Repeater Placement Collaboration/Draft 1

This is draft #1 of the repeater proposal. I'll TeXify this later - let's get the proposal right first. Kg4gae 07:53, 24 Mar 2005 (EST)

What is Amateur Radio?

The Amateur Radio Service is composed of individuals across the United States with an interest in radio engineering, communications, and public service. Amateur radio operators, like other users of the radio spectrum, are licensed and granted their privileges by the Federal Communications Commission, and are allowed to operate in specific ranges of radio spectrum.

Amateur radio operators have been commended many times in the past for community service in times of emergency. Many are members of organizations such as SKYWARN, acting as volunteer storm spotters in tornado-prone areas. Members of the UCF Amateur Radio Club served as vital communications endpoints during Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Jeanne.

What is a Repeater?

The most popular radio frequencies in use by amateur radio operators (known popularly as 2-meter and 70-centimeter, after their respective radio wavelengths) have limited distance communication capability. Under normal circumstances, the range of communication is restricted to about ten miles for simple handheld equipment.

A repeater is a device which extends this range considerably. By placing a pair of radios on a sensitive antenna on a high position (to give greater line-of-sight range), the repeater is able to receive an incoming signal and retransmit it on a different frequency at a much higher power. A 2-meter repeater can have a usable range of up to sixty miles.

This extended range and centralized point of communication has been put to good use in the past by both the UCF Amateur Radio Club and by radio operators in general. A highly regimented system of communication called a 'net' has been built around the use of a repeater with large groups of people, either for informal or formal meetings, or during times of emergency when misunderstood communication can cost lives.

The UCF Amateur Radio Club owns repeaters for both the 2-meter and 70-centimeter bands; however, at this time, only the 2-meter repeater is functional, and the current installation is far from ideal. Repeaters need antennas which receive in all directions nearly equally well in order to work effectively. The 2-meter repeater is connected to a highly directional antenna that is pointing in a poor direction for its intended coverage area of East Orange County.

Our hope is to use our existing repeaters and antennas to serve the UCF community and surrounding areas, and improve our own radio operation and engineering skills as well. To do this, the repeaters

Site Requirements

The repeater is relatively self-sufficient, but does have some specific needs in order for it to function properly.

First, its antennas need to be located in a relatively high location. The VHF repeater has previously been given a maximum coordinated height by the Florida Repeater Council of 100 feet above sea level. An antenna height close to that would be ideal. The antennas themselves are relatively compact. Both the 2-meter and 70-centimeter antennas are PVC-shielded rods approximately four meters and three meters long, respectively.

Second, the repeater requires a reliable source of electrical service. No special consideration is required for electrical service, as the repeater radios operate on ordinary household current.

Third, a reliable means of secondary control is needed, in the event that altering repeater settings by radio fails. Most repeaters use an ordinary phone line for this purpose, and the repeater is equipped for this. Attachment of a phone line to the repeater also allows the possibility of utilizing the repeater's "autopatch" functionality, which allows for emergency phone calls to be made via radio. This can be of great benefit when telephone service in the surrounding area is spotty due to hurricane or severe storm damage.

Proposed Site

The repeater site we believe will be least intrusive aesthetically and most effective for the repeater's use is the tower near Alafaya Trail. This site is at the edge of campus, so physical interference with the repeater is unlikely. The tower has a blockhouse which apparently already has electrical service (necessary for powering the repeater's radios), and may have or be equippable with phone service for secondary repeater control and autopatch usage. The Alafaya tower also has an extensive grounding system due to its height. Even mounting the repeater antennas partway up the tower would be sufficient for its purpose.