First U.S. Licensed Remote Controlled Repeater WR6AAA, On April 27th, 1973 our countries first licensed remotely controlled repeater came on the air with a 10-watt voice from Catalina Island, and more that 200 Southern California and Mexican amateurs tried out its 13,000 square mile coverage.
Located o n an island, the new WR6 AAA repeater had several obstacles to overcomebefore it was ready for service. First, the island of Catalina is privately owned by the Wrigley (chewing gum) family, which meant designing an installation under some conditional constraints of the lease. Then, there is the problem of transportation. Everything going to or fro m the island must be transported either by boat or by aircraft. In fact, it was this aspect of privatefly ing that actually sparked the creation of the "AAA" repeater. Catalina Island is not heavily populated; only about 1500 full-time residents sha re the I S-mile-l ong by 7-mile-wide island with some wild goats, numerous wild boar, and a herd of buffalo. The island is located 26 miles off the Sou thern California Coast, giving it a view of the mainland north to Santa Barbara, south to San Diego and Mexico, and inland to the San Bernardino Mountains....
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