Kb3awq 6 Meter FM Repeater 53.050

Kb3awq 6 Meter FM Repeater 53.050 6 Meter Amateur "HAM" Radio repeater in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on 53.050 PL 131.8

09/02/2025

6m transmit seems to be on pretty low power so is not able to be heard mostly. Hopefully next weekend I will be able to make it back up there and either swap the radio or bypass the amp depending on which is the issue. The radio will be at a reduced power though (probably 20 watts) if it is the amp. If it is the radio, then the amp is just hungry for the 20 watts from the radio so we will see.

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08/31/2025
FYI - If anyone uses tone squelch for 29.660, you will have to turn it off or use 131.8 for now in order to hear the rep...
08/24/2025

FYI - If anyone uses tone squelch for 29.660, you will have to turn it off or use 131.8 for now in order to hear the repeater. 173.8 is still needed to get into the repeater. When 29.660 transmits, it is putting a carrier on the 444.900 receive radio that 53.050 uses for the split site link which has been coming through and only heard on 53.050 since both tones were 173.8. It appears 444.900 is around the 15th harmonic 29.660. We may end up putting 53.050 as an Allstarlink node like 29.660 is and that will take care of it and also free up a UHF radio. If we do this, we will be able to put the tone on transmit back to 173.8. I just need a cable made up for the Kenwood TK-6110 to DB9 and to add the info for the 2nd node on the Hamvoip image, which is pretty simple. I think I have a https://www.masterscommunications.com/.../radio.../ra25.html lying around somewhere. Stay tuned!

RA-25 radio adapter

07/10/2025

Hamshack Hotline Public Announcement

A Fond Farewell

To our valued Hamshack Hotline community,

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the sunset of the Hamshack Hotline project, effective August 29th, 2025. This of course affects the 94105 number to connect in from the repeater. 73 to Ham Shack Hotline.

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53.050 transmitter with GE Mastr 2 Power amp = 125 watts
06/19/2025

53.050 transmitter with GE Mastr 2 Power amp = 125 watts

06/19/2025

53.050 finally got some more RF power added. It has been doing about 25 watts, now it is doing about 125 watts. The Kenwood TK-6110 is driving the Mastr 2 power amp about 25 in and 125 out.

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01/16/2025

Repeater Connections to KB3AWQ System via Echolink and Allstarlink.

12/29/2024

https://www.facebook.com/groups/n3fyi Here is a new page that was added today if anyone is interested. This is the system that we are linked to on 444.900, 147.300, 29.660 and 53.050

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11/18/2024

Below is an updated map for 444.900. Yesterday Mike K4MTP and Ed N3MSK were up to Williamsport and brought a power amp for UHF from a Motorola Micor, and has a circulator on it. The PA which is able to do over 100 watts but is at 75 watts and is able to do continuous duty. Using the Kenwood TK-8180H (the repeater radios), which was turned down from 50 watts to around 20 watts to drive the amp and should keep the radio happier with running less than half of its power. Everything is using a 30 amp switching power supplies currently, the amp needs about 25 amps when it's in use so that has its own power supply. There is no desense on 6 now with the supply being swapped, and there is no desense on 444.900 with the added power.
We found that the desense that was occurring on the 6 meter receiver from when 444.900 transmitted was actually the 50 amp switching power supply that was being used. I had some replacements, so it wasn't an issue.
They tried 6 meters in several locations going back home, and the last time he tried was at the Turnpike, and he was making it pretty good. Mike makes his way around the eastern part of the state with working at towers sites as a tech and has told me he has received 53.050 in many areas with a good signal in some of the areas he has been in, in Wayne and Pike county, and he said he will be up that way today so he will try things. I think I covered at least most everything. See how it goes! Thanks again to Mike for all he does and continues to do, and for Ed making the trip with him from Easton and Mike from just south of Long Pond.
I just remembered that I left some out from the email I sent for those who got that. The site noise floor was about 6 db on 6 meters with the Ringo Ranger antenna which has been used over that last several years up there. We found that there is still an issue with the regular dipole for 6 as there was 24 db of noise coming from that and we all agreed that it is most likely a solder joint at the antenna end of the connector that would need resoldered on the braid so we are back to using the Ringo for 6 receive until that can be corrected.
Receive on 444.900 has usually been better than transmit, so the extra power may balance things a bit more. Below is a UHF coverage map for 75 watts.

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06/24/2024

53.050 now doing 25 watts.

04/18/2024

444.9 is back on the air, as is 53.050

Address

Montgomery, PA

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52.490 MHz Simplex PL 173.8

In 2015 I wanted to put something on the air on 50 MHz to try 6 meter FM. At that point it was done with low end equipment but in November 2017, we found the setup was deaf and only put out a few watts. At the same time I got a Kenwood TK-6110 K-2 and modified it to do 6 meters. I also got the old CAT-200 controller from 147.300 and had everything wired up and added 6 to the link port. Changed the coax to LMR-400 and fixed the Ringo AR-6 Ringo and moved it to the 50 foot mark on the tower and 51.520 came alive like we haven’t seen before. The PL is 173.8 and is mostly so any noise that might be picked up doesn’t lock up the 444.900 and 147.300 repeaters that are linked. In March, 2020 we were lucky enough to pick up a DB-212 folded dipole and it was hung on the tower. The antenna swr was better around 52.5 at a 1.4 so I just decided it was easy to change the frequency to 52.490 with PL 173.8