Baraboo, WI - 146.880 Mhz Repeater

BARABOO — Central Wisconsin Repeater Association is an amateur radio club that owns and operates two separate 2 Meter FM repeater systems.

Our biggest repeater system is located in Baraboo, Wisconsin. This repeater operates on a frequency output of 146.880 Mhz. The input frequency is 146.280 Mhz.

There are a series of high bluffs that run from west to east just south of Baraboo. These bluffs are known to be one of the highest areas in Wisconsin. Because of this terrain, these bluffs are an excellent location for long distance radio communications to originate from.

Our Baraboo repeater went on line in the nineteen seventies, and has been on the air almost continuously ever since.

On new years eve, 1996 an ice storm took down the broadcast facilities of radio station WOLX. It so happens, that is where the Baraboo repeater is located! Needless to say, the repeater was off the air until an alternative antenna system could be arranged. Thanks to the generous donations of my people, the Baraboo repeater antenna system when back up on the new tower and the range is better than ever.

The Baraboo repeater is a very important communications link in southern Wisconsin. Its range reaches from Wis. Rapids to the north, and to the Illinois state border to the south. Because of its range, this repeater is used by people who travel, and by the local Skywarn organization.

The 88 repeater is open to anyone who wants to use it. You don't have to be a member of CWRA, but it is good practice to join the club and support CWRA and any repeater system that you use and enjoy.

Whenever there is a chance for severe weather, local Skywarn volunteers are called into action. They report areas of bad weather directly to the national weather service. There is usually a Skywarn volunteer stationed at the weather service office in Sullivan, WI interfacing with the radio amatures in the field. This makes for an effective severe weather network.