 |
|
| Starting in 2020 W1OP
has sponsored a DMR repeater that is part of the NEDECN (New England Digital
Emergency Communications Network) DMR network at our Johnston, RI, clubhouse.
The repeater operates on 447.725 MHz (-5 MHz split) Color Code 2. For more info
on the NEDECN network go to WWW.NEDECN.ORG.
The W1OP repeater is linked 24/7 via Verizon Fios to more than 90 repeaters that are part of NEDECN’s network through the New England Wide talk group that covers all of New England, the Maritime Provinces, and eastern NY and Long Island. The repeater was possible from a very generous grant from NEDECN and donations from K1DT, K1MD, KZ1K, N1DM and NE1Y. Special thanks also to Bill, NE1B who spearheaded this project for NEDECN and located this repeater at a price we could afford. The Club also wishes to thank the generous efforts of K1IIG and AG2K on this project. When originally installed in 2020, a temporary antenna was mounted on the clubhouse's roof tripod. As part of a ARDC grant on Aug. 30, 2022, the Club installed a professional L-Com HG439U-NM antenna (9 dBi gain, 440 collinear) at 85 feet and fed it with 120 feet of ½ inch RFS feedline. At that position, the antenna is about 300 ft above Mean Sea Level and overlooks Providence, the 139th largest city in the U.S. with a potential of over a quarter million people in the city and surrounding area. |
The performance
of the new antenna shows what can be done from W1OP with a good UHF antenna.
The increase in range for portables and mobiles is striking.
As the only NEDECN Network DMR repeater in RI this upgrade has made that all-digital-voice system more available in a significant part of this state and nearby Massachusetts. This is important especially for the talk groups like SKYWARN that support emergency communications throughout New England. The Club has run the new predicted coverage on Radiomobile® RF Propagation Software for worst case (heavy foliage, urban noise, low gain antennas, etc.). For those of you with handhelds outside of buildings the pink shaded area shown below "5W" is our coverage and is what you should expect. The Yellow line is just to provide some relationship ... it is the club location west to Rt 295. If you are using a walkie inside a building all bets are off. It heavily depends on the type of structure you are in. For those of you boating on upper Narragansett Bay enjoy the new portable coverage. Those of you with 45 watt mobiles should see a noticeable increase in coverage especially our friends in Warwick, the East Bay and South Attleboro should be much happier. K1DT and N1DM have done some drive around testing and it appears to confirm what we show using the Radiomobile® RF propagation software. Enjoy the improved repeater coverage. ... N1DM |
5W Handheld
Coverage |
45W Mobile
Coverage |
RI Population Density
Map |
|
| © 2022 -- The Providence Radio Association, Inc., 1 Ludlow St., Johnston, RI 02919 | |