ATTENTION ALL K-LINK REPEATER USERS: Please review the new RULES section.
Latest News:
Clay Center 147.165+ (118.8) RVARC repeater is on the air. See news below.
Manhattan 147.225+ Repeater is off the air for repairs until further notice.
Getting. Stuff. Done.
2009 has proven to be a busy year. Several repeaters are on the drawing board and there are plans of upgrading some of the existing repeaters. Here is the list of current projects:
Newton 444.525 repeater. This one is almost ready and is days away from installation. Waiting for no wind and dry weather!
Manhattan 444.525 is still in the works for 2009. We're still waiting for approval for space.
We're investigating a link into Barton county for Skywarn coverage.
We're talking with the folks out at Hays about a possible 440 repeater on K-Link.
Upgrade McPherson 444.600 to 100% duty repeater and install battery backup system.
Upgrade Russell 444.950 and 147.285 to 100% duty repeaters and put 147.285 on K-Link.
Upgrade Osborne 147.375 to a 100% duty repeater and link directly to 444.850
There are a few other projects in the very early planning stages that we'll announce in late 2009 or 2010. Of course there are always ongoing maintenance actions to keep the system running smoothly. If you'd like to contribute to the cause, either financially or by donating usable equipment, get in touch. We thank those of you who have contributed in the past!
FUND RAISER for Manhattan Repeater
K-Link is currently working to install a 440 repeater to serve Manhattan and surrounding areas to facilitate direct radio communications with NWS-Topeka and to support Skywarn/WARN operations. We are planning an installation at 190 feet AGL. Please support our efforts by donating, you can use Paypal via the 'Make a Donation' button on the left or mail checks to Justin Reed. Our goal is to have this repeater operational by May 15, 2009. Click here to view a propagation prediction map. Update: The Frequency will be 444.525+ (88.5)
FUND RAISER for Harvey County Repeater
K-Link is currently working to install a 440 repeater to serve Harvey county and surrounding areas to facilitate direct radio communications with NWS-Wichita. We are planning an installation at 250 feet AGL. Please support our efforts by donating, you can use Paypal via the 'Make a Donation' button on the left or mail checks to Justin Reed. Our goal is to have this repeater operational by May 1, 2009. Click here to view a propagation prediction map. Update: The frequency will be 444.525+ (103.5)
Repair: Ellsworth 444.775+ (88.5) - KØHAM NEKSUN
Saturday May 2, 2009 - Made repairs to feedline and repeater that was causing high SWR and poor receive coverage. The repeater now has much improved range. Give it a try.
Repair: McPherson 147.330+ - McPherson Amateur Radio Club
Tuesday April 28, 2009 - Justin NØUJQ, Chance N5NIQ, and Gerald WDØFYF were on site to replace the repeater antenna, and previous work was done to fix problems on the feedline. This has cured the duplex noise problems that have been going on for quite some time. Although this repeater isn't linked to K-Link, it still gets our K-Link seal of approval!
New Repeater: Clay Center 147.165+ (118.8) - Republican Valley Amateur Radio Club
Saturday April 11, 2009 - Justin NØUJQ, Mike Scott NØXRM and "Tower Man Tim" Installed the antenna, feedline, and a temporary repeater. The antenna is at 240 feet and the power output is 18 watts until we get the 100 watt unit running.
New Link: Salina 442.200+ (118.8) NØKSC-R (Underlay site)
Saturday February 28, 2009 - Justin NØUJQ connected the Salina 442.200+ repeater to the K-Link system. This repeater offers portable coverage in the city of Salina and mobile coverage in Saline County. The power output is 20 watts and the antenna height is about 150 feet above downtown Salina. The link has a 30 minute activity timer, so you will probably need to enable the link when you visit Salina. See Status and Frequencies for more information.
Equipment Upgrade: Concordia/Norway 146.925- WBØSVM-R
Saturday October 18, 2008 - Justin NØUJQ, George NØGJ, and Doyle WBØSRP installed 7/8" feedline from the repeater cabinet to the antenna to replace noisy coax. The repeater and link audio levels were properly adjusted and the duplexer tuned for peak performance. We achieved 2.5dB insertion loss and notch depth of 75dB on each side of the duplexer. The repeater output is 16 watts at the duplex port. Here are some photos.
New Link: Sterling 444.450+ (100.0) WBØLUN-R
Monday October 6, 2008 - Justin NØUJQ and Fred Gilmore WBØLUN put the Sterling repeater back into service after a 3 week absence, and it returned with linking capability. This repeater now links into K-Link via the McPherson 444.600 repeater. It is using a DB-420 at about 140 feet running 35 watts. Initial testing looks really promising - two portable users in McPherson were able to access it directly. Mobile users in Hutchinson, Lyons, Great Bend, and other surrounding areas should be able to use this great repeater!
New Link: Minneapolis 147.225+ (118.8) KSØLNK-R
Saturday August 23, 2008 - The Minneapolis 225 repeater has been interfaced to the 444.850 controller and is usually linked into the system. This repeater is at 300 feet with 75 watts output.
K-Link Repeater System 10th anniversary
Saturday August 16, 2008 marks the anniversary of ten years of K-Link, which was named by repeater owners and users that attended a special meeting at the Salina Hamfest in 1998. Our Saturday evening ARES net had 54 checkins, which was a record number for our nets. Thanks!
Repair: Minneapolis 147.225+ (118.8) KSØLNK-R
Saturday August 16, 2008 - The repeater is back on the air. The antenna was moved to the top of the tower to eliminate the blind spot to the southeast, and new heliax jumpers installed top and bottom. Give this repeater a try. Feel free to make a donation if you can to help offset the cost of hiring the tower climber. (He did a good job!) The following people were present to assist: NØUJQ, WBØSRP, NØWSZ, KDØDRU, KDØDRS, KDØDRT
New Link: McPherson 444.600+ (110.9) NØSGK-R
Friday August 8, 2008 - Chance Cooper N5NIQ, Shawn White NØSGK, Justin Reed NØUJQ, and Gerald Pelnar WDØFYF were on site to install the 440 link antenna and re-install the 444.600 repeater. It's great to have this repeater linked in once again to provide coverage from Salina to Hutchinson and Newton.
New Echolink Node: #382015 - KS0LNK-R Minneapolis 444.850+ (162.2)
Saturday April 26, 2008 - Echolink got a good trial run on the night of Thursday April 24 when a supercell moved east across Mitchell and Cloud counties producing a tornado. The Echolink remote base antenna has been mounted and the server/link radio has been put onto a UPS backup system that will keep Echolink running through minor power line blips and outages lasting 15 minutes or so.
New Repeater (old frequency): Minneapolis 147.225+ (118.8) KSØLNK-R
Saturday April 12, 2008 - The "new" GE Mastr II repeater has been installed and is operational at it's site 8 miles west of Minneapolis. It's is open for all amateurs to use but requires PL tone 118.8 to access.
New Repeater (temporary): Manhattan 147.225+ (114.8) KSØLNK-R (Underlay site)
Sunday March 16, 2008 - This new repeater is linked to K-Link via the Clay Center 442.750 repeater. The primary coverage area is within the city limits of Manhattan. It's secondary (mobile) coverage will reach out toward Junction City. It is generally not usable on I-70 except for a small segment. This repeater is open for all amateurs to use but requires PL tone 114.8 to access. Mobiles and base stations using this repeater should take precautions to avoid interference to the Minneapolis 147.225+ repeater, such as using low power when possible and avoiding attempts to access the Manhattan 225 repeater from west of K-15 highway. This repeater fills in our coverage gap in Manhattan until we get a permanent 440 repeater installed in this area.
New Repeater: Clay Center 442.750+ (118.8) NØXRM-R
November 24, 2007 - This repeater offers about 30 mile radius mobile coverage centered in Clay county. It is linked to K-Link via the Minneapolis 444.850 repeater.
Established: August 16, 1998
Last Update: May 6, 2009