Date: June 2023
Amount: $15,074

The Milford Amateur Radio Club, established in 1974, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that aims to educate its members in radio communications; keep its members apprised of progress and advancement in the field; volunteer in the community as VEs, at community events, and in emergencies; and promote ethics and standards in amateur radio communications conduct, among other things. The club manages a repeater site that is currently experiencing both interference and desensing, resulting in difficult to impossible operation at higher power levels. To account for this, each repeater has been limited to 20W of output, significantly reducing their coverage area. Investigation into the desensing issue also revealed an underground short in the electrical supply, posing a major safety issue and hindering their electrical supply. To circumvent this electrical issue, they have turned off the amplifiers to their VHF repeaters, resulting in further limited coverage to their metropolitan area.

This grant will provide funding for upgrading their current repeater structure, as well as upgrading and repairing the electric supply. As a result of these upgrades, all of their digital and analog repeaters will be able to effectively coexist and operate at full power, significantly increasing both their coverage area and the number of amateur radio operators served.

Udpate

The Milford Amateur Radio Club upgraded its repeater site infrastructure, fixing interference and electrical issues that had kept both analog and Wires-X digital repeaters at low power. Upgrades included new equipment, a six-can high-selectivity duplexer, and increased electrical capacity. The site now operates at full power with coverage up to 50 miles, boosting daily activity and expanding regional service.

Learn more at https://milfordhamradio.org/.