Repeater modifications

ARCatUCF repeater potential changes

This is a list of things that we could add to the repeater, and maybe someday will. If you have a feasible idea, add it here. If you like an idea here, bring it up at a meeting and maybe we'll get motivation to do it.

New repeater commands

These are things we might want to make the repeater do via commands to the computer.

Suggested methods for sending commands

• via touch tone over RF (easy to add now)
• via touch tone over echolink / irlp (currently disabled)
• via skype?
• via internal web page (available if installed - security?? or we could write our own)
• via command line through ssh
• (via scheduled event triggers)

Suggested commands

• voice mailboxes or scheduled messages
  • club info announcement
  • club event announcement
  • club meeting announcement??
• voice generated messages (via festival or other synth)
  • weather via NWS feed??? (need to verify data is not stale before xmit)
  • NTP coordinated time
  • call of connected stations (available now maybe through echoirlp??)
• Signal strength report -- via voice or code (needs sensors implemented)
• internal repeat back without echo test server (possible through echoirlp maybe already?)

2m repeater

• Add EchoLink & IRLP to the repeater
  • replace MAX232 breadboard with final PCB
  • solder computer end of serial connector (PTT/COS)
• separate RF and Echolink audio outputs, experiment with bridge modes
• replace windows software with linux
  • Asterisk menu system?
• access to NWS weather data / possible SANE alerts
• fix serial programming control issues
• (silly) random vocab poetry

70cm repeater

• add tone board
• add more complicated controller, possibly build one from scratch
• replace antenna
• recoordinate

both repeaters

• Repeater Placement Collaboration -- relocate repeater antennas
• Weather station coupled to voice synthesizer?
  • suggest using aprs data from a nearby station?

Weather station

Justifications:

• service to all amateur radio operators via APRS(?) and repeater access(?) to weather data
• service to the UCF community though website access to the weather data
• service to the community in general via CWOP
  • collected data is used by NWS for weather prediction (check nearest neighbor?)