Last month, the Granby 145.390 repeater, PL 91.5 Hz, (near Joplin) went on-line and it is linked to the 147.015+, PL 162.2 Hz in Springfield 100% of the time via RF. These repeaters are two integral parts of the Southwest Missouri Linked Repeater System (SMLRS).
The system is open for any amateur to use, and also includes the 442.150+ repeater, PL 162.2 Hz in Crane and we will soon be adding the 145.450- repeater, PL 91.5 Hz in Nevada in a couple of weeks. ALL repeaters are in hardened shelters and have UPS and Generator emergency backup power which can run the sites for greater than 2 weeks without re-fueling.
The system is tested every Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. when it is linked up to the Nixa ARC "NARC" Net.
After the tornado struck Joplin, and no reliable means of communications with Springfield existed, several groups of amateurs teamed up to pool resources and knowledge to place the system on the air. The Nixa Amateur Radio Club along with the Southwest Amateur Radio Group in Neosho, the Mulebarn amateur radio club, and agencies such as Greene County EMA and Vernon County EMA, and the City of Crane all helped make this system a reality. Having so many groups and organizations involved for a common goal has strengthened ties among the groups and helped build a robust system that could not have been built by any one person or group.
Events such as the MS-150 and the Tour de Bass bicycle rides are already slated to use the system in 2013, and some ARES groups are already discussing the use of the system for severe weather spotting throughout Region D in Southwest Missouri.
If you want to access on-line training documents, view computer generated coverage plots of mobile radio coverage, see pictures of the repeaters, learn all the technical details, or anything else about the SMLRS system visit the website www.smlrs.info.
Please feel free to pass along this e-mail and all the information included to other amateurs and groups or other e-mail lists for those that would benefit or enjoy using the system.
