W5AC Repeaters
Repeater Summary
| Type | Frequency | Offset | PL | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2m FM | 146.82 | -0.6 | 88.5/110.9 | Details → |
| 1.25m FM | 223.82 | -1.6 | 88.5/110.9 | Details → |
| 70cm FM | 443.05 | +5 | 88.5/110.9 | Details → |
| 70cm DMR | 441.3625 | +5 | CC12 | Details → (Offline) |
| AllStarLink | 49381 & 49382 | Details → | ||
| Echolink | W5AC-R | Details → | ||
| Brandmeister Talkgroup | 3167972 | Details → | ||
| Discord Voice Channel | Details → | |||
| Broadcastify | 47486 | Details → | ||
| Meshtastic | Frequency Slot 0 (33cm) (Default) | Long Fast (Default) | Encryption Key: "AQ==" (Default) | Details → |
Repeater Coverage
2m Analog FM
The repeater transmits on a frequency of 146.82 MHz, and listens on 146.22 MHz. It requires a subaudible tone of 88.5 Hz on receive and encodes a tone of 110.9 Hz.
The repeater radio is a Motorola Quantar, with a 6 cavity Phelps Dodge duplexer. The controller is Allstarlink node 492211. It is located on the 14th floor of the O&M Building, on TAMU Main Campus. The receive antenna is a Radio Frequency Systems 220-Series Super Stationmaster omnidirectional fiberglass antenna on the upper roof next to the radar dish at an approximate height of 160 feet. The transmit antenna is a phased folded dipole on the lower roof at about 130 feet.
The repeater radio puts out 110 watts and has about a 50 mile range with a 50-watt mobile or about 10 miles with an HT and a "rubber duck" antenna. There is currently no emergency power capability. The repeater is "open" for use by any licensed amateur radio operator.
1.25m Analog FM
This repeater does not currently connect to Allstarlink.
The repeater transmits on a frequency of 223.82 MHz, and listens on 222.22 MHz. It requires a subaudible tone of 88.5 Hz on receive and encodes a tone of 110.9 Hz.
The repeater radio is a BCR-220 with a 4 cavity TXRX duplexer. The controller is internal, however we plan to add Allstarlink node 492213. It is located on the 14th floor of the O&M Building, on TAMU Main Campus. The antenna is a Diamond X2200A omnidirectional fiberglass antenna, on the lower roof at an approximate height of 130 feet.
The repeater radio puts out 30 watts and has about a 15 mile range with a 5-watt mobile or about 5 miles with an HT and a "rubber duck" antenna. There is currently no emergency power capability. The repeater is "open" for use by any licensed amateur radio operator.
70cm Analog FM
The repeater transmits on a frequency of 443.05 MHz, and listens on 448.05 MHz. It requires a subaudible tone of 88.5 Hz on receive and encodes a tone of 110.9 Hz.
The repeater radio is a TKR-850, with a Motorola MSF-5000 110 watt PA, 4 cavity Decibel Products duplexer and a 30 amp GE Mastr II power supply. The controller is Allstarlink node 492212. It is located on the 14th floor of the O&M Building, on TAMU Main Campus. The receive antenna is a Radio Frequency Systems 220-Series Super Stationmaster omnidirectional fiberglass antenna on the upper roof next to the radar dish at an approximate height of 160 feet. The transmit antenna is a Diamond X510HD omnidirectional fiberglass antenna, on the lower roof at about 130 feet.
The repeater radio puts out 110 watts and has about a 35 mile range with a 50-watt mobile or about 10 miles with an HT and a "rubber duck" antenna. There is currently no emergency power capability. The repeater is "open" for use by any licensed amateur radio operator.
70cm DMR FM
The W5AC DMR repeater is offline while the repeater is out for repair.
The W5AC Brandmeister DMR repeater is made possible with consideration from Mr. Steve Bosshard, NU5D and Dr. John Bosshard, AD5RN.
The repeater transmits on a frequency of 441.3625 MHz, and listens on 446.3625 MHz. It requires color code 12 for access. The DMR ID of the repeater is 312663.
This repeater is connected to the Brandmeister network and the following static talkgroups are always available on the repeater.
| Time Slot 1 | Time Slot 2 |
|---|---|
| TG 3148 - Brandmeister Texas Statewide | TG 31480 - Brandmeister Texas Chat |
| TG 3167972 - W5AC DMR | TG 314891 - Brandmeister Bell County |
Dynamic (PTT activated) talkgroups are allowed on the repeater, and will stay connected for about 15 minutes.
The repeater radio is a TKR-820, with an internal Telewave "flat-pack" mobile duplexer, and an internal power supply. Digital voice functionality is powered by an MMDVM and Pi-Star. It is located on the 14th floor of the O&M Building, on TAMU Main Campus. The antenna is a Hustler omnidirectional fiberglass antenna, on the upper roof platform next to the radar dish. This gives a height above ground around 160 feet.
The repeater radio puts out 20 watts and has a range of about 20 miles with an HT and a "rubber duck" antenna inside of a vehicle, based on preliminary testing. There is currently no emergency power capability. The repeater is "open" for use by any licensed amateur radio operator.
AllStarLink Nodes
If you would like to link to the W5AC repeaters via AllStarLink, please connect to node 49382.
In addition to our RF repeaters, we host AllStarLink nodes 49382 and 49381.
Node 49381 is hosted on the 14th floor of the O&M Building, on TAMU Main Campus. This node is directly connected to nodes 492211, 492212, and 492213 for each of the repeaters.
Since this node is behind the University firewall, we are able to link out, but other nodes are unable to connect in. In addition to its linking duties, this node also hosts a variety of scripts for various purposes like automatically announcing watches and warnings from the National Weather Service, allowing stations to dial DTMF and get the current weather conditions, and providing our Broadcastify feed of the node.
View node 49381 status on AllStarLink →
Node 49382 is our 'hub' node hosted in the cloud. Since this node is not on campus, other stations should be able to link in to this node and join us. In addition, this node also hosts the connection to our Echolink node and our Brandmeister DMR talkgroup and Discord server on nodes 492215, 492216, and 492210.
View node 49382 status on AllStarLink →
Echolink Node
In addition to our AllStar nodes, the club hosts Echolink node W5AC-R, which is connected to Allstarlink node 492215. It has been used by club members who've wanted to talk to other members in the greater Bryan / College Station coverage area while they're away.
Recently, we've had a few folks from other countries joining us for contacts and fun! Feel free to drop in and say hi, we love hearing new voices on the air.
Brandmeister Talkgroup
In addition to our Echolink connection, the club also maintains a link to the Brandmeister DMR network. If you're near a Brandmeister repeater or you've got a DMR hotspot, you can join the conversation. Set your radio for talkgroup 3167972 and you'll be on the air in Aggieland! This connects through Allstarlink node 492216.
Discord Voice Channel
In addition to our Echolink and Brandmeister connections, the club also maintains a link to a voice channel in our Discord server. This connects through Allstarlink node 492210.
Broadcastify Stream
On our AllStarLink node 49381, we host a public stream of all traffic on our repeater.
Repeater Controller
The current controller is Allstarlink 3 on two computers. The first is at the Oceanography and Meteorology Building with our repeaters and the second is hosted in the cloud for inbound connections.
We currently use the controller to manage the various repeater states, net modes, announcements, and linking/unlinking of the repeaters and links.
While the controller has an extensive built-in speech library, we had some custom recordings made for us by an A&M Meteorology former student.
By default, the controller has all the analog FM repeaters linked together and connected to AllStarLink. We can change these links 'on the fly' as we need.
Repeater Audio Processing
Audio for the 70cm repeater has audio processing being performed by a Biamp AudiaFLEX configurable digital signal processor. The processor is currently programmed to perform some basic equalization and compression, along with echo cancellation on the receive audio of both machines.
In the future we plan on adding the 2m and 1.25m repeaters to the audio controller. This will require us to build some new cables and rewire a few things between the controller, the repeaters, and the audio processor.
Meshtastic Nodes
W5AC maintains two Meshtastic nodes on the default slot 0 (33cm) with a primary group encryption key "AQ==". One of these is on the upper roof with an omni antenna for local coverage. The other one has a yagi pointing towards Austin on the lower roof to connect with their mesh. It is located on the O&M Building Building on TAMU Main Campus, with the local node at a height above ground of about 160 feet, and the link node at a height above ground of about 130 feet. These have a transmit power of about 22 dBm.
Meshtastic-equipped hams often beacon their location periodically. When our mesh nodes receive this signal, they re-transmit it a moment later so that it can be heard over a much wider area.