Hey guys, just trying to figure out a quick and dirty way to automatically
cycle power to a repeater one time per day for a short period of time. Been
having problems with the repeater that I maintain. Basically figuring it's a
controller glitch, but occasionally the repeater will lock up on transmit until
power to the repeater and controller are cycled. I am pretty sure it's a
glitch in the controller as this has happened on and off for years but for some
unknown reason it has occured more as of late. It's not a huge deal, but it is
a pain in the rump to drive to the site every time that it occurs to do a
manual reset. So what I have done over the years is install a 120V timer in
line with the power supply and cycle the power once per night for 1 minute at a
time and that keeps me from driving 30 miles, through 4 gates, cow patties, and
jungle-like conditions each way to get to the site. At any rate, I basically
need a timer that will run
on 12V, that can power a relay that can cycle power to the repeater (and
controller specifially, but want to do both) as I would like to get this
repeater back on it's battery backup without having to drive up there every
time that it has a glitch to do a full power cycle when what I am speaking of
will atleast solve the problem 1 to 2 times per day depending on how many times
I have it recycle daily. It would not be a big deal to drive up there as I
used to do when I was single and had no children, but nowadays when the thing
locks up on transmit it's never at a conveinient time now that family life is a
big concern and my phone rings off the hook (with hams that never use the
repeater, unfortunately) with people calling me to let me know the repeater has
hung up again on transmit and sometimes I simply can't get away quickly to fix
the problem. Not that it's needed particularly as the solution could apply to
any repeater, but it's a GE Mastr II
UHF 100W repeater with a CAT-300DX controller. If anyone else has had this
problem then let me know what you have came up with. Of course, if anyone has
a better idea other than cycling power to it once or twice per day
automatically I am open to that idea as well. I would absolutely love to have
a remote radio up there with a dtmf decoder and some type of EXTERNAL
controller up there on an extra control frequency that I can use to control an
external relay to fill this function. I have a good spare 2m mobile that would
be perfect for the cause. If anyone can lead me in the right direction please
respond back to me (preferably direct). My email is ae4bkatyahoo.com Spelled
out the @ to help avoid potential spam issues that can result from various
reflectors....Thanks in advance.....Rusty