Aerotron Information Index

Back to Home Aerotron Equipment Information and Modifications
Assembled by Mike Morris WA6ILQ from contributions from others.

Aerotron-Repco is out of business, the last known address was:
Aerotron-Repco Systems, Inc. (ARS Incorporated)
4602 Parkway Commerce Boulevard
Orlando, Florida USA 32808
407-856-1953
www.aerotron-repco.com

If there is anybody in the Orlando area that can do a bit of research and let us know what happened to them I'll add it here. The phone number is now answered as "Rohn Products International" (whose main number is 407-880-9200). The last known product flyer was this:

Aerotron-Repco Systems, Inc. is a manufacturer and systems engineering house located in
Orlando, Florida. With over 30 years experience in thecommunications industry, ARS offers
a wide variety highly reliable products.
The most recent addition to our product line is the Blue Streak Frequency-Hopping Spread
Spectrum RF Modem. This product is gaining a great deal of popularity in various data transfer
applications, where the lack of a requirement for an FCC license is attractive to many systems
designers. One of our largest applications is with Smarte-Carte, a company operating baggage
carts and lockers for hire in airports, shopping malls and other locations. ARS has supplied
product, site survey, installation and maintenance for systems at John F. Kennedy International
Airport and Philadelphia International Airport . We look forward to a long working relationship
with Smarte-Carte.
ARS also offers High Powered VHF and UHF Base Stations, as well as a large number of telemetry-
related products, such as the RDL-Series RF Links Transmitter and Receiver Modules, and
Econolink RS-232 RF Modem.
In addition to our activities in the design and manufacture of quality products, ARS provides
specialty products and assists in systems development for specific applications. ARS's
technical staff assists customers with specific systems requirements, such as site surveys,
network design and layout, interface between dissimilar elements of hybrid systems, such as
Smarte-Carte with airport and mall systems, wireless emergency alert systems for Saudi Arabian
Airport applications in conjunction with Northrop Grumman and development of a specialty
communications system for support of hazardous material disposal activities for the U.S. Army,
as subcontracted from Bechtel and PRC. ARS' activities demonstrate our flexibility to be able
to support a wide variety of activities, as required in specific situations.

The Aerotron equipment was very well designed and built, too bad the marketing left a LOT to be desired.

Out web server has space to burn, we would be happy to host any PDFs or other information on the various models of current and older Aerotron commercial mobiles, amateur and commercial repeaters. Also any articles covering:

what the differences are between the various models
frequency ranges and which ones are crystal or synthesized
what makes one particular model better over another (i.e. which ones are the turkeys)
what it takes to move them onto amateur radio frequencies
if they aren't crystal controlled, information on how to program them (i.e. hardware programmer, PC program or front panel programming) would be appreciated, as well as what PC software do you need (and how to get it)

If you have something to contribute, don't worry about your writing ability, your speling, or anything else. Just write something up, even if it's just an email, and send it to us. We'll do the rest.

Examples:

Information and Modifications

The manual on the MPAC test set This manual covers both the portable and rack mount versions. This design is rather interesting - it has an oscillator in the IF frequency for tuning and netting crystal-based radios.
A partial manual on the Aerotron/Repco Dimension repeater Contains the schematic,service & alignment chapters for the 10w and 35w high band and UHF units. Donated by Andrew Pepper KC2EUS

Technical manual on the Aerotron Mega-E synthesized low band radio. John Harrington W5EME originally donated it in 2000 but the file wouldn't open, and emails to him bounced (I was hoping to get an article on converting the synthesizer to 5khz spacing). He wrote:
My local club recently came into a bunch of Aerotron Mega-E 100W LB synthesized trunk-mount radios, and it fell to me to get them on six meters. Since the radios were the high-split jobs and I had an instruction manual, after much gnashing of teeth and a totally inappropriate amount of cursing, I got them on 52.525. They work surprisingly well, 100W out and average 0.2 microvolts sensitivity. I ALMOST understand how to program the EPROMs for any frequency within 6 meters, but presently can only program frequencies within 100KC or so of 52.525MC (the national simplex freq.). Since I had to convert the synthesizer to 5KC spacing (the radio normally only uses 10 or 12.5KC channel spacing) the formulas in the book don't work anymore. Has anyone done this before who can help me with an algorithm good for 5KC spacing?

Also, the radios are equipped with a 16-channel "public service" control head, type 1292. This head has a scan function, but I need a book to show me how to program it to scan selected channels, pick a 'priority' frequency, etc. As it stands now, without programming, the scan, priority, aux1 and aux2 buttons don't do anything but light up when pushed. If anyone has a book on this control head, I'll gladly pay to have it copied and sent to me.

Jerry Coffman WB5RUA sent in a good PDF copy in June 2007. He wrote:

I also added my estimation for hexadecimal numbers for the 6 meter frequencies, but make no promises they will work. Maybe someone could verify these and create us a little computer program to create a binary file to burn to the eprom for 6 meters?

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Last updated 29-June-2007 by Mike Morris WA6ILQ (callsign) /at/ repeater-builder /dot/ com
The information presented in this web site, on these web pages and in these modifications and conversions is © Copyrighted 1995 - current by Kevin Custer W3KKC and multiple originating authors.

Information and Modifications
	The manual on the MPAC test set This manual covers both the portable and rack mount versions. This design is rather interesting - it has an oscillator in the IF frequency for tuning and netting crystal-based radios.
	A partial manual on the Aerotron/Repco Dimension repeater Contains the schematic,service & alignment chapters for the 10w and 35w high band and UHF units. Donated by Andrew Pepper KC2EUS
	Technical manual on the Aerotron Mega-E synthesized low band radio. John Harrington W5EME originally donated it in 2000 but the file wouldn't open, and emails to him bounced (I was hoping to get an article on converting the synthesizer to 5khz spacing). He wrote: My local club recently came into a bunch of Aerotron Mega-E 100W LB synthesized trunk-mount radios, and it fell to me to get them on six meters. Since the radios were the high-split jobs and I had an instruction manual, after much gnashing of teeth and a totally inappropriate amount of cursing, I got them on 52.525. They work surprisingly well, 100W out and average 0.2 microvolts sensitivity. I ALMOST understand how to program the EPROMs for any frequency within 6 meters, but presently can only program frequencies within 100KC or so of 52.525MC (the national simplex freq.). Since I had to convert the synthesizer to 5KC spacing (the radio normally only uses 10 or 12.5KC channel spacing) the formulas in the book don't work anymore. Has anyone done this before who can help me with an algorithm good for 5KC spacing? Also, the radios are equipped with a 16-channel "public service" control head, type 1292. This head has a scan function, but I need a book to show me how to program it to scan selected channels, pick a 'priority' frequency, etc. As it stands now, without programming, the scan, priority, aux1 and aux2 buttons don't do anything but light up when pushed. If anyone has a book on this control head, I'll gladly pay to have it copied and sent to me. Jerry Coffman WB5RUA sent in a good PDF copy in June 2007. He wrote: I also added my estimation for hexadecimal numbers for the 6 meter frequencies, but make no promises they will work. Maybe someone could verify these and create us a little computer program to create a binary file to burn to the eprom for 6 meters?