Starting in the month of September, some exciting changes are coming to the FARS Repeater Network. 

These changes will extend into October, as they are a little complicated and require coordination of several activities affecting two repeaters at two different sites.

The first change is the addition of an APRS digipeater at the VE6HRC repeater site at Quirk Creek, west of Millarville. A digipeater at this location will greatly enhance APRS coverage in a highly popular recreational area where numerous FARS members play. SOTA activators will also gain benefit by being able to post activation spots over APRS.

The next change is the VE6HRC voice repeater, which is being replaced with new radios and a new controller due to the failure of the previous system.

But wait, there’s more…

Watch for our next update in the coming weeks.

On Sunday August 11 2024, the VE6HRA repeater at Aldersyde/Gladys Ridge remediation was completed and the repeater is back to normal operation.
The original repeater, which had failed some time ago, was repaired. During the repairs, it was discovered that the repeater controller also had developed a fault, so it was also replaced.

The VE6HRC repeater was running in a compromised state, and unlinked from the FARS network for a while. Vince VE6LK and I attended the repeater site this week to assess the situation. We found good news and bad news. Antennas and feedlines are ok, but not the radio components.

We retrieved the radio gear to allow us to develop a new repeater package for the site.

Further to this visit, the suggestion to add APRS at the site is closer to reality, in a physical sense. I still need to work out the frequency spacing, which will be challenging.