W8MSU Repeater - 442.900+MHz; 77.0Hz PL
Echolink: W8MSU-R Node 289654
W8MSU/R operates on a coordinated channel pair, providing outdoor coverage to virtually all of campus and beyond, and indoor coverage to a substantial portion of campus.
Thanks to Dan W8BCI and LCDRA for donating a commercial Decibel Product 4 bay loop antenna in Sept. 2007, very durable and now we can run full transmit power!
MSUARC Repeater Coverage map
Click the map for more details and higher resolution.
Echolink
When an Internet station ceases transmitting, you hear a single beep, a la NASA Apollo mission beeps. When an RF station ceases transmitting, you hear a triple bip-bip-bip, a la Nextel PTT beeps.Repeater Codes
Record and hear yourself--to check your signal quality: Press 52, then unkey, and key up again and say your test message and unkey--you will hear yourself played back
Disable PL for 10 minutes: Press 325. This must be manually repeated every 10 minutes if you have a longer QSO.
History
MSUARC previously operated a low-power, low profile repeater on a designated uncoordinated frequency. Coverage was deliberately very limited (poor antennas and coax, as well as low power were used), reaching only the campus proper. The club used an old and increasingly unreliable Ritron commercial repeater unit inherited from another campus department. In 2000, club members decided to apply for a coordinated pair, upgrade the repeater hardware, and turn the W8MSU repeater into a system which covered the greater Lansing area. Funding was obtained, equipment ordered, and a coordination request was submitted in early 2001. The new equipment was received and placed into service on the uncoordinated frequency in late spring of 2001. It consists of a Yaesu VXR-5000 repeater with a Link Communications RLC Club Deluxe controller, The controller provides autopatch, voice synthesis, and multiple port capability, as well as extensive programmability. In the spring of 2003, a full coordination was finally obtained. The repeater was retuned and set to 80 Watts into the duplexer. Mobile/base coverage is about 10-15 miles. Tests with mobile antennas have shown that the signal is lost in Mason to the South, Williamston to the East and Dewitt to the North. Near campus, handhelds work well, except in some buildings where little RF of any kind penetrates. In August 2005, the Echolink connection project was restarted. Circuit design for interface between Echolink and W8MSU repeater was completed. In September 2005 MSUARC received surplus computers from DECS for an Echolink server and firewall. These computers were loaded with the appropriate software and were awaiting transport to be plugged into the repeater system and aligned. The repeater programming was examined and reprogrammed in preparation for Echolink. After further project delays due to time constraints, the student members elected on 12 March 2006 to make a temporary connection. Within 2 hours of the decision, W8MSU was already patched through to the Echolink system through W8KAR-R. On July 3, 2006, approximately one year after the design was completed, the W8MSU repeater was finally directly connected to the Internet as W8MSU-R. The capability also exists to "patch" HF/VHF to the repeater with full remote control, or one can do full remote base remote control without the repeater, using a separate 440MHz channel or the Internet to pass audio.
The repeater experienced a partial overhaul in December of 2006, correcting a number of outstanding audio issues, while leaving some other issues unresolved due to time constraints--we welcome collaboration to resolve the remaining issues. In August 2007, it was discovered that major desensing was occuring in two locations--at the bulkhead connector of the repeater rack, which also had stripped threads, preventing a good ground connection, and more severely at the antenna itself. The antenna coax connection is "flapping in the breeze" with no weather sealant of any kind. As a result, the connector is green with oxidation. In January 2007, the Hamtronics LNY receiver preamp was removed from the repeater since its output was not padded, allowing up to nearly 1/4 Watt directly into the repeater receiver input. Also, the center pins of the input and output cables were loose and not soldered, leading to easily open connections. A preamp in a duplexed antenna setup is almost never desireable, and all things considered it was deemed best to remove the LNY preamp. An immediate improvement of 6dB or so was noted in sensitivity, with stations that used to always be crackly and staticy now almost full quieting at the same power levels and antenna arrangments on their end. In February 2007, the RLC Club firmware was updated, fixing a number of glitches that allowed the autopatch to be restored.
