Although nothing was actually found that could explain the problems that took ‘OA off air, a re-aligmment of some elements on the repeater has been undertaken. As promised, the repeater was back “on air” yesterday (19th December), but in the event, only into a dummy load. The decision to do this was based on the fact, that we eventually decided to replace the PA unit regardless, and it was thought appropriate that a period of monitoring *very* locally was the best approach for a few hours.
All appears to be ok, so as of 17:30 today (20th December 2014), the repeater’s TX has been reconnected to the aerial. Over the next couple of weeks or so, it will be monitored closely to assess if any issues still persist. During this period, the internet linking won’t be enabled. It’s simply a precaution that should prevent any interference (should the existing problems return), being re-broadcast around the globe.
Fingers crossed all is ok. Apologies once again for the outage.
Mark G4EID & Philip G8XVV.