history

 

History and old news....

 

Close Down of GB3BK

Unfortunately TVRG have to announce that GB3BK, the Reading 70cm repeater on RB11 has closed down indefinitely. This happened at around 18.30 on Friday 2nd July.

GB3BK was sited in Woodley to the east of Reading. Originally it was anticipated that the mast, which is on the site of an old, now disused, police station would be retained and continue in use when the site was redeveloped.

However, the mast has to go as re-development is about to begin and we were asked to remove our equipment.

It's not as had as it might have been as one of the other TVRG 70cm repeaters GB3BN covers Reading reasonably well, certainly for mobiles. What is going to be missed is the excellent hand-portable coverage BK provided.

At the moment there is moratorium on licensing of further 70cm repeaters so we are not in a position to re-apply, even if we had another site. A "site change" is regarded as being a new licence application. We will keep our ears to the ground and see if there is any likelihood of a change in policy but this is unlikely in the near future.

So "Goodbye BK" - which first came into service in 1977

APRS Information

If you are looking for an introduction to APRS and UI-View to make use of the MB7UJ digipeater then TVRG member Mac - G4IQI has an excellent introduction on his web site at http://www.mckinnon.me.uk

MB7UJ on air.....

@ Jul 13, 2002

TVRG's first digipeater became live at 11:30am on Saturday 13th July 2002. The digipeater is provided for APRS and operates on 144.800Mhz, and was built and installed by the TVRG Packet subgroup.

Click here to see more pictures of  the MB7UJ installationTo the left you can see from left to right Roger G7RUH, Mac (I'm going to get in at least one picture) G4IQI and finally Denis (where did I leave my horse) G4KWT.

Click here to see more pictures of  the MB7UJ installationRoger and Denis get on with erecting the antenna whilst Mac takes it easy and snaps away with his digital camera. Nice hat Denis !!!

To view all the pictures taken during the switching on of MB7UJ (and there were lots of them) click on either of the two pictures above.

Further information on MB7UJ can be found here

         

GB3BN antenna fault...

@ April 6, 2001

On the morning of April 3rd the usual morning crowd noticed that all was not well with the repeater It was observed that both the uplink and downlink were approximately 20dB down on usual and following a visit to site by Paul (G4HLF) an antenna/feeder fault was suspected.

Click to view full size imageA replacement antenna was acquired and on Friday 6th April a rigger attended site and replaced the Diamond X30 collinear with a commercial Skymast S.M4 four stack dipole array (see picture >>)

Click to view full size imageDespite the weather on the day the rigger was able to complete the work in around 3 hours. In addition to the antenna new ironwork had to be installed to allow for the bracing of the four stack at both top and bottom. GB3BN was off the air from 10:30 to 13:30.

Click to view full size imageThe Skymast S.M4 is at the same location and height on the tower as the previous antenna. Initial reports suggest that performance is slightly improved on the previous installation.

If you wish to make a donation to TVRG please follow the link on the left...

 

GB3BN Returns....

@ December 20, 2000

TVRG is pleased to announce the return of GB3BN to its former glory. BN became operational from its new site on Wednesday 20th December 2000 @ 15:45.

Click to view full size imageFull details on GB3BN can be found on the Repeaters page. Coverage reports can be can be submitted and viewed by visiting Coverage Reports. A full collection of pictures taken during the switch-on is also available from the GB3BN repeater page.

Thanks to the efforts of the RMC and in particular Roger Jones (G3YMK) for all their assistance and advice throughout the move.

Click to view full size imageClick to view full size image

Site moves are expensive and your contributions are most welcome. If you wish to make a donation to the TVRG please click here

 

 

GB3BK moves home

@ Jun 1, 2002

GB3BK moved home on 1st June 2002 and was switched on at approximately 11:00am. BK is now located at Woodley, Reading and the new sites provides excellent coverage in Reading town centre and surrounding area's.

Click here to see more pictures of the BK moveChris (G4CCC) can be seen "humping" the cabinet into its new home. Previously BK was located at Aldermaston apparently down a mine shaft providing little coverage anywhere !

Click here to see more pictures of the BK moveBaz (G8DOR) switches on GB3BK from the new location Also worth noting is the brickwork in the background. Ian G8NXJ was entirely responsible on a previous visit.

 

Click here to see more pictures of the BK moveAnd the first call through the relocated repeater. Baz checks all is in order after switch-on

 

To view all the pictures taken during the relocation of GB3BK click any of the images in this window.

GB3BN Site tests completed

@ December 10, 2000

On Friday 8th December myself, Baz (G8DOR) and Chris (G4CCC) spent a few hours testing GB3BN from it new location at Coppid Beech. Testing was carried out with BN in its final configuration using the Key Radio KF450 basestation, Procom duplxer and Diamond X30 dualband collinear.Click to view full size image

The antenna had been installed for us the previous week and is located 52m up the tower on the West side to restrict coverage towards London.

First impressions? Well it all looks very good so far. Baz was pleasantly surprised at how "clean" the site was (RF) and we heard no signs of any unwanted signals on the input. No sign was seen of any reflected power from the antenna and no desense was noticed when the TX was keyed. More importantly no problems were reported by other site sharers.

Limited time was available for coverage testing but we certainly had a substantial numbers of reports which were all very encouraging.

 

Internet Linking Club Talks

@ Feb 9, 2002

Paul (G4HLF) has recently held a number of "Internet Linking Talks" at local radio clubs. The most recent talk was held at the Guildfor ARC on Friday 8th Feb, previous talks have been held at the Bracknell and Reading radio clubs.

Click to view full size imageIf you would like a talk at your club on "Internet Linking" please contact Paul (G4HLF) at g4hlf@tvrg.org.uk

GB3BK To move to Reading

@ Feb 9, 2002

The Reading UHF repeater GB3BK currently located near Aldermaston (see this link for details) should be moving back to Reading in the Summer... all been well.

Tests have been completed from the new location (Old Woodley Police Station) and results were promising with good coverage been provided to Reading town canter. The application is now with the RMC/RA waiting for approval which will hopefully be granted over the next few months (See the RMC website for latest)

Steve (G4YFB) gets to work on the door covering himself (it would seem) in the majority of the wood shavings.

 

Click here to see more pictures of the BK building alterations and testingBob The Builder (Ian G8NXJ) bricks up the old windows. Chris G4CCC also had a go but it was felt he was better off mixing the cement (below).

Click here to see more pictures of the BK building alterations and testingTo view all the pictures taken during the building alterations and testing of BK click any of the images.in this window.

 

GB3BN Linking via ilink

@ Sept 29, 2001

A few of you have recently asked if BN is still Internet linked so I thought it time I explained the situation.

GB3BN will shortly be linking using a new application developed by Graeme M0CSH. This will provide a vastly superior interface and dedicated servers as well as additional security.

You can download the software and use it now to link to other repeaters, the application is small (less then 300K) and can be downloaded from http://www.aacnet.net/

 

McMichael Rally 2001

@ January 6, 2001

TVRG are pleased to be attending this years McMichael rally on 15th July 2001, please come along and support your local repeater group. We should have lots of goodies to sell to raise money for the upkeep of the repeaters and as always donations and support much appreciated. If you need a new 2m, 4m handie then this is the place to be !!

This year the rally has a new venue, the Reading Rugby Football Club in Sonning Lane. The new venue promises bigger and better facilities and a bar! Full details on the rally can be found at http://www.radarc.org/MMRally.htm

The McMichael rally is organised by the Reading and District Amateur Radio Club, their webpage can be found at http://www.radarc.org/

 

GB3BN Internet Linking

@ May 04, 2001

Internet linking has begun on GB3BN the Bracknell UHF repeater during the evenings and weekends. The link will be active on an occasional basis and so far the response has been very favourable. The Internet gateway is G4HLF/1 and is operated by Paul (G4HLF)

At the moment BN is using Iphone to link to the Internet via an ISDN connection, In the future we will be looking at other options and technologies. For further information on Internet Linking visit Ian Abels (G3ZHI) page at www.qsl.net/g3zhi

GB3RD has moved.....

@ Nov 11, 2001

On the 10th of November at approximately 20:00 GB3RD was switched on from its new location at Aldworth in Berkshire. For those of you that were regular users when RD was located at Upper Basildon the new site is expected to restore much of that coverage. For more detailed information on RD please click here.

Click here to see more pictures of the RD move The picture on the left shows Steve (G4YFB) switching RD from the new site.

 

Click here to see more pictures of the RD moveIan (G8NXJ) and Steve get to work on the steelwork whilst Chris (G4CCC) looks on and offers advice !

To see further pictures from the days activities click on either of the images above.

We hope you all enjoy RD and look forward to hearing you on in the near future. Work continues to find a new home for GB3BK (Reading UHF) and other projects including the Internet linking. If you wish to support us then please visit the "donations" section on the left of your Browser or follow this link

What to keep in touch and up-to-date with TVRG activities ? Join the TVRG Yahoogroup via the following link http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tvrg/join

TVRG assist with GB3HZ

@ February 25, 2001

Baz (G8DOR) recently visited GB3HZ to supply and fit a replacement PA for the Key Radio KF450 basestation. GB3HZ had been running at low power with a temporary PA for over a year, Baz's repair allowed the HZ to return to its normal power level.

On site on the day to meet Baz and arrange access were Peter Hicks (G4KCX) and HZ's NOV holder Iain Phillips (G0RDI). TVRG were thanked for the donation of the PA and the repair work.

Further information on HZ can be found at http://www.gb3hz.org/

Roger Jones, G3YMK

@ February 21, 2001

It is with deep sadness that we have been informed that Roger has become a silent key following a recent illness.

There are several references to Roger on this website for his outstanding contribution and enthusiasm that we experienced during the relocation of GB3BN. During this time we were fortunate to have the pleasure to meet Roger on several occasion. Roger was to be present at the "switch on" of BN but due to his illness at the time was unable to attend.

Roger will be sadly missed.

Our thoughts at this time are with Roger's family.

GB3RD move approved...

@ Sept 29, 2001

GB3RD the Reading VHF repeater has recently been approved by the Repeater Management Committee and Radiocommunications Agency for its proposed relocation to Aldworth (NW of Reading).

The new site will provide much improved coverage over its existing location near Aldermaston restoring coverage to that which was previously experienced when RD was located at Upper Basildon some years back.

Further information on the proposed site change can also be found at the RMC website http://www.coldal.org.uk/cleared.htm and http://www.coldal.org.uk/reps/gb3rd.htm

As soon as a date is finalised for the move to take place it will be announced on both this website and the tvrg Yahoogroups. If you are not already a member of tvrg Yahoogroups you can join by simply clicking the Icon in the navigation pane to the left of this page.

Your Coverage Reports.

@ December 17, 2000

It is now possible to submit and view your own coverage reports on any of the TVRG repeaters. Please visit Coverage Reports for details on how to fill in the simple online form. The more reports the better so visit as often as you wish.

Welcome to
the TVRG Website...

The site itself is new and your comments on layout content etc are all welcome. If you wish to make a suggestion, comment or criticism a good place to start would be the Guestbook.

It is still early days and there is much information still to be added to the website, please visit frequently for the latest updates.

If you require further information regarding this website or have a specific question regarding its content then please contact myself (Steve Coleman) at g4yfb@tvrg.org.uk

GB3RD testing

@ May 07, 2001

Coverage testing has now been completed from two proposed sites for GB3RD the Berkshire VHF repeater. The results from the testing at the two sites (North Bracknell and North West Reading) now has to be analysed an a decision made as to which option to opt for. The website will be updated once an application has been submitted.

Click here to see more pictures of the RD testClick here to see more pictures of the RD tests

In the Picture above Chris (G4CCC) and his companions for the afternoon (6th May) can be seen up to their knees in pig sh** Surprisingly Chris was still able to raise a smile despite the harsh operating conditions and went on to have an enjoyable afternoon with his HAM radio!

For more pictures on the testing from the two sites click on the pictures above.

TVRG Yahoogroups

This is a great was to stay in touch with all those interested in the repeaters run by the group.
Joining is simple and free and all that is required is to click the egroups icon on the left.

There has been little response to egroups to date so please take time to have a look as it is a great way to keep up-to-date with the latest developments.

 

 

 

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