Why More Repeaters Need LOCAL Internet Linking

My original inspiration for writing this article is the current repeater “situation” in the Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. capitol area; however, I believe the ideas presented in this critique can be (and should be) applied to any major metropolitan/suburban area.

Here in the nation's capitol, I believe we have a serious problem of repeater underutilization. The problem stems from not necessarily “too many” ham clubs or groups in the area, but rather the lack of cooperation between these groups. Many formal ham clubs and less-formal groups of enthusiasts have put into service repeaters all throughout the greater metropolitan area. Many of these repeaters are well constructed, and would function very well in a less urban area. However, the problem with nearly all of the repeaters in this area (the exception being a small few) is that they have very limited range, especially when it comes to portable (handheld) communication. Why? The repeater itself is not generally at fault, but rather it is the environment surrounding the repeater that deserves the blame. Tall buildings everywhere, combined with the fairly hilly terrain of the area are terrible for line-of-sight communications like VHF and UHF. Just try using simplex in the D.C. area: the results are usually sporadic. Fifty watts and a decent VHF vertical base station antenna typically yields fair results on simplex when environmental factors are not an issue; however, in urban areas such as Northern Virginia, it is often difficult to communicate with another base station that may only be 15 or 20 miles away because of an unseen building or hill in between the two stations that is significantly hindering the line-of-sight.

I believe that these poor mobile, and more importantly, portable radio coverage areas are generally responsible for the shockingly high number of largely dormant repeaters in the area. I can name at least five VHF and countless UHF repeaters in the Washington, D.C. area, off the top of my head, that only get used for a quick QSO maybe two or three times a day, at max, by the same two or three people. Since it seems impossible to get a clear signal into any given repeater with an HT (unless you live within about 5 miles of it), I have sold all of my ham HTs. The only portable radios I have now are commercial radios which I use for talkaround (simplex) communications at hamfests and on-the-job as an EMT.

All right, so the problem is that most repeaters in the Washington, D.C. area cannot provide a decent service area to portable (HT) or low-power mobile radios, especially when on the move in an automobile. Because of this, many otherwise well-built repeaters are now inactive and are essentially “going to waste.” How can LOCAL Internet linking help remedy the problem?

Linking local repeaters via the Internet can not only bring life back to once idle repeaters, but you'll find it will probably bring a lot of “life” back to the amateur community as whole. You've probably noticed by now that I keep referring to “local” Internet linking. Most of you have probably heard about a free software program called EchoLink that allows hams to connect a radio to their computer and allow other hams from all over the world to transmit on that radio via the Internet. While it is certainly interesting to have amateurs from across the globe talking on your local repeater, EchoLink can also be used as the medium for linking or patching local repeaters together - in my opinion, a much more functional use for the software -- hence the term local Internet linking.

What does this mean? Well, it means all those underutilized repeaters can be “combined” into one, wide-area network, or “super-repeater.” For example, say there are four VHF and four UHF repeaters in the metro area that are hardly ever used. Let's also assume that these eight repeaters are spread out equally throughout the geographic area:

1 repeater (A) in Fairfax County

1 repeater (B) in Arlington County

1 repeater (C) in Alexandria City

1 repeater (D) in the District of Columbia

1 repeater (E) in Montgomery County

1 repeater (G) in P.G. County

1 repeater (H) in Prince William County

1 repeater (I) in Loudoun County

*Obviously, 1 repeater per county is not going to provide coverage throughout the entire county - this is a totally random example showing how linked repeaters can provide coverage over a large geographic area.

Since all these repeaters are linked, whatever is said on one repeater is simultaneously transmitted on all the other repeaters on the network. Why is this significant? Well, linking the once underutilized repeater has essentially expanded its range by eight times! Additionally, a repeater that once had only three regular users may now theoretically have twenty-four regular users! A ham using an HT in Fairfax County, Virginia can now easily communicate with a friend in P.G. County, Maryland. Additionally, a ham on-the-go can stay on the “same” repeater even after he or she is out of range. Take for example a ham that commutes to work from Fairfax to D.C. If he or she starts a QSO using an HT on Repeater A at the beginning of his or her commute to work, he/she can continue the QSO even after he/she gets out of that repeater's coverage area by switching to the next appropriate repeater in Alexandria, Arlington, or D.C.. Of course, all the repeaters are linked, so although the user is changing frequencies to achieve better coverage, the amateur is still on the same “network,” and will still be able to continue talking as if no change occurred. Think of it as the ham radio equivalent of cellular telephones.

OK, so how do I create a local EchoLink network?

The beauty of using EchoLink to locally link repeaters is the extremely low cost and ease of setup. In terms of equipment, all it takes is a ham that is willing to dedicate a spare mobile, or even portable, if he/she is close enough to the repeater, radio set to the repeater's pair, an old computer and a broadband (DSL or cable modem) internet connection, and either a home made or commercially made interface that connects the radio to the computer. I use the RigBlaster Nomic (MSRP about $40) to connect my VHF mobile radio to my computer, and it works like a champ! The last piece of the puzzle is the EchoLink software, which is free, and can be downloaded from www.echolink.org.

Obviously, this set up will be required for each repeater that is to be included in the network. There is still one important step remaining once every repeater in the network has been setup on EchoLink. The repeaters must be linked in the EchoLink software so that all communications are shared among every repeater. This is accomplished by a feature EchoLink calls conferencing.

There is really no excuse not to locally link inactive repeaters.

Using the EchoLink linking method is extremely cheap and affordable - much cheaper than linking repeaters via RF or dedicated leased-line links. Linking repeaters will, in my opinion, create a greater local sense of “community” between hams within the region, plus it will allow repeaters to do what they're really supposed to do: provide wide-area, regional coverage to lower power portable radios. Really, the benefits to linking up local repeaters are endless.

There are a few guidelines that should be followed, however, should a local repeater network be created:

-Outside linking should be disabled (in other words, set up the EchoLink software to refuse connections from other stations and allow connections only from other repeaters in the area). Remember, the point of this EchoLink application isn't to connect the repeaters to the entire world - instead the goal is to vastly improve local operating conditions.

-The links MUST be left up all the time. The system would be ineffective if certain repeaters were only online at certain times.

-Repeater owners and clubs must cooperate and communicate with each other in order to build good working relationships so that such a system can be implemented in the first place!

If anyone in the Washington, D.C. area is interested in taking on such a project - let me know! I'm more than willing to help out.