Club Program Ideas: Repeater Construction

In this series on Club Program ideas, I’m providing possible programs for clubs to use in their meetings. You can find a full explanation of the approach in Club Programs – The Series.

Today’s program idea: Putting repeaters together.

Repeaters have become standard operating procedure for hams. We take our handheld, hit the repeater and start talking.

But repeaters are placed far away in little rooms with fans and other radios. No one ever sees them.

This program idea is to take a deconstructed look at repeaters. The component parts, the function of each of the major components, the feedlines to the antennas and how to deal with interference from all the other radio sources (typically) found for a tower site.

And if that isn't enough, how those high mountaintop repeaters connect to each other to give multi-state coverage.

Bonus points: Linking radio repeaters together anywhere there is Internet service available.

Scot, K9JY

Photo credit: CAT-400 Repeater Controller, Computer Automation Technology