NOTE: Due to changes going on at the club's Conifer Mountain site, the club was unable to remain. As of 9/16/2017, we have removed all equipment from the site. The equipment is being upgraded and reconfigured for installation at its new location. New locations of the repeaters are show below when available.
The CRA's Conifer Mountain site was our first site and continues to be the focus of club activity. The site is located 35 miles west-southwest of Denver at an elevation of 10,000 feet. All repeaters located here have wide-area coverage from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to the north, Pueblo to the south, beyond Limon to the east and South Park to the southwest. There is a shadow in Denver along the foothills west of Wadsworth Boulevard.
53.050 -- the 53.050 MHz (input -1.000 MHz) W0CRA/R six-meter repeater is one of the few six-meter repeaters operating in Colorado.
The repeater normally requires a CTCSS tone of 107.2 Hz for access. For users without a CTCSS encoder, enter 1* to enable the repeater for carrier access; enter 0* to return the repeater to CTCSS operation. The repeater transmits a CTCSS tone of 107.2 Hz. You can program your radio to only receive signals with the tone to prevent reception of noise and intermod.
The repeater is comprised of a GE Master II station repeater, an S-COM 5K controller and a quarter-wave ground plane.
147.225 -- this repeater is now at the Westcreek site as of 11/11/2017.
224.980 -- we continue to look for a site for this repeater.
447.150 -- the 447.150 MHz (input -5.000 MHz) W0CRA/R 70-centimeter (UHF) repeater is one of the busiest UHF repeaters in the Denver area with 15 to 20 hours of use every week. This repeater is linked full time with the Simla 147.105 repeater.
The repeater requires a CTCSS tone of 107.2 Hz for access. The repeater transmits a CTCSS tone of 107.2 Hz. You can program your radio to only receive signals with the tone to prevent reception of noise and intermod.
This repeater is comprised of an GE Master II station repeater with an S-COM 7K controller, Decibel Products duplexer, ARR preamp, and a 9-db antenna at the top of a 100-foot tower with a directional pattern aimed at Denver.
1287.900 -- the 1287.900 MHz (input -12.000 MHz) W0CRA/R 23-centimeter (1.2 gig) repeater has users from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs. The propagation on this band is quite interesting -- even a 100-milliwatt handheld works from many areas.
This repeater is comprised of a Motorola Motrac repeater, homebrew varactor tripler and converter, an S-COM MRC-100 repeater controller, a Wacom duplexer and a 10-db antenna mounted 70-feet up a tower with an offset pattern pointed at Denver.
History of the 222 repeater -- The decision to link the 224.980 repeater full time to the 147.225 repeater was prompted for many reasons. First and foremost, the CRA has a "rag-chew" philosophy. Activity on the 222 band in the Denver area was virtually non-existent. Yes, there are other 222 repeaters, but a study showed very little activity on them. Therefore, in keeping with the "busy-is-better" idea, we continuously linked a very busy two-meter repeater to the 222 repeater and, instantly, there is a 222 repeater where someone can go and find activity. This still leaves the other 222 repeaters quiet so a person who likes a quiet repeater can have a choice. An added benefit of the two-meter/222 continuous link is the ability of a Novice class licensed amateur to have a gateway to our two-meter repeater. A family with two-meter equipment having a new Novice class amateur can purchase only one piece of radio gear (a 222 rig) to have the ability to speak with its new amateur. The FCC, due to amateur radio operators requests, passed the Novice enhancement rulings. This is a clear indication to us more amateurs wanted Novices to have voice privileges. The CRA responded with a 222 repeater that is the busiest in the West.
The original 224.980 repeater was built from a Kendecom repeater and controller. This repeater has since been upgraded to a GE Mastr II station repeater that was converted from VHF.