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RV63 - Out 145.7875 MHz - In 145.1875 MHz - 103.5 Hz ctcss (G).


GB3JB is funded solely by donations from its' users and supporters. There is no club or group to join and no annual membership fee. We rely totally on your good will.

The system is located in South Wiltshire, in IO81vc, and provides coverage across South Wiltshire, South Somerset and North Dorset, with specific areas such as the City of Salisbury, Salisbury Plain, the Blackmore Vale and Cranborne Chase being well within its range. Coverage also extends, for fixed stations, across most of central and parts of North Wiltshire, Southern Dorset and West Hampshire, plus parts of North and West Somerset. See coverage map.

GB3JB is an analogue voice repeater, with no internet linking, simple intuitive logic and no bells or whistles. The beacon sends callsign and locator. The invitation to transmit is a single dit.

To access the repeater, users must continually transmit a 103.5 Hz ctcss tone. There is NO 1750 hz tone burst capability.

The system timeout has been reduced to 3 minutes, so please set your rigs' TOT accordingly.

The simple rules for using GB3JB ....

(1) GB3JB is available for ALL Licensed Radio Amateurs to use, be they 'newly licensed' or an 'old timer'.

(2) All users of GB3JB are expected to operate their station within the terms of their specific licence conditions and restrictions.

(3) When in QSO, please wait for the invitation to transmit (a single dit), and always leave a pause between overs' - always give others a chance to call-in.

(4) Please use good operating practices and procedures. Mobiles have priority. Remember, if a station calls in, during the gap between overs', always acknowledge them and please DON'T leave them sitting on the side, while everyone else has an over.

(5) Only use the minimum power necessary - remember there are other repeaters on the same channel. The repeater only transmits with 25 watts ERP, so if its' 5/9 with you, you don't need to use 50 watts to a high gain vertical, when 5 or 10 watts will do. If you use 25 watts ERP, then the signals strengths should be reasonably reciprocal.

(6) If, under lift conditions, you wish to use another repeater on RV63, please turn off the 103.5 Hz ctcss tone, otherwise you will still access GB3JB.

(7) Remember that you are Radio Amateurs, using an Amateur Radio facility, so please use the appropriate operating practices and procedures.

Since you have taken the trouble to get an Amateur Licence, surely it's not to much to expect of you, that you use Amateur Radio abbreviation and accepted terminology, such as the Q-codes. We do not have a '20', we have a 'location' or 'QTH'. We do not have a 'personal', we have a 'name', etc., etc., If you still use CB, that's fine, no problem, BUT please leave the CB lingo for CB, and not when you use GB3JB or any other Amateur Radio facility or the Amateur bands.

and finally .....

(8) Ignore any idots - If you don't hear a callsign, do NOT respond - EVER !

Thursday, 5 January 2012

GB3JB Off Air ...

Hi All,

Well the very strong winds finally took their toll on the installation.

I had a phone call from Barry, 2E0ZVR, at about 1:30 pm today, telling me that the mast was at 45 degrees or so, and that a couple of the guys had snapped.

Paul, (my son) and I headed to the site to see what could be done.

Nothing useful, in terms of keeping it on the air, I afraid.

GB3JB was switched off at approx., 2:00 pm local time today, Thursday 5th January 2011.

The mast has a bend of about 45 degrees at the point where the two sections are joined.

The two guys had snapped.  They were middle guys, and had snapped about two thirds of the way up their length.

Neither of these two points are really very major and can be easily remedied, when the WX settles down.

However, the antenna also has a bend of about 30 to 40 degrees off vertical, just above the 1st join.  This will need some detailed investigation.

More importantly, the replacement DUMP LOAD (installed last year) has failed - burnt itself out, just like the previous one.

I am not sure what state the batteries are in either.  The volts across the nominal 24 volt rail were up at 32 volts.

The batteries themselves had obviously been gassing as there was quite a noticeable smell and obvious bulges in the sides of them.  They were also uncomfortably hot to touch, in places.

The current situation at the site is:

1.  Repeater OFF - until further notice.

2.  Possible need for replacement antenna.

3.  Antenna and masting down, now secure inside the barn.

4.  Battery system isolated.

5.  Probable need to replace battery system.

6.  Turbine removed, as no way of stopping it from turning at the time of the visit, and no dump load to connect it to.


I would suggest that it could well be some time before JB is back on air.

I perceive that our technical team will need to get their collective heads around the obviously ongoing problem of a dump load.  As the proprietor unit sold with the Turbine is obviously not up to the task.


Sorry folks ....


As soon as I / we have more to report we'll let you know.


Cheers & 73

Dave, G3ZXX  -  GB3JB Team

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