The PDARC W0OJY Norwegian Hill Repeater is located 8.31 miles southwest of Springfield, SD and overlooks the Missouri River.   After being taken out by a thunderstorm, the site was rebuilt in 2023 at the top of a 55′ Rohn 25 tower supported by a wood pole, the antenna is mounted at 1727′ above sea level.  It is linked to the our Spencer, Vermillion and Yankton repeaters.   

 

DETAILS

• 8.31 miles southwest of Springfield, SD overlooking the Missouri River. 42 degrees 48.520 minutes N,  98 degrees 2.896 minutes W.
• 147.210+ with a tone of 146.2. The deviation is set for 5 khz.
• 3 minute timer.
• Courtesy beep on carrier drop which takes 2 seconds.
• Battery backup is automatic. When on battery back up there is a beep every 60 seconds when the repeater is transmitting.
• Site is at 1662 feet above sea level.
• 55′ foot tower so base of VHF antenna is 1712 feet above sea level looking north, northeast, east and southeast for many miles.
• SE, S, W & NW coverage seems to be quite solid for 30 miles.
• 6 dbd cardioid antenna pattern.
• 25 watts out of TKR-750, after duplexer loss and heliax loss it is 17 watts at the base of the antenna so it is 68 watts ERP. Feed line loss is 1 watt.
• Receiver sensitivity is .45 uv, meets spec’s.

EQUIPMENT

• DB-222 new DB-Products commercial antenna and new galvanized clamps.
• DC ground #6 solid copper from antenna to pole ground and two ground rods.
• 4 grounding kits on VHF heliax and 1 grounding kit on UHF heliax each where it leaves the pole.
• TKR-750 Version 2 SN709000076, used but recent production, meets spec’s & is latest version.
• 7/8″ heliax 50 feet & two connectors, used checked for reflected and power loss, meets spec’s.
• TX-RX Duplexer Model 26-37-02A, SN29157-A Vari-notch 144-174 MHz, meets spec’s.
• Ground wire, connectors and ground rod.
• SM-50 UHF link radio.
• Corner Reflector UHF (10Dbd) DB products, feed with 7/8″ heliax at 50 feet, no reflected power.

BATTERY BACKUP

• 2 Sam’s Club Deep Cycle Golf Cart 6 vdc batteries(GC2) 208 AH @ 20 Amp.
• Samlex sec-1230UL smart charger/power supply 30 Amp.
• Battery cables and lugs.
• 1 amp power required on receive.
• 13 amp power required on TX-RX.
• Estimated 4 days on battery back up on receive (To 60% battery discharge).
• Estimated 2 days on battery backup TX-RX (To 60% battery discharge).
• TKR-750 is set for 10.7 volts minimum voltage.
• UHF link radio and controller are on battery back up.
• Repeater station is fed by a dedicated 30 amp breaker.

BUILDING

• Repeater building appears to be rodent proof, sealed against rain and snow.
• -22 F to 140 F is repeater temperature operating range with fan set for thermostat control

In 2023 Ed W0SD donated the antenna for Norwegian Hill and Richard N0OII donated the tower.   Guy wires were not acceptable at the site so a new wood pole was used to reinforce the tower.  C&B Operations (Premier John Deere Dealer) covered most of the cost of the utility pole purchased from and set by BY Electric.

THANK YOU C&B OPERATIONS!

INSTALLED APRIL 22, 2015

Pictures taken by N0AIE,  W0EJ, K0WIU and W0SD

NORWEGIAN HILL REPEATER INSTALLATON CREW

Left to Right Everett, N0AIE, Bill-K0WIU, Ed W0SD, Bruce K8UDH

W0SD Ed on Pole

W0SD Ed installing antenna mounting clamps

Norwegian Hill Repeater

UHF link Corner Reflector                                       VHF DB-222 Repeater Antenna

View to Southwest looking over the Missouri River from Norwegian Hill.

Ed W0SD Installing VHF antenna

 

Ed W0SD Installing UHF corner Reflector         Repeater building and pole

View to Northeast toward Yankton from Norwegian Hill        What a stretch!!!

You have to trust your belt!                 Wonderful to be down after 7 hours on the pole.Battery

Coming down is harder than going up in some ways but not as physically demanding.

Mike KE0CLO (left) and Bill W0EJ (right) did an awesome job of wiring!!!

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UHF controller in gray box designed and constructed by Fred WA0GMH.  Install 5-21-2015,  Fan is turned on and off with a thermal switch on the UHF SM-50 Motorola heat  sink.