HamWAN and Tri-State Repeater Launch VHF D-Star Repeater in East Memphis

 3 August 2015  ryan_turner

KK4IOH Michael Knight

On August 1st, members of HamWAN Memphis Metro and Tri-State Repeater installed a VHF D-Star repeater module at the Hilton Hotel located in east Memphis, TN. Owned and operated by Tri-State Repeater, HamWAN Memphis Metro helped by providing the network necessary to make this D-Star repeater internet-connected. The repeater is on air, transmitting on 144.940 and receiving on 147.440 MHz in D-Star digital voice mode.

“This connection enables crystal clear world wide communications 24 hours a day,” said Tri-State Repeater Director Michael Knight (licensed General Class KK4IOH).
“If HamWAN weren’t available, we would’ve had to either leave the repeater un-networked, pay for cellular service, or navigate the difficulties of getting a connection through the site sponsor with a public IP.”

The repeater is open to public use and will soon have emergency power. With a Hustler G7 antenna, “it has good coverage of all of Shelby County” said Knight. The repeater’s status can be viewed at https://wb4kog.com/ both on the internet and on HamWAN internally.

“While we’ve had a few AllStar repeaters on network so far, this is the first D-Star repeater to join HamWAN” said HamWAN Memphis Metro president Ryan Turner. “With D-Star reflector REF067 on network, when additional D-Star repeaters join our network, we can join them together even if the internet is down. This is an exciting opportunity for us with wide-area emergency communications.”

Tri-State Repeater Association Inc is a non profit amateur radio repeater group founded in 1975. With about ten repeaters in and around the mid-south, they offer communications capabilities on both voice and packet radio. For more information, visit their website.

HamWAN Memphis Metro provides high-speed wireless data networking for amateur radio operators in the 10 county Memphis Metro region, making up over 5,000 square miles and nearly 2,500 radio operators. MemHamWAN supports microwave and IP networking experimentation, education, and emergency use by deploying a redundant, engineered infrastructure. With microwave connectivity, operators are able to participate in the regional wide area network. Operators may remotely access radio receivers and transmitters, stream media, use voice-over-ip, and many other things. For more information, visit memhamwan.orgor twitter.com/memhamwan.