Malvern Hills Repeater Group
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Welcome to MHRG
The Malvern Hills Repeater Group is the organisation responsible for licensing, installing, financing, operating and maintaining the north Worcestershire amateur radio repeaters GB3NW and GB3MS.
VHF repeater GB3NW operates on 145.625MHz output, 145.025MHz input, with a CTCSS tone of 67Hz or conventional 1750Hz toneburst access. GB3NW runs about 5 watts to a folded dipole antenna.
UHF repeater GB3MS on 433.175MHz output, 434.775MHz input, with a CTCSS tone of 67Hz, is currently in low power, low sensitivity beacon mode, although QSOs can be held through it by local stations.
Both repeaters are co-sited at an elevated location less than one mile west of the M5 motorway, Junction 6.
For details, information or to find out how you can help support the Group and its repeaters GB3NW and GB3MS, please contact Dave G4IDF or Phil G4SPZ (both QTHR) or e-mail us via this website - click on "Mail Form"
This website is currently undergoing major expansion
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History
Amateur radio repeaters on the VHF 144MHz band have been around for over 25 years. Worcestershire has been served by such a repeater since the original Malven Hills Repeater, GB3MH, came on air from an elevated location near the Wyche Cutting.
GB3MH had an extremely wide coverage, serving much of Herefordshire and Worcestershire together with parts of Wales. When the site ceased to be available for amateur use in the 1990s, the repeater closed down and this was a noticeable loss to the users in its area.
Some time later, the present Repeater Group was formed with the aim of restoring a 2-metre repeater to the County. Recognising that it was going to be impossible to find a site as good at the old MH one, the Group nonetheless negotiated with a local public sector organisation and received approval to install the repeater in its present location on the fifth floor of a prominent building close to the M5 motorway. The antenna is at around 30 metres agl in the second highest location in Worcester City. As the old GB3MH callsign was no longer available, the current choice was made and the unit is known as the North Worcester repeater.
The anniversary date for the repeater entering service is 5th November, and all around the world on that date every year, fireworks are set off to celebrate the fact! GB3NW has been incredibly reliable in service. It also enjoys the benefit of a 100% standby mains power supply, and there have been no breaks in service other than planned maintenance.
More recently, the companion UHF repeater GB3MS was installed. An early failure of the PA stage took some time to rectify, and at the time of writing GB3MS is still on very low power pending modifications.
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