Kc4aqs Repeater

Since the big weather system was coming in Easter Sunday 2020 it was time to head up to the site. I awoke Sunday morning to find that I could not bring the machine up with my HT and 5 watts. Keep in mind I can normally hit it at my home 35 miles away with 100mw. Since 805 would carry the majority of the weather traffic until the weather line made it to the Atlanta area and southward, this had to be corrected. The new Station Master that was injured during an ice storm 2 yea...rs ago decided to just quit just before the big weather system was due to arrive. Since I keep a backup antenna on the tower I had to go up to flip some jumpers and gave the duplexer a fresh tune up. Even though the standby antenna is 52’ lower on the tower it’s still out performing the injured Station Master from a lower height. I have had reports that the backup antenna is doing a good job so I’ll just let it run while I get another HD commercial antenna. One pic is where are the top antennas and the other was where’s the road on the way up!

This is a sunset picture that I took from the 805 tower site in 2020.

I’ve decided that building a tower on the beach might be a bad idea!

Jam communications on a repeater and it could cost you $17,000! https://www.radioworld.com//ham-radio-operator-handed-1700

We have some snow at the site.....

Well thanks Mother Nature for sending a lightning bolt at a $1,000 antenna. Notice on the close up how the metal tip on the antenna was turned into molten metal and then cooled. Kinda like lava. The antenna which should make no noise when shaken now sounds like a jar full of bolts. Due to an extensive grounding system and polyphaser antenna surge protectors there was no damage to any Repeater equipment. It was a backup antenna but still the cable ran inside the equipment building. It’s the first lightning hit at the site in about 10 years give or take. Enjoy!

Since the NWS Tornado Drill on Wednesday there has been a packet or APRS beacon signal on the 146.805. Can anyone with the proper equipment on their station attempt to decode it so I can contact the operator to convey the situation. It seems to happen every 15-20 minutes. Any help would be appreciated. 73, KC4AQS

Looks like a chance for some snow and ice at the 146.805 site tonight.

BLACK ICE ALERT Issuing Office: Atlanta Source: National Weather Service Issued: Tue, Jan 29, 11:40 AM EST... Patchy black ice possible this afternoon and tonight Patchy black ice will be possible across the far north this afternoon. Patchy black ice will be possible across the entire area tonight. The potential for black ice can be expected especially in sheltered and protected areas or on untreated roads and sidewalks. Please exercise caution when traveling.

There’s a little snow up on Mt. Oglethorpe this morning.......

Some cute little guys just down the road from the Repeater site!