Pallet of 7/8-inch diameter 50 ohm Hardline Transmission Cable for Buffalo, MO Repeater
Shipments are being delivered. Parts, accessories, and tools are being gathered and prepared. A professional tower climber has been hired. Soon, the Southwest Missouri Regional Skywarn repeater at 147.180 MHz. in Buffalo, Missouri will have a new home with a brand new antenna at a higher location drastically improving our linked system’s coverage throughout Polk County and Dallas County. Between July, 2016 and the end of January, 2017, thanks to the generosity of folks in our community, we were able to raise the $5,000 needed to move the Buffalo Repeater from its current location which is set for demolition.
In February, our new antenna, a Comscope DB-224, arrived. This exposed dipole omnidirectional antenna can handle a maximum power input of 500 watts and will provide up do 6 dB of gain. The design of the antenna makes it a direct current short which provides excellent lightning protection and reduced noise during wind and other times of high static electricity.
Earlier this month, a large pallet containing a very long run of 7/8-inch diameter corrugated hardline cable arrived. This type and length of transmission line would normally have cost about $2,520. However, we were able to save over $1,400 thanks to a very generous discount given to us by the distributor. Hardline is mandatory for professional repeater installations. In addition to being able to survive very harsh weather conditions, this type of cable, with its solid outer conductor, provides the highest possible shielding along with significantly lower loss over long runs compared with normal household consumer coaxial cable.
As more parts continue to arrive, we will be closer to making the move. We will continue to provide updates on the move of the Buffalo Repeater to its new location as things progress. Again, we sincerely thank each of you who donated toward this project.