XRX Amateur Radio Club 2 Meter Repeater
- Primary contact: Brian K2AS
- Callsign: W2XRX
- Output Freq: 145.29 MHz
- Input Freq: 144.69MHz
- Yaesu System Fusion DR-2X
- Usually set to Auto Mode Select
- PL Tone for FM Analog: 110.9Hz
- Location: Near Canadice, NY
- Wacom 4 Cavity Duplexer
- Repeater Trustees: Brian Donovan K2AS, Mike Rink W2HYP
- 2 meter machine is often connected to W2XRX/K2AS Wires-X Node, always in Digital Mode
XRX Amateur Radio Club 440 MHz Meter Repeater (on air as of May 13, 2017)
- Primary Contact: Dave N2OA
- Callsign: W2XRX
- Output Freq: 444.825 MHz
- Input Freq: 449.825 MHz
- Yaesu System Fusion DR-1X
- Also D-Star capable
- PL Tone for FM Analog: 110.9Hz
- Location: Chili, NY
- Wacom 4 Cavity Duplexer
- Repeater Trustees: Dave Carlson N2OA, Brian Donovan K2AS
Guidelines For Use
The repeater is owned and operated by the XRX Amateur Radio Club for use by it’s members. Others are welcome to use the repeater if not already in use, with the following in mind:
- While the repeaters do FM mode, they are two of a few Fusion capable repeaters in the area, while there are dozens of nearby FM capable repeaters. Regular FM use by non-members should be kept to reasonable levels.
- Long rag chewing QSO’s on the 2 meter machine (over 1 hour) are discouraged between the hours of 6AM and 11 PM, especially between home stations. A simplex frequency is preferred if at all possible.
- Wires-X is often on and available – sometimes linked to other rooms and nodes. The use of Wires-X is allowed. but it is not intended as your personal gateway to Wires-X. If you want to explore Wires-X, it is best to find a simplex node or setup your own PDN node. That said, short connections to other Wires-X rooms or nodes is OK if not abused. Don’t connect to a busy room so you can listen all afternoon. Disconnect from node/room when done. (See Wires-X page)
- Typically, the 2 meter repeater is linked via Wires-X on Sunday evening to the Southern Tier Fusion net from 8 – 9 PM. Monday evenings to the MNWIS (Minnesota/Wisconsin) Room for their System Fusion Net. That net usually runs from 8:30 until 10 PM or so, and may be linked earlier in the evening. This is digital only, so avoid using FM during that period.
- Group Mode – This Fusion mode is intended to be used in Simplex mode. It does not work well on a repeater. Radios are constantly transmitting callsigns and locations causing chaos on the repeater. Do not use group mode on the repeater frequency.
Digital and FM Coexistence
Digital communications over the repeater sounds like white noise to someone listening in FM. If you hear what sounds like mostly static, is a digital QSO, or net. Unfortunately, not being able to hear the conversation makes it difficult to decide whether one can join in. There may be a net going on, or a Wires-X QSO where many repeaters around the world are connected. In most cases, trying to break-in to a digital QSO with FM is probably not a good idea unless an emergency.
With an FM only radio, best to set PL decode on your radio. This will ensure the receiver will not open the squelch unless it hears a 110.0hz tone. The tone is transmitted by the repeater only in FM mode, not digital, so your squelch should stay closed when the repeater transmits digitally. You should still see a signal indication on your radio to know it is in use.
Mar. 22, 2020
We traded-in the DR1-X for a DR2-X for the 2 meter machine. For now, everything is as before, but a bit more power than we had been running recently. We will probably be switching the FM side to Digital Coded Squelch in the near future.
Mar. 28, 2017
We have obtained an adequate repeater site and purchased another DR1-X to replace our old 440 machine (KE2MK) that previously was on the Xerox Tower downtown. Dave Carlson is in charge of that project and we expect to be back on the air in April 2017. The machine will be west side of Rochester, near Chili, NY.
Feb. 2, 2016
A repeater firmware update was completed in mid-January. No major changes in operation. A Wires-X node station, K2AS Node #11704 is often pointed at the repeater in digital mode, giving Fusion users access to the Wires-X button on their radio and linking capabilities associated with Wires-X.
May 9, 2015
The repeater antenna was raised to approximately 165 feet. There is a definite improvement in coverage. We will continue to assess before any further changes are contemplated.
April 9, 2015
The Yaesu System Fusion repeater has been installed. You will need 110.9 PL encode in analog mode. If you don’t want to hear the digital signals, set up 110.9Hz decode on your receiver. No matter what mode you are using to access the repeater; all users should remember to check your rigs busy light or try and hit your monitor button prior to making a call. This is done to make sure you aren’t accidentally interfering with an ongoing digital conversation.
Jan. 17, 2015
The repeater is back on, and in a new location. Approximately 32 miles almost due south of downtown Rochester. The callsign is now W2XRX. The antenna is temporary until better weather, and the radio has some issues from time-to-time. We are working on it when we can, and things are improving.
Dec. 11, 2014
Our repeater is temporarily off the air. We lost our site after 33 years, and we are in the process of setting up in a new location. It will be announced here when we are back on the air.
