Operating from the KOLN 10/11 television studio building at 40th & W Street since 1973, is the 146.850 KØLNE repeater. Our 2 meter repeater and various previous versions have been at this location for years. We have an outstanding relationship with 10/11 and their staff.
Our location affords our repeater with a generator backup in case of power failure. This is important, as we provide a back up repeater for local Skywarn Storm Spotters and various Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) activities.
For a long period, this was the primary repeater in use for the Lincoln area and the primary Skywarn/ARES repeater. The Lincoln Amateur Radio Club had a wider area repeater (146.760 KØKKV) located on the television tower at Beaver Crossing Nebraska. LARC’s repeater was of a more regional repeater covering most of southeast Nebraska extremely well.
LARC had to move their repeater to reduce wind load on the tower, since HDTV required many antennas be installed on the tv transmitter tower. The regional coverage of that machine was gone. Lincoln Amateur Radio Club (LARC) and Lincoln Repeater Club (LRC) though two separate clubs, often work together to provide the best repeater coverage for public service events.
On the 146.850 repeater system, we have three receivers to optimize reception of radio communications. Our repeater system utilizes a voter which captures only the strongest incoming radio signal. This helps get what would otherwise be marginal signals into higher quality and intelligible radio transmissions into the repeater. The main receiver is at the repeater site. There is a remote receiver near 48th & Calvert, atop a building at Union College. Another receiver is located at over 400′ on a tower in southern Lancaster County, near Hallam.
These receivers work in conjunction with the transmitter site using link frequencies. This configuration pretty much allows users to be able to access the repeater using a handheld radio from anywhere inside the Lincoln city limits. Repeater coverage is really good throughout Lancaster County with mobile radios. In the future, we hope to be able to cover the entire county well enough that a handheld radio will be heard using 1 watt.
To help reduce intermod in the downtown Lincoln area, we are working to restore a cross band link again on UHF. This is still in the works.
Since our goal is to provide reliable amateur radio communications, this means we have to constantly monitor our system and make changes as appropriate.