Is There Much Activity On Repeaters In Ireland ?

Popoutman

My FT-90D arrived yesterday morning. I have already had it almost completely dismantled, because I could..

With the 5W and rubber-duck antenna I can hit the LCRC repeater EI7WHR on Woodcock Hill on 70cm on both analogue FM and on C4FM/Fusion. The output from the Devils Bit repeater EI2DBR on 2m, it just about breaks the squelch for me and I definitely cannot open that repeater with the standard antenna.

I did put together a SlimJim for 2m from some 450ohm ladderline and a length of RG58 that I had previously cut an end off. SWR is ~1.5 at 145MHz, dip is at 150MHZ. I might go re-soldering to add a tiny bit of length.. If I have that SlimJim at 9m off the ground on a carbon Aliexpress Special 10m fishing pole, I can sometimes open the repeater in the Devil's Bit with the FT-70D, but I'm faint at the repeater, and I can hear that I'm also faint on Zello.

I have about the same level of behaviour with the FT-817ND.

I suspect I need just a little more oomph, but I do have a priority of an amplifier for the HF bands, and I'll get that first before a VHF/UHF amp.

@Mad_Lad I have not yet gone looking at the DMR rooms, I will have another thread here about my fun with a hotspot.

Popoutman

Popoutman wrote: »

My FT-90D arrived yesterday morning. I have already had it almost completely dismantled, because I could..

With the 5W and rubber-duck antenna I can hit the LCRC repeater EI7WHR on Woodcock Hill on 70cm on both analogue FM and on C4FM/Fusion. The output from the Devils Bit repeater EI2DBR on 2m, it just about breaks the squelch for me and I definitely cannot open that repeater with the standard antenna.

I did put together a SlimJim for 2m from some 450ohm ladderline and a length of RG58 that I had previously cut an end off. SWR is ~1.5 at 145MHz, dip is at 150MHZ. I might go re-soldering to add a tiny bit of length.. If I have that SlimJim at 9m off the ground on a carbon Aliexpress Special 10m fishing pole, I can sometimes open the repeater in the Devil's Bit with the FT-70D, but I'm faint at the repeater, and I can hear that I'm also faint on Zello.

I have about the same level of behaviour with the FT-817ND.

I suspect I need just a little more oomph, but I do have a priority of an amplifier for the HF bands, and I'll get that first before a VHF/UHF amp.

@Mad_Lad I have not yet gone looking at the DMR rooms, I will have another thread here about my fun with a hotspot.

Go to Brandmeister and in "last heard" type "EI" int he search box and you will see what you hit the repeater at, of course the signal report only works from a radio not hotspot.

I was stumped as to how my signal was much better in my Mothers House inside at S9 than my S2 in my house with clear LOS of Mt.leinster......

Yeah I'll get a better whip antenna.

I got my Acom 1000 last Friday, love it, so easy to tune, didn't want a solid state amp because the valves are not as fussy as ss amps with SWR, the Acom 1000 with output full power at 3:1 SWR vs around 1.5:1 for SS amps + SS amps are not supposed to be as reliable and to be honest the Acom 1000 is so good I see no reason at all to get an SS amp.

Popoutman

I've not been able yet to register with Brandmeister - currently writing up the other post about home hotspots..

TG 27240 - Southern Ireland Repeater Group (TS 1)
TG 2722 - Ireland Calling (TS 2) (Reflector 4780)
TG 2723 - Ireland Chat (TS 1)
TG 2724 - DMR to YSF Bridge (TS 1)

2722 should give you all-ireland chat on DMR.

Popoutman

Popoutman wrote: »

I've not been able yet to register with Brandmeister - currently writing up the other post about home hotspots..

TG 27240 - Southern Ireland Repeater Group (TS 1)
TG 2722 - Ireland Calling (TS 2) (Reflector 4780)
TG 2723 - Ireland Chat (TS 1)
TG 2724 - DMR to YSF Bridge (TS 1)

2722 should give you all-ireland chat on DMR.

You have to be admin approved on Braidmaster.

Not sure the benefit of registering though but anyway good to see the activity on repeaters.

I'm on the world wide TG 91 and it's very active, amazing really all from Mount Leinster lol.

I seem to have cracked programming the radio now anyway.... Bout time, Jesus! :eek:

The battery life on the Anytone D878 + is amazing.

It has bluetooth and it works with my Bose headphones. + You get a Bluetooth PTT button for the steering wheel so you don't have to touch the radio.

Sadly, while it should work with Car Bluetooth it doesn;t work with the BMW i3, it detects and pairs but nothing happens but I need to play with it more to find out, funny I can't put a mag mount on the roof because it's carbon fibre oh well.

Next is to try program other Irish repeaters for when I move around, sadly Dublin has no DRM or any form of Digital repeater coverage.

The D878 also has roaming for digital which is supposed to connect to the strongest repeater on the move, small steps......:D I made a giant leap today by getting digital to work......

One thing I noticed about DMR is that it seems to time out or something, after long enough I hear nothing until I key up the mic which cause my ID and call to flash up and People think there's a break station, not good.

Could it be a signal issue ? but wouldn't you think when signal is good it would receive again ?

Strange, on Brandmeister I see activity of Irish hams on DMR and destination is Regional ? doesn't seem to be a talk group ?

I seem to have difficulty setting up the Three Rock Dublin repeater into the Anytone software.

Output: 145.600
Input: 145.000

But 2 different odd access tones ? was easy with Mount Leinster, 1 CTCSS freq but are these CTCSS for three rock ?
1750Hz/
88.5Hz

1750 and 88.5Hz I can't seem to enter these,

Also I seem to still have the issue when monitoring a DRM TG I have to key the MIC to get it to receive, it's as if after a while it stops receiving anything from the TG ?

Popoutman

I got onto the DMR network finally and got access to the DMR talkgroups on the Yaesu radio.
@Mad_Lad = you got the next DMR ID above me! (At least I think it's you.. not going to dox you here)

Useful site: https://hose.brandmeister.network/group/2723 (the number is the TG number, shows the activity on that group, you can see who was on the channel and who's currently talking.

The 88.5Hz is the CTCSS code and the 1750 is Tone Burst/Tone Squelch

I suspect either of the access tones would work - i'm not aware of a system that requires both (I'm not sure that both could be done on the same transmission..)

Popoutman

Popoutman wrote: »

I got onto the DMR network finally and got access to the DMR talkgroups on the Yaesu radio.
@Mad_Lad = you got the next DMR ID above me! (At least I think it's you.. not going to dox you here)

Useful site: https://hose.brandmeister.network/group/2723 (the number is the TG number, shows the activity on that group, you can see who was on the channel and who's currently talking.

The 88.5Hz is the CTCSS code and the 1750 is Tone Burst/Tone Squelch

I suspect either of the access tones would work - i'm not aware of a system that requires both (I'm not sure that both could be done on the same transmission..)

Ha funny, PM me your ID.

Yeah I got in with 88.5 Hz, I thought coverage would have been better from Kippure.

Do I need to use 1750 Hz anywhere ?

Couldn't get three rock at all is it dead ?

I believe there is a UHF repeater for Dublin too ?

Does anyone have a link to an up to date data base for Irish Repeaters ?

Yes, the Brandmeister site is handy. I was using it to see what my signal strength is at the repeater.

II can't get an external antenna for the Car because there's no metal to stick the mag mount....... but anyway seems like very little activity on the Kippure Repeater, at least at 9 am.

Is the Yaesu as hard to program like the Anytone and others ? what radio do you have ?

Will need to get a 2m/70cm antenna for the chimney.

Popoutman

I think the most current up to date DB for publicly accessible repeaters is (afaik) https://www.irts.ie/cgi/repeater.cgi I don't think there's any Irish-based page of repeater status, but repeaterbook.com is as up to date as I'm aware.

I have been using the Yaesu software to put the repeater list onto the HT, not trivial, but not by any means difficult.
Changing YSF chatrooms and DMR talkgroups on the handset itself is a pain though as there's no list of available to choose from and the ID must be manually entered. But, built-in useful Wires-X functionality starts at ~€300 for the HT and that's not something I needed when I was looking into the 2m/70cm range. I'd have to have decided I'd be spending much more time at that range to warrant the expense

Accessing the repeater, assuming the antenna is good and there's enough amps getting out, shouldn't be difficult to hit at least one of the useful repeaters nearby. HTs being 5 watts and mediocre antenna will be limited to maybe 10km from repeater. Add an amp to 25-100W and a half-decent antenna, either a Yagi or a well-made SlimJim and you'll be in the same ballpark as a mobile rig and get 40-80km, and there are people getting in to the repeaters from well over 100km away. I'm toying with getting an amp and Yagi and seeing if I can hit the Galway and Mt Leinster repeaters from Limerick, as well as guaranteeing access to the EI2DBR repeater. I think I'll stick with the HT for the moment, not in a hurry to add transceivers to the shack.

I have found that the audio quality on the YSF2DMR access to the talkgroups is not that good, certainly by comparison with the analogue and Zello quality. Might have a chat with Steve in the Galway group if that can be improved. Still, it's nice to have more ways to access the repeater net.

Analogue is always going to sound much better, it's an exact copy of your voice, DMR is compressed to 4.5 Kbps, D-Star and Fusion probably just as bad.

You'd think that today there's be a higher quality version. Back in the 90's when mp3 first appeared compression was around 64 Kbps so you can see the difference between that and 4.5 Kbps.

Zello will offer much higher quality, Especially Zello to Zello, if you're talking to me on the southern Ireland network via Zello and I'm on Zello the quality will be much better.

I'm not sure you'd need an amp to hit the local repeaters, a good antenna micht be best. I think I'll invest in a 2m/70cm antenna and stick it on a pole on the Chimney. I can hit Mount Leinster easy enough especially on analogue but It would be no harm to get a better antenna for the Anytone.

But I'm happy enough to have managed to program the radio and get on DMR it's a fun mode especially being able to tie in with so many talk groups.

On HF I like to make some digital contacts via JS8 Call, PSK31 and Olivia though haven't used any of these modes in a while I might give them a go this week.

I think it's going to get harder and harder to find a car that will work with a mag mount, so many not have glass roofs, aluminium panels, plastic or in my case carbon fibre.

Shyboy

Deleted User wrote: »

Also I seem to still have the issue when monitoring a DRM TG I have to key the MIC to get it to receive, it's as if after a while it stops receiving anything from the TG ?

It depends on how the TG's are set-up on the repeater. There are two settings, dynamic or static.

For TG's that are dynamic, you have to key the mic to activate them. They will then stayed connected for a set-period of time, which I think is usually 10-15 mins, then disconnect, unless you re-key (or talk) in the meantime, which resets the timer.

Static TG's are connected all of the time. The Galway repeater network have TG2722, TG2723 and a few others set as static so they are constantly connected, but most TG's are dynamic so I need to key to activate them.

Shyboy

Shyboy wrote: »

It depends on how the TG's are set-up on the repeater. There are two settings, dynamic or static.

For TG's that are dynamic, you have to key the mic to activate them. They will then stayed connected for a set-period of time, which I think is usually 10-15 mins, then disconnect, unless you re-key (or talk) in the meantime, which resets the timer.

Static TG's are connected all of the time. The Galway repeater network have TG2722, TG2723 and a few others set as static so they are constantly connected, but most TG's are dynamic so I need to key to activate them.

Thanks, I was talking to someone on Zello earlier and he told me this was normal so that was a relief. I might get a hotspot at some point.

Shyboy

Deleted User wrote: »

Thanks, I was talking to someone on Zello earlier and he told me this was normal so that was a relief. I might get a hotspot at some point.

I actually bought a Pistar hotspot recently as the signal from the repeater can be patchy inside our house, I think it is due to the amount of insulation that we had installed when we were building.

A hotspot it is well worth it as you can choose which TG's to make static to save having to key to activate, etc.

Shyboy

Shyboy wrote: »

I actually bought a Pistar hotspot recently as the signal from the repeater can be patchy inside our house, I think it is due to the amount of insulation that we had installed when we were building.

A hotspot it is well worth it as you can choose which TG's to make static to save having to key to activate, etc.

I was looking at the pistar but from what I gather you also have to buy the pi zero ? I was looking at the open spot 3 too but they are expensive.

How much we talking about for pistar with pi zero ?

I got three rock repeater on 70cm, I was talking to the keeper, Mike, he said 2m is down but cracking signal around work. I need to get an external mic so I don't have to hold the radio in the car he could hear me perfectly in the car too.

I asked him about digital and he said he didn't have plans to add digital yet as he feels the interest isn't there but I said there can't be interest in something that isn't there. So we'll see. I told him of the advantages, obviously sound quality isn't one but I said there are swings and roundabouts with everything, DRM offers a gateway to the world from the repeater. He's a nice fellow anyway.

One thing that drives me nuts is the CW beeping of the repeater call sign, the radio is silent then all of a sudden this loud beeping, it's very XYL unfriendly....

I still need a solution to getting an external antenna on the car.

Popoutman

Afaik repeaters that transmit into the amateur frequencies have to announce their identity every x minutes, as part of the licensing requirements. I think that is actually the world over as well but I haven't confirmed that.

Agreed it's a bit awkward for the listening and comes as quite a surprise into a quiet room!

I'll take that disturbance for the ability to use a repeater.

Shyboy

Deleted User wrote: »

I was looking at the pistar but from what I gather you also have to buy the pi zero ? I was looking at the open spot 3 too but they are expensive.

How much we talking about for pistar with pi zero ?

I got three rock repeater on 70cm, I was talking to the keeper, Mike, he said 2m is down but cracking signal around work. I need to get an external mic so I don't have to hold the radio in the car he could hear me perfectly in the car too.

I asked him about digital and he said he didn't have plans to add digital yet as he feels the interest isn't there but I said there can't be interest in something that isn't there. So we'll see. I told him of the advantages, obviously sound quality isn't one but I said there are swings and roundabouts with everything, DRM offers a gateway to the world from the repeater. He's a nice fellow anyway.

One thing that drives me nuts is the CW beeping of the repeater call sign, the radio is silent then all of a sudden this loud beeping, it's very XYL unfriendly....

I still need a solution to getting an external antenna on the car.

I have a Jumbospot which is based on a Pi-Star. I bought it here pre-built https://www.radioworld.co.uk/jumbospot-dmr-ysf-p25-d-star-multi-mode-ip-gateway?query=jumbospot but you can get it cheaper if you buy the kit version and built it yourself. It works great for me.

Like Popoutman said, the repeater has to broadcast it's callsign by morse every 15 mins or so as part of it's licence requirements. It can be a little annoying when it goes off in the middle of a QSO...

Shyboy

Shyboy wrote: »

I have a Jumbospot which is based on a Pi-Star. I bought it here pre-built https://www.radioworld.co.uk/jumbospot-dmr-ysf-p25-d-star-multi-mode-ip-gateway?query=jumbospot but you can get it cheaper if you buy the kit version and built it yourself. It works great for me.

Like Popoutman said, the repeater has to broadcast it's callsign by morse every 15 mins or so as part of it's licence requirements. It can be a little annoying when it goes off in the middle of a QSO...

I got a Pi-star hotspot on the way along with what I hope is a better whip antenna for the Anytone.

The hotspot will give me better DRM coverage in the back part of the house.

Yeah the beeping is mad in the middle of a qso and I think I even heard a few repeaters beeping one time, maybe it was someone on another southern ireland repeater, sounded mad lol.

Popoutman

Yep, it is a little odd that the individual repeater output is sent post-beacon-inclusion to the network.

I found this evening that I can hear the repeater on EI7MHR at 80km distance almost as clear as EI2DBR at 44. About one s-point in it, as expected for the inverse square law.

I've agreed to buy a ~30W 1980's-era 2m amp and a Diamond A144S5 yagi, both for £65, I'll likely have them next week, and then I'll try getting barefoot to either repeater and I should walk in then to both of them with the amp+yagi.

I'm trying to re-write the codeplug for my Anytone 878 and I have 450 odd talk groups, this means I have to manually enter 450 channels and go into each channel and manually assign the TG to each channel.

Then this has to be done again for each and every single repeater, this would take many many months to edit if you had a lot of repeaters, even for Ireland it would take weeks.

Christ, seems like maybe D-Star would have been better, just let the GPS find signal, then look for closest repeater and you're done..... I'm not sure how talk groups work on D-Star but it's supposed to be a lot easier.

Popoutman

If familiar with Linux commands or the unix commands that can be installed under Windows, sounds like something that awk+grep could do fairly quickly on a .csv file, then import the file into the programming tool then upload to radio?

My current VHF/UHF setup:
Radios: FT-817ND and FT-70DE ; antennas: SlimJim self-made for 2m, Diamond 2m Yagi ; Amp: Daiwa ~30W 2M ; and an MMDVM hotspot.
Due to arrive in the next week will be Retivis RT3 and RT84 radios; a genuine dualband SlimJim antenna and also a proper EAntenna Dualband Yagi 144/432 MHZ (5+8 elements); as well as a full-duplex Pi hat for another hotspot. Currently trying to get my hands on a proper dual-band amplifier. (I know that it might be simpler overall to get a 50W capable mobile transceiver, but I think I will have more flexibility with an amp.)

I'll set up the simplex hotspot for the DMR and the duplex for the Yaesu.

I have also yet to get into the codeplug fun and games..

Popoutman

Popoutman wrote: »

If familiar with Linux commands or the unix commands that can be installed under Windows, sounds like something that awk+grep could do fairly quickly on a .csv file, then import the file into the programming tool then upload to radio?

My current VHF/UHF setup:
Radios: FT-817ND and FT-70DE ; antennas: SlimJim self-made for 2m, Diamond 2m Yagi ; Amp: Daiwa ~30W 2M ; and an MMDVM hotspot.
Due to arrive in the next week will be Retivis RT3 and RT84 radios; a genuine dualband SlimJim antenna and also a proper EAntenna Dualband Yagi 144/432 MHZ (5+8 elements); as well as a full-duplex Pi hat for another hotspot. Currently trying to get my hands on a proper dual-band amplifier. (I know that it might be simpler overall to get a 50W capable mobile transceiver, but I think I will have more flexibility with an amp.)

I'll set up the simplex hotspot for the DMR and the duplex for the Yaesu.

I have also yet to get into the codeplug fun and games..

Nice goodies to play with for next weekend!

My issue now with the code plug is editing the channels in Excel, they're all perfectly named in excel but when I import them into the 878 software the channel naming is correct but a lot of the contact names are wrong and always show the same channel name for those that are wrong which haven't been assigned correctly. I'm stumped unless it's a bug in the software but I just can't edit so many channels manually.

I have 470 Talk Groups and trying to edit these in excel isn't viable due to the formatting. I don't have to manually setup each one in the anytone software. Jesus, this is a lot more of a hassle than I bargained for.

Should have got D-star lol.

There's definitely a bug in the Anytone software because it's messing up my channel imports.

The talk groups import fine but when I import the channel list under contact it messes up a lot of the contact part with the first TG entry.

For instance say, tg 1234 is the first TG entry then it will assign this to a lot of the channels under contact, the channel name will be correct but it assigns tg 1234 to many channels I just don't understand it now and am abut to give up.

It works if I enter the data manually via the anytone software in each channel and go and assign a tg manually but for 470 odd tg this isn't going to work multiply this by the number of repeaters I want + my hotspot.

At first I thought it was my old version of Excel so I saved a copy from my work macbook and imported that and the same thing happens.