WIRES-X – Keystone-Wide

Wires-X – Keystone-Wide

     With over two dozen System Fusion repeaters in the WPA section, plus numerous Personal Digital Nodes (PDN) and gateways, an idea was shared in 2019 to establish a way to link these communication assets. The concept of a digital voice intercom – using WIRES-X networking – was worked out with the Uniontown Amateur Radio Club (W3PIE) taking on the task of configuring a station at the Fayette County EMA / 911 Center, to be used as the room’s physical point of presence (POP).

     Dubbed “Keystone-West”, WIRES-X room # 60328 went on the air in June, 2019. Soon after, repeaters in Allegheny (W3KWH) and Westmoreland (K3MJW, W3CRC) counties joined in. Additionally, we’ve had nodes connecting that extended coverage into parts of Armstrong, Greene, Lawrence, Somerset, and Washington counties – plus Garret county in MD and Monongalia county in WV. Some connect full time, while others are transient.

     In time, a Sunday night Keystone-West net was started by members of the Steel City Amateur Radio Club. This net has also seen hams checking in from other states and provinces. The net is scheduled for 20:00 local time. Karl Pastorak, WA3VXJ. Generously serves as our net control station.

     Earlier in 2020, we received a note of interest from a repeater owner in the EPA section, interested in connecting the members of a club in Lebanon county. We enthusiastically welcomed the addition. This also gave us the opportunity to consider a more encompassing name for the room – one that would be welcoming to all hams in the Commonwealth. Thus, Keystone-West was renamed Keystone-Wide. Christine Rial, N3LRF, kindly composed a new logo, which appears above. In addition, we have a Facebook page – “Keystone Wide WIRES-X Room 60328 a Digital Intercom for PA Hams”

     Keystone-Wide is used for everyday conversations – linking hams throughout Pennsylvania and beyond. It has also been used for SKYWARN severe weather advisories and is open for public service events as they may arise. Along with the Sunday Night Net, we encourage hams to hold “drive time”, “lunch time” and so on – roundtables.

     As of August 2020, Keystone-Wide enjoys coverage into areas of Allegheny, Armstrong, Berks, Bucks, Fayette, Greene, Lancaster, Lebanon, Somerset, Washington, Westmoreland – with additional coverage being planned.

     Connecting to Keystone-Wide is easy. Simply tune any System Fusion transceiver to an appropriate repeater or community node near you and give a call, as you normally would. If you wish to set up your own stand-alone PDN, community node or one that links a repeater – all that is needed is a suitable radio (FT2DR, FT3DR, FTM-100DR, FTM-300DR, FTM-400DR) connecting cable (supplied with FTM-100 and FTM-400), and a computer running Windows 10 (or 7), with a clock speed >= 2 GHz and >= 4 GB of memory. The better your antenna system, the better your coverage. For further details and insights on doing this, please send an email to WA3UVV@ARRL.NET.

     Listed below are some of the repeaters and nodes that we have details on. Check back often, as more expansion to the network is planned, with additional repeaters and community nodes to be added. If you have established a POP in your area, please contact us with details (callsign, location, frequency, power, etcetera) so we may add it to the list.

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     Our goal is to have a Keystone-Wide presence throughout most of Pennsylcania, in order to better serve our amateur radio community.  With over 58 repeaters listed on www.RepeaterBook.com and many times more nodes, we feel that is an attainable goal.  Any assistance you can provide toward that goal will certainly be appreciated.