Re: [Repeater-Builder] The Big M's Maratrac

[Mike Morris]

At 07:27 AM 05/04/07, you wrote:
>Hello all.. Does anyone have any info on the Moto Maratrac as related
>to making a pair of them into a repeater or using them as remote
>bases?. How hard are they to move to the ham bands as I have a few that
>are 42-50, 150-164, 450,470. I have searced around the different sites
>and can find almost no mention of the Maratrac. I would be interested
>in hearing any info related to them. Thanks.

The Maratrac is a Mitrek PA deck and outer frame married to a Maxtrac-
derived receiver and exciter. They will NOT duplex - you will need two.
They will NOT run full power - they will overheat and save themselves
by reducing power. I have seen two that got dirty as they saved
themselves, then cleaned up when they cooled down.

There are better radios out there for repeater duty, but if it's all you have
then you crank the power down on your own, verify that they stay clean,
and blow air... they will survive. But have at least three, if not four, and
expect the transmit one to die eventually.
If you have to do any mods, then mod both. Duplicate any programming
as well so that when the transmit one dies anyone with a key can go
to the site and swap the two radios and put the system back on the air
(i.e. the radio with the newly deceased transmitter is now the receiver).
Then you can swap the half dead radio with the third or fourth radio
(already modified, programmed, tested and shelved) at your leisure.

I first did this exercise back when the Motran and the 13-509 were
current...  the procedure hasn't changed much...

Mike WA6ILQ

[Repeater-Builder] Re: csc cwid-50b info needed

[skipp025]

The bipolar proms are a pain to find... then even more of a pain 
to program if you don't already have the hardware or a friend with 
the hardware and the time to work it all out. 

There is a decent alternative...   Go to Andy Brinkley's web page 
(Brinkley Electronics) and buy some of his eprom to prom conversion 
board. 

Then it's a simple tack to reprogram a common eprom vs blowing an 
old hard to find bipolar prom. 

You could even reverse solder one of the boards to make a prom to 
eprom and an eprom to prom adapter (IC Socket vs the wire wrap pins 
location). 

There seems to be a half gazillion of those ider units around... 
If you thing about putting more than $30 into the project you 
should consider an ID-O-Matic instead unless you're into learning 
and more vintage hands on electronics. 

cheers, 
skipp 

> "Merritt" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> hello everyone.. i have a cwid-50b here.. the company wasnt much help,
> they wouldnt provide any free documentation.. and at this time they
> seem to be unresponsive. 
> 
> i found some info on this ider on the repeater builder site last night
> and got more inspired to use it again.. possibly as a temporary
> solution to getting my mastr2 station on the air before i buy the
> controller i want. 
> 
> does anyone have the information for programming and programming the
> prom?  i know its a fusible link style prom, which is either open or
> low... i just need to know what locations to burn in the prom to fill
> my callsign.. or create an equvalent circuit. does anyone have any
> info? for reference, the pdf can be found here.
>
http://www.repeater-builder.com/other-mfrs/csc-cwid-50-51-identifiers.pdf
> 
> if no one here has any info, i may try and clock out the info in the
> prom and reverse engineer it. i know what the prom has in it right
> now. the circuit is fairly simple ttl logic with no micros or
> programming other than the callsign info. speed and whatnot are set by
> resistors..
> 
> thanks! -merritt
>

RE: [Repeater-Builder] The Big M's Maratrac

[Thomas Oliver]

http://www.batlabs.com/maratrac.html

Moto Maratrac is a decent platform but may not make the most reliable
repeater. They are essentialy a repackaged 16 ch (99 ch) Radius mobile with
a high power amp. The VHF and UHF radios are capeable of doing the agacent
ham bands without retuning as such the recivers have a wide front end and
may not be the best choice for high RF enviroments. The transmitter heat
sink aint enough for high duty cycle especially on UHF. Install fans and
give it a shot. 

 We had several in service (as mobiles) and most developed thier own
different quirks, I think it is due to dirty pins or connectors on the
system board.

The local Moto shop owner had one on his (Ham) Micor repeater as a remote
base and he could change channels up and down remotely by DTMF, it sounded
real good.

For hook up you could take apart the main conector plug and solder your
wires onto the corect pins and reassemble the plug.

Here is what needs to be done for a remote base Maratrac with A7 (99)ch
head.

Function Radio
{Cntrl Cable Radio Conn.}
Black/Shield Ground 8 AWG Black (Main Power)
 Tx Audio  J1 Pin 14

 PTT  J1 Pin 12

Rx Audio  J1 Pin 11
 
COR J1 Pin 18

If COR does not work ( I am prety sure ) you need to run a jumper from J20
pin 3 (telco/prog connector) on the radio chassis interconnect board (HLN
5343B),
to the negative side of C523 on the audio squelch board (audio PA mute).


Have fun.

tom n8ies






> [Original Message]
> From: k6kusman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: 
> Date: 5/5/2007 9:10:56 PM
> Subject: [Repeater-Builder] The Big M's Maratrac
>
> Hello all.. Does anyone have any info on the Moto Maratrac as related 
> to making a pair of them into a repeater or using them as remote 
> bases?. How hard are they to move to the ham bands as I have a few that 
> are 42-50, 150-164, 450,470. I have searced around the different sites 
> and can find almost no mention of the Maratrac. I would be interested 
> in hearing any info related to them. Thanks.
>
>
>
>
>
>  
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>

RE: [Repeater-Builder] SEITS Web Site

[Thomas Oliver]

I wonder if someone could mirror their site in case it goes away again.  
http://web.archive.org/web/20031008124650/www.seits.org/index.html

I have had mixed results using wayback machine 

http://www.archive.org/index.php

Sometimes pictures and schematics do not show up so it would be nice to
have someone grab all the info before it goes away.

tom





> [Original Message]
> From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: 
> Date: 5/5/2007 9:14:39 PM
> Subject: [Repeater-Builder] SEITS Web Site
>
> Some of you may remember the SEITS web site that was referenced from 
> time to time on repeater-builder.com.
>
> www.seits.org
>
> I have contacted the holder of the domain and convinced him to activate 
> the web page again.
>
> Notice that this web page is not currently being maintained and was 
> reactivated so those building repeaters would have access to the 
> construction articles. 
>
> It's kind of fun to revisit the old web site and remember being involved 
> in many of the articles and activities!
>
> Any email addresses and links may or may not be correct.
>
> Have fun!!
>
> 73's,
> Randy
> WB0VHB
>
>
>
>
>  
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>

Re: [Repeater-Builder] The Big M's Maratrac

[Gary]

There is a Yahoo group dedicated to the Maratracs. It is new but growing.
Moving the Maratracs into the amateur bands is very simple. In most cases
only your RSS must be edited, the radios already operate in the amateur
bands but they can be retuned to work even better. The lowband radio
definitely needs to be retuned to cover the entire 6m band. They are
basically the same as a Maxtrac (in design) and use many of the same mods.
There are instructions on editing your RSS available on both Batlabs (for
the earlier RSS) and in the Maratrac Yahoo group files section (for the
most recent RSS).

While Maratracs look like Mitreks they are not the same and the RX and TX
circuits are not easily seperated for repeater duty. You'll have to use two
Maratracs instead. Best to reduce the transmitter output to about 50-60
watts (or lower) because of the increased duty as a repeater transmitter.
Wiring is very simple. Same connector as a Mitrek. Many tips are available
on Batlabs as to what pins to jumper, etc. to simulate a control head and
make the radio turn on. Best to use external cooling too.
Gary

k6kusman wrote:

> Hello all.. Does anyone have any info on the Moto Maratrac as related
> to making a pair of them into a repeater or using them as remote
> bases?. How hard are they to move to the ham bands as I have a few that
> are 42-50, 150-164, 450,470. I have searced around the different sites
> and can find almost no mention of the Maratrac. I would be interested
> in hearing any info related to them. Thanks.
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Quintron Low VHF 4-400A PA

[Tony Faiola]

Hello Keith:

Take your time copying it.  I think there was another fellow interesting 
in the info also.  It cost me $12.00 to UPS it to you.  It's amazing how 
these shipping costs have gone up!

You need to share it with other interested hams, however I need it back. 
  There aren't many of these manuals out there.

The earlier ham just made me crazy getting it back to me.  It took him 
at least three months.  Others on the reflector had similar problems 
with others.  It's the small percentage that spoils it for others.

Anyway, glad you now have it to copy and share.

73, Tony, K3WX

[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Thanks for the manual.  What would you like to see done?
> 
> Keith
> KB9WMJ
> 
> 
> - Original Message - 
> From: "Tony Faiola" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: 
> Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 9:52 AM
> Subject: Re: [Repeater-Builder] Quintron Low VHF 4-400A PA
> 
> 
> 
>>
>>[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>>
>>>Anyone have schematics, or other info on a Quintron 30-50 MHz 600 Watt 
>>>Class
>>>C Paging PA?
>>>
>>>This is an older rack mounted PA that uses a 4-400A tube, with a single 
>>>pill
>>>transistorized driver.
>>>
>>>Looking for power supply outputs, and HV board hookup.
>>
>>It has been a while, and no one has answered your request for
>>information concerning the Quintron Corporation QT-7080 50 MHz 
>>Transmitter.
>>
>>I gave (free) one of these transmitters away a number of years ago.  It
>>was extremely well built and great for amateur use in the six meter
>>band.  Fortunately for you, I never gave away the manual with all the
>>schematics, etc.
>>
>>Let me know if you still require the info, and I'll copy and send it to 
>>you.
>>
>>Probably off list is better to contact me.
>>
>>Ciao, 73, Tony, K3WX
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Yahoo! Groups Links
> 
> 
> 
> 

RE: [Repeater-Builder] Sort of a repeater question

[Eric Lemmon]

Jerry,

When my late mother moved into a senior's apartment several years ago, the
same issue arose.  The solution was to add audio modulators to the
building's existing cable-TV system.  The cost of this installation was
borne completely by the cable provider and the radio stations affected.
Depending upon the specific wording in your local cable company's franchise,
it may be improper for your employer to be involved.  Since the broadcasters
stand to earn increased advertising revenue, they must bear some portion of
the cost of improving their coverage.

For example, when a television broadcaster's signal doesn't reach into a
particular valley that falls within the Grade A contour, it is the station's
responsibility to install translators and/or extenders to reach the blocked
viewers.  However, it is common that groups of homeowners and businesses
take it upon themselves to solve the problem without involving the affected
stations.  Since such action adds new viewers and/or listeners to their
served population at no cost, the broadcasters are not likely to complain!
In fact, they gloat when "outsiders" solve their coverage problems.

While I admire your employer's desire to step in on behalf of the elderly
persons, I suggest that each of these elderly persons should complain to the
respective AM station managers, and see what happens.

If your employer still feels compelled to underwrite the cost of adding AM
station coverage to the cable plant, look at the modulators offered by
Blonder-Tongue and Jerrold.  Both companies offer design assistance as well
as equipment.  Integrating some new channel modulators into an existing CATV
system is definitely not a plug-and-play exercise.

73, Eric Lemmon WB6FLY


-Original Message-
From: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jerry Hermann
Sent: Friday, May 04, 2007 8:23 AM
To: Yahoo Repeater Builder; Yahoo Repeaters
Subject: [Repeater-Builder] Sort of a repeater question

My name is Jerry and my call sign is NA3A. I have been asked by my employer
to find a way to get an AM radio signal into an assisted living complex.
There are a lot of elderly people who still like AM. Unfortunately the only
the only place an AM signal is available is on the 4th of 7 floors. The
building has a metal shell but apparently that doesn't apply to the 4th
floor. A suggestion was made to take several pre-set am stations and pump
the signal through their cable system so that they can listen to them there.
I know this is not an Amateur Radio question per se but Hams are pretty
ingenious to I thought I would throw this out here and see if anybody has a
suggestion or 2. 

 

Thanks,

Jerry Hermann, NA3A

Re: [Repeater-Builder] r100 - eeprom memory map?

[Maire-Radios]

when you go into the R-100 software there is a page in there that will show you 
the freg.   one plug is for RX the other is the TX.


  - Original Message - 
  From: Barry Buelow 
  To: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2007 8:48 PM
  Subject: [Repeater-Builder] r100 - eeprom memory map?


  I have an R100 and old pc, built the cable and can talk to the radio ok. 
  It appears the sw only does single byte edits in hex. 

  Is there a magic decoder ring that tells what addr for freq?

  Any other advice?

  Thanks
  Barry



   

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Sort of a repeater question

[Maire-Radios]

how about a roof top antenna and one in the center of the building  hooked to 
each other.


  - Original Message - 
  From: Jerry Hermann 
  To: Yahoo Repeater Builder ; Yahoo Repeaters 
  Sent: Friday, May 04, 2007 11:22 AM
  Subject: [Repeater-Builder] Sort of a repeater question



  My name is Jerry and my call sign is NA3A. I have been asked by my employer 
to find a way to get an AM radio signal into an assisted living complex. There 
are a lot of elderly people who still like AM. Unfortunately the only the only 
place an AM signal is available is on the 4th of 7 floors. The building has a 
metal shell but apparently that doesn't apply to the 4th floor. A suggestion 
was made to take several pre-set am stations and pump the signal through their 
cable system so that they can listen to them there. I know this is not an 
Amateur Radio question per se but Hams are pretty ingenious to I thought I 
would throw this out here and see if anybody has a suggestion or 2. 



  Thanks,

  Jerry Hermann, NA3A


   

[Repeater-Builder] r100 - eeprom memory map?

[Barry Buelow]

I have an R100 and old pc, built the cable and can talk to the radio ok.  
It appears the sw only does single byte edits in hex.  

Is there a magic decoder ring that tells what addr for freq?

Any other advice?

Thanks
Barry

[Repeater-Builder] SEITS Web Site

[rande]

Some of you may remember the SEITS web site that was referenced from 
time to time on repeater-builder.com.

www.seits.org

I have contacted the holder of the domain and convinced him to activate 
the web page again.

Notice that this web page is not currently being maintained and was 
reactivated so those building repeaters would have access to the 
construction articles. 

It's kind of fun to revisit the old web site and remember being involved 
in many of the articles and activities!

Any email addresses and links may or may not be correct.

Have fun!!

73's,
Randy
WB0VHB

[Repeater-Builder] drc186 model ad1 repeater controler

[kc8oqi]

   
This repeater controler is about 10 years old.
there is no information available for it and I was hoping
that someone had some info on it !!


jeff
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

[Repeater-Builder] Sort of a repeater question

[Jerry Hermann]

My name is Jerry and my call sign is NA3A. I have been asked by my employer
to find a way to get an AM radio signal into an assisted living complex.
There are a lot of elderly people who still like AM. Unfortunately the only
the only place an AM signal is available is on the 4th of 7 floors. The
building has a metal shell but apparently that doesn't apply to the 4th
floor. A suggestion was made to take several pre-set am stations and pump
the signal through their cable system so that they can listen to them there.
I know this is not an Amateur Radio question per se but Hams are pretty
ingenious to I thought I would throw this out here and see if anybody has a
suggestion or 2. 

 

Thanks,

Jerry Hermann, NA3A

[Repeater-Builder] csc cwid-50b info needed

[Merritt]

hello everyone.. i have a cwid-50b here.. the company wasnt much help,
they wouldnt provide any free documentation.. and at this time they
seem to be unresponsive. 

i found some info on this ider on the repeater builder site last night
and got more inspired to use it again.. possibly as a temporary
solution to getting my mastr2 station on the air before i buy the
controller i want. 

does anyone have the information for programming and programming the
prom?  i know its a fusible link style prom, which is either open or
low... i just need to know what locations to burn in the prom to fill
my callsign.. or create an equvalent circuit. does anyone have any
info? for reference, the pdf can be found here.
http://www.repeater-builder.com/other-mfrs/csc-cwid-50-51-identifiers.pdf

if no one here has any info, i may try and clock out the info in the
prom and reverse engineer it. i know what the prom has in it right
now. the circuit is fairly simple ttl logic with no micros or
programming other than the callsign info. speed and whatnot are set by
resistors..

thanks! -merritt

[Repeater-Builder] The Big M's Maratrac

[k6kusman]

Hello all.. Does anyone have any info on the Moto Maratrac as related 
to making a pair of them into a repeater or using them as remote 
bases?. How hard are they to move to the ham bands as I have a few that 
are 42-50, 150-164, 450,470. I have searced around the different sites 
and can find almost no mention of the Maratrac. I would be interested 
in hearing any info related to them. Thanks.

[Repeater-Builder] Re: need some mic's

[sgreact47]

Ed, 
You need Motorola part number TDN9916 includes the mic and 
instalation peices.

The mic is a Audio-technica  AT857/SW 
Also Giatronics part # 4616-84863-69.

"Com/Rad Inc" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Anyone here have any Comtegra Remote Goose Neck Microphones?
> 

RE: [Repeater-Builder] tower tips..

[Eric Lemmon]

Glen,

May I assume that your intent is to occupy space and consume power at a
city-owned site, for free?  If so, you probably should be prepared to
demonstrate that your equipment is of very high quality and will be
installed and maintained as if it were an important commercial system.

Some city officials are prejudiced against Amateur Radio installations,
because they think we are just a bunch of CB-ers who will get in the way
and/or cause interference to the city system.  Once such an installation is
blamed on a Ham group, it is almost impossible to regain confidence.  It
really doesn't matter if the perception is accurate or not.  The important
thing is to demonstrate that your group has the knowledge, experience, and
financial resources to perform a first-class installation.  Moreover, you
must have a lot more than a vague potential to help the city; you need to
show that your repeater will free up other resources as well.

One tack is to provide direct support to local Red Cross offices, and get
some publicity for that work.  Many police departments have a Community
Service section that uses outreach programs to improve relations with the
public, and your club can help out in that area.  Once your club has
established some trust with local agencies, it is a small step to work with
the city to install Amateur radio equipment at city-owned sites.

It is very important that you contact the person who directly maintains the
city radio equipment, and gain his or her trust.  Otherwise, you can spend
months trying to butter up a city official, only to have the idea shot down
by a radio maintenance tech who doesn't want to have a cheap repeater taking
up space in his/her radio room.  You might even invite this radio tech to
speak at a Ham club meeting, to inform your group about how important
his/her job is to the city.  If this tech sees that your group is savvy
about radios, that can make a huge difference in getting space at a city
site.

73, Eric Lemmon WB6FLY


-Original Message-
From: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Glen Briggs Aka
KBØRPJ
Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2007 10:27 AM
To: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Repeater-Builder] tower tips..

Anyone want to share some talking points they 
think are good when talking to owners about 
wanting to put an antenna on their tower?

right now we talking up community service and 
emergency communications, any other points?

Thank You for your time,

Glen Briggs - KBØRPJ
President - North Central Missouri Amateur Radio Club
Grundy County Local Emergency Planning Committee Member
http://www.northmohams.org   -Home to the North 
central Missouri Amateur Radio Club-

Re: [Repeater-Builder] tower tips..

[Steven Samuel Bosshard \(NU5D\)]

I totally mis-read you earlier post.  Forgive my off key response.

First the benefits to the community and the tower owner.

Second no risk to the tower owner - qualified personnel, bonded and insured.

See if any of the tower owners folks are hams, or if there are already hams
with equipment installed, see if you can work together.

No interference to the owner's equipment or services.

See if you can get the owner's contractor involved - Yep, we use old so and
so at Tower Tech to do our work.

Use of tower can count as a charitable donation to the 503C3 entity needing
the tower.

Just a few - I wish you best luck.  Had one tower owner that would not say
no.  Trouble is he would not say yes either - I finally gave up.

Re: [Repeater-Builder] tower tips..

[Steven Samuel Bosshard \(NU5D\)]

Stay away from power lines.  Be sure the tower is safe to climb BEFORE you 
climb.  Use proper safety apparatus.  If you are inexperienced, get someone 
with experience to help.

Steve NU5D

Hand over hand to 700 ft, on top of a cage to 1800 ft (don't like riding in 
fone booths).  

[Repeater-Builder] tower tips..

[Glen Briggs Aka KBØRPJ]

anyone want to share some talking points they 
think are good when talking to owners about 
wanting to put an antenna on there tower?

right now we talking up community service and 
emergency communications, any other points?



Thank You for your time,

Glen Briggs - KBØRPJ
President - North Central Missouri Amateur Radio Club
Grundy County Local Emergency Planning Committee Member
http://www.northmohams.org -Home to the North 
central Missouri Amateur Radio Club-  



---
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[Repeater-Builder] For Sale - 175' of 7/8" Andrew LDF-50A (used)

[Tony L.]

Contact me off-line if interested.

$250 firm. Cash only.

Pick up only in Northern, NJ.

[Repeater-Builder] need some mic's

[Com/Rad Inc]

Hello all

Anyone here have any Comtegra Remote Goose Neck Microphones?

These are the devices which mounted to the side of the console and 
had a small connector mating with the "goose neck mic" input on rear apron.

Looking for 2 

Ed Folta
Com/Rad Inc 
 

Re: [Repeater-Builder] Quintron Low VHF 4-400A PA

[[EMAIL PROTECTED]]

Thanks for the manual.  What would you like to see done?

Keith
KB9WMJ


- Original Message - 
From: "Tony Faiola" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: 
Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 9:52 AM
Subject: Re: [Repeater-Builder] Quintron Low VHF 4-400A PA


>
>
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>> Anyone have schematics, or other info on a Quintron 30-50 MHz 600 Watt 
>> Class
>> C Paging PA?
>>
>> This is an older rack mounted PA that uses a 4-400A tube, with a single 
>> pill
>> transistorized driver.
>>
>> Looking for power supply outputs, and HV board hookup.
>
> It has been a while, and no one has answered your request for
> information concerning the Quintron Corporation QT-7080 50 MHz 
> Transmitter.
>
> I gave (free) one of these transmitters away a number of years ago.  It
> was extremely well built and great for amateur use in the six meter
> band.  Fortunately for you, I never gave away the manual with all the
> schematics, etc.
>
> Let me know if you still require the info, and I'll copy and send it to 
> you.
>
> Probably off list is better to contact me.
>
> Ciao, 73, Tony, K3WX