16 Jul The Return of Melbourne’s ATV Repeater VK3RTV
Last Updated on July 18, 2020
Melbourne’s ATV Repeater VK3RTV
Melbourne’s ATV Repeater VK3RTV has made a welcome return. Having been off-air due to site relocation, the repeater has found a new home on Mount View, right next to the Victorian Police Academy in the easter suburbs of Melbourne. Peter Cossins, VK3BFG, has been involved in the ATV repeater since it’s inception way back in the 80s.
It’s been many decades since I transmitted an ATV signal, in fact, it was back in the days before digital. That was when VK3RTV was on 579.250 MHz and we transmitted an AM signal on 444.25 to access the repeater. How times have changed. Now we need a set-top box, most likely patched to receive the DVB-T signal on 445.5 MHz. The TX antenna for VK3RTV is verticle, and there are now two channels, VK3RTV 1 and VK3RTV 2.
I use a Strong SRT 5434 set-top box which has had the amateur television patch applied to it which can be downloaded from the Strong Website. Just click the software update link on the product page. I’m also some 45km from the repeater and it’s noise-free on a Diamond dual band verticle.
There’s nothing new about amateur television. It’s been around since analogue TV first appeared in our living rooms, but digital transmission is new. It’s widescreen but relatively low res, after all, it’s a place for experimentation. At the time of writing, there is plenty of activity on the repeater, so keep a lookout for operators like Neil VK3BCU and others, and don’t forget to change the channel to see what’s on the other RTV channel.
VK3RTV Receive Frequencies
VK3RTV Receive Frequencies
VK3RTV Frequencies
Transmit Frequency: 445.5MHz V
Receiver Frequency RTV1B: 1255MHz
Receiver Frequency RTV2A: 1278MHz
Receiver Frequency RTV2B: 1246MHz
