Watt's New
The Watt's New articles serve to keep you abreast of what has been going on around the C.A.R.L.A. Network. Feel free to browse our archive of past Watt's New articles as well.
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Christmas 2008 Roundup
Last updated on December 15, 2008 by The C.A.R.L.A. Team | This article is Archived | Permalink
CARLA 23: The Carla 23 repeater came on the air in mid-August and is located at Slide Mt, Nevada. It is currently using the dual PL scheme with a link PL of 156.7 and a local PL of 127.3. Originally, it came up on the air on 443.325Mhz but the noise floor on that repeater pair at that location was unbearable and made the receiver nearly deaf. It was then moved to a repeater pair of 441.550Mhz TX/446.550Mhz RX and it hears much better now.
CARLA 21: The Carla 21 repeater came on the air at the end of July and is located near Reno, Nevada. It is currently using the dual PL scheme with a link PL of 156.7 and a local PL of 127.3. There was initially some problems with the link path back into the rest of the system but that has been cleaned up and reports are that its working great!
CARLA 13: For several months the Carla 13 repeater near Lake Shasta has had a link path to the system that was at best marginal and at worst non-existent. In July, this repeater was fully integrated into the network with a permanent repeater, new controller, dual PL scheme, battery back up and a new permanent link into the rest of the network that is both solid and reliable. The local PL is 114.8 and the link PL is 167.9.
CARLA 20: The Carla 20 repeater was replaced with a different beta test repeater in July to get it back on the air. It is now linked full time into the network via Carla 13's facilities. The full time link PL is 123.0 and there is currently no local-only PL.
CARLA 22: The Carla 22 repeater came on the air at the end of June and is located near Hawthorne, Nevada. It is currently using a PL of 127.3 and is linked full time into the rest of the system. There is no local PL at this time.
CARLA 18: The Carla 18 repeater has been fully integrated into the network with a permanent repeater, new controller, dual PL scheme, RX pre-amp, battery back up and a new permanent link into the rest of the network. The local PL is 110.9 and the link PL is 167.9.
CARLA 17: The Carla 17 repeater at Cedar Ridge has recently been upgraded to a full "CARLA Spec" system utilizing an SCom controller. Its now on-air with local and link PLs. The local PL is 103.5 and you might want to note that the link PL is 151.4 so as not to interfere with the Cisco Butte system's 156.7 link PL.
CARLA 19: The Carla 19 repeater in Hayward has recently been upgraded to a full "CARLA Spec" system utilizing an SCom controller. Its now on-air with local and link PLs. The local PL is 114.8 and the link PL is 173.8.
CARLA 15: The Carla 15 repeater has been fully integrated into the network with a permanent repeater, new controller, dual PL scheme, RX pre-amp, battery back up and a new permanent link into the rest of the network. The local PL is 114.8 and the link PL is 162.2.After the installation, we noticed falsing on the local PL which would take out any link audio making it impossible to hold a QSO through the system. We believe that tightening the notch on the rx pass cavity and possibly decreasing the rx sensitivity slightly will help. We have disabled the local PL until we can get back to the site to diagnose and fix the problem. So use the link PL on this repeater for now.
CARLA 16: We regret to announce we were required to make substantial changes in the power output & radiation pattern from the CARLA 16 (440.750/WA6BTH) repeater in Vacaville in mid February. Currently we have some corner reflectors pointing roughly South East and South West and have turned down the power even more to try and reduce the signal going towards Beale AFB and the PAVE-PAWS system as requested by the DoD.
CARLA 2: The Carla 2 repeater in San Francisco came to the end of an era on Oct 8, 2008 at the benefit of newer technology. This system has been on the air since the mid to late 70's with very little change from its original equipment. Until recently, it was an RC-85 controller running a Spectrum Communications repeater and an Icom-900 Remote Base. In October of 2008, the original radio equipment and controller were removed and replaced with a new Motorola Repeater (XPR-8300) and link radios and a new Scom 7330 controller. A new dual PL scheme has now been integrated to match other repeaters in the network. The new PL's are 100.0 Hz Local & 162.2 Link. Please note that RF Power is being kept lower than when it was originally installed years ago to reduce any issues to Beale AFB and co-channel system 12 in the Pleasanton/Dublin area. The last and final phase of the overhaul process will involve replacing the antennas, masts and mounting hardware.
CARLA 4: The Carla 4 repeater has been fully integrated into the network with a permanent repeater, new controller, dual PL scheme, RX pre-amp, battery back up and a new permanent link into the rest of the network. The local PL is 114.8 and the link PL is 167.9