What is the status of the FMARC’s 220 repeater?
We had to take the repeater out of service when the Lee County Public Service radio expansion happened. We found that the 20 plus year old repeater needs lots of repairs and the club decided if we want to put it back in service that we should purchase a new unit. The club did get a donation to cover the cost.
UPDATE :
220 Repeater is on the air !
The FMARC-sponsored new 220 MHz repeater, amplifier and antenna have been installed and is operational !!.
Fellow FMARC Members:
We are pleased to report that the 220 MHz Repeater is back on the air at last. (224.52, with a PL of 136.5 and a negative offset of 1.6 MHz.)
Thanks to the combined efforts of many Club Members who made this possible:
Brian Darley, who worked with CenturyLink to secure a place on their downtown Fort Myers Tower.
— At no cost to the Club with a renewable “no cost” lease that will ensure the repeater will be on the air for many years to come.
Robert Pantazes, who worked with Bridgecom — the Repeater Vendor — to spec out a Repeater and an amplifier that will give the 220 Repeater a solid presence throughout the county.
To the Club’s Board of Directors, who agreed to provide the funds needed to install the Antenna at the top of the Century Link tower.
Again, to the Club’s Board of Directors (and a few others) who poured over the Lease and Insurance documents to make sure that the Club was properly covered and protected during the Installation and going forward.
And to others who were involved off and on in making this project a reality.
Early signal reports are promising. If you have 220 equipment, please give the Repeater a try and let us know how it’s working at your location. We need to build a “footprint” of the repeater to identify any “dead spots.”
Thanks!
Steve W9GPI
For the FMARC
The new installation is on the same frequency as the old repeater. It will operate on 222.920 MHz receive and transmit on 224.520 MHz (for an offset of +1.6 MHz). A reminder to all 220 Users…the Repeater requires a PL of 136.5. and tone squelch frequency of 136.5.
Additional info from W9GPI:
If you choose to program it into your Radio using the Standard Frequency List…we’re going to assign Memory 85 to this repeater.
We are also recommending that you consider programming three 220 Simplex Frequencies:
223.450 as Memory 86; 223.50 — the 220 National Calling Frequency — as Memory 87; and 223.750 as Memory 88.
This new installation replaces the old 220 repeater which had been located at a county site off Ortiz avenue. The machine was taken off the air when the county removed the antenna to make room for their communication needs. The cost of the new repeater and amplifier has been almost entirely covered by anonymous donations.
Updated 07/06/2021
220 Repeater
