This page reports new developments in SMLRS operation.
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 repeater located near Arcadia on 145.290 MHz, PL 100.0 Hz, is online and permanently linked to the SMLRS
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 backup 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.
July 4, 2020:
Due to malicious interference being transmitted by George Sfair, KJ6TQ, from his base station located at his residence at 107 Cedar Ln on the East side of Branson, 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 malicious interference Mr. Sfair has transmitted onto the SMLRS and the N0NWS SkyWarn system.
July 1, 2020:
James Adkins, KB0NHX, and Eric Presser, KD0CEN, continue to experiment with audio settings on the backup linking system. Adjustments were made at the East system connection and audio into the link to the West and out of the link from the West has been set. Plans to adjust audio on the West side of the system are tentatively scheduled for the week of July 6.
June 7, 2020:
The SMLRS East repeaters are now operational on the system. This includes the 146.820 (-) PL 110.9 Hz in Rolla, the 146.985 (-) PL 110.9 Hz in Willow Springs and the 444.775 (+) PL 110.9 Hz at Bendavis – about 10 miles West / Southwest of Houston.
The backup linking system to connect the East and West repeaters is currently operational while the primary RF hub site at Goodhope is completed
The backup linking system consists of a dedicated T1 data circuit which will automatically fail over to a cellular modem connection when the T1 data circuit goes down for any reason.
The primary RF link will consist of backbone linking between the Bendavis and Crane UHF hub repeaters similar to the RF backbone link between the Crane and Stockton Lake UHF hub repeaters
June 3, 2020
146.985 & 444.775 – Willow Springs and Bendavis Press Release for Radio Amateurs
June 1, 2020
146.820 – Rolla Press Release for Radio Amateurs
February 28, 2017:
The Link Radio at the 147.225 Repeater Site (West Springfield Repeater) has been fixed and how has a full quieting signal into the Crane 442.150 Hub repeater
The low audio condition was also repaired on the 147.225 repeater and link radio. A component in the audio path was removed and full audio levels were restored. It is now nearly impossible to determine just by audio levels whether a station is on the 147.225 or another linked repeater.
January 14, 2017:
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.
January 8, 2016: Earlier site visit revealed the Granby 145.390 operating at low power – 36-Watts out of the 100-Watt amplifier. On January 8, a replacement amplifier was installed and power output restored to 95-Watts.
A new Duracomm 50a power supply with DC distribution panel was installed, and all DC wiring re-routed and fused at the panel. The PA fans are now controlled by the FC-2 Fan Control Module so that the SCOM 7330 turns the cooling fans on and off automatically instead of them running continuously.
January 6, 2016: Site visit to the Nevada 145.450 repeater revealed a low output power condition – 13.4 Watts out of the 100-Watt PA. A replacement amplifier and duplexers are being sought. $3,000 needed to purchase new TX RX duplexers and a new 150-Watt Crescend amplifier.
July 18, 2014: Complaint of pop & crackle on weak to moderate strength signals on the 145.450 – noise goes away when it rains. De-sense tests completed with co-located VHF trunked radio system confirms harmonic mixing issue if site is fully loaded, but this is not causing the issue reported. Located 1 power pole that is intermittently very noisy. Electric Coop notified to repair pole
July 15, 2014: Complaints of pop & crackle on weaker signals on the 147.015 – located 4 noisy power line poles near the repeater site. Electric Coop notified and poles have been repaired.
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