Welcome to the

PAMLICO COMMUNICATIONS TEAM

 

PCT is an independent organization of amateur radio operators devoted to the enhancement of countywide VHF/UHF emergency radio systems.

So many PARS members are involved with this group and with the good work accomplished, they deserved their own page.

See what’s new with P C T here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s a new repeater in town Pardnah!

Take a look at NC4ES

 THE NEW ARAPAHOE REPEATER IS

“ON-THE- AIR”

The Oriental Repeater Group reports the new Arapahoe NC4ES VHF Repeater, located on the WNBB FM tower in Arlington Place, is on-the-air.  Being a new installation, we’ll be continuously testing and improving it.  The transmitter/receiver/controller is the same Motorola SLR 5700 that had been operating at the Oriental Kershaw tower since March.  The new antenna is a Decibel Products DB224 4-element exposed dipole array, omnidirectional at about 8.1 dB gain, and is side-mounted on the south side at 330 feet above ground level. With WNBB and WNBU broadcast FMs on the same tower, the RF environment is challenging.  Accordingly, the antenna system employs interesting filtering to avoid receiver de-sensing and transmit intermodulation from a 50,000-watt transmitter with a very close and big antenna.  As it did at the Kershaw site, this machine operates using two modes, analog FM and DMR.  The power driving the new system will come from nuclear fusion. (Solar power and lithium-iron-phosphate batteries – Ha!)  We will be avoiding our area’s occasional mains power-outages!

In time, the DMR side will participate in the NC4ES network.  That net which links to or from the worldwide EchoLink, Allstar networks,  Brandmeister, TGIF DMR networks, and 16 NC4ES machines across Eastern NC.  Those intended for emergency and contingency communications, serving hospitals and emergency management as well as for use by hams.  Some exciting linking capabilities will be coming with the Oriental repeater and the other NC4ES DMR repeater at the Florence-Whortonsville VFD.

Initial performance reports indicate audio and range is excellent, at least matching or improving upon the coverage we get with the Oriental repeater.  Your tests and on-air reports are welcome and encouraged!  The Arapahoe machine uses CTCSS, or PL tones, on the analog side to determine which mode a user intends.  If it hears a transmission using 88.5 PL, it repeats in analog FM mode, services the conversation, stays in the mode for twenty seconds, then drops the mode until reset by a new call.  If it hears a digital signal without a PL, it switches to DMR mode, etc.

Analog FM settings of your radios should be as follows for compatibility: Repeater output (your RX): 147.285 MHz Repeater offset (change in frequency to your TX): +600 Hz (set your TX to 147.885 MHz) Encode PL: 88.5 Hz (sensed by the repeater and allows you access Decode PL or “Tone Squelch”: 88.5 Hz (sensed by your radio to open your squelch so you can hear the repeater) IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOUR ANALOG FM RADIO BE SET UP WITH THE DECODE PL. WITHOUT IT, YOU WILL HEAR DMR USERS’ BUZZSAW-LIKE SIGNALS WHICH CAN BE ANNOYING!

DMR users’ channel setup should follow these settings:

RX: 147.285 MHz

TX: 147.885 MHz

CC: 1

Channel Type: D-digital DMR mode: repeater (not simplex) Set TS and TGs according to the lineup on the NC4ES dashboard at http://cluster.nc4es.org:8080/ –click on “Info”.

Note: The Oriental N4ONC 147.210 MHz Repeater is back to FM-only operation using the original equipment with no change in settings required for your radios. Yes, your favorite little talking man is back, at least for the time being.

-For the Oriental Repeater Group, Lor Kutchins, W3QA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A special thanks to Jim AI4WL for his great photos of the event.

N4ONC/R 147.210 MHz REPEATER CHANGES

As of November 2022, the Oriental repeater is back to its old familiar Analog self along with the nice man at Station ID time.  The P C T gang is working on a new alternate repeater site and the news is forthcoming.  Stay tuned.

As of noon on Saturday July 23rd, a new N4ONC/R VHF repeater is playing on frequency. All your current settings and programming should allow you to use it without difficulty. The machine supports both analog FM and DMR modes. Users of one mode will not hear conversations on the other.

The machine retransmits whichever mode it hears.  Users can tell if the repeater is in use in the other mode by observing their radio’s incoming signal activity (signal strength/RSSI) indicator, or perhaps a ‘receive’ LED on some radios. Please exercise courtesy not to transmit while the repeater is active on the other mode and wait until the other QSO is complete.

Preliminary observations are that it outperforms the old machine, especially in terms of audio quality and Digital coverage through trees.

Your help by commenting on-air your observations of any difficulties and if performance is better—or worse—for you in previously troublesome places will be much appreciated. If you will be transiting out of the area, range tests in either mode will be helpful. We will be listening!

 

PAMLICO COMMUNICATIONS TEAM LEARNS ABOUT DEPLOYMENT BAGS

Lor Kutchins, W3QA, made a presentation on “Deployment Bags” to members of the Pamlico Communications Team (PCT) during our monthly meeting on Saturday, March 4th at the Florence-Whortonsville Fire Department. The bags are comprised of such items as clothing, personal hygiene kit, survival gear, first aid kit, food and many other items for a multi day deployment. Lor also showed us a bag that he carries in his car for emergencies or other unexpected events. There was also an informative discussion as to what we should have prepared in the event of a natural or man made disaster and no services are available or we have to leave our home quickly. All in all it was a very interesting and informative morning.

If any amateur radio operator, regardless of license class, is interested in Emergency Communications and would like to join us, we meet the first Saturday of every month, unless otherwise noted in the PARSgram, at the Florence-Whortonsville FD on Florence Road at 0900 hrs.

Bruce Perkins -K4ONC