This page consists of real-time system status of the DCARA Repeater Site located on top of Guinn Hall at the Texas Woman’s University located in Denton, Texas. The 146.920 MHz repeater is a wide coverage voted-receiver system and is our primary Skywarn and ARES repeater.
In 2024 the DCARA was the recipient of an Irving Amateur Radio Club Micro-Grant to upgrade our DC power system. The previous system consisted of a DIY custom power shelf with 12 8Ah Sealed Lead Acid batteries (96 Ah equivalent). The new system consists of an EG4LL 14.2V 400Ah rack mounted battery, Victron MultiPlus II 12/2000/80 Inverter/Charger, and a Cerbo GX station monitor. The DCARA would like to extend our appreciation to the Irving Amateur Radio Club for their generous grant that provided almost 50% of the funding needed to complete the system. In addition, Signature Solar provided a discount to our non-profit to further assist us in obtaining the necessary components. This new system should provide decades of reliability and upgradeability with the addition of additional rack mounted batteries in the future. One of the features this new system affords us is full AC power backup real-time with no drops. This is a grid connected power system (we do not back feed the grid) future projects may include seeking permission to install solar panels for true off-grid support.
The following is a live-view of our power system status provided by the Victron MultiPlus II Inverter/Charger. *Note regarding consumption on DC, this is based on what the Inverter/Charger is doing and not necessarily what the battery is supplying in peak needs. The Inverter can utilize the battery power to provide surge needs in a hybrid connection between AC mains and DC input. All DC loads are tied directly to the battery, we may tie in a shunt in the future to better display statistics of our loads.
- Idle Consumption:
- 259 Watts AC Input (battery at 100% state of charge)
- 94 Watts AC Output
- 123 Watts DC Output
- Transmit Consumption:
- 1186 Watts AC Input
- 975 Watts AC Output
- 205 Watts DC Output
