The rooftop of Invicta House where GB3EK is located.
The rooftop of Invicta House where GB3EK is located.

GB3EK is situated in the tank room on top of a block of flats located in Margate.

The repeater was first installed in 1976 and was one of the first UHF 70 cm repeaters in the UK.

The repeater is a custom modified Icom UR8050 combined transmitter and receiver.

The antenna is a 3 element beam mounted on a 10 foot pole.

When the repeater was first installed the site was only shared with one other user. Since then many other services have been installed on the site including a radar installation with link dishes, 2 commercial community repeaters, a TV fill in repeater and 3 marine radio installations to name just a few.

To compete with all the other equipment it has been necessary over the years to replace the repeater with better quality radio equipment. The current radios are commercial grade.

The photos on this website plot the history of the repeater.

Should you have any comments about the site or would like further information please email keeper@gb3ek.co.uk