Paul Prestia, KA3OPZ makes a modification to the 146.91 repeater's receiver in preparation for an Echolink implementation as Tom Rupp, KU8T observes.

Echolink® capabilities became available on the Fort Wayne Radio Club 146.91 MHz repeater on August 11, 2010. EchoLink software allows licensed Amateur Radio stations to communicate with one another over the Internet, using streaming-audio technology. Users of the 146.91 repeater can now use Echolink to communicate with any other Echolink-equipped amateur radio station, including other repeaters, remote bases and computer-only stations. The Echolink capabilities on our club's repeater are available to all licensed hams, not just club members.

Download a PDF document that explains how to access Echolink on the repeater.

To use the system, you must first know the Echolink node number of the station to which you wish to connect. You can find a list of currently online nodes on the Echolink Website (our repeater's node number is 519521). Once you know the node number, simply key your radio, transmit your call sign and intention (for example, "W9SAN access Echolink.") and enter the node number on your DTMF pad. The system will indicate whether the connection was successful. If so, transmit and receive as normal. Everything the repeater receives over the air will be sent over the Internet to the other node and everything the other node sends over the Internet will be retransmitted by the repeater.

When you are finished, disconnect from the remote Echolink node by sending a DTMF "#" and identifying (e.g. "W9SAN disconnect Echolink."). The system will report whether the disconnection was successful.