The KB6MIP/R Project Page

Works in progress in the MIP Shop

Update 4 November 2024

I thought I'd update the page, it's been a while.

Above you see the current conditions at the KB6MIP station. KB6MIP/R occupies most of the bottom of the stack.

Let's start at the bottom with the Tait TB-7100. It is fully operational, but not in service. I'm not sure what I'll do with this radio at this moment. I'd love to trade it for a 220 MHz version of the same radio, but I've found no one who's interested in taking a run-of-the-mill UHF base station in exchange for one on 220 MHz. For a while I contemplated putting this on a GMRS repeater pair, but I've since discovered that there are GMRS repeaters in the Rogue River Valley, so that seemed kind of unnecessary. So for now there it is, cold, occupying a single rack unit.

Moving up from that is the S-Com 7330 controller, which is now connected to two of the Daniels racks above: the main UHF repeater and a remote base

Sitting on top of the 7330 cabinet is an EMR Corp "pocket duplexer." I am anticipating the delivery of a real 4-bay BpBr duplexer that will be installed in place of this before the end of the year. As soon as that is in service I will approach the ORRC for final coordination for this repeater. Until now the pocket duplexer at least keeps the equipment from talking to itself. It is connected to a Comet GP-3 antenna mounted on the roof of my garage. Seems to have respectable coverage, given the duplexer and physical location of my home.

The Daniels rack immediately above the 7330 is the KB6MIP UHF repeater. It is still on the ORRC LARS channel (440.7500 MHz, input 445.7500 MHz, decoding and encoding CTCSS 82.5 Hz).

Above that is another Daniels rack with four RF modules in it: a pair of VHF high band modules on the left, and a pair of VHF low band modules on the right. As you may see, the left hand pair are in service. They are configured as a two meter remote base on 146.520 MHz simplex, carrier squelch, and connected to a unity gain ground plane antenna in the attic space above my garage. Given the 7-8 watt output power, range is what you might expect, but I use it in monitor mode almost 100% of the time, just to keep my UHF repeater busy now and then.

The VHF low modules may eventually be re-tuned to the six meter band, again as a remote base, on 52.525 MHz simplex. I'll get to that when other projects get completed.

Above that, and at the top of the image, is a third Daniels rack containing another UHF repeater. This was recently removed in operational condition from Frazier Mountain, down in southern California. It's on 447.100 MHz. I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do with this radio, but I will go through it and make sure everything is operational to spec before I make a decision. If I ever get my UHF repeater out of my garage and onto a site somewhere, I may use this third one as part of an RF link channel back to my shop here, to provide network access for RoIP linking. I have an AllStar Radio Thin Client Module (RTCM), made by Micro Node ( http://www.micro-node.com/thin-m1.shtml ), and would like to get that operational, so that when I get bored I can randomly link my repeater here to repeater(s) belonging to friends down in soCal. That might be fun. Or maybe not ... but in any event, that top Daniels rack is unpowered and in storage for the moment.

And now that I've flashed all this Daniels equipment on the net, allow me to mention that I have several VHF and UHF MT-3 modules (as well as other MT-3 equipment), mostly in narrow-band but some in wide-band, that I don't know what to do with. If you need something, drop me a line.

As if that wasn't enough, my wife and I have acquired a Jeep Wrangler JL Rubicon. Upfitting that for overlanding will occupy a lot of my time between now and next spring, so I may not have a lot of tinkering time to spare for this repeater. Fortunately it seems to be working reliably.

That's all for now. Stay tuned!

Update 28 April 2023

It doesn't look much different, but I now have a 20 watt UHF repeater on the air in Talent. It is on the Oregon Region Relay Council (ORRC) recommended LARS channel (440.7500 MHz, input 445.7500 MHz, decoding and encoding CTCSS 82.5 Hz). I guess it's not coordinated, per se, but I have a Special Testing Authorization (STA) from the ORRC that allows me to have this thing up and running in my garage until such time as I can find an elevated area to locate this thing at.

The RF hardware is all stock:
Daniels MT-3 Audio Control Card AC-3E
Daniels MT-3 UHF transmitter UT-3/460-SNC200 in wide band
Daniels MT-3 UHF receiver UR-3/460-SWC200 (factory wide band)
Daniels MT-3 UHF Power Amplifier AMP-2/450-3000 (set for 20 watts)
Daniels MT-3 System Monitor SM-3-H0-014-00

This Daniels package feeds an EMR Corp "pocket duplexer," which is two side-by-side two-bay notch filters configured to reject the two frequencies in use. I was able to adjust it for around 100dB of isolation on each side. Great for keeping the system from talking to itself, but there's not much protection from the rest of the RF world. My plan is to purchase a new to-spec duplexer, IM panel, and antenna system for this package once my final operating pair are determined.

The controller is an S-Com 7330 three-port full function repeater controller.

The system is using a "fire camp" base station antenna consisting of a portable ground plane kit and a 3dB gain mobile whip. Hey, it isn't much, but I can work it from south Medford. Not bad for a true "garage repeater," right?

The Tait radio's future is yet undetermined. I may use it as a link radio, or I may put it on a GMRS pair in stand-alone mode, or ... I don't know. I'll get to that when the primary repeater is on a hilltop somewhere.

Stay tuned ... !

This is the beginning of the systems I hope to build and deploy sometime soon. My desired service area is the I-5 corridor in the Ashland - Medford area.
Ultimately I would like to have two systems, perhaps three, in service. They would be:

A VHF high band (two meter) repeater.
This repeater would at times be linked via some RoIP platform to a small, private system in the southern California area, so that I can chat with the ham radio friends I left behind there when I moved to Oregon. It would be an open repeater, and would be based on the Daniels VT-3/160-SWA800 and VR-3H160-SWA200 modules in the second rack from the top. A sharp eye will also notice the VT-3H045-SWA300 and VR-3H045-SWA200 modules also mounted in this rack, they would be for a potential six meter remote base on 52.525 MHz.

A UHF repeater that would become part of the Cactus Intertie.
I have been a member of the Cactus Intertie for some time now, and (as with the VHF repeater above) would use this repeater to stay in touch with ham radio friends I have made in my travels across the western US. It would be a closed repeater, as the Cactus Intertie is a closed system. My repeater would be based on the Daniels UT-3/460-SWC200 and UR-3/460-SWC200 modules in the first (top) rack, and possible use the AMP-2/450-3000 power amplifier next to them as well.

I have family in the area who have little interest in radio communications that require any kind of testing to avail themselves of. Potentially I could be putting a GMRS repeater on the air using the Tait TB-7100 you see in the rack here. I'm not certain of this only because I have not explored the GMRS spectrum here in the Rogue Valley and surrounding area. There may be existing, open systems my family and I can use. We would mostly be using them as a medium for emergency communications. We all got to thinking about that after the Almeda Fire.

Meanwhile, I am in the market for infrastructure for these repeaters, including duplexers, IM panels (or circulators), and most importantly, a site. I have developed a passing interest in two local sites here, Roxy Ann and Little Baldy. As soon as one or more of my systems is actually operational in a test mode here in my shop, I'll start shopping rack and tower space somewhere, hopefully in one of those sites. We'll see how well that goes ...

Meanwhile, I'm hanging out ("monitoring") on the Peak Radio Association network, and monitor some of the local channels here in the southern Rogue River Valley. If you have any of that infrastructure gear I mentioned, and you're interested in selling or trading for it, give me a shout, or drop me a line. I'd appreciate hearing from you.

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