The K6IS Repeater System

K6IS/R System Information

EAST – K6IS/R “East” is located south of Folsom Lake on Carson Ridge at an elevation of 828 feet. It operates on 2 meters at 145.190 MHz with a negative offset and a 162.20 Hz PL tone (CTCSS) and on 1.25 meters at 224.400 MHz, a negative offset and a 162.20 Hz PL tone (CTCSS). Transmissions on either frequency pair are repeated on both radio bands. It is a friendly repeater, open to any licensed Ham operator in the coverage area. Autopatch and speed dial are closed to members only but emergency and other assistance is available to all. Please inquire on the repeater.

K6IS/R East Repeater Antenna Array

Coverage for mobile and fixed stations extends northwest to Southern Yuba, Sutter, and Colusa Counties, west into eastern Solano and Contra Costa Counties, and south into northern San Joaquin County. Hand-held coverage is possible in most of Metropolitan Sacramento. A transmit timer prevents the repeater from being held on. A courtesy tone will be heard at the end of each transmission. Please wait for this tone before transmitting to reset the timer to prevent being cut-off. Resetting the timer in the middle of a transmission is reserved for nets and net-like exchanges.

K6IS/R West Repeater Antenna Array

K6IS/R “West” is located near Zamora, CA. It operates on 145.190 MHz (-) with a 123.00 Hz PL tone. The squelch tail is set at 1 second. There are no autopatch or crossband functions on this machine. The same comments about the East repeater apply, except the West repeater has better coverage into Placer County and portions of the El Dorado and Amador County foothills.

IRLP and Echolink Information

The K6IS-e repeater IRLP Node 7457 / Echolink Node 763307 is an open system, normally left in the “Ready to Connect” state. It is necessary to append a # key before keying the DTMF tones for the node you wish to connect to, similarly you must append a # to the disconnect 73 command. A listing of the IRLP nodes and their connection status can be found at http://status.irlp.net. If you are not familiar with IRLP operating procedures, please read the IRLP Guidelines http://www.irlp.net/guidelines.html BEFORE you use the system. 

A few of the critical DOs and DON’Ts:

• DO pause between your transmissions. Audio delays in IRLP networks make this even more critical than the normal courtesy expected on local repeater systems.
• DO identify before sending DTMF command tones.
• DO hold your microphone PTT for about 1 second before talking to allow all systems time to rise.
• DO pause for 10 seconds after connecting to a reflector/node before making further transmissions. Conversations may already be in progress.

If you wish to start or plan a regularly scheduled Net on the K6IS IRLP Node, you should be a member of K6IS and attend the regularly scheduled meetings to be abreast of current discussions regarding the usage of the node. 

Echolink & IRLP Connection / Disconnection Procedure

1. Verify that your radio is correctly set up for the repeater and, that you have sufficient power such that your signal into the repeater will be relatively noise free.
2. Verify your radio is set up to transmit DTMF tones needed to connect and disconnect from IRLP nodes.
3. When you are about to activate an IRLP node, announce on the repeater your intentions, for example “This is , activating IRLP/Echolink node number ____ in ________ .”
4. Transmit the DTMF tones of the node you wish to connect to. When the connection is created, a voice ID of the destination node will be announced. Simultaneously, the voice ID of the K6IS repeater is transmitted to the far end node. .
5. Wait at least 10 seconds for the voice IDs to be transmitted, and to verify that no conversation was already in progress on the far-end node. .
6. Announce yourself on the far-end node by saying “This is , Sacramento, CA monitoring or listening. You don’t need to repeat it several times. If someone wants to talk to you, they will give you a call. If you are listening to an interesting ongoing conversation, you can call one of the parties after they have cleared off. That’s a good way for newer hams to meet new friends. People will almost always respond to a direct call if they have the time. If you have a new radio setup or installation, you can ask for a signal report. Usually someone will respond. But don’t make a habit of it. That should be reserved for changes or new equipment. Listen first to how things run on the system and emulate the good operators.