A couple user notes for consideration:

Identify yourself!

It’s a good idea to include your name in the call sign field when setting up your System Fusion rig. In many cases it may be necessary to abbreviate your name, eg. KC0KW-JERY is Jerry. You can get creative with your 10-character limit, and you’ll help other operators remember you!

Use ‘DN’ mode on your Fusion radio!

Fusion radios can be switched from FM to DN to VW mode. To be heard in all of Kansas City Wide, your radio MUST be in DN mode. This is the only mode that is compatible with the other networks that are bridged to Wires-X.

Program a valid callsign in your radio!

We require a valid callsign to be programmed into your Yaesu Fusion radio. It’s fine to append something to the call, like your name, rig, etc.

The first time you turn the radio on, it will prompt you for callsign. A factory reset will do this also. You can check or update the callsign via the radio menu, too.

The primary reason for this is that the bridging software we use to connect other networks (DMR, YSF, DStar) requires it. When you don’t have a valid callsign programmed, less than HALF of the KCWide users are going to hear you! This leads to complaints of one-sided conversations, depending on which side of the bridge you’re fishing from.

Here are some bad ones we see all the time:

  1. FT-991A (the default that 991s arrive with)
  2. ADJ (No idea where this comes from. Possibly from units repaired at Yaesu)
  3. YAESU
  4. NOCALLSIGN (These get immediately blocked from the room)
  5. W 0 A B C (Spaces between characters)
  6. KF9 ABC (Space in the middle)
  7. ND-KX4ABC (Anything in front of the callsign)
    • We just discovered today that in some cases, the Yaesu Wires-X software on the room node will automatically add invalid callsigns and radio IDs (5 character serial number) to the permanent block list. That requires one of us to remove the block before you can use the room at all.

Don’t Press the ‘Dx’ Button!

The Kansas City Wide group of repeaters are interconnected with Wires-X. The connections are permanent and cannot be changed. Attempting to change a Kansas City Wide repeater to a different room (like AmericaLink or TexasNexus) WILL NOT WORK. Unfortunately, due to a bug in Yaesu’s software, a change attempt WILL disrupt connections to other nodes for a short period of time.

Clip of Yaesu FTM-300 transceiver

We ask that you NOT press and hold the ‘Dx’ button on your Yaesu radio when using the Kansas City Wide room. It is not necessary. You need only set the frequency to the nearest repeater, select DN mode, and talk.

Make yourself heard! 

All voices are not created equal, so all Yaesu System Fusion rigs have provision to adjust your mic gain. You will find that other operators are usually happy (maybe TOO happy) to give you feedback on your transmit audio, and will help you get it adjusted for your voice and microphone habits

Special considerations for operating over System Fusion networks

Repeaters networked through System Fusion will exhibit some delay associated with internet lag times. To ensure your transmissions are fully heard, it is good practice to wait a “beat” to talk after pushing your PTT button. Likewise, keep your PTT button engaged briefly after you finish speaking so your last syllables are not “cut off”. 

It is also important to wait a “beat” when replying to another station, to allow for all the nodes to “catch up”. System Fusion will pass only one signal to the linked repeaters, so you will not hear “doubling”. You will only hear the station or node that made it through.

It requires a good, clean signal for System Fusion to pass your signal on to all the repeaters. With a marginal signal, you may be able to bring up a local repeater, but the signal won’t be passed on through the network. We hope you’ve gained some knowledge and confidence for using System Fusion, and the Kansas City Wide linked repeaters. We look forward to hearing you in Kansas City Wide soon!