The Brisbane Amateur Radio Club's (BARC) recently recieved four trays of SRM9030's and box of associated cables,
mics, and heads. Each tray consisted of a UHF and a VHF Simoco SRM9030 radio.
Brisbane P25 Coverage
Mt Cootha, VK4RMC, sponsored by Andrew Chapman, VK4QF, has excellent coverage and is a professional installation.
It is a Tait 9400 with an RFI binary array at the top of the tower. The other P25 repeater in our area is the BARC's
Motorola 2000/MMDVM. It has reasonable coverage but nowhere near as good as VK4RMC. VK4RBA is network enabled,
while unfortunately, VK4RMC is not.
Configuration
There are two versions of the configuration software and I installed them on Windows 10 running as a VM
on Ubuntu Linux. I found the Standard FPP wipes the P25 keys which I restored from backup. The SRM+SRP
P25 FPP works well after I applied the patches. I made a copy of the config on each radio before making
any config changes. I am keeping the initial configuration very simple at this stage. I only have four P25
channels VK4RMC TG1, VK4RBA TG1, and the same again on 10700. I can expand on the channels once the club's
P25 project develops and the members get used to the new mode and operation of the 9030s.
Building
I separated the AU and the AC radios and am concentrating on the UHF models as both the repeaters are UHF.
The VHF radios will come in useful in stage two as the Ipswich area, adjacent to the west but still
part of the Greater Brisbane area, has two 2m P25 enabled repeaters. I purchased one on eBay and it works fine.
Some of the Head to Radio (HRS16 to RJ45) leads were cut off a bit short. I have crimped an RJ45 to the longer
ones. I urge those interested to invest in a new genuine cable, available locally for about $44. In the imterim
I have made use of any cut off cables with HRS connectors one end. I have also made up the DB15 connector with
double 10A fuses to go with the radio. Renato Langersek, VK4TNT, a tech who works with the Queensland Police
has kindly offered to assist with technical issues if I fall short.
Rollout
Currently we have six P25 radios in the field with two more 9030 to be added in the next week. Some members
ave invested in Motorola XTL5000s. We now have enough participants to allow BARC to start an experimental
local P25 net at 6:30 pm AEST on Monday nights via Mt Coot-tha. I hope to expand this as more radios become
available.
Future
The immediate plan is to roll out P25 radios to all BARC members and associates that want to participate.
Later, I am considering network enabling Mt Coot-tha with a MMDVM simplex uplink.
I am also a member of the Bayside District Amateur Radio Society (BDARS) who manage the Mt Cotton repeater
site. I built their digital repeater several years ago with a Repeater Builder MMDVM and ICOM FR4000. A
few of their members have expressed interest in the P25 Project.
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