OPERATIONAL STATUS: ON THE AIR, but further work to be done. On
Sunday, November 4th, 2019, the 53.15 WB4GBI repeater was returned to
service. However, the repeater is experiencing some intermittent noise
issues. It has been determined that the best course of action is to
operate the repeater with separate transmit and receive antennae. The
second antenna installation will happen as soon as possible. The
repeater may require a 118.8 Hz tone at this time. 73 de Tim
WB4GBI
 
The
53.15 repeater antenna
The 53.15 repeater
 
The
front view of the 53.15 repeater. The remote
A view of the duplexer, behind the repeater
cabinet.
control equipment is between the power supply on
The 53.15 repeater cabinet sets atop
another
the bottom, and the repeater itself at the top.
repeater
in commercial service.
Here is a
photo of the 6 meter duplexer. Yes, it IS that tall!
The
WB4GBI 53.15 repeater was originally installed at its present site
on Wednesday, May 15, 2013. It was re-commissioned by Tim
Montgomery (N4TLM) and WB4GBI.
The
repeater itself has recently been completely rebuilt. It is a GE MASTR II with the GE factory-made internal control shelf. The ID is a RACOM unit which came from commercial service. At
present it is ID'ing every 10 minutes, in a "beacon" style of operation.
This repeater replaced the Motorola Micor repeater that Sam Kirby,
WB4HAP(SK), commissioned in the 1980's. The Antenna (above, top left photo)
is a Sinclair single-bay side mounted "trombone" antenna which is
mounted right under 146.625's antenna at 120 feet on the tower.
It is fed with new Andrew 1/2" heliax. The
repeater is operating at 80 watts duplex power. We hope to hear you on 53.15 soon!
A HUGE "Thank you" to Tim,
N4TLM, for his work on installing the 53.15 repeater antenna on the tower!
The
53.15 repeater site now has full emergency power! As of July 2017, a new 8
KW generator with a 250 gallon propane tank has been installed at the
repeater site and is fully operational! Based on fuel capacity and
consumption, there is enough fuel to completely power the site for
several days. This insures the repeaters will be available for users
and emcomm/auxcomm groups throughout any event that is needed.
Equipment has also been installed to notify in the event of a power
failure. 73 de Tim WB4GBI
Repeater statistics: Location: "Top-of-the-World," Blount County, TN (same location as 146.625) Repeater: GE MASTR II 100 watt "low band" station Antenna: Sinclair SRL-110A fed by 1/2" heliax Wacom Products WP-609 four-cavity duplexer Remote control: Motorola "Maxtrac" receiver Broadcast Tools DTMF control decoder Ground elevation 2450 ft HAMSL Height above average terrain (HAAT): 961 feet Optional CTCSS tone: 118.8 Hz FULL EMERGENCY POWER ON SITE | 
