.  Nonetheless, I can key the machine from my house 19 miles to the south.  Mobile coverage is spotty, but most of Raleigh, especially to the north should be able to her the machine.  Plans are to move it to a permanent home on a tower that will give us much better coverage in the very near future.

53.25

The RARS 6 meter machine has been off the air for a while, but is now under construction.  Stay tuned for more details!

What kind of Antenna does it use?

146.640

This machine uses an extremely nice, commercial, thick tubular aluminum collinear array. It is a 4-element, dual dipole, phased, stacked collinear array, for you techie types, rigged for about 9 db gain. The bottom line is it gets out really well for its 250 ft. height above ground. We are feeding the antenna with 7/8" hardline with only 0.4 db loss per 100 ft., or about a 1.4 db loss over the 330 ft.of transmission line. The antenna is tuned specifically for the .64 frequencies and has less than a 1.1:1 SWR. Power output is 35 watts with only 0.25 W reflected.
 

Here is the factory tested pattern for our antenna mounted on a tower in free space with the adjustable elements all facing the same way. The flattened circle represents a forward gain to the southeast of 9 db relative to a dipole and about -4 db to the back. If we didn't have ground topography and reflections to take into consideration, the pattern would look a just like this.  It is interesting to compare this to the patterns below. You can almost see the rounded shape with holes and additions where hills and valleys exist in the terrain.

145.13

The 13 machine is basically a local coverage machine used for testing and to cover the overflow from 64.  Due to machines in Virginia and South Carolina, we are only coordinated up to about 200 feet and have to watch our range.  Right now, the 13 machine is only sitting at about 64 feet above ground, and that itself is in a dip below Hillsborough Street.  The antenna is a standard Ham dualband Hustler antenna.  Amateur antennas typically have a little bit more gain than the commercial versions at the expense of durability.

444.525

Up on our nice, shiny, new freestanding tower at the Bayleaf site in North Raleigh, the 525 machine also has a brand new commercial DB products antenna sitting at the top.

224.64

When we lost our original tower, having to replace and move equipment meant an opportunity to revisit our situation.  The 220 machine also now has a new, solid, large, commercial DB Products antenna.

444.950

Only running experimentally now from a house near Lynn road, the 95 machine is using a dual band amateur antenna to cover the North Raleigh area as we finalize plans for it's new home.

53.25

We're working on it!

What is the range of the repeater?

146.640

A picture is worth a thousand words, so here are a few thousand, click on any image to see a larger version.:
 

computer pattern simulation plots courtesy of Todd Ellis, N2XL and Booth & Associates

This is a false color image of the 64 machine's coverage pattern generated using commercial antenna and terrain modeling software. The black cross represents the repeater position. The blue areas predict where a 1 Watt portable radio should be able to reach by the repeater full quieting. The green areas show where that portable should be able to hear the repeater.  As you can see, the two ranges don't differ that much at current repeater output power. The gray areas aren't clouds, the brighter the white, the stronger the signal in that area.  Black holes signify, well, black holes!  RF black holes, that is.

Here is the same plot as above with the fringe and less than full-quieting areas (represented by the wispy gray areas above) removed and the county lines enhanced to show exactly where the full-quieting coverage lies. To read the latitude, longitude lines, click on the picture to see the larger view and better detail. Again, the cross near the center of each picture represents the repeater location.  Even though these plots are predictions, they have held up under our real-world testing, except to the west.

This last plot shows the talk out and 50 Watt full quieting talk in range predicted by the program.  The violet oval ring shows where we would expect to be able to hear and get into the repeater were there no land obstructions.  Too bad we don't live on water and have perfectly flat, conductive "ground"! Notice the area west, northwest where a ridge gives extended coverage in Orange and northern Chatham Counties  The effect of that elevated terrain is muted by our null in that direction. More details of exactly what we have found with mobile and fixed stations who have provided signal reports follows.

Coverage is pretty good to the North.  One station reports being regularly able to get into the machine from the Virginia border.  We also have good coverage for base stations up to Roxboro

South

Stations report great coverage south on I-40 and I-95.  Mobiles can expect good coverage all the way to Benson

East

The repeater has extremely good coverage to the east, considering it isn't on a 1000 ft. TV tower. Comfortable range is about 50 miles, covering Hwy 64 and Hwy 264 to Wilson. Things get a little spotty in Wilson, then pick up again leaving town for a bit. People from Wilson to Greenville and even Simpson (east of Greenville) can receive .64 with a good rooftop antenna. A good beam above 35 to 40 feet should actually allow conversation from 2 hours drive time away!

West

West is designed to be our weakest coverage. The antenna sits on the SE leg of the tower, so naturally the null from the tower and antenna configuration would be towards the NW to West. There are plenty of places in the RTP where a mobile needs 50 watts to reach the repeater, and the repeater's signal is weak.  Under "dead" band conditions, this is no problem, but during band openings, the high-power mobiles in the RTP area can often key up the Winston-Salem repeater.  The Forsythe County club is considering using 100 Hz PL on their machine to avoid hearing our mobiles, as are stations using the 146.64 machine on Bear Wallow Mountain near Hendersonville.  Remember, when you do hear the Winston machine, please don't use high power to talk through Raleigh. In fact, if you don't need it, don't use high power at all.

What is the repeater power output?

146.640

The .64 repeater generates 35 watts out of the duplexer into the antenna feed line . There is about 1.4 db loss in the 330 feet or so of 7/8" hardline and the antenna is a very efficient 9db gain commercial piece of equipment. We could run up to 100 watts in an emergency, but for 2-way communication, there would probably not be any need to run more than 40 to 50 watts since there isn't much purpose to being able to transmit much further than than the machine could receive the average station. For areas where they could actually get into the repeater better than they could hear it, the touch better power will help.

145.130

25 watts out of the duplexer

222.640

30 watts out of the duplexer

444.525

30 watts out of the duplexer

444.950

30 watts out of the duplexer

How do I use the autopatch?

RARS has an open autopatch. To use it, simply identify loud and clear with your callsign and the word autopatch (our control ops are getting a little old and deaf). Unkey briefly, then key up again and dial your number. No access code or "*" is required (although if you use a "*", it will still work). Use the pound ("#") to drop the patch and identify again. If you are successful, the repeater will announce "dialing", then you will hear the phone ringing.   Enjoy your conversation, I know we will! (grin) You might want to review the "autopatch" section of the RARS Repeater Operating Guide for general autopatch procedures.

If the autopatch fails to dial, it's likely your signal isn't strong enough into the repeater.  You need a good, strong signal to make a successful patch.  Don't try it from the fringe.

The call timer is set for 3 minutes.  You'll hear some beeps before the autopatch is about to time out.  If you must extend your call, press the touch-tone "2" key to gain an additional 3 minutes. Remember, the patch isn't intended for long conversations, so please don't abuse that feature.   Emergency 91x calls have a 10 minute time limit, and can also be extended with the "2" key.)

Use the pound ("#") key to drop the patch .  The repeater will announce "call complete". Give your callsign again, thank everyone involved in the repeater committee for their hard work, and you're done.

How do I make emergency calls?

To make an emergency call, identify yourself as explained above and in the RARS Repeater Operating Guide and announce that you need to make an emergency call. Emergency calls take priority over anything else happening on the repeater. There is no need to waste time waiting for a response from anyone who might be using the machine.   Once you have identified that you need to used the patch to make an emergency call, unkey for a second to make sure that everyone has cleared off as they should and then dial one of the following emergency numbers:

• 910 - Cary Police 
• 911 - Raleigh Police 
• 914 - N.C. Highway Patrol 
• 915 - RDU Security

1. Identify yourself as follows: "This is HamWatch operator KG4ABC"  or even better just say "I am calling from a TWO-WAY radio" (NEVER use phonetics for your callsign unless asked.)
2. GIVE THE EXACT LOCATION NEXT!
3. give the nature of the emergency, 
4. state whether or not there are any injuries, and 
5. give any important information necessary for the dispatcher to send the proper help such as "The woods are on fire, please send fire trucks" 
6. Then SHUT UP and LISTEN for any instructions.

After you identify yourself, GIVE THE LOCATION!  This is the most important item.  If you are cut off, they will know where the emergency is located and can dispatch personnel to determine what action to take.  If you start by telling them that it's a fire, and get cut off before giving the location, well, you get the idea.

Next tell them the NATURE OF THE EMERGENCY.  Examples might be a gasoline or chemical spill or fire, or a two car accident.  Let the 911 center decide if it is an emergency or not.  Even a stranded car or bicycle could be an emergency if they are looking for a person or if the person who owns the vehicle is in trouble.

Tell them the NATURE OF ANY INJURIES.  If there are none, please mention that there are NO INJURIES.  For example, "a woman is pinned in a car" or "there looks to be 2 people injured and requiring emergency assistance", or just "there are NO INJURIES".

Tell them if you know for a fact of any SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES, such as the need for a fire truck, or some heavy equipment to lift something off of a person..

Lastly, UNKEY and wait for them to ask any further questions or provide instructions to you. Wait for them to finish the conversation, then drop the patch if they don't ask you to keep the line open. (They may ask you to stay online, see the note below about the timer.)

Give the most important information briefly, LOCATION, NATURE OF THE EMERGENCY, INJURIES OR NOT, AND SPECIAL EQUIPMENT OR PERSONNEL NEEDED, then please unkey and wait for questions or instructions from the dispatcher.  There is nothing worse than tying up a 911 operator with a long, rambling, incoherent one way conversation, only to find out once you finally unkey, freeing the operator to be able to talk to you, that they are already responding to the scene and you are the 12th caller so far.

So, in summary, all a dispatcher really needs to know is that you are on a two-way radio so that they can't talk to you while you are talking, exactly where the emergency is, and if there are injuries or a fire so that they can also dispatch an ambulance and/or fire truck. 

NOTE: The autopatch timer is extended to 10 minutes instead of the usual 3 for emergency calls using these speed-dial numbers.  You can use "2" to extend it another 10 minutes, or in an emergency a control-op can turn off the timer for you altogether. 

REMEMBER -- never drop a 911 call without identifying yourself, even if after you dial you realize that you didn't need to make the call!  The police have to respond to any perceived emergency, and even though we have our number marked as a repeater so police know it isn't the actual site of the emergency, it does create extra work for them.  It may be helpful to know this because when you are at work or home, if the police get a hangup on an emergency line, they will dispatch an officer to investigate in order to make sure it wasn't someone who could not communicate trying to get help.

Can I get an S-Meter reading?

Sure, just ask us and we'll guess or better yet, we'll give you a signal report. Seriously we have no S-meter report currently. This controller, an SCOM high quality computer controller, has no analog to digital converter built in to handle "S" readings from a radio, although it has several digital control input and output ports. Designing an appropriate circuit and accomplishing the programming and voice output are not trivial. However, there is a project on our list to build something that will accomplish the task.

What user codes are available?

 
• 239 - Plays the date and time.
• 1 - Redials the last stored number within 30 minutes.
• 2 - Extends the patch for 3 more minutes (or 10 for an emergency call).
• 916 - Dials the NWS weather report (remember to use # to drop it).
• 917 - Dials the NWS to report severe weather. ( Remember, this is to report SEVERE weather.  Chances are that SKYWARN is already active on 146.88.)

How can I catch a Net?

RARS operates several nets, check the RARS net schedule elsewhere on this site.

How can I use speed-dial numbers?

RARS members may pay an administrative fee to maintain a speed-dial number in the repeater controller.  If you have a number, you will be provided with the proper code to punch in. Club members who want their own AutoDial number should send mail to the Treasurer.

Do I have to use a PL tone?

Our tone plan is not yet complete because we're waiting for a few more pieces of equipment to be ready before the machine is complete.  Once we're finished, the .64 repeater will always send an 88.5 Hz tone.  We do not intend to require users to send a tone, but that may change some day. We recommend that when you set up 64 in your radio's memory, you simply put in the tone and leave it on. That will cover you whether tone access is enabled or not. 

It is a reality in this day and age, with 1000 watt pager transmitters sharing space with dozens of other radios on every tower, and more and more repeaters closer to each other sharing frequencies, that tone is becoming more necessary. However, we don't intend to use it unless absolutely necessary. We share the 64 frequency with the Winston-Salem repeater and they us a 100Hz tone.  Once set, the use of tone is totally transparent and should cause no one any difficulties.

What about courtesy tone?

Well, there are only three groups of people, those who despise courtesy tones, those who crave courtesy tones, and those who don't know what a courtesy tone is.   The point is that there seems to be strong opinion regarding this, much like for PL tone, and not much middle ground.  For now, RARS has tried to accommodate the wishes of everyone by leaving courtesy beeps off the machine except during drive time.  From 6 to 9 in the morning and from 4 to 6 in the evenings during weekdays, the repeater is set to play a short, unobtrusive tone.

Soon, we'll be installing the last of the permanent new hardware in the 64 machine, and we'll be able return to our old plan of sending a tone only while the repeater receiver's squelch is open (when we're actually repeating a signal).  We will not send a tone during the "hang-time" when the courtesy beep might sound.  Then we may return to a full-time beep

Who's in charge? I want to complain/tell them how wonderful they are.

If you want to complain, send all problems to the RARS president.  If you want to stroke us then send your cards, letters, and untraceable cash donations to us. (humor). Seriously, here are the people to talk to if you have any questions, problems, suggestions, or any comments regarding the repeaters.  You can click on our highlighted links to send us email:

 
• Fred Decker, N4IXL - FM Chairman, Repeater Trustee, Programming Engineer Ph. 919-661-2634
• Bill Lyon, N4CAR - Programming Engineer
• Gary Pearce, KN4AQ - Sr. Control op
• Bernard Blackmon, KC4UPX - Sr. control op, former FM Chairman
• Matt Sickles, W2BYV - Control Op
• Chuk Gleason, KB4MDZ - Control Op, RF Engineer
• Frank Scaraglino, KA2FWC - Control Op, RF Engineer

The people whose responsibility it is to keep the repeaters on the air wish to thank the dozens of people who work hard in all areas of the club from administrative to technical, to financial who donate their time and remain mostly un-credited.  To paraphrase a parental truism, it takes an entire community to manage a repeater.  We thank the club, it's officers, it's members, and the local and traveling HAMS who have and have continued to support our work. Without all of you, communication wouldn't be nearly as efficient nor as fun. "See" you on the air!