146.76 and 449.1 are out of service until further notice.

After over 30 years of service both repeaters have been removed including the antennas to prepare for the removal of the building in conjunction with the construction of the new DOE Combined Community Communication Facility. When the facility is completed we hope to have a space to place the repeaters. 

Oct 19, 2008

Site restoration is completed, all repeaters are back in service ! 

449.1 is now back in service. A 100hz tone is required to access the repeater. Great weather allowed us to install the mount and antenna for the 449.1 this completes the installation of equipment that was damaged on 2/7/2008 during a winter storm. We also remedied the source of noise that was present on 146.76 with a weak signal input. 

June 22,2008

146.76 is back in service !

It took a long time for the weather to allow us to safely work at the site.
With a lot of long hours and good weather we are pleased to report that the repeater in now back on the air.

Remember that a 100hz PL tone is required to access the system.

February 23, 2008

Made a trip to the site and we have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

This is due to a storm on February 7, 2008 that packed 110 MPH winds and caused catastrophic failure of both towers and major damage at our site as well as other sites across the top of the Rattlesnake Hills.

	The good news is we can repair many of the antenna's  Pictured is the antenna for 146.76, it just needs new ground radials.
	The 449.1 was spared, thanks to a rock ledge that dropped down and protected it from hitting the ground.
	The bad news is the towers are beyond repair. This is what is left of 70 feet of Rohn 25. This tower has been in service since this mid 1970's and held up against many storms.
	This is the shorter tower, The antenna for 147.18 was side mounted near the top and is a total loss.
	CRUNCHED !
	Most of the Heliax was damaged about 25 feet up the tower, where it buckled in the picture above. Pictured is how far the cable was jerked out from inside the building.
	The anchors appear to be OK and the guy wires were not damaged. If we replace the turn buckles and associated hardware we should be able to reuse the cable.
	We have cleaned up the site and ready to make plans for rebuilding the repeater site.

February 12, 2008

Mother Nature Strikes Again !
The Hanford Weather Station recorded winds of 110.1 mph at 11:30 on Thursday February 7, 2008

This ariel view shows what we suspected, both towers have fallen down.





February 10, 2008

It appears we have had a catastrophic failure at the site. Looking with a spotting scope from a distance it appears both towers have
fallen down. We hope to be able to access the site this week and assess the damage. 

March, 2007

	The machine got it's "spring tune-up" along with some antenna work.  We found some loose ribbon cable connections in the controller. We hope that this may have been the cause of low audio at times this pass winter. We also replaced the broken radial on the antenna. This may help the pattern some.
	The guy wires are the source of noise when the wind is blowing and a weak station is working the repeater. We tightened the grounds and isolated the cables from each other. This seems to have minimized the noise for now. More bonding in the future will hopefully keep the problems to a minimum. The one pictured seems to be the source of most of the problems.

May, 2002

	A BIG Thanks goes to Duane (K7OJ) and his wife for putting a fresh coat of paint on the building.
	Another beautiful sunset observed from the top of the mountain.

March 23, 2002

76 Machine is back 
on the air with a new radio and controller. 

NOTICE:
Due to RF interference a 100 Hz tone is required to access the system.

You may still notice noise on weak signals. This is due to the high winds (50 - 100+ mph) that occur on a regular basis and hardware that is loose and worn out . We are planning to make updates and repairs to the towers this summer.

January 13, 2001

Here we go again!

Remember that new antenna we put last February? Look at the pictures below and see if you can find what is different!

February 18, 2000	January 13, 2001

If you guessed that the radome is missing on the antenna, your right!
Yep Mother Nature strikes again.
Here are pictures of our trek to the mountain to replace the antenna once again on Saturday January 13, 2001

	Work crew prepares to replace 146.76 antenna
	Steve, WB7WHF heading up the tower removing ice on the way up.
	New antenna installed. This antenna is rated for 125 mph winds with 1/2" of ice. We sure hope it will survive the Winter winds.

February 18, 2000

Third time is a charm? We hope!

Well along with Mother Nature's cooperation, we have installed a new 1/2 wave antenna on the 76 machine for the interim. With sunshine and no wind the job was completed and 76 is back on the air on February 18, 2000. We are hoping to get replacement parts for the Sinclair and be able to replace the top of the tower and put the Sinclair back up sometime in late spring. For the time being you may notice that the machine does not have as much range as before.

	On the right is the new 1/2 wave antenna for the 76 repeater. The 449.1 antenna on the left was not damaged and just needed to be straightened in the clamp and better secured  on the tower.
	The trip to the site was a bit of a challenge with drifts blocking the road in a few places. But with 4 wheel drive and some careful consideration of where to drive we made the trip safely.

What Happen?

Mother Nature along with mechanical failure dealt the 146.76 repeater located on Rattlesnake hills a major blow. Last spring the top section of the 70 foot tower was replaced with a brand new section before the new Sinclair antenna was installed, because the old top section tubing had broke off and the antenna had come crashing down a few years earlier.  Well on January 11, 2000 the new top section broke and the new antenna came crashing down leaving nothing but a dangling feed line at the top.