Snohomish County has the first wide coverage DSTAR repeater system located in Granite Falls. Like the other ACS repeaters, this system is open to the general amateur community when ACS is not activated. Unlike the other ACS repeaters, it is only available to users with DSTAR radios. Although the DSTAR radios can operate FM, the repeater operates in DSTAR mode only. The Snohomish County EOC and DEM-10 are both equipped with DSTAR radios and can use this system. There are currently only a few ACS members with this capability.

The system went online in July 2009, was moved to the Granite Falls location in October, 2010, and will continue to be improved over time. At this time, DV mode (voice and low speed data) is available on UHF at 440.325MHz and DD mode (high speed data) is available at 1251.650MHz. The DV mode radio programming information is:

NR7SS B      440.325      +5.000

Future Plans

A 2m VHF capability will be added when an available 2m repeater pair can be identified.

23cm Antenna Replacement

The DD mode repeater is currently connected to a Comet GP-98 triband antenna. This antenna is a very long, fragile, two-piece design. We currently have a Comet GP-21 which is a bit shorter, one-piece model with higher gain which although is more survivable in ice and wind, is still not ideal. We need to replace the GP-98 with at least the GP-21. Ideally, we would get a commercial version in place before the snow falls but with government purchasing, it may not happen fast enough.

Install the DSTAR Gateway

The gateway server is currently being configured but there is no Internet at the site (no wires at all). A local wireless ISP has offered to help get the site online but we are still waiting for hardware to install. The wireless bridge has to be installed and provisioned, then the gateway server needs to be installed and configured.

Connect Internet via DRATS and DD mode

In the absence of a gateway, it is possible for a radio somewhere in the coverage area to provide Internet access via DD mode and run DRATS to provide email service. This can be done easily at any time and is at least some improvement before the gateway is available.

Connect to Regional Reflector

The Federal Way team is currently working on a DSTAR reflector that acts like a conference bridge for DSTAR repeaters. This would allow all gateway connected repeater systems to participate in a region-wide system. It is an outstanding way to connect local coverage systems and sparse DSTAR users into a system that would have WWA-wide coverage. If we had an emergency and needed the bandwidth, we could simply terminate our connection to the reflector and preserve the bandwidth for our operations.

There is also a proposal to build a region-wide DSTAR network ideally using a very high site on the Olympic peninsula to cover the whole Puget Sound region. If funding for this system is approved, it would likely go online summer 2010. This would offer coverage up the river valleys that are currently shadowed by the Mt Pilchuck system.

What can you do?

We will be offering training on the new system in the coming months. With just the EOC and DEM10 systems, we have some great capability to offer DEM and the SAR teams. Adding other team members with DSTAR capability provides even more service to our coverage area. If you’re considering a new radio, you may be interested in the additional features. There are some links with additional information below.

Copyright 2010 All rights reserved. Last Updated: 20 Oct 2010