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Hearing end of transmission on Quantar RF Link

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k7bpg

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Hi all,

I ran into an interesting issue last week up at one of my sites on a RF linked channel I was working on. I had to move the equipment one rack over to make room for some new equipment. After moving the radios, I know hear the last second or so from my transmission being rebroadcast. Dispatch still came over the radio just fine and did not hear it on there end, so that is good. But on the site end, or any one in the local area, there is now this issue. When I gave a 5 count I could hear the last two numbers of my transmission once I let off PTT.

The link is set up as such. Dispatch talks to site one, site one keys up site two that has a split repeater. Top quantar is the RX side, it transmits to the bottom Quantar that then transmits out to the field units and to the final hill top in the link. It is at this last hill top I am having the issue. Again its a split repeater setup, top is main RX, bottom is main TX of the repeater pair. The other pair is all for the link back to the middle site that then gets back to site one for dispatch.

See the included picture for a better visual, hopefully it helps my above explanation.

My main question is has any one ever experienced hearing there last part of there transmission before being transmitted in a link type scenario, or on a quantar in general. There was no change in the equipment, just moved it one rack over. I color tapped all the rf cable before moving so I knew where to hook it all back up again correctly. Also triple checked and had another tech look it over to make sure the antennas were how they were before we moved the quantars over.

Banging my head on the wall because this site did not do this before moving the equipment. I checked all the rf connectors to make sure they were tight. Only other thing I was thinking was to get some physical separation between the quantars as they are touching eachother physically now. Same as they were before but not sure if something changed in the swap.

Thanks for any help,
Brian
 

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rescue161

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I have a 4 Quantars set up like you. Two at each site, one at each site being the RF link. They join a larger network of repeaters, some of which are linked via microwave back haul. We had the same issue and I think it ended up being something with the microwave. The owner made some changes and it pretty much stopped the issue. I'd have to get with the owner of the system for the solution. Every once in a while, it will happen again, but nothing like before.
 

zz0468

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Did something get switched to carrier squelch in the move? Identify the first receiver in the system that's experiencing the problem and concentrate there.
 

rescue161

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Are you using v.24 for connecting the two repeaters at each site? Did the repeaters get reprogrammed?
 

k7bpg

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Are you using v.24 for connecting the two repeaters at each site? Did the repeaters get reprogrammed?

Luckily I have backups of the code plugs. Went through the quantars I moved and they are programmed as they were before i unplugged them. That's the thing that i was thinking too. Was hoping for a simple programming issue.

Everything is running digital as well over the air for linking, v.24 is enabled.
 

k7bpg

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Did something get switched to carrier squelch in the move? Identify the first receiver in the system that's experiencing the problem and concentrate there.

Not that I noticed when looking at the saved code plugs i have. Maybe something i could play with to see if it help with a different setting. Currently set for carrier plus plane code to open rx.

This got me thinking. I only need to run astro, not mixed mode. Maybe part of the issue?
 

k7bpg

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What's digital about it? Your diagram is showing all frequencies with PL tones.

Sorry about that. Was doctoring up an old diagram when it was analog, it has since been switched to digital a couple years ago.
 

zz0468

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Sorry about that. Was doctoring up an old diagram when it was analog, it has since been switched to digital a couple years ago.

Post an accurate diagram and we're more likely to post useful suggestions.

And if I understand correctly, are you releasing PTT while still talking, and it's still being heard when you think it should have dropped? Or is it like an echo? I guess I'm not really sure what the problem is.
 

k7bpg

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Post an accurate diagram and we're more likely to post useful suggestions.

And if I understand correctly, are you releasing PTT while still talking, and it's still being heard when you think it should have dropped? Or is it like an echo? I guess I'm not really sure what the problem is.

Will update it later today. Substitute the pl for nac and it's still the same physical layout. As for the issue, when I delay my handheld, I hear the last second of my transmission over my handheld. So not an echo but more hearing myself after I'm done talking.
 

zz0468

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As for the issue, when I delay my handheld, I hear the last second of my transmission over my handheld.

I'm not sure what you mean when you say "when I delay my handheld".

So not an echo but more hearing myself after I'm done talking.

OK, so there's some latency in digital audio passing through a Quantar, but unless it's looping through the whole system with a bunch of radios in line, I'm not sure what the mechanism would be to allow such a lengthy delay, and especially change just by moving stuff.
 

k7bpg

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OK, so there's some latency in digital audio passing through a Quantar, but unless it's looping through the whole system with a bunch of radios in line, I'm not sure what the mechanism would be to allow such a lengthy delay, and especially change just by moving stuff.

Ok, so maybe it's just the delay in audio processing that I'm hearing. I am going to adjust some settings when I get back out there in a couple weeks. Going to set both to digital only and see what happens. Not sure what else I might try at this point. I made sure the idle freq was different as well, was thinking it was looping some how between the chassis since there stacked so close. Going to be a learning process at this point I think.
 

k7bpg

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Here is the firmware in the quantar currently. Not sure if it helps.
 

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mikewazowski

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We had the same problem. VHF and UHF Quantars linked together over v.24. The UHF Quantar was on the reverse pair of a distant UHF Quantar. When you stopped taking on the VHF Quantar, you could hear an echo at the end of your transmission which was coming from the far end UHF Quantar.

I think we played with the transmit priority at the far end to solve the problem. Can't remember exactly as it was quite a while ago.

We're now linked together using the p25nx network so we abandoned that setup.
 

k7bpg

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I think we played with the transmit priority at the far end to solve the problem. Can't remember exactly as it was quite a while ago.

We're now linked together using the p25nx network so we abandoned that setup.

Where did you setup the TX priority in RSS? This is a system I have inherited, I'm figuring it out more and more as I have been working on it the past few months.
 
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