DStar Repeaters

There are no operational DStar repeaters in Alachua County presently. KI4MVB, the Alachua County Sheriff's Amateur Radio Club, purchased a DStar repeater several years ago, however, it has never been active. Activity is underway to get this repeater stack on the air. The frequencies are 146.8875, 444.725 and 1293.0. Let's hope this repeater can be on the air soon. In the meantime, there are two repeaters in Ocala.

Area Repeaters


 Output   Input  Location
145.170 144.570 Ocala
146.790 146.190 Ocala
146.880 146.280 Jacksonville
147.150 147.750 Lake City

Still the most popular mode....

Even with the tremendous influx of Chinese digital radio (primarily DMR), the conventional analog repeaters are still the most available and easiest to use mode. Sometimes these repeaters will be "linked" to other repeaters to form a wider coverage area or through the internet. Internet "linking" using AllStar or EchoLink is quite common as demonstrated by the 444.9875 repeater in Gainesville.

 

Some digital repeaters are able to do dual mode,i.e. function as an Analog and a Digital repeater. These repeaters can be configured by the SYSOP as in the 444.8375 DMR repeater. This repeater, when not being used for digital DMR, can be used as a conventional analog repeater. If you program this "analog" channel in your radio, do not forget to set your receiver to the 123.0 PL tone or you will hear the digital burst noise created by the DMR channel.

 

Check out Repeater Book for more repeaters in Florida.

Inexpensive Radios



With the influx of inexpensive Chinese radios, portable "handheld" dual band (2 meter and 70 cm) radios are available for as inexpensive as $25.