RARS Repeaters
RARS owns three analog FM repeaters (one of which also supports P25) and one multi-mode digital repeater in the Triangle.
The repeaters are "open" and available for use by all appropriately
licensed amateur radio operators who follow the rules, including our expectations for behavior on our repeaters.
Please see our Repeater Operating Guide for more information.
Check out the
coverage maps for mobile radios and 5-watt HT's, courtesy of Jon Suen
KG6K.
Please don't “kerchunk”1 our repeaters.
It won't do you any good and it's potentially illegal.
The hangtime has been turned off on the RTP and Bayleaf repeaters, so you won't hear a “squelch tail”.2
The only way you will know whether you can reach one of our repeaters and that your radio is set up properly is to try to make a contact over the repeater.
Key your mic, say your call sign and “listening” and the repeater name or frequency, then unkey.
If you hear the repeater ID or someone comes back to you, you're good to go.
If you don't hear either, then the test is inconclusive (the ID is on a timer, so it doesn't always play when someone hits the repeater) and you should try again later.
W4DW 146.64 MHz “6-4” Repeater (-0.6 MHz Offset, No CTCSS Tone)
Known as the “6-4” repeater, this is our “flagship” machine, located near the State Fairgrounds in west Raleigh.
Typical 50-watt mobile coverage is 30 to 45 miles, except to the northwest, where there is a deep shadow caused
by the tower and antenna orientation.
We hold the RARS 2-Meter Net on this machine at 8:00 pm every evening except Saturday.
The Tech and Trader's Net is at 8:00 pm on Saturday, instead.
The RARS Amateur Radio News Hour follows the 2-Meter Net on Sundays.
On the last Wednesday of every month, we hold the
RARS Public Service Net at 7:30 pm.
The Apex Emergency Response Communications Net is at 9:00 pm on Sundays.
This repeater is also the home of the Sixty-Four on Six-Four operating award.
W4RNC 444.525 MHz Bayleaf Repeater (+ 5.0 MHz, FM CTCSS 82.5 Hz, P25 NAC $339)
This is the Bayleaf repeater. It sits at the northern-most point of I-540 and is accessible in southern Granville County and east out to Wake Forest and Knightdale.
The Bayleaf repeater also has a downlink tone (referred to as “tone squelch” on your radio) of 82.5 Hz.
Unlike CTCSS (the “uplink tone”), it's optional.
You need to set the CTCSS to “open” the repeater when you transmit, but you don't need to set the downlink tone to use the repeater.
If you do set it, you won't hear transmissions on the frequency (like from another repeater) that aren't sending the tone.
We are not aware of any repeaters using the same output frequency that you would be likely to receive in the Bayleaf repeater's coverage area.
Please let us know if you experience otherwise.
As of May 18, 2025, the Bayleaf repeater supports P25 in addition to analog FM. Use NAC $339 for P25.
Conventional talk permit tone is supported.
W4RNC 145.13 MHz RTP Repeater (-0.6 MHz Offset, CTCSS 82.5 Hz)
This is our “western” repeater.
Located in Research Triangle Park (RTP) near the RDU airport, this repeater covers the western end of Wake County and into Durham County.
Coverage is a little less than 6-4, but it does well around town and the suburbs.
If 6-4 is busy, take your conversation to 1-3!
W4RNC 440.525 Multi-Mode Digital Voice Repeater (+ 5.0 MHz)
Co-located with the W4RNC FM repeater in RTP, this repeater is capable of handling D-STAR, DMR, Yaesu System Fusion, and P25 traffic.
Use the following settings:
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D-STAR:
Set RPT1 callsign “W4RNC B”, RPT2 “W4RNC G” (2 spaces in each).
To link to a reflector, set the UR callsign as the reflector name, module, and “L” (e.g. REF001CL) and transmit for one second.
Once linked, switch the UR call to “CQCQCQ” for traffic.
Unlink by kerchunking “ U” (7 spaces).
To echo test set UR to “ E” and status info is at “ I”.
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DMR:
Use color code 3.
This mode is connected to Brandmeister.
Slot 1 carries the RARS talkgroup 314578 as static, slot 2 is available for dynamic linking.
Unlink with talkgroup 4000.
Make a private call to talkgroup 9990 (the so-called “parrot”) on slot 2 to test your signal.
Status can be viewed here
-
Yaesu System Fusion:
Simply use the WIRES-X menus in your radio to control the link to YSF reflectors.
Connect to 00001 for an echo test.
Leave unlinked for local traffic.
-
P25:
Use NAC $339 and kerchunk the appropriate talkgroup.
Use talkgroup 1 for local traffic, talkgroup 10 is a parrot, 9999 unlinks.
Links will drop off after 15 minutes of no input activity, but please unlink when you’re finished.
Users should observe their radio’s busy indication to make sure nobody else is using a different mode before bringing up a link.
Please contact
Fin Gold
NC4FG
with any questions, comments, concerns, or issues regarding any of the RARS repeaters.
Programming Your Radio for the RARS Repeaters
You will need the frequencies, offsets, and CTCSS tones (where applicable) above to program your radios for the RARS FM repeaters.
The frequency shown above for each repeater is the “dial frequency,” the frequency your radio displays when it is ready to receive (or receiving).
Your radio uses the offset to calculate the transmit frequency.
When you key your radio, you should see the displayed frequency change by the offset amount, up for positive offsets, down for negative offsets.
If you don't see that, something is wrong.
The CTCSS tones shown above are the tones your radio needs to transmit to "open" the repeater so it receives and retransmits your signal.
The use of programming software and an interface cable is highly recommended.
This file contains the information for the analog FM repeaters above in a comma-separated format that can be imported into most programming software.
Click on the link to download it and then follow the directions for your programming software to import it.
We can't provide technical support for the file, but if you have any problems programming your radio, bring your gear (and your laptop) to the next
RARS Gathering
and someone there might be able to help you.
The information necessary to program your radios for the RARS digital repeaters is in the applicable repeater description above.
The use of programming software is pretty much mandatory for digital radios.
We don't provide a file of the necessary information because each radio manufacturer uses a different format for their “code plugs,”
the files you have to upload to digital radios to program them.
Other Area Clubs’ Repeater Pages
Since repeaters are generally sponsored by an amateur radio club, one of the best sources of repeater information is a club's repeater page (like this one).
Here are links to the repeater pages of some of the clubs in and near the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Triangle.
A Few Resources for Finding Other Repeaters
Clubs aren't the only repeater sponsors.
Sometimes individual radio amateurs or groups of independent radio amateurs sponsor repeaters.
Sometimes those repeaters are linked together in what is known as a "link system," so that the input to one repeater in the system
is retransmitted by all the other repeaters in the system.
Additional resources for finding repeaters, including link systems, are listed below.
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The semi-famous KA2DEW list of open analog repeaters in and around the Triangle.
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The Carolina 440 UHF Link System, with coverage from the Triangle east to the Outerbanks and southeast to the coast from Emerald Isle to Murrells Inlet, SC
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The PRN DMR repeater network in North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, and, believe it or not, Texas.
This is a system of linked digital mobile radio (DMR) repeaters.
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RepeaterBook for a searchable database
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SERA Band Plans.
The South Eastern Repeater Association Inc., SERA, coordinates repeaters in the southeastern states of WV, VA, KY, TN, NC, SC, MS, and GA
1 Kerchunking is the act of keying your transmitter briefly to activate a repeater but without giving your call sign.
It is annoying to people listening to the repeater and potentially illegal.
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2 The squelch tail is that brief “pffft” sound you hear from the time someone unkeys their transmitter until the repeater stops transmitting, that period being referred to as the “hang time.”
Sometimes there is a courtesy tone at the end of the hang time.
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