It doesnt say anywhere in the rules that you cannot have both primary and ancillary controls via DTMF on the input. Only that the ancillary controls are not considered to be remote control of the repeater, which opens up a point of ambiguity, since, as Ive read, there is no requirement for a primary/remote control of a repeater, at least not clearly stated. Which leaves us with a accepted practices question.
You could always do what Im doing :-) Im going to have VHF APRS and Winlink stations on board the trailer, and both will be set up to respond to a set of commands that will let me monitor and control many functions on the trailer through the on board computer the computer will also be accessible via WiFi and will have access to the same controls via a secure web server or VNC remote console access. I still have a single point of failure if the computer crashes but it is on a watchdog timer and will reboot to a known state if it crashes unexpectedly, so the only thing I worry about is an outright hardware failure, and it would take a highly unlikely concatenation of events for everything to fail in such a way that any of the radios were stuck in TX and every path of remote control that Ive designed in is completely blocked. The WiFi link seems particularly interesting to me given the availability of DD-WRT if you dont mind hacking in some extra hardware features to allow your router to control the repeater power. Techniques similar to those used to add SD/MMC memory card ports to various routers could be used to give the router some external I/O capability. Run an extra coax line up the tower and a remote WiFi amp.. then all you need is a laptop and a high gain antenna to remote control the site . If you need more than 2-3 pins of I/O control you could implement I2C on the I/O pins and connect up any I2C memory or I/O expansion device as needed :-) Would make for a nice HSMM repeater at the same time. _____ From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2007 3:01 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Repeater-Builder] Part 97 question reference to Repeater control And that can be done though DTMF with my controller from the receive frequency on the repeater. On Wed, 07 Nov 2007 14:57:14 -0600 "John Barrett" <[EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:ke5crp1%40verizon.net> net> wrote: > According to Part 97.205e, ancillary functions (phone >patch, etc) are not > considered remote control which seems to limit the >meaning of remote > control to enabling or disabling the repeater as a unit. > > > > _____ > >From: Repeater-Builder@ <mailto:Repeater-Builder%40yahoogroups.com> yahoogroups.com > [mailto:Repeater-Builder@ <mailto:Repeater-Builder%40yahoogroups.com> yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of >[EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:mung%40highwayusa.com> com > Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2007 2:41 PM > To: Repeater-Builder@ <mailto:Repeater-Builder%40yahoogroups.com> yahoogroups.com > Subject: Re: [Repeater-Builder] Part 97 question >reference to Repeater > control > > > > Isn't any operator on the repeater in RF control of the > repeater when they are using it? Also isn't the DTMF >tone > control through the normal repeater pair remote control? > > Vern > > On Wed, 7 Nov 2007 13:54:32 -0600 (GMT-06:00) > George Henry <[EMAIL PROTECTED] ><mailto:ka3hsw%40earthlink.net> net> wrote: >> -----Original Message----- >>>From: MCH <[EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:mch%40nb.net> <mailto:mch%40nb.net> > >>>Sent: Nov 7, 2007 1:28 PM >>>To: Repeater-Builder@ >>><mailto:Repeater-Builder%40yahoogroups.com> > yahoogroups.com >>>Subject: Re: [Repeater-Builder] Part 97 question >>>reference to Repeater control >>> >>>But where does it require a control link (AUX station) to >>>control the >>>repeater? (or landline ot local) >>> >>>Joe M. >>> >> >> >> 97.7 states that EVERY amateur station (remember, a >>repeater is an amateur station: see 97.3(a)(39)) must >>have a control operator: >> >> §97.7 Control operator required. >> >> When transmitting, each amateur station must have a >>control operator. The >> control operator must be a person: >> >> (a) For whom an amateur operator/primary station license >>grant appears on the >> ULS consolidated licensee database, or >> >> (b) Who is authorized for alien reciprocal operation by >>§97.107 of this part >> >> >> >> And Station control is defined in 97.109: >> >> §97.109 Station control. >> >> (a) Each amateur station must have at least one control >>point. >> (b) When a station is being locally controlled, the >>control operator must be at >> the control point. Any station may be locally >>controlled. >> (c) When a station is being remotely controlled, the >>control operator must be at >> the control point. Any station may be remotely >>controlled. >> (d) When a station is being automatically controlled, >>the control operator need >> not be at the control point. Only stations specifically >>designated elsewhere in >> this Part may be automatically controlled. Automatic >>control must cease upon >> notification by a District Director that the station is >>transmitting improperly >> or causing harmful interference to other stations. >>Automatic control must not be >> resumed without prior approval of the District Director. >> (e) No station may be automatically controlled while >>transmitting third party >> communications, except a station transmitting a RTTY or >>data emission. All >> messages that are retransmitted must originate at a >>station that is being >> locally or remotely controlled. >> >> And 97.205(d) states that a repeater may be >>automatically controlled. >> >> So, taking them all together, a repeater MUST have a >>control operator, MAY be under automatic control, and at >>all times when NOT operating under automatic control, >>MUST be either locally (someone physically at the control >>point) or remotely (RF or wireline) controlled. If >>remotely controlled over RF, the control link is in >>auxiliary operation, and may only be carried out in the >>frequency segments specifically authorized in 97.201, >>which, as someone else already pointed out, were recently >>expanded to include certain sub-bands on 2 meters. >> >> >> George, KA3HSW > > >
