The TCRC talking repeater has a personality all its own among the many two-meter repeaters in the Twin Cities Metro Area. The TCRC repeater has established new performance standards for all metro area two-meter repeaters! Beginning back in 1978 as a single-site system, our coverage of the Twin Cities area was second to none! The old OLE and SVEN system were shut down on September 28, 2013. They were part of an amazing state of the art system designed and built by by amazing amateur radio operators.
Replacing the old system is a commercial off-the-shelve Vertex VXR-9000 repeater. It has an external ARCOM controller with enhanced functions and is running at medium power (25 watts) into the existing PA resulting in 80 watts input to the antenna system.
The need for a 100Hz CTCSS tone (PL for the Motorola fans) is still present.
Vertex 9000
The main repeater in Burnsville is equipped with a battery back-up system to keep the equipment on the air in the event of a commercial power failure. This will be of particular value if, during a Skywarn operation, commercial power is suddenly cut off. The TCRC repeater has been designated the primary Southern Metro repeater for the Skywarn Weather Program.
