The summer of 1998 was a busy one for SRA volunteers. A new tower and antenna was installed at Laurel over the course of several weekend work parties. A major part of the labor was digging the hole for the tower base in the rocky soil -- over four cubic yards of concrete -- by hand. The new tower is a commercial-grade tower and is installed to the standards required for Laurel's winter storms which bring winds over 100 miles per hour.

A major limiting factor in the antenna installation at Laurel is the radome of the FAA air traffic control radar, which is (obviously, we hope) the primary user of the site. Safety considerations require that our installation never allows a human to be above the base of the radome. Currently at 30 feet, the antenna is well below that limit. If needed we can increase the height to 50 feet.

To the best of our knowledge, SRA is the only amateur radio installation at any FAA radar site in the United States. We believe that we received permission to use this site because of SRA's record of professional-quality work and our active involvement in providing additional emergency communication capabilities to government emergency services.

The site on Laurel Mountain is at an elevation of approximately 3,800 feet. Currently, the repeater is putting out about 80 watts into a 6dB antenna.

• The 147.02 (PL 186.2) repeater identifies as W7SRA (SRA club callsign). For further information, contact , E-mail to: