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

Our Memorial Club 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.

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)

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

We are funded entirely by N4NEQ as well as the occasional donation. Our monthly expenses of about $154.00 include electricity, internet, generator fuel, county taxes, building, tower, and repeater maintenance and improvements.

If you would like to make a monetary donation for repeater upkeep, we would love it! Use this link for Venmo

Or this one for PayPal 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

900 MHZ Meshtastic

We have lately been experimenting with MESHTASTIC. 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 meshed nodes all over the metro area. 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 an additional high site node on Blackjack Mountain and added a new one on Sassafras Mountain East of Jasper, GA 3200 ft MSL the end of October.

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. 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-

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. We're working on getting all the original features working again. The repeater's call sign is now our Memorial W4KIP. It is also Allstarlink node 58429 and others are welcome to visit.

147.345+ Repeater

This may be the oldest 2 meter repeater 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's on Little Sweat mountain and is standalone, not linked. PL access is 151.4 of course. Call sign is N4NQV

146.73- Repeater

Originally the GRAPES 1200 baud duplex packet repeater (one of two 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- 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 Atlanta

One of our Brandmeister UHF DMR repeaters. It is on BSRG LINK. Located Pine Log Mountain. Color code 1. Call sign is W4KIP. Currently there is no Internet connection, so local only.

444.05+ DMR Repeater Auburn

One of our Brandmeister UHF DMR repeaters. It is on BSRG LINK. Located in Auburn Alabama Color code 1. Call sign is W4KIP

444.775+ DMR Repeater

One of our Brandmeister UHF DMR repeaters. It is on BSRG LINK. Located at our Little Sweat Mountain site. Color code 1.Call sign is W4KIP

New DMR Repeater

We have a new DMR repeater soon to be installed near downtown Marietta.

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 when we lost the tower site.

Not owned by BSRG but may be connected at times

443.6+ and 927.075- Repeaters in West Cobb County

With various donated equipment from KM4BA and K8MDM as well as BSRG, KM4BA and K8MDM added new UHF and 900 MHz repeaters in West Cobb. 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 voice ID's as "The Woodstock Repeater".

Site News

Recent Happenings Within BSRG

In November 2025 we did this:
A. Ralph and Malcolm moved the SASS Meshtastic node (Sassafrass Mtn near Jasper) 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. We plan to replace the antena soon.
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 on 3200 ft Sassafras Mountain East of Jasper Georgia.

In April 2025, Ralph installed a new antenna and feed line for the Marietta Meshtastic node.

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 Mike (KR4CCZ) installed a Meshtastic SOLAR node on the Marietta tower

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

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 wooden addition to the original brick 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.
Some folks have complained about listing our laurels, but 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.
We had the FIRST two Brandmeister DMR repeaters in Metro Atlanta. First 444.775 and then 444.05 one month later. The incumbent K4USD DMR network did not allow homebrew repeaters or hotspots, whch crippled DMR in the area until then.
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!

Our Memorial Club Call Sign Is W4KIP "Hi Kip""