The Portland Repeater Group
was born on May 12, 2000 when its founding members decided the (then N1FTE) repeater,
needed a quasi-official, supporting collective of hams that would help promote the goals of
its members. Keith - N1FTE, Chuck - N1MSA and Mike - KA1RTW came up with the name of
the Group and suggested a callsign change for the machine. After a quick poll, W1CKD
was picked and promptly applied for.
The W1CKD repeater had it's first home atop the One City Center building in downtown Portland (300ft AMSL) thanks to Citadel Broadcasting. While intown, the repeater had good UHF coverage of the greater Portland area and had a maximum usable coverage area from just north of Brunswick to Kennebunk. During the repeaters' 4 year stint in Portland, the machine had been linked to a variety of other machines in the area including the 146.925 W6BZ repeater in Arundel, the 442.200 W6BZ repeater in Litchfield and the 53.370 W1ZOU repeater in Parsonsfield. The W1CKD machine also boasted the only working autopatch in the Portland area for a time.
In late October 2004, after a few months of gentle pressure from Citadel, a new home for the repeater was found and the machine was moved to its' new home 25 miles west of Portland on Ossipee Hill in Waterboro, ME. Thanks to a local fire department (Hollis Fire and Rescue) the machine now enjoys usage of a 75ft tower, an equipment hut and a backup generator on a hill that brings the height of the repeater to 1200ft AMSL. At its' new location, the machine has a coverage area from just south of Augusta to Salisbury, MA making the repeater a formidable UHF blowtorch in Southern Maine! (Click here
for Coverage Map) The W1CKD repeater now has a 2 meter side on 147.270 and both machines are linked to the world via EchoLink.
PRG welcomes all kinds of hams
that can't seem to find a home on other repeaters in Southern Maine since they don't mesh well with
what we like to call "Super Fine Business Amateurs" (you know, the BS artists
who try to make you believe that they have done everything you and everyone else has done,
only better, and that they KNOW ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING ABOUT EVERYTHING!). We DON'T
play that game. Yes we may be "renegades" and "cranialy
deficient", but we have a hell of good time!!!
Copyright © by The Portland Repeater Group All Right Reserved.
