Welcome
to the Georgia District of SERA. My name is
Ron Johnson, WB4GWA, your Georgia Director.
I am delighted to be able to serve the needs of repeater owners and
operators here in Georgia, so please feel free to contact me if I can ever be
of service to you regarding the affairs of SERA here in Georgia. John
Davis, WB4QDX has joined me as the Vice-Director for Georgia and will be
assisting me with frequency coordinations and other SERA duties. John
Talipsky, Jr. continues to serve as our Repeater Journal Correspondent and
does an excellent job.
My goal is to approach the coordination of repeaters throughout
Georgia in a professional manner and to represent SERA’s guidelines
regarding all inquiries and requests in a timely manner.
Over the years, members of the Georgia SERA staff,
especially former director Pete Seabolt N4KHQ, have developed software and
database programs which make it easier for prospective and/or current Georgia
repeater owners to apply for coordination or re-coordination on line. At
the present time this process is used exclusively in Georgia and really
expedites the coordination process. The coordination and re-coordination
process can now be handled entirely on line using Georgia SERA Form 03.
This process saves you time and postage by being able to handle your
coordination request entirely on-line.
Frequency coordination is not an easy task, especially when you are
trying to coordinate a repeater in a heavily populated area. SERA has a
set of guidelines it uses, which we call our Coordination Policy and
Guidelines
. Once you complete the on-line Georgia
SERA Form 03
and submit it, the coordination request is
immediately forwarded to the Georgia Coordinator. The information
you supply on your Form 03 is input into the coordination software program
which queries the existing data base of repeaters to see if the frequency pair
you request is available for your location. If that frequency is not
available efforts will be made to search for any available frequency so that
SERA may coordinate a repeater for you. If a repeater will
coordinate (according to our coordination policy and guidelines) at your
proposed location, SERA will coordinate it “plain and simple.” The
total process from the time you send in your request until you are issued your
official coordination can take up to 30 days from start to finish.
SERA’s
role is to coordinate repeaters that will not cause interference to
other coordinated repeaters and that is the way we coordinate repeaters in
Georgia. Coordination within Georgia is becoming somewhat difficult on
the 2-meter band. In some areas there simply are no frequencies left
that meet SERA’s "standard spacing guidelines". In some
cases we have been able to find some frequencies by the use of CTCSS access,
taking advantage of natural terrain blockage, and the use of sophisticated RF
modeling software (ComStudy) to more accurately predict the performance (both
desired and undesired) of a proposed system. There are several available pairs
on 440 MHZ, but they are going at a pretty fast pace. 50 MHz, 222 MHz
(except in the Atlanta area), 900 MHz, and 1.2 GHz continue to have some
vacancies. If you'd like something coordinated, submit your application
(Form 03) on-line and/or contact me for assistance. Please be aware that
if you are interested in a 2-meter repeater, we will work with you diligently
in trying to locate a frequency pair, but there may not be a frequency
available (especially in the Northern half of Georgia) that will work.
Cooperation is essential. Existing
repeater owners need to be diligent in turning in annual datasheets mailed
from SERA each year. Each state
coordinator depends upon an accurate database, which can only be as accurate
as the information that existing repeater owners keep SERA informed about.
This is the reason that the data sheets are sent out each year for you to
verify and correct any information about your repeater. Please let me
know if an existing repeater is no longer in service so that the frequency can
be returned to the coordination pool of frequencies.
We encourage your membership in SERA. You now may join on-line, by
using your credit card, at http://www.sera.org/credit_renew_route.htm
If you have any questions or comments about Georgia SERA matters, please feel
free to contact me.
73,
Ron Johnson, WB4GWA
Georgia SERA Director
ON-LINE FREQUENCY COORDINATION FOR
Georgia Repeater Owners/Trustees!
After
visiting the SERA coordination page to obtain our Coordination
Policy and Guidelines,
you may apply on-line for your frequency coordination (or re-coordination)
using the Georgia SERA Form 03. Please note that this link is only for
prospective or current Georgia repeater owners/trustees.
Georgia
SERA Form 03
A Note From Your Director
A
Note From Your Director:
