ARRL
Richmond Amateur Telecommunications Society - Callsign: W4RAT
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W4RAT Repeaters

The Richmond Amateur Telecommunications Society owns and operates two repeaters under the club's callsign, W4RAT, on the SERA-coordinated frequency pairs of 146.28/88 MHz and 442.55/447.55 MHz. Both repeaters use full CTCSS encoding and decoding at 74.4Hz. The VHF IRLP node is 4424, the UHF is 4995.

REPEATER

The picture above shows the two repeater racks. Top to bottom are the IRLP servers (click here for more about the W4RAT IRLP nodes), inline wattmeters, then the repeaters themselves (UHF on the left, VHF on the right), then the SkyWarn system*, and then the controllers with digital voice recorders. The batteries for power backup are at the very bottom of the racks. The large black cabinet to the right is the VHF duplexer (you can just see it).

The 146.88 and 442.55 repeaters are co-located at WCVE Channel 23 in Chesterfield County (near Bon Air), with their antennas situated about 680 feet above ground on the taller of the station's two large towers. In the photo below, the upper pair of antennas are the W4RAT antennas. The one on the left is the 2M (146MHz) antenna, the one on the right is the 70cm (442MHz)antenna. RATS appreciates WCVE's generosity in allowing us such excellent locations for our antennas and repeaters.

W4RAT Antennas

Both stations consist of Motorola MTR 2000 repeaters, full featured controllers and Digital Voice Recorders, a Duplex Products duplexer for VHF, a Celwave Duplexer for UHF, a Decibel Products DB-224-E antenna on VHF (above, top left), an RF Systems antenna on UHF (above, top right), and 750 feet of 1-1/4-inch hard-line which feeds both antennas from an RX TX coupler.

Both repeaters are accessed by a CTCSS (PL) tone of 74.4Hz and transmit a 74.4Hz sub-audible tone, so you may set your receiver to break squelch only when the RATS repeaters are transmitting. You must transmit a 74.4Hz tone to bring the repeaters up! The tones are used to avoid interference from other repeaters whose coverage occasionally overlaps ours, and is suggested by the Southeastern Repeater Association, our frequency coordinating body in southern Virginia and the southeast. Each transmitter's output power is approximately 70 watts.

If you have questions about the operation of the W4RAT repeaters, please

This is the projected coverage map of the "88" repeater shown by the mapping program SERA uses.

W4RAT Coverage

RICHMOND AREA REPEATERS

+ = plus offset, - = minus offset
Locations based on SERA coordination locations

6 Meter (50MHz)

  • KB4MIC 53.07- Gum Spring
  • WB3R 53.39- Amelia
  • KD4SUU 53.43- Chesterfield

2 Meter (146MHz)

  • K4SRN 147.39+ PL74.4 Petersburg (formerly K4ARO)
  • K4YPE 145.11- Richmond
  • KA4CBB 147.36+ Chesterfield
  • WB4IKL 147.27+ PL203.5 Gum Spring
  • KC4VDZ 147.135+ PL107.2 Richmond
  • W4SQT 145.43- Richmond
  • W4ZA 146.94- Richmond
  • WB4VWR 147.06+ PL107.2 Enon
  • WA4JST 147.03- Richmond
  • W4RAT 146.88- PL74.4 Richmond
  • KD4RYT 146.64- PL203.5 Coatesville, VA (near Doswell)
  • N4TZE 147.09+ Goochland
  • W4VCU 147.18+ LP74.4 Richmond (near VCU?)
  • W4TTL 146.715- Walkerton
  • W4TTL 146.805- Mechanicsville
  • KD4KWP 145.31- Chesterfield
  • WB3R 145.19- Amelia
  • KQ4RH 145.25- Montpelier (no longer on the air)
  • KE4SCS 146.985- Chesterfield(*)
  • K4RKO 147.255+ PL100.0 Richmond

1.25 Meter (220MHz)

  • K4ARO 224.70- Petersburg

70 Centimeter (440MHz)

  • N4EHJ 444.65+ Goochland (Columbia, VA)
  • AB4SF 444.85+ PL114.8 Richmond
  • KB4MIC 444.80+ Goochland (Oilville)
  • WB4VWR 444.20+ Chesterfiled (Enon)
  • KB4YKV 443.20+ Amelia
  • KA4CBB 442.15+ Chesterfield
  • WA3KOK 442.45+ Chesterfield
  • WA4AYB 441.60+ Chesterfield (*)
  • KC4VDZ 442.30+ PL114.8 Richmond
  • WB4KZI 443.825+ Petersburg
  • KB4MIC 442.80+ Gum Spring (no longer on the air)
  • KN4YM 443.10+ Powhatan
  • W4RAT 442.55+ Richmond (Chesterfield)
  • K4ARO 442.60+ Petersburg
  • W4VCU 444.975+ PL74.4 Richmond (VCU, linked daily to 444.900 K4SRM and 444.125 W4CMH South Hill)
  • K4SRM 444.900+ PL103.5 Petersburg (Southside Regional Medical Center)
  • W4CMH 444.125+ South Hill
  • KG4YJB 444.275+ PL103.5 Prince George (Echolilnk Node 93516, formerly W4RDF)

(*) Does not show up in the Feb. 2006 SERA Repeater Journal.
A number of repeaters tend to change throughout the year. If you have updated information or find one of these repeaters does (not) work, please email us at webmaster@rats.net and we will get it corrected.

*RATS and the W4RAT repeaters participate in the National Weather Service's SKYWARN system. If an emergency weather warning is sent out from the NWS office, the repeaters will break in and retransmit this inmportant information.
For more information go to: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/akq/spotterinfo/skywarn.htm