White Tanks ATV Repeater

From The WB7TJD Wiki

White Tanks ATV Repeater Back in service

Bil, K1ATV reports on May 1at, 2010, that the ATV repeater on the White Tanks west of Phoenix is back on the air.  It outputs on 1253.25 MHz VSB with a 434 MHz VSB or AM input.  The repeater also has an FM TV input on 2441.5 MHz with a 6 MHz subcarrier for audio.

VSB stands for Vestigial Sideband, the process of transmitting AM television video with full upper sideband and carrier, and only the the first 1 MHz or so of the lower sideband, such that with a 4.5 MHz FM subcarrier for sound, the entire signal occupies a 6 MHz channel width instead of the 9 MHz occupied by double-sideband AM.  The lower vestigial sideband carries the sync signals, and provides for greater synchronization stability in the picture.

The repeater output is the NTSC standard used by Broadcast TV before the switch to digital that took place in June 2009 in the United States.

The repeater transmits 250 watts Effective Radiated Power using vertical polarization according to Bil, and its trustee is Mike Collis, WA6SVT.

It is operating in beacon mode, which means that it transmits a signal all the time, unlike most voice repeaters.

The repeater is open to all amateurs and operates as a part of the Amateur TV Network, with plans to be linked to Mt. Lemmon's W7ATN and then to other areas.