Repeater Maintenance, March 14, 2018

We serviced the 435 repeater on Wednesday March 14, 2018.  It had been nearly eight months since we were last on the mountain.

It took awhile to get to the top of the mountain… some drama.  We arrived at Indian Truck Trail to find it closed to motor vehicles, so we rerouted to Bedford Road.  The Bedford gate was locked, but Roger had a Forrest Service key that allowed us to pass.  The road was tricky in a few muddy spots even with 4×4.  On the way up, we had to stop and assist another truck+trailer with a flat tire that was stuck in the mud and blocking the road.  Roger used a tow strap to pull them back down to a flat spot where they could change their tire and we could pass.  We arrived at the shelter a couple hours late, but still accomplished 80% of our punch list.  It was a chilly 39-41F “in the clouds” all day and we were the only people on the mountaintop.

  • 2m RF amplifier replaced — Replaced the 2m RF power amplifier with a fresh sister amp.  The removed amp was still in spec, but a tad under power.  Anyway, we like to rotate and refurbish the PA every 8-12 months.  Everything looked clean on the service monitor.
  • Power switch thermal issue fixed? — Moved equipment that was blocking the cooling vents on top of the power switch.  We are confident this was the cause of the thermal issue.  We tested with a heat gun.  The new power switch was not deployed, but is programmed and ready for future deployment.
  • Added new VoIP hardware —  Installed an additional VoIP interface for a total of three VoIP interfaces into the repeater controller (priority, mix and inferiority).  This new inferiority VoIP input will be used to selectively onboard 50+ new VoIP user requests from around the world.   This allows us to start new 435 VoIP users with priority inferior to 2m until they earn their way to mix and even priority.  Roger says, “liberal stations have a better chance of being promoted to mix and priority.” 😉
  • Replaced 2m GE repeater exciter fan — The fan on the heatsink of the 2m RF exciter had failed.  The fan isn’t necessary, but this *is* 435.  Replaced fan.
  • Added Circulator Fan — Connected an optional fan inside the Motorola 2m dual circulator shelf.  The temperature was in spec, but warmer than expected.

For current status and open issues see the Status page.



Categories: Uncategorized

9 replies

  1. I bet you wont come on Efnet #stress and say that !

  2. Congrats on all of the great tech in the 435 repeater!

    Why is KA6JMM still trying to get 435 thrown off of Santiago? Yesterday he was talking to KM6ACH over on W6CDW (Elsinore Peak) and ACH asked him about the letters JMM had written to the USFS and the building owner. JMM just laughed and said he expected results soon.

    Wasn’t he banned from 435 permanently?

  3. There’s the BitchBoi who always has something to say that’s not important and to much of a pussy to use his own name

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