BEECN SW Portland Repeater
BEECN UHF radios operate on line-of-sight. That can make comms in SW Portland's hilly neighborhoods challenging. To work around this issue, PBEM has fielded a UHF repeater in SW Portland for BEECN. The repeater is stored near Markham Elementary School, with the intention that it would be deployed in the field behind Markham ES if a crew of volunteers can access it and stand it up. The purpose of this article is to describe equipment specifications, and the deployment, set up, and demobilization of the BEECN repeater.
| Relevant Documents | Updated |
|---|---|
| Blue Sky BEECN Repeater Mast System Manual | 2016.06.01 |
There are three essential parts to the BEECN repeater kit: the repeater, the antenna and mast, and a power source.
Repeater Specifications
The repeater is a Model IR3UG UHF portable UHF repeater, ruggedized for military use. PBEM purchased it from Tactical Electronics Corporation.
- Radio frequency (RF) output of 35 watts;
- Frequency range of 450 - 470 Mhz.
Comprises the following integrated as a system mounted in a Pelican enclosure:
- Repeater/base station ICOM R6000TEC. Programmed on 452.2375Mhz TX & 461.4750Mhz RX. Compliant with FCC and NTIS technical standards.
- DC power subsystem. Provides operating voltage from 100-250V AC, 12V DC, or solar source. Front panel metering of DC volts level.
- RF monitor subsystem. Front panel metering of RF output power.
- Duplexer. Allows the repeater to work with a single antenna. Tuned as per above frequency pair.
Program/Policy Background
PBEM Ops Chief purchased the repeater kit in the Spring of 2014 and it arrived at PBEM in July of that year.
