SMLRS (Southwest Missouri Linked Repeater System) is a permanently linked radio network. The vital purpose of SMLRS is to enable emergency services to communicate throughout the coverage area.
Up to date information about SMLRS operations, repeater status, and other current events can be found at https://smlrs.info/smlrs-news/. Check this page before reporting any system operations problems.
SMLRS NEWS!!!!!
April 15th, 2024: The 147.015 + PL 162.2 Hz East Springfield Repeater repairs on this link antenna were completed today. The antenna was out of alignment by about 30 degrees so our signal to Crane should be better now. In addition, we cut off about 3’ of coax that was damaged by water intrusion and replaced it with a jumper. Everything tests good now and we only have 40 mW reflected power! On another note, the link radio was in a “Synthesizer Unlocked” status – something I’ve never seen on these radios. A power cycle cleared the alarm, for how long is anyone’s guess. If it acts up again, we’ll shut it back off. For now, the 015 is back on the link system.
April 1st, 2024: The 147.015 + PL 162.2 Hz East Springfield Repeater is back online on the SMLRS. It appears we may have taken a small bit of lightening that damaged our controller and the link radio to Crane. The only problem I can find with the controller is the front panel lights are not illuminating. I was able to upgrade firmware and reprogram and test several functions with no problems.As for the link radio, it is locked on the Crane repeater for now. We don’t have a way to switch it to Clever. I’m hoping it’s just a control head problem, of which we have several spares. If it’s an actual radio problem, we’ll have to address it in the near future.Thanks for patience waiting for my schedule to allow me time to get out to the site and get it going again.
December 23rd, 2023: After being offline for almost 2 months, the 145.390 – PL 91.5 Hz Granby repeater is back online. We want to thank Dick, KE0DWD, and Raun, KE0HRR, for their donations of time and equipment to get this valuable repeater back online. Without both of them we would likely still be offline! The new repeater is back up to 100-Watts output and the receive sensitivity was increased substantially. We were unaware of an issue with the receiver on the old repeater until we started doing further testing on the repeater. We also added a receive pre-amp and a large 8″ bandpass filter – this will filter out other VHF transmissions that were de-sensing the receiver as well as add signal strength back in that’s lost in the filters. As part of the repeater repair project, the repeater is also capable of P25 digital operations – you will need to use a NAC of 656 to access the repeater via P25 digital. When in digital mode, you will be operating ONLY on the Granby repeater. Analog signals take priority so if an analog signal comes onto the repeater via the repeater input or the UHF link from Crane, the repeater will immediately return to analog mode and be linked to the rest of the SMLRS network.
October 23rd, 2023: The 444.750 + PL 91.5 Hz Golden City repeater was brought online today. The repeater is a 100-W Motorola Quantar mixed mode, stand alone repeater that covers from Joplin to Springfield on I-44. All Star may be added to the site in the future.In analog mode, use a PL of 91.5 Hz. The repeater can also operate in P25 digital mode with a NAC of 656.The repeater is a KM0HP repeater owned by the Mulebarn club, who is a partner with us on the SMLRS.Try it out and send us your signal reports!
September 12th, 2023: The Nevada repeater 145.450 – PL 91.5 hz is back on the air. Yesterday tower crews were able to replace the old Commscope DB-224E 6 dBd gain antenna with a brand new Comprod 874F-70TM 8.5 dBd gain antenna like we installed on the Bolivar 147.060 last August and the 147.015 several years ago. Thus far coverage reports have been great to the south along I-49 for mobiles as well as for users in Pittsburg, KS. The new antenna elements are directed north to help improve coverage that direction and for HT’s in the Nevada metropolitan area.
August 9th, 2023: The Granby repeater 145.390 – PL 91.5 Hz is down – possible lightening strike or just a simple equipment failure. No ETA for repairs as of this time.
May 2nd, 2023: The link radio on the NorthEast Springfield repeater 147.015 – PL 162.2 Hz has been replaced and repeater operations are now back to normal
April 27, 2023: The NorthEast Springfield 147.015 + PL 162.2 Hz repeater link is down on the SMLRS repeater network due to a link radio issue. Note the repeater is operational in standalone mode only (local stations or users on the 147.015 will not be heard on any other repeater on the SMLRS system at this time)
March 23rd, 2023: The Nevada 145.450- PL 91.5 Hz is off the air pending an antenna replacement, hopefully this summer.
February 25, 2023: The Crane 442.150+ PL 162.2 Hz repeater has been repaired. Previously we had noted that it was 6.223 kHz off frequency. A replacement uniboard was re-capped and installed to resolve the frequency error problem.
February 23, 2023: The backup north hub repeater – the Bolivar 443.675+ PL 162.2 Hz was repaired after a short outage. The alcatel circulator built into the PA had become unsoldered from the circuit board. A spare was installed and aligned and the repaired module will now be used next time we have a failure.
February 21, 2023: The Nevada 145.450- PL 91.5 Hz continues to have problems on receive. Range is reduced to about 15 miles from 35-40 miles generally. The repeater was tested and transmitted for ~ 30 minutes with a 0.20 uV signal and had no problems. We also replaced the lightening arrestor and the problem persisted. On February 26, 2023, we met with Barton County Electric and they fixed “noisy” electric poles at the tower site and about 0.2 miles west and the problem persisted. Our next step will be testing the antenna system – we suspect the DB224E antenna has a problem with the phasing harness which will require a new antenna and a tower climb.
February 17, 2023: The Branson 146.655- PL 91.5 Hz repeater was shut down due to intermittent “key ups” causing problems throughout the system. We suspect a problem with the SCOM 7330 and will be replacing the IC shortly.
February 11, 2023: The Warsaw 147.075+ PL 127.3 Hz repeater was shut down due to interference on the repeater input. Roger, KD0WXT, drove to the site while it was occurring and we belive the problem is a “difference of frequencies” mix between the local 700 MHz trunking control station and the 900 MHz wireless Internet access point. When you subtract the 700 Mhz frequency from the 900 MHz frequency, you get a differene of 147.675 MHz which explains the “data” type interference that only holds squelch open once it’s been opened but can’t open the squelch itself.
December 6, 2022: The Taum Sauk 145.290 – PL 100.0 Hz was taken off line completely. The receive VCO is not staying locked and the repeater will not receive. Will install low split 132-150 MHz modules when available to replace the 150-172 MHz modules currently installed.
December 1, 2022: The Bolivar 147.060+ PL 162.2 Hz repeater is back online and permently linked to the SMLRS. On Monday evenings between 6:45 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., the repeater will be unlinked from the SMLRS for the Polk County Amateur Radio (PCAR) weekly net
February 16, 2022: The Taum Sauk Mountain 145.290-, PL 100.0 Hz repeater is online and permanently linked to the SMLRS! Stations from Arcadia, Fredericktown, Piedmont, Union, and Wappapello have already checked in on the repeater to check their signals.
November 17, 2021: The Warsaw Repeater is back online with the new TX RX 28-37-02A duplexer. All interface cables were replaced with 1/2″ heliax from the duplexer to the amplifier and from the duplexer to the receiver. The lightening arrestor was replaced as was the RG-393 jumper from the duplexer output to the lightening arrestor input.
November 9, 2021: The Taum Sauk 145.290- PL 100.0 Hz repeater, link radio and power supply were installed at the repeater site. Tower work to install the antennas and coax is pending.
March 11, 2021: The Granby 145.390 is back into full working order. Reports during the previous week indicated the repeater was only transmitting intermittently both local and link traffic. The TX Synthesizer module in the GE Master III repeater was faulty and replaced.
March 4, 2021; The Warsaw 147.075 repeater has been shut off due a problem with it generating noise when the temperature gets below 40 degrees. We suspect the cabinet heater has failed and the duplexer is de-tuning itself in the cold weather. We would like to replace the Sinclair duplexer with a temperature compensated TX RX 28-37-02A. Cost for a replacement duplexer is $1375.00. If you would like to help fund this repair please email kb0nhx@nixahams.net
February 15, 2021: The SMLRS EchoIRLP Node is back online! The SD card on the Pi3 computer was corrupted and the operating system, IRLP and EchoLink files had to be reloaded.
November 12, 2020: The Bendavis 444.775 was removed from service for electrolytic capacitor and front end filter rehabilitation. A backup Motorola repeater was placed into service until the main repeater repairs can be completed.
November 12, 2020: The Clever 442.425 backup south hub for the SMLRS was re-installed with new electrolytic caps. Front end filter was cleaned and treated to keep future whisker growth from occurring
September 15, 2020: The Clever 442.425 repeater, which serves as the back-up south hub for the SMLRS, was removed from service and a backup exciter and receiver installed. The Motorola MSF-5000 at the Clever site is the next in the series of repeaters in which the electrolytic capacitors are being replaced and the front end filter assembly being cleaned of any tin whisker growth and coated with lacquer to keep them from re-growing.
September 8, 2020: The Crane 442.150 repeater has been placed back in service with the Motorola MSF-5000 repeater. All electrolytic capacitors have been replaced and the front end filter assembly cleaned of tin whiskers and coated for future protection from re-growth.
August 14, 2020: The Crane 442.150 repeater has been removed from service to allow for all of the Electrolytic Capacitors to be replaced in the Motorola MSF-5000 repeater. In addition, the front end filter assembly will have the tin whiskers removed and a thin lacquer applied to keep them from growing in the future.
Until Crane can and Bendavis are repaired, we will remain on our backup linking method between the East and West SMLRS repeaters.
August 10, 2020: The Stockton Lake 444.975 repeater has been repaired and is back in service. Todd, AD0RR, replaced the electrolytic capacitors in the MSF-5000 which fixed the problem we had with the receive VCO coming out of lock. James, KB0NHX, removed the tin whiskers growing inside the repeater’s front end receive filter to improve receive sensitivity. A full alignment was done on the repeater and it is on frequency with 75-Watts transmit power out of the duplexer. The receive pre-amp was also repaired and re-installed which further helped the Stockton repeater’s receive sensitivity.
If you haven’t tried it out lately, give it a try again. We have been able to work it in places that we haven’t been able to work it since it was originally installed.
July 4, 2020: Due to malicious interference the Branson 146.655 – PL 91.5 Hz repeater may not be available on the linked repeater system. We are continuing to log interference as it occurs and reporting directly to the FCC reference our complaint that was opened previously. Please be patient as the FCC acts on our behalf. Below are samples of the interference.
June 7, 2020: The SMLRS has added three new repeaters in the Eastern region of our coverage area to cover Central and South Central Missouri:
146.820 (-) PL 110.9 Hz in Rolla, MO
146.985 (-) PL 110.9 Hz in Willow Springs, MO
444.775 (+) PL 110.9 Hz in Bendavis, MO (~10 miles West / Southwest of Houston, MO)
The primary RF backbone link between Bendavis and Crane is still under construction, but the backup linking method which utilizes a dedicated T1 data circuit with cellular modem is operational and being tested allowing these three repeaters to be on the link system and operational.
All 3 repeater sites are located in hardened, climate-controlled shelters and have UPS battery backup power to keep the repeaters online until the site generator can provide power to the equipment. Motorola R56 grounding techniques were followed to protect equipment from lightening as best it can be protected and maximize system up time.
December 22, 2016: The SMLRS has a new repeater on the SMLRS system located in Warsaw, MO.
The repeater is on 147.075+ PL 127.3 Hz. You can run full PL on this repeater, meaning you must encode a PL of 127.3 Hz and you can also use decode on your radio for the 127.3 Hz tone. The 147.075 repeater is linked to the SMLRS 100% of the time via an RF link to the Stockton Lake hub repeater, and runs on 100% battery power like the 145.270 in Nixa.
If you have questions or need to notify someone about repeater operation problems not addressed on the news page, email swmlrs@gmail.com.
In an emergency, normal local and wireless communications can be lost or saturated so that important messages cannot be sent or received. SMLRS provides a broad area of coverage, with backup power supplies and links that can be used by trained amateur radio operators to provide needed communications.
Outside emergencies, the system is available to support wide-area communication needs, such as bicycle rides, running events and weekly nets. Nets are vital to the SMLRS system because it helps us identify any system problems that may need to be monitored or addressed on a weekly basis. YOUR participation in these nets is CRITICAL in helping us maintain the SMLRS system. It is also available for all radio amateurs to use in normal VHF communication activities, including QSO’s.
The system has 13 radio repeaters:
- a repeater centered near Granby (just Southeast of Joplin) (Currently off air)
- a repeater centered near Nevada (Currently off air)
- two repeaters centered in Springfield
- the 147.015 in Northeast Springfield
- the 147.225 in Southwest Springfield
- a repeater at Crane linking the Joplin and Springfield repeaters.
- a repeater near Stockton Lake linking Nevada to the system & acting as a redundant hub repeater for the system
- a repeater centered in Branson
- a repeater centered in Warsaw
- a repeater centered in Bendavis, West / Southwest of Houston, MO
- a repeater centered in Rolla
- a repeater centered near Arcadia atop Taum Sauk Mountain
- a repeater centered in Willow Springs
- a repeater centered in Bolivar
Together, these repeaters cover the Region D ARES service area in Southwest Missouri as well as most of the Region G and Region I ARES service area and the Springfield National Weather Service severe weather coverage area
Because the repeaters are permanently linked, a transmission on any of the eleven repeaters is re-broadcast on all eleven repeaters.
In practical terms, transmissions within the network area will be heard from Coffeyville, KS to Van Buren, MO, and from Clinton, MO to Harrison, AR.
This website has two major divisions:
- If you want information for Amateur Radio Operators, place your mouse on that menu choice above and click on one of the pages shown
- If you want information for Service Agencies, place your mouse on that menu choice above and click on one of the pages shown
This is a computer modeled map of the linked repeater coverage for the Western half of the linked repeater system:
SMLRS 