Re: [Repeater-Builder] Weird Kerchuking Problem

2006-04-09 Thread Jim Brown
I have operated several RCA TAC-200 mobiles converted to repeaters and experienced the intermittent kerchunking problem with each of them. It seems the squelch circuit generates short spikes on the CAS output, even with the squelch set rather tight. My solution on each of them was to build a

Re: [Repeater-Builder] back-up battery charging

2006-04-21 Thread Jim Brown
There is a simple way to have a reliable backup battery system without a relay. Try this: Connect your fused repeater power cable directly to the battery terminals, without any intervening devices. Connect your power supply to the battery through a single Schottky diode. Adjust the power

Re: [Repeater-Builder] NHRC-2 + MASTRII

2006-04-21 Thread Jim Brown
Paul, the NHRC-2 uses an opto isolator in the input COR circuit and it can be a little hard to drive from the GE COS signal. You might try using the RUS signal as your COR input and see how that goes. If RUS is not following the COR, you might have to cut a jumper (H-41 to H-42 on the System

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: Sinclair Q 202G Tuning Problem

2006-04-22 Thread Jim Brown
If the tunable stub is connectorized, then just add a 90 degree connector in line to make it a bit longer. No connectors on the tuning stub. The coupling loop is built into the stub and it extends at a right angle from the loop insert. A single N connector opposite the tuning stub

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Sinclair Q 202G Tuning Problem

2006-04-23 Thread Jim Brown
Jim - W5ZIT wrote: I am trying to move a Q 202 G from the 170 mHz range down to the 147 mHz range and have run into a problem on the notch tuning. The high pass tuning works like a charm and has a good pass and notch characteristic. The low pass side is another story. The pass tuning works

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: Sinclair Q 202G Tuning Problem

2006-04-23 Thread Jim Brown
-Builder@yahoogroups.com, Jim Brown [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Jim - W5ZIT wrote: I am trying to move a Q 202 G from the 170 mHz range down to the 147 mHz range and have run into a problem on the notch tuning. The high pass tuning works like a charm and has a good pass

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: Sinclair Q 202G Tuning Problem

2006-04-24 Thread Jim Brown
The loops can be rotated a slight amount, as they are mounted in round holes on top of the vertical cavities with the notch tuning rods extending horizontally from the loop assembly. Three screws clamp the assembly to the can. The rods would interfere with the cavity beside it if rotated more

Re: [Repeater-Builder] RC-1000 Controller question

2006-05-11 Thread Jim Brown
Nate, the RC-1000 is programmed by opening the controller for programming input by sending two code sequences. The unlock sequence has a 'D' prefix hard wired and can't be changed as I recall, with two additional characters. A typical sequence would be something like 'D7B' and D7C'. The

Re: [Repeater-Builder] RC-1000 Controller question

2006-05-11 Thread Jim Brown
Access to the AXX and DXX control codes can be enabled or disabled with two control codes; Control Code enable and Control Code disable. When disabled the only control code to function is the Control Code Enable. These codes do NOT affect access to the * and # user codes. The above

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: RC-1000 Controller question

2006-05-12 Thread Jim Brown
I guess I should not have introduced the 'lock' and 'unlock' terminology Nate, but you are on the right track. There are a lot of different controllers and some use the lock/unlock terms and it just stuck with me - HI. Yes - to protect some of the controls from casual changes by designated

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: Simple PIC Repeater Controller

2006-05-12 Thread Jim Brown
Eric, take a look at the MCC RC-100 controller. It does what you want, and is a VERY mature design. I put the first one I own on the air in 1984 I think. 73 - Jim Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Repeater-Builder/ * To

[Repeater-Builder] Help on Arcom RC-110

2006-05-14 Thread Jim Brown
I am trying to upload the 4.0 firmware in my RC-110 and having no luck. Queries to Arcom are being ignored with no response. The controller with the ver 3.1 firmware is unusable. The basicx program referenced in the 110 manual has a checksum if you download it and try to unzip. So no luck

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Help on Arcom RC-110

2006-05-15 Thread Jim Brown
Hi Jim Sorry but I never saw an email from you (we are quite good at providing timely responses when we're aware of a question!). My apologies for your request not being answered up to this point. I'm not exactly sure what you're asking. Are you saying you're having problems with NetMedia's

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Help on Arcom RC-110

2006-05-15 Thread Jim Brown
---Hi Jim. Well, we have no connection (nor control) with NetMedia and you need to contact them directly about their software. I'm afraid I don't know of an alternate download source for the software other than them. Have you tried contacting them? Ken Ken, how does Arcom upload the

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Help on Arcom RC-110

2006-05-15 Thread Jim Brown
I purchased a complete BX-24 development system a couple of years ago had no problem uploading my program into the BX-24. I also just downloaded the downloader from http://www.basicx.com/downloads/bx-setup-210-program.zip, installed it compared the files to the ones I used during

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Mitrek COS ?

2006-05-19 Thread Jim Brown
Shane, I would always hook up the COS as well as the CTCSS decode for one reason. The controller will cut off the audio to the repeater transmitter as soon as the COS signal goes away. The CTCSS decode will always hang a few hundred milliseconds and cause a long squelch break on the repeater

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Dayton webcam

2006-05-21 Thread Jim Brown
For those who can't be there, mms://66.231.242.90/video Bob NO6B Looks like you guys got rained out Sunday - Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Repeater-Builder/ * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email

Re: [Repeater-Builder] midland 13-509 tx freq stability... cap change?

2006-05-23 Thread Jim Brown
Dave, Keep in mind that the Midland 13-509 was built for the Amateur Radio market, and the transmit crystals are only specified to maintain .001%, which is 10 PPM. There is no temperature compensation in the crystal circuit, and you may make the drift worse by using an NPO capacitor. If you

[Repeater-Builder] CTCSS encoder

2006-05-24 Thread Jim Brown
I have a tone encoder circuit board with no markings that uses a MC68HC705J1ACDW processor to encode the tones. It has six switches to select the tone and has five wires leading from the interface connector. Wire colors are Red, Black, Yellow, Orange, and Gray. Can anyone help me identify

Re: [Repeater-Builder] CTCSS encoder

2006-05-24 Thread Jim Brown
I took a look at the SS-64 on line and sure enough, my unit matches that picture. For some reason I can't download the PDF file from Com Spec - it is blocked by both Netscape and IE. I can get the TS-64 all OK, but not the SS-64. I would guess the encode switches for selecting the tone are

Re: [Repeater-Builder] CTCSS encoder

2006-05-25 Thread Jim Brown
I found my problem. I was just getting a couple of horizontal lines of the file when I did finally get it downloaded, including the copy that was sent via the list. I have been using Adobe Reader 5 and it reads the other Com Spec files all OK. I upgraded to Adobe Reader 6 and my problems

[Fwd: Re: [Repeater-Builder] CTCSS encoder]

2006-05-25 Thread Jim Brown
I am sending this again as it never showed up here reflected from the group. Original Message Subject:Re: [Repeater-Builder] CTCSS encoder Date: Thu, 25 May 2006 09:18:21 -0500 From: Jim Brown [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com References

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Mastr Executive II Help on changing 440 Xcvr to 2 Xcvr for Crossband Operation

2006-05-28 Thread Jim Brown
Morning Bob, thanks for the tips and info, the page proved quite helpful. The VHF units are indeed the 56 in the 130 to 150 Mhz range, and the UHF units are the 77's, 406-420 Mhz range, I'm hoping they will make it up to the 434 Mhz range. I have 4 of the recievers that has already

[Repeater-Builder] Arcom RC-110 Yahoo Group

2006-05-29 Thread Jim Brown
Anyone know what has happened to the RC-110 Group? Wonder if it is a personal problem or has the group been disbanded? Hello, Your request to join the rc110 group was not approved. Your membership was automatically rejected because the moderator didn't approve it within 14 days. We do this to

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Problems with RC210 and Echolink

2006-05-30 Thread Jim Brown
I interfaced an RC-210 port 3 to EchoLink for a friend, and had no problem with the interface. The RC-210 was missing a land in the audio path for port 3 and we had to add a wire jumper on the RC-210 board to correct that, but the interface to EchoLink worked with no problem. We used a

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Mastr Executive II Help on changing 440 Xcvr to 2 Xcvr for Crossband Operation

2006-06-01 Thread Jim Brown
Very good, understood most of that. I have the unit hooked up, and got the reciever to work just fine, the transmitter is working, so now I have a unit with a 440 transmit and a 2 meter receiver. Now here is where I got lost, how do I tie them so that when a signal is heard on two

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Mastr Executive II Help on changing 440 Xcvr to 2 Xcvr for Crossband Operation

2006-06-01 Thread Jim Brown
Now here is where I got lost, how do I tie them so that when a signal is heard on two meters, it keys the 440 transmitter and sends the audio out to the transmitter. You mention that I need to take a voltage to the to the receiver oscillator, can you point me in the right direction,

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Mastr Executive II Help on changing 440 Xcvr to 2 Xcvr for Crossband Operation

2006-06-01 Thread Jim Brown
There is a 3 pin cord on the PA on the back of the radio, do you know what this was for? And does it need to be reconnected. Thanks. Mathew That sounds like the antenna relay control line. Yes - it needs to be connected to the amp and should be connected to the large board on the

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Mastr Executive II Help on changing 440 Xcvr to 2 Xcvr for Crossband Operation

2006-06-01 Thread Jim Brown
One more question, knowing the whomever I get the xtals from will have the specs for them, is there anything I need to know additionally about them before I order them. Thanks. Mathew I use Bomar and have had really good luck with them. Order your receive crystals for both bands

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Linking Repeaters over Internet Help

2006-06-04 Thread Jim Brown
Hello Group, I am completely new to VOIP, so I need some direction. I have two repeaters with remote base ports that I would like to tie together via internet connection. Can you direct me to a page or tell me where I can get info on what equipment I need to tie audio and logic connections

Re: [Repeater-Builder] DB 224-A

2006-06-28 Thread Jim Brown
I have really enjoy the cheap antenna qso and it leads to my question. I have scavenged a DB 224-A that reads 150 to 160 and I was wondering if it is possible to lengthen the elements to make it more ham friendly? I am talking cutting each folded dipole in four places and welding in

Re: [Repeater-Builder] tuning 6 cavity duplexers with an MFJ-269 analyzer

2006-07-06 Thread Jim Brown
The biggest problem you would have with the MFJ is signal leakage from your source signal. Any signal that bypasses the duplexer and gets directly to the signal detector will prevent you from properly tuning the duplexer. I use a transmitter to tune a duplexer. Put 50 ft or so of RG-58 cable

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: Rohn 25g Tower

2007-07-31 Thread Jim Brown
Just a brief note on two towers I had installed for over 35 years. I used three of the Radio Shack mast base mounts in the ground to support the tower with Rhon house brackets. These units consisted of a square metal plate, about six inches, with an 18 inch piece of sharpened angle welded to

RE: [Repeater-Builder] Connecting Multiple TNCs

2007-08-01 Thread Jim Brown
Kantronics built dual speed TNCs with a provision to prevent the problem Eric describes. It would allow you to interface both speeds to one radio and a parameter can be set to prevent them from both trying to transmit at the same time. 73 - Jim W5ZIT Eric Lemmon [EMAIL PROTECTED]

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: subaudibe tones..

2007-08-28 Thread Jim Brown
A trick I used years ago for audio FSK RTTY on two meters was to put a frequency divider behind the 555. Generating the 2125 and 2295 frequencies for transmitting was done at 10 times the freq in the 555, and a resistor was switched in the 555 timing circuit to shift the frequency. Doing it

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: subaudibe tones..

2007-08-28 Thread Jim Brown
Any new repeater coordination in Texas MUST have CTCSS or DCS access, no exception. Only older coordinations are grandfathered with open squelch access. It just does not make any sense to put on a repeater these days without some kind of access control. Unfortunately, some hams equate

RE: [Repeater-Builder] Re: Duplexers

2007-09-01 Thread Jim Brown
On the E-4 aircraft we delivered to the Air Force, the wire was about 1/4 inch at the aircraft end and tapered down to around 1/8 inch at the drogue at the far end. (to keep the wire from whipping around in the slipstream). We could never deploy the wire over the US, but had to go down to the

Re: RE: [Repeater-Builder] Re: Duplexers

2007-09-01 Thread Jim Brown
We called that hatchet a guillotine on the KC-135 Looking Glass and the E-4 (747) aircraft. And on one flight on the E-4 I was on, we had to cut the wire and drop it in the gulf when it jammed while reeling it back in. By the way, I was hooked up to the Secret Service blade antenna (no

RE: [Repeater-Builder] Re: subaudibe tones..

2007-09-05 Thread Jim Brown
We have a different use for tone access here in the mountains in New Mexico. For years the club has operated two repeaters on the same frequency, with one serving as a back up in case the primary goes down. This ment that a control operator had to notice that the primary had gone down and

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Fw: KDK UHF 7033

2007-09-06 Thread Jim Brown
Ray, see if you can track down the other side of the resistor that feeds your receive LED. The voltage swing there should be a lot more than you see on the LED itself. 73 - Jim W5ZIT Ray Rosler [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: - Original Message - From: Ray Rosler

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Arcom RC-110 help!

2007-09-22 Thread Jim Brown
Return it to Arcom for a new chip or for reprogramming. Any reputable controller manufacturer should offer service for 5 or 6 years after delivering a unit. 73 - Jim W5ZIT n3gh_1 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I recently purchased a used RC-110 Controller.(all I can afford) Somehow

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Arcom RC-110 help!

2007-09-23 Thread Jim Brown
: Jim Brown To: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2007 4:13 PM Subject: Re: [Repeater-Builder] Arcom RC-110 help! Return it to Arcom for a new chip or for reprogramming. Any reputable controller manufacturer should offer service for 5 or 6 years after

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Duplexers

2007-09-25 Thread Jim Brown
Our local club recently installed a 2 meter repeater on a water tank adjacent to a cell site. Two cell towers are serviced by four buildings housing equipement, and we are having some desense due to noise pickup on the antenna. Running an iso-tee we found that our GE Mastr II receiver with GE

Re: Re: [Repeater-Builder] Call Sign and Sounds like a Ham  ,  NOT

2007-09-27 Thread Jim Brown
I had my car stolen in Las Vegas several years ago, and if I had not brought my license receipt with me to show the secretary who took my report, I would not have convinced her that I had given her the right plate number. ( Stolen cars are so common in Las Vegas, NV that they will not even

Re: [Repeater-Builder] ctcss logic back to an external repeater controller

2007-10-03 Thread Jim Brown
I use several Zetron Z38A controllers that I obtained surplus on amateur repeaters and make use of the CTCSS encode and decode built into this controller. (Vintage 1988) Even back then the controller provided for terminating the transmit CTCSS as soon as the user un-keys. Or you can program

[Repeater-Builder] Modifying a 300-400 mHz Bandpass Cavity

2007-10-07 Thread Jim Brown
I obtained a pair of DB4018-2 cavities (300-400 mHz on the nameplate) at a hamfest and finally tore into them to see if I could make something worthwhile in the way of frequency coverage out of them. Tests showed that they barely made it up to 400 mHz on the high end, so I disassembled them

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Zetron 38 Panel

2007-10-24 Thread Jim Brown
I think the ID in DTMF you are talking about is the user ID which is transmitted at the end of a transmission as the bubble up. The DTMF sequence is the user number. If you want to have the Z38A transmit an ID every 15 minutes in Morse whether it has been active or not, put a user number

Re: [Repeater-Builder] MASTR II Tuning Instability

2007-10-27 Thread Jim Brown
Did you order the receive crystal for high side injection? A radio starting in the range you have usually will tune right up with no oscillation problems if the crystal is on the high side of the receive frequency. No mods are usually required at all for moving a radio into the ham band if

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Zetron 38A Programming

2007-10-29 Thread Jim Brown
Al, I would program the Z38A the way you have with one change. I am sure the system ID should be the same as the user ID, so instead of assigning the system ID to an unused user ID, I would use the user ID as the system ID. Just enter the user number for the tone you are using for normal user

Re: [Repeater-Builder] KENWOOD TKR 750 Installation and problems-HELP!!

2007-10-29 Thread Jim Brown
One suggestion is to go to a simple ground plane antenna, and mount it upside down on top of your terminal building. The gain in an antenna will concentrate the radiation out on the horizon, which is not what you want. The upside down ground plane with no gain might be your best bet to have

Re: [Repeater-Builder] UHF Radio recommendations ??

2007-11-02 Thread Jim Brown
John, for your application I would suggest buying a GE Mastr II mobile UHF radio and modifying it for repeater use. It is very simple to configure, and all the info you will need is on the repeater-builder site. I have several of these units in service and have been very pleased with the

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Crystals Motorola etc

2007-11-03 Thread Jim Brown
I use Bomar these days for crystals for the ham bands. I have had good luck installing them myself and re-adjusting them in a year or so back to the right frequency. I recently worked on a GE Delta radio that had been crystaled using CUMEX and found the receive crystal had drifted over 2

Re: [Repeater-Builder] zetron 38a

2007-11-03 Thread Jim Brown
Look inside the unit and find the ram IC that is plugged into the Dallas Semiconductor battery backup chip. Remove the ram IC from the battery backup chip for several seconds and plug it back in. It will default back to the factory original 12123. The controller will not be in the

RE: [Repeater-Builder] Micor Audio on VERY WEAK SIGNALS

2007-11-03 Thread Jim Brown
This may be out in left field, but I have built several repeaters using the CAT300 controller (not the CAT200) and the 300 had no way to de-emphasize the discriminator audio. I have used an external series 15 K and shunt .22 cap to supply the discriminator audio to the CAT300 and it sounds

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: zetron 38a

2007-11-04 Thread Jim Brown
Be sure to align pin 1 with the socket and with the Dallas Semiconductor Battery Backup and the memory chip and plug them into U15. My units do not even have sockets installed in U16, but I suspect the two locations are pretty much in parallel except for an address line to give the unit more

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Usage of Linked Repeater Systems vs. Stand Alone Repeaters

2007-11-21 Thread Jim Brown
I recently did some maintainence on a repeater that went on the air in the San Antonio TX area in January this year. In the time it has been on the air it accumulated 135 hours of key down use from local users. This does not count the time it was key down by remote users (EchoLink). So a pretty

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: Hamtronics 6 meter repeater problems

2007-11-21 Thread Jim Brown
Joe, I bought 4 GE Mastr II 48 mHz exciters off Ebay back during the summer for $1.25 each and they all tuned up on the only xtal I had in the six meter band - 53.4 mHz. They can be a bear to tune, so just be patient if you come up with one of them to move into the band. It took me quite a

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: Usage of Linked Repeater Systems vs. Stand Alone Repeaters

2007-11-21 Thread Jim Brown
Paul Choc (WA5IHL) put up his system (Megalink) after Milt Jensen (N5IA) and associates operated the ZIA Connection for years that covered New Mexico, Southern Arizona, and Southern California. No operator controls were necessary and the sites stayed connected all the time. As I recall the

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Receiver overload

2007-11-22 Thread Jim Brown
David, try using one or two band pass only cavaties in the receive side instead of the BpBr type. The BpBr filters often do not discriminate against signals far off the pass frequency, and you may not be getting enough rejection out of your input cavities. 73 - Jim W5ZIT --- David Epley [EMAIL

Re: [Repeater-Builder] AM interference on long cable run (was PSE-508-2 Repeater Controller for Mastr II Station)

2007-11-22 Thread Jim Brown
The cable I used was armored with a spiral copper shield over 5 twisted pair lines. I did try grounding the shield at one end, and at both ends with no results. Putting caps across the twisted pair and to ground also did not eliminate the problem, but did reduce it. I used 600:600 isolation

Re: [Repeater-Builder] 2x RX's or 2x TX's on one Controller Port

2007-11-23 Thread Jim Brown
I guess it depends on what you would call 'better'. I know this circuit works, and it uses the stockpile of 4011 chips I bought at a sidewalk sale in Dallas back in the '70s from left over TI testing. I don't know what kind of tests were run on them, but I have not found a bad one, and have had

Re: [Repeater-Builder] 2x RX's or 2x TX's on one Controller Port

2007-11-23 Thread Jim Brown
I have never measured the distortion, but I do try to keep the maximum voltage swing down to a tenth of the supply voltage. The CMOS logic will operate all the way from 5 to 15 volts or so, and at the higher supply voltages you can have more audio voltage swing. I don't notice any distortion by

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: AM interference on long cable run

2007-11-23 Thread Jim Brown
Skip, I did have transformer coupling on the audio lines out at the repeater with both sides of the twisted pair isolated from ground, but did not try putting transformers in the line back at the computer. That would certainly be easy enough to do if I ever hook it up again. One side of the

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: 2x RX's or 2x TX's on one Controller Port

2007-11-23 Thread Jim Brown
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi Jim, How 'bout posting your circuit to the Group's file or picture area so we all can enjoy it? Jeff --- In Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com, Jim Brown [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Kevin, here is a circuit that I have used several times to combine a control

RE: [Repeater-Builder] 19 rack positioning question

2007-11-24 Thread Jim Brown
I put a VHF repeater together this summer in a Stromberg Carlson cabinet that the phone company retired and had to install a fan in the top of the cabinet to get the heat removed. The cabinet was insulated with one inch foam on top, bottom, sides and doors. It was a side-by-side rack cabnet with

RE: [Repeater-Builder] 19 rack positioning question

2007-11-24 Thread Jim Brown
I agree. This rack had the mounting for the fans, but they had been stripped out by the time it made it to us. The hard part was figuring out just what dimension fan would fit - 73 - Jim W5ZIT --- Barry C' [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Very familiar with these , wonderfully well made and

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: New file uploaded to Repeater-Builder

2007-11-25 Thread Jim Brown
As has been pointed out by a couple of folks now, change the part number for the IC from CA4011 to CD4011. It is a CMOS quad two input NAND gate. Also I have uploaded a much more readable version of the schematic along with the free download site of the viewer for the schematic. 73 - Jim W5ZIT

Re: Re: [Repeater-Builder] 2x RX's or 2x TX's on one Controller Port

2007-11-25 Thread Jim Brown
Not so Ron. Give it a try - you might be surprised. I have been using the 4011 CMOS logic in audio circuits for 30 years and have not been disapointed in the audio quality in any of the circuits I have used them in. That feedback resistor from the output to one of the inputs converts it to a

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: AM interference on long cable run

2007-11-25 Thread Jim Brown
Actually it must be pretty common on the wireless distribution ISP systems. I know of one in San Antonio that was set up that way, and one in New Mexico that had a public IP address for customers till they lost a port and it went to private. The one here gave us a public IP address for a couple

Re: [Repeater-Builder] db408 and db224 together

2007-12-02 Thread Jim Brown
Robert, I have a DB-224 with a DB-? (four bays high with opposed dipoles at each bay) 440 antenna operating on the same mast, and have had good results. I first tried it with a diplexer up at the antenna and a single feedline, but had problems with that set up. When I went to separate

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: db408 and db224 together

2007-12-02 Thread Jim Brown
line. Also curious as to what size tower you were on. This is going on a Rohn SSV (I think that is it. Pretty big tripod type of free standing tower). Curious how far out from the tower it was. Thanks! Robert KD4YDC --- In Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com, Jim Brown [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Robert

Re: [Repeater-Builder] GE MASTRII UHF PA PL19d424895g32 repair

2007-12-03 Thread Jim Brown
Joe, that common problem you are remembering is the strap between the final and the input of the low pass filter. The fix is the so called 'inchworm' mod which is described in past posts and at the repeater builder site, as I recall. It involves putting a piece of solder removal braid between

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Transistor Switch

2007-12-07 Thread Jim Brown
A simple solution is to use a PNP transistor in emitter follower configuration, with the base to your 150 mA source and the emitter to your 400 mA load, and the collector to ground. A power transistor with the case to the collector (which is normal) could be mounted directly on the chassis with

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Transistor Switch

2007-12-07 Thread Jim Brown
Since he was 'sinking' 150 mA from his source, I would assume he is using the fan control output from a controller, and he didn't have enough sink current. You usually don't talk about 'sink' current on a TTL output. Also, no inverter is required on the circuit I described. If a grounded

Re: [Repeater-Builder] GE MastrII Auxiliary Receiver

2007-12-11 Thread Jim Brown
I would put an ammeter in series with the receiver and check the current being drawn. You may have a filter cap going bad and the current may be up near the 1 Amp fuse rateing. Sometimes a fuse being operated near its rateing will not blow immediately, but will blow hours after it is replaced.

Re: [Repeater-Builder] power supply / battery system for repeater site

2007-12-13 Thread Jim Brown
Willis, I have used a simple diode circuit in several repeaters I have converted to battery backup. I like the solid state solution more than a mechanical relay for reliability. The circuit is as follows: Place a diode in series with the output of your power supply. (it can be the internal

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: MastrII Mobil repeater spur

2007-12-13 Thread Jim Brown
If the spur is causing a particular problem to someone and is caused by some harmonic of the LO chain beating with the transmitter, you could move the beat by changing to the opposite side injection on the receiver. Check the new beat frequencies to make sure you are not just trading one problem

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: MastrII Mobil repeater spur

2007-12-13 Thread Jim Brown
Randy, a method I have used a couple of times is to take an old computer card back-panel with a cutout for a 9 or 25 pin connector and bend it so that it picks up a couple of screws on the rear of the card cage top or bottom. (You kept those and did not throw them away did'nt you) I then wired the

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: MastrII Mobil repeater spur

2007-12-13 Thread Jim Brown
Yep - I used the info on the Repeater-Builder site to identify the pick off points where the signals are found, and soldered directly to the backside of the pin that the boards plug into on the other side. You can figure out which points they are by looking at a schematic of the card cage also.

Re: [Repeater-Builder] RF Guys Chip Programmer problem

2007-12-14 Thread Jim Brown
Ben, I have a buddy in Deltona FL with exactly the same problem. He tried his on several different computers and had no luck at all. He sent his RFGuys programmer to me, as I have one and it works like a charm. His also worked like a charm for me. So would probably do you no good to send it

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: MastrII Mobil repeater spur

2007-12-14 Thread Jim Brown
Bob, I have four repeaters in service using a Zetron 38A controller, and had the following experience. When I enabled the courtesy tone at the end of a transmission a station that was on the edge and 'picket fencing' would be unreadable for all the beeps the controller would insert. It seems the

Re: [Repeater-Builder] RF Guys Chip Programmer problem

2007-12-14 Thread Jim Brown
Mike, the programmer I got from RFGuys is for the X2212 EEPROM. They do make one for the chips for the Motorola radios also, but the GE programmer is for the X2212. 73 - Jim W5ZIT --- Mike Morris WA6ILQ [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: At 01:30 PM 12/14/07, you wrote: Just got a programmer to burn

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: RF Guys Chip Programmer problem

2007-12-15 Thread Jim Brown
I have read several Phoenix chips and have programmed for several here on the list, with varied results. I don't have a Phoenix to check out myself, but several of the chips I programmed worked and some did not. I programmed two for one fellow here on the list and one worked for him and one did

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: Which 440 Synthesized radio to use with IRLP?

2007-12-15 Thread Jim Brown
One comment on using the Alinco radios. A buddy ran one on EchoLink and had some cooling issues. He wound up putting a muffin fan near the radio, and then had a hum issue due to coupling to the fan motor. So plan your install carefully with respect to cooling, and take care not to get into the

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Remote power monitoring

2007-12-17 Thread Jim Brown
MFJ marketed that board also. I think it was an MFJ-52, but not sure. You have to make a packet connection to the TNC using the X1J4 firmware and the TNC will respond with the deviation and signal strength of each station in the MHeard list. You can also query for supply voltage and

[Repeater-Builder] Broken Link

2007-12-21 Thread Jim Brown
Attn Mike Morris or any other custodian for the LBI list: I can't get the reporting link to work, but here is the error message I got: 404 Not Found The requested URL /ge/lbi-library/lbi-38179a.pdf does not exist. I am able to get to the other LBIs that I have tried, so wanted to report

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Getting On A Commercial Tower Site

2007-12-21 Thread Jim Brown
We were given a nice site on top of a bank building along with a local FM radio station for a packet nodeseveral years ago. After the rice box radios that were tried fell on their face, I installed a GE Mastr Exec which survived the FM station nicely, only to be tossed out a year or so later when

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: Duplexers (budget test equipment)

2007-12-22 Thread Jim Brown
I have found that the main problem in using a talkie as the receiver for tuning the notch in a duplexer is the possible leakage of RF between the signal source directly into the talkie. Most talkies are not shielded at all, and any leakage will cause you to tune a combination of the signal

Re: [Repeater-Builder] MASTR II PL Not Working

2007-12-23 Thread Jim Brown
Here is a thought - I got caught on this once upon a time - the dip switches on the CTCSS board have to be OFF in the indicated positions to decode the tone you want - not ON as you would expect. 73 - Jim W5ZIT --- Brian Romine [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Ok here's the deal, have a MASTR II

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: 10 meter repeater operations

2007-12-23 Thread Jim Brown
I remember working through one in Boston that said it was running a full KW several years ago. 73 - Jim W5ZIT --- skipp025 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: For a short time it's very interesting to hear a quarter kilowatt repeater in one location across the country compete with another

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Sinclair Q202G duplexer Conversion

2007-12-26 Thread Jim Brown
To recommend what to do, the first thing is to determine which type of Q202G duplexer you have. Here is the manual on an older type that has the variable tubular dialectric to tune the notch. Eric Lemmon scanned this one and posted it for the group. Later types do not use the same technique to

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: Stop the Madness

2007-12-28 Thread Jim Brown
Our club operates two repeaters on the same channel using two different tones, and all works fine. In our case, we wanted to have instant backup in case one repeater went down (one is solar powered) and all the user had to do was switch tone frequencies and use the other repeater. They are not

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Linking two shared repeaters

2008-01-02 Thread Jim Brown
Ian, our ham club has talked about putting one of their repeaters on a different frequency and linking them together. We operate both on the same frequency now, one at a time with separate tones. My proposal to them was to put a receiver at each site for the other repeater and in-band link them.

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Linking two shared repeaters

2008-01-03 Thread Jim Brown
Ian, I think you missed my comment on the way the extra receiver implementation would work. I proposed using a circuit that gives priority to the regular repeater receiver for that system. This would lock out the auxillary receiver during input on one repeater, and by transmitting CTCSS only

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Linking two shared repeaters

2008-01-03 Thread Jim Brown
Ian, here is my thinking. When site 1 has a signal on the repeater input, the signal from site 2 is blocked because of the circuit that gives precedence to the local site repeater receiver. When a site 1 user unkeys, there will be no CTCSS tone coming back from site 2 to key the site 1 repeater.

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Linking two shared repeaters

2008-01-04 Thread Jim Brown
www.kerinvalecomaudio.com.au ---Original Message--- From: Jim Brown Date: 4/01/2008 8:25:48 AM To: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [Repeater-Builder] Linking two shared repeaters Ian, here is my thinking. When site 1 has a signal on the repeater input, the signal from site 2 is blocked

Re: [Repeater-Builder] New DB-224 w/water cooled phasing harness???

2008-01-06 Thread Jim Brown
I had a DB-224 that had been up for 20+ years and found the same thing. It was not upside down but one of the coax center conductors had disentegrated inside one of those moulded junctions. I cut it open and there was nothing left of the center conductor. It is still in service with the top

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Anyone have a Motorola 25-50 MHz MaraTrac Service Manual

2008-01-07 Thread Jim Brown
Contact Rick - [EMAIL PROTECTED] He and KE5MWM converted a bunch of these radios to the six meter ham band, and I think they had several manuals. 73 - Jim W5ZIT --- Bob M. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Naturally these are NLA, none are left, no PDF file, nada. P/N 6880102W95 T81X.. series.

RE: [Repeater-Builder] Scotchkoat

2008-01-08 Thread Jim Brown
Take it seriously when they say something has been proved to cause cancer. I have a buddy who lost his leg to cancer and they traced it back to a solvent he used as a jet engine mechanic in the Air Force. He managed to live through it, but minus a leg. They proved beyond a doubt that it was the

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Revisiting Shorted 1/2-wave Traps

2008-01-13 Thread Jim Brown
Paul, I think where the problem with your measurements comes up is that your 41 inches of RG-8 is close to 3/4 wave at 2 meters, not 1/2 wave. Taking a rough estimate of 19 inches for a quarter wave on 2 meters (the approximate length of your quarter wave ground plane vertical element) you

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