[K3PZN-List] CCARC 147.285Mhz now located in the Sykesville/Eldersburg Area

[K3MTT]

The new 147.285MHz repeater was moved to the
Sykesville/Eldersburg area about a 1 mile south of
the Route 32/26 junction (downtown Eldersburg).
It appears to be performing well with possibly
the squelch a little on the tight side.   It
hasn't had much use, so there is a lot of free
time for anyone to one a talk without being
accused of monopolizing the machine.

Until it gets more usage, it will be hard to get
an idea of its coverage but a 2 watt handle made
it in full quieting from Finksburg, it sounded
great from Eldersburg up 795 to the 695  and was a
little scratchy on Rt 83 which is what I would
expect because of the terrain. A fellow in
Pikesville was running a 4 watt handie with an
outside antenna and was full quieting.

Good copy from near Hampstead with 10-25 watt
mobile. 25 watts made for a better copy and I
think higher power from that area will be needed
to overcome the mid county ridge that affects
145.410 from the south Carroll hams view. The
opposite will be true for Carroll hams north of
the ridge line using the 7.285 machine. 

No reports yet from the east to the west.

All of South Carroll except in the deep holes
should be able to hit it with 2 watts or less. Of
course if your in the basement or fishing on
Liberty lake, it might take a little more signal,
but we will see.

I will try to monitor 147.285Mhz as much as
possible during the day and early evening so as to
gather info on its performance and coverage areas.
So give me a call even if just for a signal
report.  Before any real adjustments are made by
the Repeater Committee, it is critical to hear the
repeater. Watt meters etc. don't tell all the
story.

 If your not in the South Carroll area, those  who
live in the northern part of the county and have
gotten used to 10 watts or less when working 5.410
are going to have to get used to running at least
25 watts or more from the northern half if you
want to stay in the 7.285 repeater sounding as
good as possible. This has been a way of life for
the folks in the south as they traverse various
parts of the county especially south of the
dividing ridge when using 5.410. Accessing from
home with an outside antenna probably will do ok
from a lot of locations.

Thanks to all the guys who worked on the machine
and those the hauled it from Catonsville and then
to the Sykesville/Eldersburg Tower location.

Frank K3MTT

PS ... Don't forget,  check out the new machine. I
think its going to work well for all those
traveling work in a southerly direction and should
be useful from a good deal of the county. Its
coverage though should be quite a bit different,
but then again if it wasn't, why have two
machines.