Target Link System – 146.745- PL 123.0 – KK3L – Node 27690
On Saturday, March 12, 2011 the Target Link System was connected to the WAN Repeater System. Scott Zimmerman – N3XCC, and myself installed a simplex link radio and Linux computer running XIPAR to connect the two link systems together. In 1995, Kevin Custer – W3KKC and Marlon “Kasey” Kasekamp – KK3L connected the 146.835 Seven Springs and 146.745 Berkeley Springs repeaters together giving hams the opportunity to talk from Pittsburgh PA to Washington DC. This system was expanded with more repeaters to become the Target Link System. The Target System became a favorite of commercial truck drivers that had enough of the 11 meter garbage and took the time and effort to become ham radio operators. It is one of the longest running east coast linking systems; which is known for its superior audio quality, reliability, and incredible coverage area. The Target Link System, at present, is a network of seven repeaters connected together by full time RF links. A complete list of these repeaters and folks/organizations responsible for them is available at http://www.kuggie.com/target/ The owners of the repeaters in the Target Link System decided to connect to the WAN-RS in a testing phase to determine if the systems benefited from all of the connectivity, or was hindered by it. We will eventually decide.
While initially testing AllStar, I decided to link the Seven Springs repeater to the 146.625 in Central City. This testing proved to be popular, and folks using Seven Springs didn’t want it to leave the WAN-RS. That said, others from the Target system were missing the ability to talk to their friends on 146.835, so, I was caught between a rock and a hard place. The only thing that made sense was to connect the two systems together. Please realize that the bubble map shows only one Target repeater (146.745 Berkeley Springs), but, a total of seven machines are connected. Be sure to visit the web link above for the status of the Target Link System and its involvement in the WAN Repeater System.
Thanks,
Kevin Custer – WJ8G