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Hello:

Has anyone used any equipment, i.e. Exciters or Receivers from
ARS, Aerotron-Repco Systems, Inc.

I am seeking to build a repeater and am thinking about using their
equipment. Looking for honest opinion on the quality of this
equipment.

Thank You

Lindsay Hodgdon

I had a two channel REPCO repeater that was built in 1980 uhf 25 watt that
was going strong till last year when the local gov oopsed the tower in the
vault and trashed the repeater... i also have several friends running the
same machines no complaints the aerotron part of the company dose a big
busniess in paging systems.....

In a message dated 99-04-16 16:13:15 EDT, you write:

<< >
> Hello:
>
> Has anyone used any equipment, i.e. Exciters or Receivers from ARS,
Aerotron- >Repco Systems, Inc.
>
> I am seeking to build a repeater and am thinking about using their
equipment. >Looking for honest opinion on the quality of this equipment.
>
> Thank You
> Lindsay Hodgdon
> >>

Well, here's the scoop from Raleigh, NC where Aerotron started oh so many
years ago. Raleigh ARS W4DW 146.640 ran an Aerotron base station modified
for repeater operation; ran a homebrew controller for many years, then we
upgraded to a RC-96 in about 1990. Over the last 9 years we have gone thru
several upgrade receivers, PA's and other stuff, as we have had less and
more people who worked in the plant interested in helping keep up the
repeater. Latest big push was an MEGA model PA. We had a lot of trouble tho
with the pair of finals going on us - they had a tendency to run too hot for
the heatsink capability, the collector lead would actually heat up to the
point of melting the solder, then of course when it cooled down it probably
went to 'cold solder joint' status - eventually we even got to the point
where the PCB trace would delaminate from the substrate. In retrospect, we
were probably running it too close to an unstable point of excessive current
draw for the amount of power we were trying to run. I can't remember the
exact details, but I think it was a 100w package trying to run 50 watts or so
- and the current draw on transistors running that much less than their
rated power is typically non-linear - you draw more amps than you would
expect for that power level, the excess goes to heat in the device, which has
to go somewhere. Ex: 100w PA drawing about 7Amps, same PA running 50 watts
might draw instead 5 to 6 amps. The figures are just ferinstances, to give
you an idea. Add that a couple of busy evening nets and rag chew sessions,
and you soon go from 'Intermittent Commercial Service' duty cycle to
'Continuous' duty cycle - and if the heat sink just ain't up to the
Continuous job, you're in deep pucky.

Among other things, we sometimes also had trouble with the little pins from
the backplane to the Exciter and PA boards - which sit parallel to the
backplane. They sometimes developed Hi-resistance. Our best solution when
we had 'flakies' was to demount the board, and scrub it up and down on the
pins a couple of times. Problem went away. For a while.

About 1993, Repco bought out Aerotron's facilities, moved the operation to
Orlando and called them ARS -

From an other good friend who worked in there for a while, their technology
advancement stagnated at about maybe 20 years ago. Mostly because as each
succeeding company that owned Aerotron looked at what they had, they saw no
need to put in money for R&D to advance their technology, and continued to
suck out as much cash as possible, then sell off the shell (of the shell they
had already bought). They got along OK for a long time 'cuz their equipment
was very cheap to buy and they could slide in under the 'Big Boys'

To be honest, don't know what they've done since they've been in Orlando, if
they have updated their technology or not. The equipment may not be much
worse than say, Spectrum, or so. Pedestrian, probably above the level I've
seen from say, Ritron, and it's not a GE or Motorola (who, in all honesty,
have both done some dogs.)( I know I'll get some flames for that!)

I've rambled; take the advice of almost anyone on the list, get a >good< GE
or Motorola and work from there. Replacement parts i.e. whole chassis can be
picked up for a song at hamfests. Not so easy with Aerotron stuff.

And if there are any current Aerotron - Repco employees here to dispute my

opinions<, I will gladly stand aside.

Chuk Gleason
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