March 14, 2018 — General Maintenance

• 2m RF amplifier replaced — Replaced the 2m RF power amplifier with a fresh sister amp.   The removed amp was still in spec, but we like to rotate and refurbish the PA every 8-12 months.
• Power switch thermal issue fixed? — Moved equipment that blocking the cooling vents on top of the power switch.  We are confident this was causing the thermal issue.  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.
• Replaced 2m GE repeater exciter fan — The fan on the heatsink of the 2m exciter had failed.  The fan is not necessary, but this is 435.  Replaced fan.
• Added Circulator Fan — Connected an optional fan in the 2m dual circulator shelf.

July 8, 2017 — New HVAC operational

• HVAC — New “mega” air conditioning unit is operational in the shelter.
• Controller resets fixed — Our remotely-controlled power switch is suspect for thermal-related power glitches that were causing the repeater controller to reboot.  That was resolved by the lower shelter temperature from the new AC.  The power switch will be replaced next maintenance visit.

July 1, 2017 — General Maintenance 

• Firmware updates — firewall, power switch, web cameras, internet switch, etc.
• General maintenance, power level & SWR testing, battery backup testing.
• Calibrated several temperature and voltage sensors and alarms.
• Installed remote controlled rack lighting to better view rack settings via the web cam.

June 30, 2017  — 900 MHz Repeater Removed

• 900 Repeater removed — Permanently removed the 900 MHz linked repeater from 435 and the Shelter.

March 26, 2017 — RF Power Amp Replacement (Emergency Visit)

•  2m RF Amplifier Replaced; Thermal Failure — Our 2m RF amplifier failed due to thermal issues.  The HVAC in the repeater shelter failed and the LC audio filters we had installed on the amp’s cooling fans had slightly reduced their speed.  Luckily, Roger had recently built and installed a coax relay panel so we can bypass the amplifier via the Internet.   We remotely bypassed the amp and ran on 15w TX exciter power for a couple days.   Roger visited the mountain solo and found that the amplifier’s internal breaker had tripped.   After reseting, he determined that the amp’s output power was at 50% and one of the power transistors had failed.   Roger replaced the amplifier and did a field modification so that all three of the PA’s fans are blowing 100% of the time.  He also powered the fans with an isolated 12v power supply which greatly reduced the fan noise entering our Internet VoIP audio links.

March 9, 2017 — Hub Internet Gigabit Upgrade:

• The 435 off-hill Internet hub was upgraded to a gigabit fiber connection.
• The hub.your435.com IP address was changed.  Make sure you’re using hub.your435.com in your client configurations.

March 3, 2017 — Repeater site visit :

• Internet — Mountaintop Internet link rebuilt for more reliability and performance.  Replaced all the Internet gear, and reconfigured our power management.
• Fan noise — Added LC filters on each of the three RF amplifier DC fans.  Audible fan noise on the VoIP links is fixed.
• Battery backup — Added coax relay to bypass the TX amplifier when commercial power is out.  This configuration will keep the repeater on the air for several days at lower transmit power when commercial and generator power fail.

February 24, 2017 — Storm-related Internet and power generator repairs

November 18, 2016 — Maintenance 

July 12, 2016 — Maintenance

August 28, 2016 — Maintenance

September 21, 2015 — VoIP Audio Quality Work

August 6, 2015 — Maintenance

July 30, 2015 — Maintenance

July 9, 2015 — Maintenance

May 13, 2015 — Maintenance

May 7, 2015 — Maintenance

March 11, 2015 — Rack cleanup (Roger)

March 10, 2015 — Internet stack improvements (UFC and Roger)

February 12, 2015 — Maintenance

February 11, 2015 — Removed all Equipment from Oat Mountain

September 24, 2014 — Oat Mountain Repeater Maintenance

July 9, 2014 — Santiago Peak Repeater Installation

July 5, 2014 — Oat Mountain Partial Equipment Removal

April 26, 2014 — Oat Mountain Repeater Maintenance (Roger & Rumas)

August 5, 2013 — Oat Mountain Repeater Handoff Meeting (Roger & Shelter Owner)