MB6IOK is the Quantum Technology Club’s Wires-X / System Fusion simplex gateway.
This page tells you about the simplex gateway. If you want to know how to access and operate through it, click here.
What is a simplex gateway?
A simplex gateway consists of a receiver and a transmitter, both connected to a computer which is, in turn, connected to the Internet.
Simplistically, when you transmit into a simplex gateway, the gateway’s receiver feeds your signal to the computer which then sends it over the Internet another simplex gateway, or Internet linked repeater, located anywhere in the world.
In reverse, when the computer receives a transmission over the Internet, it passes it to the transmitter which broadcasts it for all to hear.
Simplex gateways are not repeaters. When you transmit into a simplex gateway, it does not retransmit your signal on another frequency (like a repeater does).
What is System Fusion?
System Fusion is a digital voice and data mode, much like FM is an analogue voice mode.
You cannot receive System Fusion signals on your FM transceiver and make sense of the speech being transmitted. This is because the speech is digitised before being transmitted. You need a System Fusion transceiver to receive System Fusion signals and be able to understand the speech being transmitted.
System Fusion is a form of the C4FM digital voice mode that is common amongst commercial digital radio equipment. It is available on most of Yaesu’s modern VHF/UHF transceivers these days. No other amateur radio equipment manufacturer makes transceivers that use System Fusion; Alinco and with most Chinese brands use DMR, whilst Kenwood and Icom use D-Star. System Fusion, DMR and D-Star equipment is not compatible with each other.
What is Wires-X?
Wires-X is a network and a suite of software applications that make the whole network function.
To be able to use a Wires-X simplex gateway, you need a radio equipped with the Wires-X software. A transceiver that has the System Fusion mode built-in will be able to communicate with other System Fusion equipped transceivers, but unless it contains the Wires-X software it will not be able to connect to a Wires-X simplex gateway.
All Wires-X simplex gateways use a device called a Yeasu HRI-200 connected between the System Fusion transceiver and the computer and the Wires-X control software.
When you connect to a Wires-X simplex gateway with your Wires-X equipped transceiver, you will be able to control which Wires-X simplex gateway / Internet-linked repeater around the world receives and broadcasts your transmission for all in the vicinity to hear.
You can also appear to connect a Wires-X simplex gateway to DMR, D-Star, analogue IRLP and analogue Echolink simplex gateways / Internet-linked repeaters. Most of the time you are actually connected to another Wires-X simplex gateway that has its audio output connected to the microphone input of the said DMR, D-Star, analogue IRLP and analogue Echolink systems with VOX switched on. This is a generalisation, but representative of the setups involved.
What is a room?
Every simplex gateway that connects to the Wires-X network is allocated a ‘room’. It’s really a way of applying an English description to a simplex gateway. The room name for the MB6IOK simplex gateway is ‘Quantum Technology Club’. Lots of simplex gateways can connect to the same simplex gateway; by doing this they’re all effectively connected to each other. Whilst connected like this, if someone transmits into one of the gateways, all the other gateways that are connected to the same room re-transmit what is said.
Why have we chosen to run a Wires-X / System Fusion simplex gateway?
You can purchase a Wires-X equipped Yeasu transceiver, power it up and be talking to radio amateurs in another country within minutes – it’s that easy. You cannot do this with either DMR or D-Star sets if this is your first such device. This is because you need to apply to a registrar for an ID and then program it in to your transceiver. It is this ID that identifies you on the DMR and D-Star networks, not your callsign. Your callsign just becomes an alias of the ID.
The received audio quality of System Fusion (remember, this is the mode you use to communicate over the Wires-X network) transmissions can be much higher than those of DMR and D-Star, though D-Star has improved over the years.
Life on the Wires-X network is much easier for both simplex gateway managers and their end-users (you). It’s really easy to setup and run a gateway because all the high-quality hardware and software is provided by Yeasu rather than by third-party vendors that don’t all do things the same way, even on the same network. Furthermore, controlling the Wires-X simplex gateway and choosing destination gateways / Internet-linked repeaters by end-users is really easy for their users – everything’s built in to the radio and all the radios work the same.
Finally, the whole systems appears to be more robust and reliable – and that’s what you, the simplex gateway users, want.
MB6IOK simplex gateway specifications
It’s located on top of the hill in Ormskirk and its technical details are as follows:
| Callsign | MB6IOK |
| Operating frequency | 431.1250 MHz |
| Mode | System Fusion |
| Network connected to | Wires-X |
| Region | Northern England |
| Location | Ormskirk |
| Locator | IO83NN |
| ERP | 0.6dBW |
| Height ASL | 75m |
| Antenna height (above ground) | 7m |
| Transceiver | Yeasu FTM100D |
| Antenna | Watson W-30 |
| Registered keeper | Derek Hughes (G7LFC) |
| Contact details | [email protected], or 07306 616 636 |
| Default room | North Wales Digital Radio Group |
| User can change room? | Yes, will automatically revert back to default room after period of non-use. |