Cluster Coverage.

The South West Cluster now consists of 17 repeaters, 14 on 70cm and 4 on 2m.

It will soon be 18, with the addition of GB7PC, on 2m.

As will be clear, there are several significant areas in Devon, Somerset and Cornwall where coverage is very patchy, or none at all.  We would be very pleased to hear from any Group or individual who is interested in assisting in filling the gaps.

The image above attempts to show the combined coverage of the 18 repeaters.  This is available via Slot 2, TG 950, on any of the connected and fully operational repeaters.

If you are under the ‘GREEN’ coloured areas, theoretically, you should have no problems hearing a SWC repeater.  As you will note, even within the ‘green’ areas there are patches where it’s ‘white, so potentially poor or no capability.

As with all computer generated coverage maps, as above, they can never be 100% accurate and the ability of any individual to successfully link to any repeater is totally dependent upon their equipment and their local topographical characteristics.

The current location of GB7JB is likely to change at some point in the future, to a location where it will further improve the South West Clusters, overall coverage.

NEW …..  www.thesouthwestcluster.co.uk

In addition to the information shown on this site / page, there is now a dedicated South West Cluster web site, which contains possibly everything you would ever wish to know, about the ever growing and possibly the UK’s largest DMR network, the South West Cluster.

So take a look.  It’s well worth it.  Simply click HERE.

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SWC Structure.

The South West Cluster now consists of 18 repeaters, with several individuals / groups currently working towards adding more systems.

All the repeaters associated with the South West Cluster are independent of each other, with their own management structure and are funded by their own Group, Club, etc., or by donations, as is the case with GB3JB.

We like to think that once part of the cluster, the group and their repeater/s will stay.  However, staying or leaving is a decision that is made by any specific repeaters management group.

If you need to talk to someone about your local repeater, we suggest that you contact the relevant repeater keeper.

Try the groups web site, or facebook etc., if they have one, for the info.  Certainly the keepers callsign will be a available from the ETCC web site.  See our links page.

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Roaming.

The South West Cluster provides a SIMPLE TO USE network that takes advantage of the TDMA technologies' "roaming" capability, a major function offered by DMR, which none of the other systems or networks are able to take advantage of.

By simply activating the "roaming" capability of your equipped radio, when traveling around the region, your radio does it all for you, by automatically switching you to the appropriate repeater for the area you are in. Much like a mobile phone.

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Dial-On-Demand.

As of the 1st October 2022, Slot 1, TG 9, offers the Dial-On-Demand option, enabling users to connect to other TG’s on other networks, as well as the stand alone local coverage.

For detailed information on the DoD facility, please got to our Dial-on-Demand web page, HERE.

At this time, all SWC repeaters are providing this capability to their users.  However, it is up to the management of your local SWC repeater, as to whether this facility is provided.

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GPS / APRS & Code Plugs.

When programming your radio’s for use on SWC repeaters, please ensure that GPS/APRS and any Auto GPS/APRS beacons capability is turned OFF.

This is usually enabled or disabled on a channel by channel basis.

Currently the SWC Server is not configured to handle such additional data and this means that every data beacon from a users radio will bring up the SWC unnecessarily.

Please ensure that the SWC entries in YOUR codeplug have the GPS and APRS capabilities turned OFF.

Hopefully, in the not too distant future, we will be able to handle such data without an impact on other users.

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The Network Status And An Operating Rule Of Thumb.

To check on the operational status of any of the SWC active repeaters, click HERE and then select the ‘DASHBOARDS’ page.  Then select ‘LIVE TRAFFIC DASHBOARD’ and then the ‘LINKED SYSTEMS’ option.

Please note, that all SWC repeaters require access to the Internet for the linking of Slot 2, and to provide the Dial-on-Demand capability on Slot 1.  As will be appreciated the Internet connectivity is NOT 100% reliable, so please understand if your local repeater suddenly disappears from the network, or gets an attack of the jitters.

You should also be aware that several SWC repeaters rely on the mobile phone network, 3G/4G, to connect into the internet, because there is very poor or no direct access to the internet from their sites.

This also comes with additional potential problems, such as the additional delay in the phone network, which generally results in the first few syllables of a transmission being lost.

Thus as a rule of thumb, we suggest that whilst in QSO, the station who is about to start their over, slowly counts to 5, so about 5 seconds, before they press their PTT.

This 5 seconds also allows time for other stations to call in if they so wish.

We would also suggest that they wait an additional 1 second after pressing the PTT and commencing their transmission, before they start talking.

This should procedure should ensure that all the repeaters are ready and waiting for the next transmission to start, whilst also allowing for the mobile phone network delay.

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Group and Club Nets.

There are already several weekly Club Nets taking advantage of the enhanced coverage offered by the SWC.

If you have a Club net that you think could benefit from moving to the SWC, why not give it a try.

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Our email address is:  gb3jb.dmr@gmail.com

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