Welcome to the W3GMS Repeater

—- NEW… Information about EchoLink & AllStar on 985

146.985 Repeater Philosophy & Etiquette

Joseph Fell – W3GMS
Designer, Builder, Owner & Financier of 985 since 1976

With the popularity of 985, it’s important to review our ‘Philosophy and Etiquette’ so we are all “on the same page” as users of 985.

Since the repeater is privately owned, using the repeater is like coming into our home and having a cup of coffee.  I would estimate that 97% of our users, use it in a way that makes me proud to have 985 on the air.  Remember, 985 has never cost anyone a dime to operate and it’s open to every licensed Amateur Radio operator who uses it in good taste.     

Every repeater has its own set of priorities.  This is very true of 985.  We want 985 to be a place for hams of all ages; a place where friends and families can gather together.  The items below help spell out what this means in practice.  All who can join us in this pursuit are welcome!

An important part of hosting off-the-air activities and events for 985 users, families and friends is that alcoholic beverages will NOT be permitted.

The 985 Difference:

• Welcoming new users to the repeater 
• A wide variety of QSO subjects 
• Technical expertise and discussions
• A repeater where hams learn and grow
• A good online presence through the website
• A high percentage of return calls to those who announce that they are “listening” to 985

On 985, the following operational practices are not welcomed:

• In the effort to be a good place for all ages to gather, no form of profanity will be tolerated.  
• 985 is not a place to push the envelope.  Anything that you would not want your young child to hear, is not welcomed on 985.   
• Political discussions will not be tolerated. 
• Don’t be a QSO buster.  If two or more operators are having a conversation, don’t break into their QSO without having anything to add to the discussion.   
• If multiple operators are using the repeater, keep everyone involved.  Don’t “take over” the QSO by passing the mic back and forth between just two or three of the participants.  That leaves everyone else out of the conversation.  Let good manners prevail.
• Be sure to identify your station at least once every 10 minutes.

                        Thanks for your cooperation… and welcome to 985!   – Joe, W3GMS

Website Highlights: 

985 Nerds Podcast Check out the new podcast!

What’s Happening on 985?

Join the 985 Group for Winter Field Day, January 27-28, 2024.  Contact W3GMS for info and to be added to the participation list.

In Field Day, June 2023, the 985 Repeater Group, using special event callsign W3R, placed 6th out of 87 stations in class 5A!    

Night photo, Field Day ‘23
9:21pm, 06/24/2023
ISO 1600, 24mm, f1.78, 1.5s

For more Field Day photos click here.

Monday Night Workbench Net at 8:00 PM

Thursday Night Roundtable  at 8:30 PM
–moving to 8:00 PM on February 1st!

985 Breakfast on the third Friday each month

Click here for Monthly Breakfast Information

 

How to access the .985 W3GMS repeater:

EchoLink & AllStar Usage on 985:

EchoLink and AllStar users need to be added to the appropriate permission list(s) in order to use these modes on the 146.985 repeater.  There is a separate list for Echolink and another for AllStar.

To be added as an Echolink &/or AllStar user, send your request to Martha – N3QBE, at mvfell485{at}gmail.com:

For the Echolink permission list, all that is needed is your call sign.  On Echolink, the 985 repeater is listed as W3GMS-R, node number 623852.  Click here for instructions on Getting Started with Echolink.  

For the AllStar permission list, all that is needed is your node number.  The W3GMS repeater AllStar node is 53085.  Click here to see a presentation on “AllStar &  Amateur Radio” by Rich, WA2ZPX, and Joe, W3GMS.

On both Echo Link and Allstar there is no time-out timer so no reset is required.  

The purpose of Echo Link and Allstar usage on 985 is to provide:

Repeater History:

The original W3GMS Repeater took Joe-W3GMS a year to design and build. That effort started in the summer of 1975. After being coordinated in 1976, it went on the air on November of 1976. Since that early on the air date, it has been in continuous operation. The original call-sign assigned by the FCC was WR3AHZ.  Later the FCC dropped repeater call-signs and the call then became WA3GMS/R.  Much later when Joe got a vanity call, the repeater became W3GMS/R. For many years 985 was able to operate without P.L. but after 20 years of operation, repeater congestion required a 100 Hz P.L. to be added to the repeater. 985 also transmits a generated 94.8 Hz P.L. tone so users can use tone squelch to allow a more peaceful listening experience. One of the original features of 985 back in 1976 was a voice ID’er that was made from a converted 8 track player. 68 different ID’s were recorded down at WPEN in Philadelphia. Later a CW identifier was shared with the 8 track player and the ID’s would alternate between voice and CW. The ID audio went through an automatic gain control circuit so the ID’s would be a consistent level. A second automatic gain control handled the incoming users audio so regardless of their deviation level, it would retransmit ones signal at 5 kHz of deviation. Split antennas are used on the repeater to minimize the number of duplexer cavities.  The result is lower insertion loss in the receiver antenna path which yields better receive sensitivity.  Another benefit of the two antenna approach, should one antenna fail, the repeater can still remain on the air.  146.985 has always been privately owned and maintained by W3GMS.

The 985 repeater building

The First Repeater License Effective 08-06-76

Counting Countries since 4-22-2018

Counting States since 6-4-2018

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