As most of you are aware, the Top of the World repeater site in Tallassee suffered a major blow last spring when the WB4GBI tower collapsed in high winds during the Wears Valley wildfires. Restoration efforts began within hours of the event and have been ongoing since. Significant events have recently been completed, and we’d like to update you on where things stand.
The decision was made early on to replace the former guyed tower with a self-supporting unit. The replacement tower is in now place. The next phase of installing all the feedlines and antennas has begun. This step is complicated as our tower crews have day jobs, and we also need fair skies with little to no wind. We are slowly making progress.
The equipment building is also getting a facelift. Except for the EMS radio systems, all other radios have been temporarily removed from the site. This weekend we took the 625 repeater off the air as part of this phase. When the tower infrastructure is in place, the replacement 625 machine will go live. We’ll send another update when this event happens.
It is our hope to have most of the restoration efforts completed by late spring. This project wouldn’t happen without the generous financial support of the local amateur radio operators and clubs. Many thanks and stay tuned.
73,
David Andrews, N1ESK, East Tennessee Repeater Association
