Alamo City GMRS Community

[FranktheTank]

18 hours ago, WRPY682 said:

Hey Guys,

 

So I am in Mico.  Just far enough away to hit any of the connected repeaters from inside my house.  I can hit the Leon Valley repeater if I park in just the right spot on my property, just not inside. Is there a way to listen/talk on the HUB without hitting one of the repeaters? I will have my base station up and running this weekend, and hopefully be able to hit Leon Valley with it. (Bfang 50W with roof mounted Ed Fong).  We have the Medina repeater out here, but it's currently unable to connect to the internet.  So no joy on the HUB from here.  

I have not set up any Zello type connections to the HUB.  If we ever decide that's the way to go, it will be listen only since Zello can bring some potential issues with the repeaters not timing out and potentially burn up a transmitter on a linked repeater. 

  Hopefully your base set up gets you connected. If not, maybe you would consider setting up a repeater in Micro, assuming you have reliable internet. 

 

 

[WRPY682]

Hey There!  I have been doing some research to try to help get the Medina Lake repeater connected.  I honestly don't know anything about how they connect. What I have gathered is the connection is ran by a raspberry pi, connected to the internet and repeater.  The Medina lake repeater does not have internet access, keeping it from being connected.  Has anyone ever tried using a 3G/4G GNSS HAT to get the internet access over cellular? From what I can understand, this provides internet access to the raspberry pi.  problem solved? 

Link to the device here: 

AMAZON: 4G 3G GNSS HAT for raspberry pi

[FranktheTank]

15 hours ago, WRPY682 said:

Hey There!  I have been doing some research to try to help get the Medina Lake repeater connected.  I honestly don't know anything about how they connect. What I have gathered is the connection is ran by a raspberry pi, connected to the internet and repeater.  The Medina lake repeater does not have internet access, keeping it from being connected.  Has anyone ever tried using a 3G/4G GNSS HAT to get the internet access over cellular? From what I can understand, this provides internet access to the raspberry pi.  problem solved? 

Link to the device here: 

AMAZON: 4G 3G GNSS HAT for raspberry pi

The linking is just like Voice over IP VOIP and uses very little bandwidth. A cellular hotspot should work fine as long as there is decent 4g coverage. Many of us use use them to run mobile hotspot nodes. You will occasionally experience packet loss while driving if you get in more rural areas with limited coverage.

I'm not 100% sure the board you linked works with US carriers but there are plenty of mobile hotspot devices that are cheaper, so service providers may include one with a plan and service agreement.  I think more or less, it comes down to cost and if the repeater owner wants to pay the monthly service cost. 

[FranktheTank]

Local net tonight at 7pm!! 

   If you are in the Alamo City area and use the repeater system, join in and get your questions answered and learn what's happening with the network!

 

[FranktheTank]

Added our 6th Repeater, the Media Lake 675 is now connected!!

 Also note, the LaVernia550 is now the LaVerina600 and was upgraded to Bridgecom 40W 100% duty cycle repeater. Still some bugs in the local RF audio but still very usable and seems to be performing better then the previous repeater setup.

 

 

[WRTJ223]

On 12/12/2021 at 7:30 PM, FranktheTank said:

Update 1/23/22: We are up to 5 linked repeaters with 6th being planned in San Marcos. If you are in the area, throw out a call sign and see who’s monitoring! 
 

http://www.alamocitygmrs.com/supermon/index.php

Oh my gosh, Im in San Marcos! I would love to talk to you about working Im doing with the city to try to get us up some GMRS repeaters. Is the repeater up yet here in 78666? 

[WRUJ218]

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I was looking up repeaters in the San Antonio area, on the search page.  I am on the Alamo 575 already, but I noticed that it doesn't show up in the search.  Maybe I'm not using the search correctly?  I searched on "Alamo", "575", "San Antonio", etc.  Others popped up but not Alamo 575.

[KAF6045]

23 hours ago, WRUJ218 said:

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I was looking up repeaters in the San Antonio area, on the search page.  I am on the Alamo 575 already, but I noticed that it doesn't show up in the search.  Maybe I'm not using the search correctly?  I searched on "Alamo", "575", "San Antonio", etc.  Others popped up but not Alamo 575.

The owners may not have entered that repeater into the MyGMRS system.

I don't touch "search" -- I prefer to leave the first two "off", and use "Advanced Search" -- selecting the state, and scrolling down the listing it generates.

[wayoverthere]

On 10/3/2022 at 7:13 PM, WRUJ218 said:

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I was looking up repeaters in the San Antonio area, on the search page.  I am on the Alamo 575 already, but I noticed that it doesn't show up in the search.  Maybe I'm not using the search correctly?  I searched on "Alamo", "575", "San Antonio", etc.  Others popped up but not Alamo 575.

Yeah, like @KAF6045 i don't really use the search, as it seems to give me a pretty limited radius, miss some within that radius, and there's definitely some within range that fall outside that. You may try toggling the "show stale repeaters" to ON (also under the advanced search); some repeaters, when they're working well, don't need updates but drop to stale as a result.

Alternately, I tend to use the map more when searching for a repeater in my vicinity (or other areas as well).

[WRTU284]

11 hours ago, wayoverthere said:

Yeah, like @KAF6045 i don't really use the search, as it seems to give me a pretty limited radius, miss some within that radius, and there's definitely some within range that fall outside that. You may try toggling the "show stale repeaters" to ON (also under the advanced search); some repeaters, when they're working well, don't need updates but drop to stale as a result.

It looks like the Alamo575 repeater has been removed from the repeaters page.

I don't see the SATX Northeast (550) and the Northwest/Camp Bullis (625) on the Alamo575.com web page. I believe both of those repeaters are linked to the Alamo network because I've been hearing traffic from all over SATX, Bourne, NB and further.

[ldcarson]

I sent FranktheTank a PM, I think NB700 is now ready to join the alamo network.  I did some exstensive testing this past week and I hit the repeater as far away as 50+ miles up north heading towards fredricksburg.  It is of course hit mor mis as you move up and down the valleys and hilltops.  To the east I can hit it out towards Katy and hit or mis in and around Universtity Texas State., Inside Seguin hit or miss, south of Seguin and good signal..  I have it estimated at 30miles but it is more likely 35-40 on average.  That is running it at 28 watts.  The repeater is a Vertex 7000U with an internal Duplexer.  I have a spare and a 9000 Vertex, just awaiting a duplexer arrival to tune and put it on line for some testing.

I didn't want to join until I had everything in place and a working system  So I think we are good to go now.  It is connected via LMR600 into a COMSPEC DB 408B.  I have a few PI4s and just need some directions on connecting.  Hopefully soon we will have this area on the network which should great increase our foot print.

 

Cheers everyone.

[wayoverthere]

5 hours ago, WRTU284 said:

It looks like the Alamo575 repeater has been removed from the repeaters page.

I don't see the SATX Northeast (550) and the Northwest/Camp Bullis (625) on the Alamo575.com web page. I believe both of those repeaters are linked to the Alamo network because I've been hearing traffic from all over SATX, Bourne, NB and further.

Well, that would explain why none of us were seeing the alamo575 then I even tried poking around San Antonio in the map with stale and offline included, to no avail

[gortex2]

I know of a few folks that have removed their repeaters from all listings online. Its not a surprise that its missing.

 

[MichaelLAX]

31 minutes ago, gortex2 said:

I know of a few folks that have removed their repeaters from all listings online. Its not a surprise that its missing.

 

One of my favorite hobbies: go war-driving for GMRS/Ham repeaters and decode their input codes! 

[FranktheTank]

On 10/5/2022 at 4:47 PM, wayoverthere said:

Well, that would explain why none of us were seeing the alamo575 then I even tried poking around San Antonio in the map with stale and offline included, to no avail

That Alamo575 site is hosting some RF Uplinks for the new repeaters so Jon took the 575 offline to avoid interfering with the RF link radios.  He's pretty busy with real life but he'll get around to updating his website.

  I also removed the Cibolo725 since I'm hosting a RF link and was completely covered up by the NE and NW repeaters.

 

[WRUW886]

Hi, Shawn here

Wanted to hop into the conversation and put my name in the hat to help get repeaters up in the area. I've climbed towers professionally, worked in communications for a good while.  Just got both my GMRS and HAM license and looking to learn and contribute.

Located between Lockhart and Luling I can't quite hit the N.B.700 but I can hit AI5TX on 70cm in San Marcos. Don't have a mobile or base rig yet so I'll be under 10W for a while. 

Any way if you're nearby and need a radio check I'll be monitoring. 

[WRWI346]

Hey Folks, Sam here

New to radio in general, got my GMRS a few weeks back, going to work on the HAM here soon. 

Would anyone be able to give me a quick crash course on how the Alamo GRMS network works? Again very new to this, so not sure if the network implies that a transmission going to one repeater subsequently repeats across all of them?

[FranktheTank]

On 3/9/2023 at 1:29 PM, WRWI346 said:

Hey Folks, Sam here

New to radio in general, got my GMRS a few weeks back, going to work on the HAM here soon. 

Would anyone be able to give me a quick crash course on how the Alamo GRMS network works? Again very new to this, so not sure if the network implies that a transmission going to one repeater subsequently repeats across all of them?

Hi Sam,

  Yes, we are a network of linked repeaters so, when someone it transmitting on say the Live Oak (NE) Repeater, all the other repeaters and nodes connected to the hub are also broadcasting that transmission.  You can look at our status page and see what repeaters are connected and when someone is transmitting.  http://www.alamocitygmrs.com/supermon/link.php?nodes=1510,1512,1513,1680,1684

[WRWI346]

11 hours ago, FranktheTank said:

Hi Sam,

  Yes, we are a network of linked repeaters so, when someone it transmitting on say the Live Oak (NE) Repeater, all the other repeaters and nodes connected to the hub are also broadcasting that transmission.  You can look at our status page and see what repeaters are connected and when someone is transmitting.  http://www.alamocitygmrs.com/supermon/link.php?nodes=1510,1512,1513,1680,1684

Got it! Thank you for the confirmation, and thank for for the link as well. Bookmarked.

[WRTM311]

Hello everyone,

Mark here near Blanco.

Thinking of putting up a repeater off 281 north of 306.

have a 50' tower and up on a hill with pretty clear line of sight all around.

Have a Vertex VXR-7000 with a GMRS tuned duplexer.

I hear some traffic at my house on 462.550 but for some reason cant seem to get a radio check out.

Any help would be appreciated.

I am retired so pretty much available most days.

[FranktheTank]

On 8/4/2023 at 6:25 PM, WRTM311 said:

Hello everyone,

Mark here near Blanco.

Thinking of putting up a repeater off 281 north of 306.

have a 50' tower and up on a hill with pretty clear line of sight all around.

Have a Vertex VXR-7000 with a GMRS tuned duplexer.

I hear some traffic at my house on 462.550 but for some reason cant seem to get a radio check out.

Any help would be appreciated.

I am retired so pretty much available most days.

Welcome Mark!!!

  The 550 traffic you are hearing is probably Deer Medows https://mygmrs.com/repeater/6958

Not sure if you have tried reaching the Alamo New Braunfels https://mygmrs.com/repeater/6536  That coverage map is a little conservative, I know I've hit the repeater from my 50w mobile in my truck all the way to the Austin Airport.  

If you're interested in setting up a repeater and joining our linked network, we'd be happy to help in any way.

http://www.alamocitygmrs.com/supermon/index.php 

 

 

[Rox]

On 10/4/2023 at 10:32 AM, FranktheTank said:

  The 550 traffic you are hearing is probably Deer Medows https://mygmrs.com/repeater/6958

Not sure if you have tried reaching the Alamo New Braunfels https://mygmrs.com/repeater/6536  That coverage map is a little conservative, I know I've hit the repeater from my 50w mobile in my truck all the way to the Austin Airport.  

If you're interested in setting up a repeater and joining our linked network, we'd be happy to help in any way.

http://www.alamocitygmrs.com/supermon/index.php 

 

 

 

Hey @FranktheTank I recently requested access to the Alamo Northwest repeater (Camp Bullis 625). If granted permission to use that repeater, does it give me permission to use the other repeaters in the Alamo City GMRS Network or that specific repeater, only? Thank you.

-Roland 
[WREB878]

[WSAW925]

new to gmrs and looking to learn the ropes

[BoxCar]

1 hour ago, WSAW925 said:

new to gmrs and looking to learn the ropes

Left one goes up, and the right one doesn't go anywhere. Other than that, welcome to the forums.

[WRXB215]

32 minutes ago, BoxCar said:

Left one goes up, and the right one doesn't go anywhere.

You have TWO ropes?

@WSAW925 Welcome to GMRS.