Providing Support To Polk Emergency Management and Local Agencies!

POLK COUNTY has a D-STAR Repeater!

Now that you are here, let's talk DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS!!!

With the use of some tower space and an internet connectivity, Polk County
is embracing Digital Smart Technologies for Amateur Radio that has
started back in October of 2007.

The repeater is located in south Lakeland where 444.775's antenna
is located, in the Lakeland Highlands suburb of south Lakeland.
With an ASL of 600 feet, the KJ4ACN UHF and VHF Digital Voice repeater
has an impressive foot print spanning all of Polk County and out
some 50+ mobile miles. That covers into Hillsbourgh, Hardee,
Highlands, Lake, Osceola, Orange, Sumter, Pasco, and Manatee
counties. Reports from Wesley Chapel, Orlando, Oldsmar, Bowling Green,
and even a report from Indian River County at the Kissimmee River 60 bridge.

Currently the gateway is relocated at the tower site, KJ4ACN G (gateway) 

The repeaters are as listed:
 441.975MHz KJ4ACN B
 147.375MHz KJ4ACN C

The gateway is online and LIVE, the gateway also has installed in it
a program called DSTARMonitor. DSTARMon (acronym) which allows DStar users
who have GPS capabilities enabled, to beacon their positions onto the
APRS-IS network, the internet side of APRS. SO, you want to see where
you cronies are, and they have their D-PRS running, go to find-u.com to
locate them in their travels.

Additional information is at http://www.kd4efm.org/kj4acn and http://dstargw.kd4efm.org 

The Lakeland site will also feature an ECHO mode that will allow you to
test your radio to the local server. In the near future, the gateway server
will also be equipped to server informational replies to things like local
weather reports, current watches and or warnings, ISSUE EMERGENCY
BULLETINS, just to name a few as I am knee deep into coding some
of these functions.

Are you on the road sometimes and like running APRS on your laptop???
How about D-PRS(A) mode?? There is currently and interface for your laptop
that will allow you to use your EV-DO wireless connection and get your APRS
positions, as well as those that are fired out via the aprs-is network, not your
cup of tea? Some people are hard core on moving to this new mode as your
reading this....

NETS:
Sunday Nights: 9 PM Local, South Eastern Digital Weather Net on KJ4ACN B (UHF)
Wednesday Nights: 9 PM Local, Florida Digital Voice Net on KJ4ACN port C (VHF)

A Special Thanks Is Due

Polk ARES is proud to have Buddy, WB4OMG, allow us to experiment with
this new form of technology. Thanks again to you Buddy!

Some Future Projects in mind for the coming years

Some of the projects that will be put under test include:

With A Little Help, We Can Make This Work!

THOUGH WE ARE NOT A  501,c,3 entity,  we do, however, take the
pool of funds DIRECTLY to the support of additional equipment, and
to support the internet connection or multiple connections as it arises.
In other words, if it is for internet service, the money is sent there, not
to the pocket. (hence, money submitted for the internet service
would be applied to it on the spot, pay for a year in advance, no need to
worry about it there after.... Same goes for Tower space assistance, the 
electric is not free, nor the expense of keeping it running either)
Contact Buddy or Evans for a more personal discussion on this...
Please email us with any questions you might have about D-Star, we would
love to help you out.

Funding for the repeater, internet, and it's use through contributions are
welcomed with open arms. Through with member support for the project,
some of the goals that are wanted to be made include the build out of
a multiple band system, that is, VHF Digital Voice, 23cm Digital Voice,
and last but not least, Digital Data on 23cm. It's by far not an easy task
to begin with, but with support to the cause, this is one of the first
Digital Voice systems to go on line in the West Central Florida ARRL
district with Gateway Access. Along with the Tampa Bay Area, there 
is interests in building out a wide area high speed data system for 
Amateur Radio, that is, multiple sites around the section that have 
23cm Digital Data access. The members who are supporting the 
Lakeland system are hoping to follow the foot steps of those in 
Alabama, who are working on building the first STATE WIDE Digital
Network. Click on the graphic to go to their site to read more about it.

Contributors can remain anonymous but WE do like to say THANKS!

INTERNET, GATEWAY PC, CO-Sysop, Technical assistance: Evans Mitchell KD4EFM 
Repeater Owner, Gateway Sysop: Buddy Morgan, WB4OMG
Tower Space: Richard Rexroad, N4KEG
USERS: Y O U !

Evans Mitchell
KD4EFM

The site link below will show you current information about D-Star repeaters
that are using the K5TIT US_TRUST server to form a national, and international
network of Digital Communications.

The links below are in text format:
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Last modified: October 25, 2008