APRS Digipeater Update

I am happy to announce that the digipeater project is coming along slowly but surely. I have run into some major hiccups along the way, moreover with the many USB devices I have been using and the poltergeist of RFI.

Maxon SM-4450 70cm Conversion

    A short time ago, I was given some GMRS radios from a local ham friend who was cleaning out his house. One of the radios given to me was a Maxon SM4000 series radio, namely, the SM4450. From the factory, this radio operates from 450 to 470MHz. It was also one of the very first radios to be programmed via a computer and software.

    Unfortunately, I am a ham operator and cannot use the GMRS frequencies legally. I am not licensed to do so and I am not seeking a GMRS license. I am, however, guaranteed a section of the UHF band. In the United States below Line A (see FCC definition), hams are allocated the 70 centimeter band on a secondary basis, running from 420MHz to 450MHz. Hams above Line A must refrain from using 420 to 430MHz, as this is a crucial frequency to the Canadian government. 70cm is unexplored territory for me. I have only made 2 contacts on 2 meters via a repeater and the simplex frequency.

    To open up myself for 70cm exploration, I got the wild, but certainly not impossible, idea to realign this radio to operate in the 70cm band. In doing some rabbit-hole research, I not only found that this was possible, but it is simple too! Unfortunately, 70cm is very inactive around my area, but I'm hoping to change that with this task!