Weston Repeater Site


This is the Campion Center in Weston, MA, home of the MMRA 146.79, 224.70, and 442.70 repeaters and the receiver for our 10m repeater. 442.70 serves as the MMRA's HUB #2. The Campion Center was originally built as Weston College, but is now a retirement center for Jesuit priests. In addition to being on a tall hill, the building is 4 stories high with a tower on the roof!

The original Weston repeater was constructed by the Marlboro FM Association back in the late 1960's. In 1971, the association was incorporated as the Minuteman Repeater Association (MMRA) and it moved the system to its present location. With continual technical improvements, the Weston repeater has been on the air for 25 years, and is the flagship station of the MMRA. Since its inception, Weston operated on 146.820 MHz. However, in September 2005, MMRA moved the 146.820 frequency pair to its new Brookline location, and changed Weston's frequency to 146.790. Brookline's high location necessitated a clearer frequency. '82 was superior to '79 in this regard.


The 2m and 222 repeaters are contained in one 6' rack. The 222 repeater is located at the top (Shiny aluminum transmitter, then receiver). Below this is the 222 power amp. Next is the SCOM 7K controller, followed by the controller interface panel. The link radio is located behind the next 3" panel, followed by a power meter, and the brass cabinet housing the 2m repeater.
HUB2, 442.700, went on the air on December 16, 2006. The UHF 4-Bay antenna was installed many years earlier, but no one can quite recall its original purpose.

The 10m repeater's receiver system is also installed in this rack, but this photo before this was done. This system receive signals on 29.58MHz and transmits them via a UHF link to our Marlborough East facility.

On March 30th, 1996, an MMRA work crew descended on the site to put up a new antenna. Shown here is the view of the site with the old Station Master antenna, with the work crew on the tower.

This photo, and the photos that follow, were taken by Chris Conti, N1NVL, during that session. Shown here are the MMRA's own tower monkeys: Bob Feltmate, WA1ZJE (on top) and Bryan Cerqua, W1BRI (down below).

Also in this photo, behind the work crew, is the side-mounted 222 MHz repeater antenna.

The site is linked back to the hub of the MMRA network, the W1MRA/R 449.925 repeater in Marlboro, MA, via the 440 MHz corner reflector antenna.

In this photo, work begins on prepping the new antenna, a Decibel Products DB-224 4-bay open-dipole antenna. The coax jumpers between the antenna elements are securely taped to the mast assembly.

Unlike a typical fiberglass antenna, this antenna will withstand years of flexing, which it will encounter mounted at the top of the tower. The antenna is 21.5' long, weighs 32 lbs, rated for 100 MPH winds, and gives a 6 dB omnidirectional gain.

In the photo to the right, Al Kunian, KA1AL, a former repeater trustee, looks over the new antenna prior to its installation. David Croll, KT1X, is shown walking in the background.
Here, tower monkeys (WA1ZJE and W1BRI) successfully install the new antenna at the very top of the tower. From there, they can look due East right into Boston!



Return to Top of Page
Return to MMRA Repeater Index