Loose Notes 11/29/14

Just a few brief items that don't merit their own post: 

• There's a 2M repeater on the SNP frequency in Maple Lake sponsored by the HandiHam network. This morning, I "ker-chunked" a machine on the 145.230- (114.8 PL) SNP pair, and it came back S5 here in Plymouth using a fairly marginal antenna. The MRC listing shows this as a "closed" repeater, so I contacted the local HandiHam expert, N0BVE (Don), and inquired about it. Per Don, this is actually an open repeater and the MRC data is out-of-date. There aren't many VHF machines west of the metro, so it's a welcome development for me. The other HandiHam repeater in Maple Lake is on 145.470- (114.8 PL), and is pretty hard for me to reach even here in Plymouth. The SNP machine isn't linked to the network. It uses tone squelch and seems to have decent "ears", too. Give it a shot. 

• N0BVE (Don) also confirmed the current status and configuration of the linked UHF machines in the HandiHam network, which is good because it's always in flux. The 444.925+ (114.8 PL) is still in Chaska, the 444.325+ (131.8 PL) is still in Bloomington at the airport, and the 443.000+ (100.0 PL) is down for repairs. 

•  I've inquired of several people (N0YNT, N0BVE, K9EQ, and K0LAV) over the previous few weeks to see who knows anything about the 444.875+ (114.8 PL) repeater in downtown Minneapolis. This UHF repeater has pretty decent coverage and operates with FM analogue voice, but there's also digital traffic (D-Star) on the frequency. D-Star machines don't operate as hybrids (both analogue and digital), so there's speculation that there are actually two repeaters on the same pair. Neither the RepeaterBook listing nor the MRC listing sheds any light on the matter. If the four "movers and shakers" that I mentioned don't know about a repeater, then that really makes me curious. If you have the definitive info on this mystery, please post a comment or email me (address to the left under "Contributors"). 

•  It seems as if the conversation on the MARA UHF .800 repeater a few nights ago had a whole lot of people listening in. You guys know that it's okay to transmit on that repeater, don't you? If you support the MARA 146.850 repeater, you are also supporting the MARA UHF machine, too. So don't be scared of UHF, and get your money's worth by using the .800 machine. 

•  EDIT: I've neglected to mention the new UHF C4FM repeater that KA0KMJ (John) is operating on 444.725+ (127.3 PL). It came back with a full-scale signal here in Plymouth this morning, but that's not too surprising since it's in Osseo. The repeater is working as a hybrid (digital and analogue), and it joins the 444.375 as one of the few repeaters operating from the NW metro suburbs. Program it in and give it a shot, and maybe enter a propagation report on the RepeaterBook listing to confirm John's coverage estimates.