Our Radio Repeaters
The Branch Owns and Operates Two Repeaters in the Wanganui Region.(A "repeater" to put it simply, is a receiver on one frequency connected to a transmitter on another frequency, usually high up somewhere on a hill/mountain/tall building and/or mast, to extend the range of its' users) |
| 1. "Wanganui 690" VHF Repeater.
This repeater is located near the Maewa Bench Mark (Trig AK5Q, Maidenhead square RF70ph), about 35km (21 miles) north of Wanganui or about half way up the "Parapara Highway" (SH3) at about 657 metres (2155') AMSL. It transmits on 146.90 MHz (Hence the name "690", from the last three digits.) The Tait made repeater unit has an output of around 20 watts feed into two stacked vertical folded dipoles antennas. It covers most of the southern half of the North Island (inc. Taupo!) and some of the top of the South Island. The repeater trustees are John Love ZL2JEL & Mike Newman ZL1BNB |
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This is the "690" Tait repeater unit. (Click on image for the larger view) |
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This is "690's" duplexer filters. (Click on image for the larger view) |
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| 690 is in the Small white hut to the South (Ground view Here) |
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2. "Wanganui 9875" National System Repeater.
The 2 receivers are Tait T345, the 2 transmitters are T346. A Tait monitor panel is included to provide local monitoring of either receive frequency. The controller interconnects the Tait equipment, providing balanced audio feeds, from either receiver and keying to the selected transmitters. The controller also allows the trustees to command several functions by remote tones (pass word protected), and also provides monitoring of battery voltage and charge status. The 550Ah battery consists of three 4 volt units in series, maintained at 13.7volts by a Tait T348 automatic 12amp mains supply. The 8 Tx/Rx duplexer cavity filters are configured as two separate networks, each frequency pair having 4 cavities. These filters are configured as bandpass/bandreject,and allow simultaneous transmit and receive on the respective antennas. The antennas consist of a corner reflector at the top of the 10 metre high mast, directing the local repeater towards Wanganui city and the river valley, and for the Egmont link a 6 element stainless yagi, located lower on the mast. The path to Egmont is line of sight. A copper plated rod is mounted above the top antenna to provide an electrostatic discharge path in adverse weather. This rod is connected to a similar ground rod at the base of the mast, via a heavy copper conductor. Click HERE to "tune-in" to the NZ National System The repeater trustees are John Love ZL2JEL & Mike Newman ZL1BNB |
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Map of New Zealand's Amateur Radio |
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