Jan (KD7ZWV) introduced the MARC repeater and talked about the need to provide some type of wide area connectivity into the repeater for MARC members (and others).  He covers repeater linking, both RF and Internet based, and moves on to the solution that MARC is exploring, EchoLink.  EchoLink is introduced and we discuss how to get an EchoLink account, including getting your license validated. Finally, EchoLink configuration is covered.  Jeff (KL7KVG) continues with a discussion of the EchoLink for Android application and then talks about the EchoLink node that he has built as a proof of concept for the MARC repeater.  Finally, we observe a demo of the EchoLink software connecting to the MARC repeater using the node Jeff built, which was on display in the meeting room.

Slides are available here:  EchoLink and the MARC Repeater

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Additional notes:

1. This project is NOT complete... Jeff detailed a few things that we still want to do, including
   1. Registering N7MRY-R as an EchoLink node
   2. Installing the node at a location other than Jeff's dining room table
   3. Not hogging up Jeff's portable computer (dedicating some hardware to the node)
   4. Tweaking and adjusting parameters to improve the functionality of the node
   5. Configuring outbound connectivity from the node (i.e. DTMF control)
   6. and whatever else we think it needs to be a solid addition to MARC's repeater setup
2. We had some previous classes that covered repeater linking, including IRLP and EchoLink
   1. April 8th, 2021, Radio Linking via Internet IRLP and EchoLink
   2. October 14th, 2021, we had a joint meeting with the Taylorsville club on IRLP and EchoLink presented by Doug (AD7LO).  This meeting was carried on the Taylorsville Zoom and we were unable to record it.  I believe the slides are the same as recently presented to the Taylorsville club and can be found here:  Doug's IRLP and EchoLink Slide Deck
3. As mentioned during the meeting, our prototype is not online all of the time... Jeff will be facilitating experimentation with it by bringing the node up about an hour before our Sunday net and leaving it up for about an hour afterwards.  If you want to experiment with EchoLink and the MARC repeater, this will be an excellent opportunity for you to try it out.  Get the software installed, get your EchoLink account set up and validated, and be ready to try it out this Sunday beginning around 7:00 PM until about 9:30 PM.

The four of us from MARC who attended the UARC meeting tonight learned a lot about the "Farnsworth" .62 repeater.  Clint (KA7OEI), the repeater manager for UARC, started with a brief history of the .62 machine, including some unique aspects related to its installation at the Fox 13 transmitter site.  He then delved into ways to extend the coverage of a repeater by linking multiple repeaters together.  Of course, the best example of this in Utah is the Intermountain Intertie, a linked repeater system that covers most of the state, with branches into Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Arizona.  The drawback to such a system is that each repeater needs to be on a different frequency.  This led to a discussion of the .62's setup, with a master repeater on Farnsworth peak and a secondary repeater on Scott's.  These two repeaters operate on the same frequency, using only one frequency pair for extremely wide coverage.

UARC has posted the recording of the meeting on their Youtube channel, and I'll include it here.  If you're curious how this system works, check it out.  At the end of the presentation, there was also some discussion about direction finding and how to deal with abusive use of the amateur frequencies, which was also quite interesting and may be the subject of a future UARC talk.

The third session of the Getting Started With Amateur Radio series, this presentation covers equipment you will definitely need as an amateur radio operator, as well as some other equipment that you may want to have or have access to.

Download the slide deck here:  Equipment

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