WiRES-X Access

The repeater defaults to room 43023 "Florida I-75". This is an attempt to link multiple repeaters up and down the I-75 corridor.... and maybe even statewide one day! So far, this consists of the NA4DA (141.210) in Ocala, WA1UTQ (444.575) in the Villages, and of course the KC4MHH (444.050) repeater here in Gainesville. To access other "rooms" or "nodes", press and hold the "WiRES-X" button. The repeater will automatically return to the Florida I-75 room by default. After linking with the repeater, you will hear the repeater answer you. Click on the "Down Arrow" in the middle of your screen (hold the ENT button if using a FT-1D). After conversing with the repeater, this will provide you a menu where you can select a node or select "Search and Direct". As you scroll through the available nodes, you can either select or continue to the next batch (the WiRES-X provides about 20 each time). To go to the next batch, simply scroll to the last node, it will begin flashing. This is the radio communicating to the repeater to send the next batch. Once you have selected a node, you will again hear the response from the repeater and will see the node now displayed on your radio. Please refer to the manual for your radio as this was a very basic instruction based on the FTM-400D.

 

Area Repeaters


 Output   Input  Location
444.050 449.050 Gainesville
444.5875 449.5875 Gainesville
145.150 144.150 Starke
145.290 144.690 Jacksonville
146.730 146.130 Orange Park
146.940 146.340 The Villages
147.210 147.810 Ocala
147.390 147.990 Jacksonville Beach
441.875 446.875 The Villages
442.050 447.050 Inverness
444.400 449.400 Jacksonville
444.500 449.500 Orange Park
444.575 449.575 The Villages
444.675 449.675 Jacksonville
444.925 449.925 Jacksonville

Still a very popular mode....

Even with the tremendous influx of Chinese digital radio (primarily DMR), other digital modes are still widely used. Here in Gainesville, there are several users that own the popular Yaesu line of radios that include the "Fusion" digital technology.

 

System Fusion is Yaesu’s implementation of Digital Amateur Radio, utilizing C4FM 4-level FSK Technology to transmit digital voice and data over the Amateur radio bands. In the early 2000’s GMSK emerged in the Amateur radio market as the dominant digital mode, however in 2013 Yaesu introduced “System Fusion” which quickly became the dominating digital format in Amateur radio because of quality, reliability and enhanced performance in a wide range of environments.

 

Digital Communication modes have gained popularity over the years in the market because of superior performance in environments with interference, noise and other contributing factors that degrade the quality of a standard FM Analog signal. Narrower bandwidth and the need for increased spectrum have led to the development of digital communications technology, which has been widely adopted in the Public safety and private business sectors that use two-way radio technology. Unlike it’s commercial counterpart, System Fusion is an Amateur Friendly Digital Operating mode, straying away from some of the design considerations that make commercial solutions less appealing and more difficult for Amateur Radio Operators, providing a simpler interface and features that meet the demands and needs of the Amateur enthusiast specifically.



Although a propretary format, Yaesu offers several models of mobile and handheld radios that incorporate the C4FM System Fusion capability.