[TCARES 0585] WIRES Repeaters Changing PL Tone on June 7

[Stephen M. Parker, WR9A]

On Saturday, June 7, all three of the WI9RES repeaters will change their
CTCSS/PL tone from 88.5 Hz to 131.8 Hz. All radios must be reprogrammed to
use a CTCSS tone of 131.8 Hz in order to access the WIRES repeaters after
that date.

This is being done to comply with new guidelines from the Indiana Repeater
Council (IRC). They have redrawn the boundaries that define the
geographical "areas" in the state for repeater coordination. Different PL
tones are assigned to each area to assist in avoiding co-channel
interference.

The number of areas in Indiana have been reduced from 9 to 7. These are the
sections of the state that are listed in the ARRL's repeater directory. The
reduction in number will simplify and more clearly define the geographical
areas. In addition, the PL areas assigned by the IRC did not previously
correspond to the ARRL's geographical sections. That has now been remedied
with the recent IRC changes. PL areas will now mirror the repeater location
regions.

What that means for us, is that repeaters in Tippecanoe and Clinton
counties are now in the Northwest area. The 88.5 Hz PL we've been using is
assigned to the West Central area, and repeaters in the Northwest are
assigned either 173.8 or 131.8 Hz. We will be using 131.8 Hz for all of the
WI9RES repeaters.

The change will take place on Saturday, June 7. The Rossville repeaters
(145.370 & 443.500) will be changed to 131.8 Hz PL sometime that morning.
The PL change on the 147.135 repeater in West Lafayette will take place
immediately following the siren test net, shortly after 11:00 a.m. We are
asking everyone to stay on the air after the net to help test the switch to
the new PL tone.

Please be ready to reprogram your radios, and help others who may find that
task a bit challenging. We understand this is not a trivial change.
However, we feel it is necessary to continue to operate our repeaters
according to accepted, community standards, and to honor the amateur code
and follow good operating practices.

We appreciate your patience and understanding. WIRES plans to continue
serving the amateur community by providing quality infrastructure with
these repeaters. Please help spread the word about the upcoming PL tone
change. Thanks.

________________________________________
Stephen M. Parker, WR9A
President, Board of Directors
Western Indiana Radio Emergency Services
WR9Aradio at gmail.com
________________________________________
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