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The Austin area 2-meter D-Star repeater is operational
and the initial QSO was conducted tonite with K3TD in
Georgetown, Texas.
The repeater is a project of the Austin Amateur Radio
Club in conjunction with the Williamson County ARC.
The repeater is currently at a temporary location near
the intersection of US 183 and RR 620/Texas 45 on a
5dBi omni-directional antenna at ~260 ft. AGL and the
antenna is situated on the East side of the tower. Po
to the feedline through the duplexer is approximately
19 w.
The AARC is sponsoring the Radio Roundup hamfest this
weekend at the Herman Sons lodge near Decker Lake, which
is just east of Austin. There will be a D-Star special
interest display at the hamfest, with a D-Star demonstration
for interested amateurs. For more information, please
consult http://www.austinha ms.org/ -- follow the Austin
Radio Roundup link under the masthead to get details
and directions.
In the near future, we will be moving to our permanent
site near Parmer Lane and IH-35 and adding 70cm and
23cm voice repeater and 23cm digital data modules. At
that time, the gateway will be incorporated and we will
be able to support communications to and from remote
repeaters on the D-Star network.
The repeater call is W5KA (C-module)
The repeater output frequency is 146.48 MHz (+ 1.000
MHz split)
We want to thank a number of individuals that have
provided support to this project, including Jim Trulove
WB5EMI, Paul Gilbert KE5ZW, Tad Danley K3TD, Lee Cooper
W5LHC, Don Dudley AC5YK, Dallas Mellichamp KD4HNX, and
the WCARC, as well as a number of others. The Austin
Amateur Radio Supply was instrumental in providing the
ICOM controller and 23cm repeater equipment necessary
for this project. In addition, we are indebted to the
key players and those D-Star pioneers who have gone
before us, including Jim N5MIJ of the K5TIT organization
in Dallas, and Steve NU5D and John KE5C in Temple.
This project is not yet complete, and we will welcome
your support and assistance in completing the full D-Star
repeater stack, including the additional antennas, duplexers,
triplexer, feedlines, power supplies, and Internet connectivity
that are needed for full operation. But, we have completed
an important first step in this exciting new technology
and hope all area hams will join us in exploring this
new technology.
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