146.920 Glass Mountains Repeater
Filed by: w5ato
4-JUNE-2016
Crew; N5HYD, N5MVV, W5ATO
ISSUE: Follow Up Repairs from 28-MAY-2016 Trip
Of the two solar panels that were removed for bench repairs, one was repairable, one was not.
The one repaired solar panel was reinstalled.
A 3-element 440 yagi was installed for the WTC link. The coax feed lines were re-connected to put the WTC link radio to the 3-element antenna and the Wink link radio back to the 7-element antenna.
While installing the new WTC antenna, a field test was conducted using a 5-watt HT through the new antenna. It was found we have a full strength signal from the WTC Odessa repeater, and contact was made with KB5JXO Benny, in Ft. Stockton. Benny was on the Ft. Stockton branch of the WTC so his link was going through Notrees and on to Odessa and then to the 146.920 repeater site on our WTC link radio, or my HT in this case. The signal and the audio were strong and clear, with intermittent break up, likely in the WTC system between Ft. Stockton and Odessa. But the signal from Odessa to Glass Mountains was strong and solid.
An attempt was made to reprogram the “Personality” of the repeater controller. The “Personality” of the controller refers to several elements of its operation. It determines what control codes are accepted and what actions to take, and what CW responses to send back in response. The new Personality did not behave as intended so the pre-existing Personality was restored.
CURRENT STATE OF SITE: Fully functional as designed.
FOLLOW UP ACTIONS: The Link radios we are using (440 links to the HUB, WTC, and WINK,) require programming on the bench to establish memory frequencies for use. Another WTC radio will be programmed for the Odessa repeater frequency and installed on the next trip. The Personality program will also be reviewed and re-written. Both will be installed as soon as they can be completed and another trip to the site scheduled.