THE FRYS HILL REPEATER GROUP WELCOMES YOU
ABOUT THE FRYS HILL REPEATER GROUP
A Bit of History...
The Frys Hill Repeater Group was formed in 2004, when we were granted permission to site and operate a 50MHz repeater (GB3FH) on a commercial site near Cheddar, Somerset. Permission was also granted at the same time for GB3CH to be moved from its existing site that was being shut down, over to a different mast at Caradon Hill in Cornwall. Some years before this CH had been moved off the Arqiva site where it had been since 1977, due to high site rental fees.
Soon after, some 70cm equipment became available and so GB3FI was added to the site, to benefit hand portable users.
Then in 2008, an opportunity arose to access a prime radio site on Dundry near Bristol and a 50MHz (GB3ZY) and 70cm (GB3ZB) repeater were sited here too, with the support of the owner of the site.
In 2015 I was approached to see if I could host a DMR repeater at Frys Hill and this was added to the network later that year (GB7FI) and in 2018 another DMR repeater (GB7BD) was added to the Bristol site. The resources of the Group are used to support all of these repeaters.
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In addition, Matt, G4RKY who is the keeper of the Group's repeaters, also looks after GB3WR on the Mendips and GB3CH, GB3JL, and GB7LK located at Caradon Hill in Cornwall that are run by other repeater groups.
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The Frys Hill Group is driven by a single goal; to give something back to the hobby of Amateur Radio that has helped us all so much over the years.
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The Group is run by Matt G4RKY, Brian G4UTM & Ross G4YQY.
WHAT WE DO
PROVIDE RELIABLE ANDÂ HIGH PERFORMANCE RADIO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS
Enabling Amateur Radio
With the Groups primary function always in mind, we strive to improve our systems to make them reliable and dependable. This is something that we take very seriously, and our team works hard to minimise outages and downtime by using good engineering practices and the best equipment wherever possible.
SUPPORT LOCAL AMATEUR RADIO COMMUNITIES
Giving help and information
At The Frys Hill Repeater Group, we are dedicated to helping the wider Amateur Radio community. Through cooperation and involvement with local Radio Clubs and other repeater groups, we believe we can help to promote our hobby and spread the "Amateur Spirit" of assisting others.
MAKE OUR SYSTEMS AVAILABLE FOR USE IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS OR EMERGENCY EXERCISES
Helping The Community
RAYNET, the UK Radio Amateur Emergency Network local groups contribute to our running costs and make use of the systems during exercises or events. This regular use provides valuable operator experience and testing of the systems.
Everything we do is made possible by our generous supporters.
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Without the financial support of our local Radio Amateurs, including local Radio Clubs and Raynet groups, we simply could not keep the repeaters on the air!
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If you would like to donate to help support the repeaters and keep them on the air, we want you to know that every penny you donate will go to their upkeep.
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To donate by Paypal, please use the link below for a fast and totally secure way to donate to our funds.
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Your donation will be directly supporting:
GB3FH GB3FI GB7FI GB3ZB GB3ZY GB7BD
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In addition, the Group provides technical support and donations of equipment:
GB3WR GB3CH GB7LK GB3JL
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REPEATER INFORMATION
Technical details of the systems
This is where you can find all the technical information about our repeaters.
GB3FH
Repeater TX: 50.770MHz CTCSS 77.0Hz
Repeater RX: 51.270MHz CTCSS 77.0Hz
Maximum deviation 5KHz
Equipment: Tait T300 series
Duplexer: Made by G4UTM from a WB5WPA design, much improved.
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Connectivity: Allstar Link node 2250
GB3FH is linked to GB3ZY via the SWAN hub VHF hub
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This repeater runs currently around 7W ERP from a dipole antenna approx, 30m AGL.
It provides good coverage of the South Wales coastal areas and into the valleys as far as Bridgend. Coverage in England extends down the M5 almost to Junction 27 and all across Exmoor and the Quantock Hills.
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DTMF Commands:
09 - signal meter
59 - parrot mode one shot
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GB3FI
Repeater TX: 430.925MHz CTCSS 77.0Hz
Repeater RX: 438.525MHz CTCSS 77.0Hz
Maximum Deviation 7.5KHz
Equipment: Tait 800 Series 1
Antenna: 4-Stack Omni dipole array at ground level
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Connectivity:Allstar node 2296
GB3FI is linked to the SWAN UHF Hub, which includes GB3ZB, GB3CH and others.
Listen out for the GB2RS news at 0930 every Sunday morning
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GB3FI was installed to support users of hand-portable equipment that may choose to walk on the many areas of outstanding natural beauty in the area. INcluding the Mendip Hills, the Somerset Levels, the Quantock hills to name just a few. This repeater provides patchy but useable coverage throughout the Cheddar Gorge and as such proves a valuable resource for Raynet when they support charity walks in this area
GB7FI
Repeater TX:430.8875MHz Colour Code 3
Repeater RX: 438.4875MHz Colour Code 3
Equipment: Motorola DR3000
Antenna: Colinear at ground level
DMR Network Connectivity: Phoenix - DMR UK
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This digital repeater was purchased by a group of local Amateur Radio enthusiasts who wanted a DMR repeater in the area. The Frys Hill Group hosts the repeater, providing Internet connection, power, antenna, and filtering equipment to keep the repeater on the air.
GB3ZY
Repeater TX: 50.800MHz CTCSS 77.0
Repeater RX: 51.300MHz CTCSS 77.0
Maximum deviation 5KHz
Equipment: Tait T300 series
Duplexer: Made by G4UTM from a WB5WPA design, much improved.
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Connectivity: Allstar Link node 2237
GB3ZY is normally linked to GB3FH via the SWAN VHF hub​
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GB3ZY hosts the Bristol 6m Net on Thursday evenings at 8.05pm. Click for more info.
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This repeater runs currently around 25W ERP from a dipole antenna approx, 20m AGL.
It provides good coverage of the South Wales coastal areas and into the valleys and up the river Severn. Good coverage of Bristol, Bath, and further East and North, complimenting the coverage from GB3FH nicely.
GB3ZB
Repeater TX: 430.825MHz CTCSS 77.0Hz
Repeater RX: 438.425MHz CTCSS 77.0Hz
Maximum Deviation 7.5KHz
Equipment: Tait 800 Series 1
Antenna: 4-Stack Omni dipole array
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Connectivity: Allstar Node 2514
GB3ZB is normally linked to GB3FI via the SWAN UHF Hub, which includes GB3CH, and others.
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Listen out for the GB2RS news at 0930 every Sunday morning
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GB3ZB provides good coverage around Bristol and Bath, covering as far North as Gloucester. Along the M4 from J18 at Bath into Wales and up to Bridgend. Good coverage of Cardiff and Newport. There is also good coverage along the M5 except for the split level section between J19 & J20 where terrain blocks the signal.
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GB7BD
Repeater TX:430.950MHz Colour Code 3
Repeater RX: 438.550MHz Colour Code 3
Equipment: Hytera RD985
Antenna: 4-Stack dipole array
DMR Network Connectivity: Phoenix - DMR UK
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Slot 2 TG9 linked to GB7FI Slot 2 TG9
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This repeater provides access to the National DMR network for users in and around Bristol and Bath. Coverage is similar to GB3ZB as the antenna system is combined and provides the same footprint.
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CARADON HILL REPEATERS
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GB3CH, GB3JL & GB7LK
There has been an Amateur Radio repeater station on Caradon Hill since the early 1970s. Originally, the repeater was on the main IBA mast but due to commercial pressures and the sale of the IBA Transmitter sites in the late '90s the repeater had to move off the mast.
GB3CH then moved to a small tower next to the IBA mast, owned by Rediffusion. In a few years, however, this tower was sadly condemned and had to be demolished and at this point, permission was sought by Matt, G4RKY to move 'CH onto the then SWEB tower at Caradon Hill. There was a low loss feeder cable in situ but a suitable antenna was needed and commercial riggers had to be paid to mount this antenna on the tower. The operation of CH on the new site commenced in 2004 and has continued, thanks to SWEB, now WPD Telecoms, ever since.
In 2008, James M1APC the then keeper added a 145MHz repeater to the site, using redundant mid-band antennas and GB3JL continues to work well. Matt G4RKY replaced the Tait mobiles that were used for GB3JL in 2023, with a Kenwood
TKR-850 which was donated to the group, that has improved receive sensitivity and TX output.
During a recent upgrade to the UHF equipment on site (November 2021) a DMR repeater, GB7LK, that was donated to the group was added by Matt G4RKY and the GB3CH repeater was replaced with a new Tait unit and the frequency changed to a wide split channel. GB3CH is now on Allstar and you can connect using node 43678.
GB3CH is connected to GB3ZB and GB3FI among others, via the SWAN UHF Hub
The South West Allstar Network.
SWAN hub
The South-West Allstar Network exists to promote activity levels on the connected repeaters and connect communities together.
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There are multiple sections to the hub to allow for various parts to be isolated, for example the Mendip Link, and the Cornish Hub can be isolated for local nets.
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Port 1 is the main port for external nodes to connect.
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The Mendip Link is where GB3ZB and GB3FI are permanently linked, and usually linked to the main hub, except when GB2RS is broadcast.
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Port 2 is used to link GB3ZY and GB3FH permanently.
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The Cornish hub is used to link GB3CH and GB3DQ permanently, and then onward linked to the main hub.
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During recent times there have been other incoming connections to the hub, including GB3NX, GB3PB and several users with their personal hotspots. ​
This is all good news as the activity levels on the system has increased and that can only be a good thing!
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Some tips for operating on the SWAN hub:
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Leave a gap between transmissions of at least 3s
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When passing around a group, correct use of callsigns to indicate who is next to transmit avoids "doubling"!
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If connecting to the system, please listen for 30s to make sure a QSO is not in progress before transmitting.
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View the nodes connected to the hub here
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You can also view detailed live information about the system and see which nodes are active by viewing the hub's SUPERMON page.
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