BSRG : Big Shanty Repeater Group : Ham Radio : APRS : Balloonatics : Atlanta ATV Home Page

Our Memorial Repeater Call Sign Is W4KIP, "Hi Kip!""

Simple Chart For Programming Your Radio For The Repeaters

What's BSRG ?

BSRG stands for Big Shanty Repeater Group. Big Shanty is the old railroad name for the town of Kennesaw, where we were founded. Located in Metro Atlanta, GA, we have operated an extensive Amateur Radio repeater system for about 40 years.

How are we funded since we don't have "memberships"?

We are funded entirely by donations. We have been able to get our monthly expenses down to about $100.00. but we need donations!

If you like what we do,whether it is Meshtastic or Ham Radio we would REALLY appreciate any donation to keep all this going! If you don't use Paypal or Venmo (both charge us a fee when receiving) then please Email us at groupinfo@bsrg.org or by using the information in the "contact" link at the left.

Use this link for Venmo

Or this one for PayPal

We often meet For Lunch

If you find yourself in the Marietta or Kennesaw area around lunch time please join up for our Monday or Friday Lunch Bunch!
Monday Pizza Lunch Bunch at Pisanos Pizzeria on Main Street just south of Downtown Kennesaw. 11:30 AM
Friday BBQ Lunch Bunch at Sonny's BBQ on US 41 in Marietta, just South of The Big Chicken

What's "BSRG LINK" ?

BSRG link is what we call the "network" that ties many of our repeaters together. At times, it also includes other repeaters as well. We have several repeaters that operate in various modes (Analog or Digital). So everyone can enjoy the conversations whether they have an analog or digital radio, we bridge them together using a combination of Allstar Link and DMR. We find this more satisfying than having a bunch of stand-alone repeaters with lonely users. If you are on another DMR repeater (on the Brandmeister network) and you would like to visit us, use talk group 311340. On Allstar, just connect to (insert code here)

We are a Group, not a Club. Therefore we can be very quick on our feet when we want to be and have always been known for technical progress, guided by our participants, whom we expect to chip in when able with contributions of all types. A big THANK YOU to those of you who have supported us!

Please see the bottom of the page for our Facebook Group link

What is DMR?

DMR is a very popular digital protocol, which more and more Ham repeaters are adopting.

DMR is narrow band, using 2 slot TDMA, which allows two different simultaneous conversations on the same repeater. Many DMR repeaters are also connected to the Internet (but not required) which allows a multitude of connections to other repeaters Worldwide.

Since DMR is an open standard vs Icom's Dstar and Yaesu's Fusion, many manufacturers make radios which leads to the comments about inexpensive handie talkies. They are a good way to get your feet wet, assuming you are close enough to a repeater.

There aren't a lot of Ham DMR mobiles and the popular one is the Anytone 578 which does VHF, UHF, DMR, Analog, 220 MHz and receives airband. It also does digital and analog APRS, which is a Worldwide free vehicle and personal GPS location and messaging service, all Ham owned. The 578 is the matching radio to the 878 handie talkie, which goes for about $249 now.

The inexpensive (maybe considered "starter" ) DMR handie talkies are Baofeng DM32-UV and DM-1701, both well under $100.

This group has many repeaters, DMR as well as Analog and we keep them linked so "everyone can play", regardless of the radio they use.

900 MHZ Meshtastic

We have been helping build a large MESHTASTIC network in North Georgia. Meshtastic is an unlicensed "open source, off-grid, decentralized, mesh network built to run on affordable, QRP low-power Part 15 devices". It uses many low cost meshed nodes all over the metro Atlanta and North Georgia. It can provide position reporting as well as short text messages. In unlicensed mode, all communications are private and encrypted. BSRG is providing resources for a node here at our Sweat Mountain site. We also installed a new one on Sassafras Mountain East of Jasper, GA 3300 ft MSL the end of October. One of our colleagues also has a node on Pine Mountain in West Cobb County. If you want to get involved, come to one of our lunch bunches or get on one of the repeaters.

Here is a map showing most of the Meshtastic nodes near Atlanta and North. Blue ones are on the MediumFast channel, which is what we use. Red ones are on a different frequency. MountainMesh Map

For more information about what we are doing see this page

For more information about Meshtastic in the North Georgia area see Mountain Mesh

For more information about Meshtastic itself see meshtastic.org

The nodes identify as "BSRG, Sweat, SASS. PINE and BLKJK

Information About Our Amateur Repeaters

This is basic information. For detailed DMR info such as talk groups, we have a PDF that is available on our Facebook page and here

146.655- Analog Repeater Marietta GA

On the air since the '80s, this 2 meter analog repeater is located on Little Sweat Mountain at a 100% Ham owned & controlled site. It is on BSRG LINK and you need a 151.4 PL to access it. The repeater's call sign is now our Memorial W4KIP. It is also Allstarlink node 58429 and others are welcome to visit.

147.345+ Analog Repeater Marietta GA

This is one of the original 2 meter repeaters in Metro Atlanta. It goes all the way back to the early 70's when Neil Stone WB4UPC first built it. Old Neil is still around, living in Idaho, but Ralph now owns his site and repeaters. The repeater is on Little Sweat mountain and is standalone, not linked. PL access is 151.4. Call sign is N4NQV

146.73- DMR Repeater Marietta GA

Originally the GRAPES 1200 baud repeater (one of two duplex packet repeaters in the nation), this was transferred to BSRG by Doug KD4NC when packet use declined. The agreement was that it remain digital, which it has! We revitalized it as a DMR repeater and is the first and only VHF one North of Valdosta. It is On BSRG LINK. The repeater has been up since the early 1980s. Color code 1. Call sign is W4KIP (hi Kip)

224.22- Analog Repeater Marietta GA. Back on the air

After being down for a bit due to severe lightning damage, 224.22 is back on the air with new equipment. Break out the old 220 rig! If you have an Anytone 578, remember that you can program 220 frequencies into it. Ask us how. Don't miss out!! Repeater will soon be linked on BSRG-link through Allstarlink. Node number is 67076

444.05+ DMR Repeater North GA

Pine Log DMR repeater. Great coverage from its antenna at 3300 ft MSL. It is connected to Brandmeister so has Worldwide connectivity. Same talk group layout as our other DMR machines

444.775+ DMR Repeater

Brandmeister UHF DMR repeater. Located at our Sweat Mountain site. Has all the "normal" talkgroups that are on BSRG DMR machines

444.9375+ DMR Repeater

Brandmeister UHF DMR repeater. Low profile repeater located in Marietta. Has all the "normal" talkgroups that are on BSRG DMR machines. Looking for a new high site for it.

144.39 APRS Digipeater

See the link to the left for additional info. Due to our close friendship with Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, the inventor of APRS we have had APRS digipeaters on the air since about 1993. Originally on a frequency of 145.79, AMSAT asked APRS to change frequencies to eliminate possible interference to the International Space Station on 145.8. The APRS community settled on 144.39 as a new frequency for all but Europe. Ralph N4NEQ worked with SERA to get that frequency reserved for APRS in 8 states and others did the same around the World. On Halloween 1998 we did QSY'd the entire network to the new 144.39 frequency.This required going to sites and changing digipeater frequencies as well. APRS has grown in popularity and has been built in to many mobiles and handhelds. APRS provided a great resource to the Atlanta and Sydney Summer Olympics. Bob Bruninga would be proud to see what it has become today.

900 MHZ Meshtastic Nodes

Cobb, Cherokee and Pickens Counties. A relatively new addition, Meshtastic is an "open source, off-grid, decentralized, mesh network built to run on affordable, low-power devices". It uses many nodes all over the metro area. BSRG is providing space for a node here at our BSRG-Owned Sweat Mountain site. It is fed with 7/8" hard line and sports a Comet BC-920 antenna. We have since added more nodes on Blackjack Mountain and Sassafrass Mountain near Jasper GA (3200 ft MSL) For more information about Meshtastic, see http://meshtastic.org as well as the links higher up on this page

What happened to our 900 MHz BSRG Repeater & 427.25 Amateur Television Repeaters?

Our first 900 MHz repeater (fondly known as "The Laughing Repeater"), along with our ATV repeater, Power Amplifier, controller, Sound transmitter and VSB filter were all kept (without permission) by the person who was supposed to be storing it for us after the tower site was purchesed by a tower conglomerate.

Not owned by BSRG but may be connected at times

443.6+ and 927.075- Repeaters in West Cobb County

They are analog only but usually connected to BSRG LINK and allows analog 440 and 900 users to interact with DMR users without having to buy new radios. The PL access tone for 440 is 103.5 PL. For 900 it is 151.4. They cover West Cobb and most of Marietta pretty well. They are also on Allstarlink.

442.7125+ Repeater Valdosta

Belongs to KB0Y (WR4SRG), long time friend and linking partner with BSRG. It is on BSRG LINK. It covers I-75 in South Georgia. Brandmeister. Scheduled to be moved to a taller tower, it should then cover from Lake City Florida up to Cordele GA. Color code 1.

462.575 GMRS Repeater

Belongs to a non-Ham friend of the group but we host it. The DPL is 223N. Contact https://mygmrs.com/repeater/9386 for permission to use. It is standalone and NOT affiliated with any illegally linked GMRS repeaters. It identifies in voice "The Woodstock Repeater".

Site News

Recent Happenings Within BSRG

In November 2025:
A. SASS Meshtastic node (Sassafrass Mtn near Jasper) was moved to the top of the tower. It is now about 3300 feet above sea level. We are getting direct signal reports from Marietta to Rome to Athens. Walter Hooper desgned a custom node with both Medium Fast and Long Fast frequencies. Here's the view (towards the East).
SASS node

Climb the SASS tower with me:

In October 2025 these things happened:
A. Our 444.05 DMR repeater received new hardware, a new antenna and feedline. Coverage is better then ever
B. 224.22 received brand new hardware- A Bridgecom BCR-220. It has already been interfaced to Allstar (node 67076), thanks to K8MDM and KM4BA. We are currently chasing duplexer issues.
C. The Marietta Meshtastic solar node was replaced with a NEBRA tower mounted POE node featuring a Walter Hooper designed LORA radio.
D. We installed a very high site Meshtastic repeater/Node (SASS) at 3300 feet near Jasper Georgia.

In April 2025, Ralph installed a new antenna for the pole mounted Blackjack Meshtastic node.

The Sweat Mountain Meshtastic node was switched to a Diamond BC-920 antenna and 7/8" hard line and put on top of the tower.

It wasn't a repeater work party, but on April 5, 2025 several BSRG members attended Stan KB4IA's 90th birthday. Happy Birthday Stan!!

On April 15, 2025 Ralph & Mike (KR4CCZ) installed a Meshtastic solar node on a pole at the Blackjack site

On March 29th, 2025 Ralph & Mike (KR4CCZ) installed a different Meshtastic node on the tower using our old 900 link receiver antenna and hard line.

In late October 2024, we asked for some help in hanging 2 sheets of siding. Only two people spoke up, Good Old Stan KB4IA and Jeff KK4ZC. Jeff picked up the siding and Stan and Ralph got it installed. We had a bad experience with a borrowed paint sprayer that was clogged and cost us about half a gallon of paint. Ralph repainted the building 2 weeks later with a new sprayer

In late Fall 2024, an open GMRS repeater was added. It is not networked or linked to anything. It is on 462.575 MHz and is called the "Woodstock 575 Repeater". For information/permission and to contact the owner see https://mygmrs.com/repeater/9386

In December 2023, we worked for a couple of days replacing the leaking roof on the original repeater shack, also known as "Petie's House". 30 years ago, Stan and Frank actually BUILT this addition. Time flies. Thanks to Stan KBIA, Mike K8MDM, and Ralph N4NEQ.

We appreciate all of you who listened to our 24/7 Space Shuttle broadcasts on 146.655 (dedicated to Tim Mallory AI4B) on our repeaters and watched on the BSRG Amateur Television repeater. We still get people thanking us, even now.

The BSRG has a rich history of firsts. We are proud of them!

We had the FIRST dedicated RF linked repeaters in Georgia. Way back in the 1980s, the 146.655 repeater in Marietta and the 147.135 N4BZJ repeater in Dalton were linked over a dedicated UHF frequency. Many other systems imitated us later on using remote bases on the other repeater's input frequency. However that just caused interference to other distant repeaters and gave linking a bad name.
We didn't want anyone to miss out, even if they only have analog transceivers, so we then built the FIRST system of linked analog and DMR repeaters. Known as BSRG LINK, We have 2 meter and 440 analog repeaters linked to our 440 and 2 meter DMR repeaters. We will soon add 220 analog to the mix. Its a combination of Brandmeister, Allstar and fairy dust. The main work and knowledge for this came from Alan Barrow KM4BA and Spencer Fowler. To get on BSRG LINK from anywhere in the World, just use Brandmeister talk group 311340.
In 2017 we built the FIRST two Brandmeister DMR repeaters in Metro Atlanta. First 444.775 and then 444.05 one month later. The now defunct K4USD DMR network mandated store-bought, Motorola repeaters and would not allow homebrew repeaters or hotspots, whch severely crippled DMR in the area until then. So we did this.
We had the FIRST 2 Meter DMR repeater north of Valdosta. 146.73, formerly the GRAPES packet repeater by Doug KD4NC. And its STILL digital!
In 1997 we had the FIRST two IRLP (Internet Radio Linking Project) repeaters in the entire Southeast. We were linked by duplex paths via Internet to hundreds of other systems Worldwide.
We had the FIRST Ham repeater system with 6 remote, voting receivers located all over Metro Atlanta allowing HT coverage from almost anywhere.
We had the FIRST 900 MHz Ham repeater in Georgia. As a matter of fact one of our founders, N4NEQ co-wrote the new SERA 900 MHz band plan that enabled reuse of cheap Motorola radios. This laid the foundation for other 900 activity all over the Southeast.
From 1990 to 2012, the BSRG retransmitted all NASA Space Shuttle mission audio non-stop throughout each mission. Our Shuttle audio transmissions (as well as the video feed the Big Shanty TV Repeater provided) were a memorial to Tim Mallory. AI4B. Tim and Ralph (N4NEQ) had an idea years ago to provide this service to the Amateur community. We proudly presented it as a tribute to Tim and his love of radio!

BSRG's Facebook Group

BSRG's Facebook Page

See the left margin for other Important Home Pages that we host

Thanks for stopping by, Y'all come back real soon!