[GCARC] Repeater site update

[Jim Wright]

A quick update for GCARC members,

This is an exciting start of the year for the club!
As we talked about would be soon happening during our last club meeting,
I'm happy to announce the first phase of work has now been performed in the
base of the Pitman tower site. Last weekend, Tekk Comm, and members of your
repeater committee, spent most of the day installing a new equipment rack
on the new pad previously installed, placing the 440 and 2 meter machines
in the rack, and most importantly, upgrading the filters and jumper cables
to those filters. These machines are now powered from the new electric
service that was previously installed. Some pictures will be included in
the next edition of Crosstalk to illustrate.
Initial field measurements on non-windy days shows a measurable improvement
in receiver ability to pick up and repeat weaker signals. In some
instances, simple hand held HT are able to key up the repeater from
locations where it could only marginally do so before.  In other locations
with more detailed "before and after" comparisons, analog signals that
would break up and were near unintelligible when transmitted from the test
location at 7.5 Watts, are now able to hold the repeater at that power
level, and are intelligible (though scratchy) down to below 1.5 Watts of
transmit from the same location. That is a measured improvement!
Please give our 2 Meter repeater a try from your QTH, starting at a higher
power and voicing your location and power level for the recordings that are
still being made for all the over air transmissions.  Then reduce your
power levels, announcing the changes, on down to where your buddies say
they can no longer copy your signal.  That will help us for the next phase.
Just to be clear, our work is not done.
For example, under windy conditions, we continue to note fluctuations in
output power received from the repeater's transmissions, and very
distracting cracking in the transmitted audio.  As voted upon at general
membership meeting late last year, we authorized purchase of a replacement
antenna, and are moving forward to do just that.  The old one that has
served the club well over these past few decades, but it's time to retire
it.
As with the filter upgrades, progress on the antenna purchase, and install
plans, will be included in the next Crosstalk as well.
That's it for now, just a quick update to let you know things are happening,
73,
Jim Wright, n2gxj
President, GCARC