KG8CU 444.925 Kalkaska Repeater

 

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The KG8CU repeater just east of the city of Kalkaska covers a wide area between Traverse City, Gaylord, and Cadillac Michigan.

This repeater is equipped with some darn sophisticated circuitry that allows it to not only identify it's callsign in the spoken English language, but it can tell you what time it is.  
Few people realize that there is a high power ham station located near the shore of Lake Kalkaska.  Most don't realize the thick group of power lines weaving down Johnny  road and making a turn toward a palacial mansion on the lake.

To the left you see the RCA transmitter capable of putting out 20Kw on six meters.  This unit could be used as a darn powerful six meter transmitter, but CU enjoys watching his television, and so do many residents of northern Michigan who view the signal this transmitter puts out.
These racks house numerous receivers, station controllers,  and monitoring equipment. 
This view shows another transmitter capable of high power on six meters, but this one would serve better use on 444Mhz.   It's only 6Kw.

In the background are the electric panels for the 500 ampere three phase power.
An Amateur repeater would not be complete without a powerful backup power generator.  

This 100Kw generator will keep the repeater transmitters on the air for days should the power company faulter.   Natural gas is supplied to this from a large (2000 gallon) tank outside the building.

 
OK, OK....  To the left is the real 444.925 repeater, and the AA8ZV 147.3 repeater near Kalkaska.  The UHF repeater is mounted on a shelf above the VHF repeater.

444.925 uses a GE DeltaS as the transmitter, and a Midland for receiving through a four cavity duplexer. This repeater sports a Cat300 controller and a ARR GasFet preamp.

147.30 uses a Motorola MSR2000 fitted to a six cavity Cellwave duplexer feeding a DB products four dipole antenna.  This repeater uses a Cat200b controller and also has an ARR GasFet preamp.
Don't forget to visit the page showing another of KG8CU's repeaters, the 52.82 South Boardman system.