Setting up and maintaining a repeater

[WB6DGN]

EVERY THING YOU READ HERE ABOUT RUNNING A REPEATER SITE IS SO TRUE !
IT IS A LONELY , EXPENSIVE FRUSTRATING JOB WITH NO RESPECT FOR THE PERSON DOING IT !

...the 6 meter repeater antenna was hit by lightning last weekend.  Repeater and duplexer are OK, but SWR is infinity.  The antenna is 340 feet up and at age 64 I do not climb that high any longer.  I cannot get on any of my other repeaters without somebody asking when I am getting the 6 meter repeater going again.  A tower climber is not cheap.  Neither are 6 meter repeater antennas.

A couple years ago I was given some very nice 900Mc gear.  I got all hyped up about building a simulcast 900Mc system.  Thankfully I regained my sanity before spending any money on this pipedream.  The equipment is still sitting there, in my way, and I am now thinking of converting one of the units to monkey around with 900Mc moonbounce.  Hopefully I'll recover from this latest episode of temporary insanity before it takes its toll but, at least, I won't have to listen to a bunch of "where's the repeater" complaints if I do attempt it.
Tom

[WB8VLC]

If your into guns and radios then I can see a use for 900 MHz radios.

 If only there was a skeet launcher that could throw a 900 Mhz maxtrac or a vertex repeater 300 feet in the air, I would open up a shooting range.

Mike

[WB6DGN]

If your into guns and radios then I can see a use for 900 MHz radios.  If only there was a skeet launcher that could throw a 900 Mhz maxtrac or a vertex repeater 300 feet in the air, I would open up a shooting range.

Actually, that's not been my experience with the 900 band.  There's a local fellow here that has VHF/UHF repeaters all the way from 144Mc up through 2.4Gc.  Interestingly, I'm told the 450 and 900 antennas are on the same tower with the 900 ones just below the 450 ones.  Stations are a 450Mc - Micor set at, I believe, about 50 watts and a GE MII 900 station at about 10 watts.  My own experience has been that coverage is nearly identical on both systems.  Unscientific, to be sure, but I've heard other comments about the "unique" properties of 900Mc propagation from both commercials and hams in semi-urban to suburban areas.  I still think that if I could get enough UHF/VHF hams around here off of their lazy butts, I'd still like to build a decent ham 900Mc system.  I just don't want it to sit idle 24/7/365 and, sadly, I know it would.

And, NO, not into guns at all.  I'm an "animal" person; NOT a "gun" person.  Seems, most of the time, the two are incompatible.
Tom

[WB8VLC]

That's the only reason that I made such a comment because in two QTHs that I have lived at the locals wouldn't embrace anything new and it was impossible to get em off their butts to try anything out.

 I was loaning out 900 radios and they never received any use, I had the repeater with a high location and a fair amount of power into a commercial 10 dB gain omni plus a 6 meter remote base which was frequency agile.

  There were lots of 6 meter sparodic E openings on the Remote base side and I would even announce the openings on another band but still nobody ever got on the 900 MHz side so I tore it all down never planning to put it back on the air.



Mike

[KS4VT]

Speaking of repeaters...

1. You will be ON CALL like it or not 24/7/4/52/365. It doesn't matter that you are in bed at 3AM. Someone WILL call.

2. If anything at all sounds wrong to the user, the repeater is at fault. Doesn't matter that he is using a 20 year old radio, or a blown speaker, it is STILL the repeater's fault.

3. If someone can't hit the repeater, it is the repeater's fault. Doesn't matter if the are 100 miles away in a metal building and using one of those Alinco credit card HT's, it STILL the repeater's fault.

4. If someone can't get into the repeater because it is toned, it doesn't matter if that is done to keep interference out, it is because you are trying to block them from using the repeater.

5. When it comes time to clean up the tower site, EVERYONE will have something else to do.

6. When the repeater is down for repairs, you should immediately drop everything else you are doing (including any deaths, births, vacations, etc) and GET THE REPEATER FIXED.

7. When an expensive part is needed for repairs, you will always hear "Well, I paid my $20 this year, that ought to be enough." (And that repeater cost $5000...)

8. If something goes wrong and you loose your tower site, you are the one that caused it.

9. If lightning hits the repeater, you are the one that caused it.

10. If wind tears down the antenna, you are the one that caused it.

11. Just remember, if it happened, you are the one that caused it.

12. And when the repeater is down, then you will start getting the phone calls that say "If I bring my radio over there, will you program simplex for me?" (That is because most of the repeater users are within simplex range of each other, and they also never remember where they put their radio manual.)

Ah, the life of a repeater owner / technician...

Absolutely....I personally own 2 repeaters with no club, no committee, and I do not take contributions.  If someone doesn't like the way the repeater is working or if I have to turn it off they can go use something else.  My repeaters are capable of APCO25 digital in addition to analog and I still get calls to this day "telling me" that the repeater is broken cause they heard all this digital intereference and I " need to do something ASAP to fix it".  I usually blow off these sort of calls, but really...if you don't like it move on.  There are lots of other available repeaters in the County.

[W6LAR]

Glenn, Seeing that you already have two repeaters in operation you must know by now how hard it is in Southern California to get them coordinated. Believe me I have two of my own in service now for over 15 years. I'm fairly close to you over in Redlands. Keeping repeaters going is a thankless job. If I had it to do over again I'd dump the 2 meter and keep my 440. But I support three clubs which includes the Jerry L. Pettis Veterans Administration Hospital Amateur Radio Club. So I'm not going away anytime soon.  I do it all myself and get a hand now and then from a few friends. I NEVER let any of the clubs call the shots or feed the kitty. If your untested in the ways of repeater building and all that goes with it then you do need to educate yourself or get someone who has been there and done it to give you a hand. Who got your two working repeaters going in the first place? They may be able to help you along.

[W2IBC]

Absolutely....I personally own 2 repeaters with no club, no committee, and I do not take contributions.  If someone doesn't like the way the repeater is working or if I have to turn it off they can go use something else.  My repeaters are capable of APCO25 digital in addition to analog and I still get calls to this day "telling me" that the repeater is broken cause they heard all this digital intereference and I " need to do something ASAP to fix it".  I usually blow off these sort of calls, but really...if you don't like it move on.  There are lots of other available repeaters in the County.

You must have one of them fancy Quantars 

I own 1 repeater 2m and its enough for me. But kinda like you no club no committee but I will take donations.
If only this stuff was cheaper....

[K4JJL]

And, NO, not into guns at all.  I'm an "animal" person; NOT a "gun" person.  Seems, most of the time, the two are incompatible.
Tom

Hate to hijack the thread, but this statement, while it is the author's opinion, is completely absurd.  Paper and clay target shooting involves no animals whatsoever.  Keeping a gun (and possibly using it) for home defense, on the other hand, involves another type of "animal", but I doubt the author is that kind of "animal person".

[K1CJS]

K4JJL--agreed!

[KS4VT]

Absolutely....I personally own 2 repeaters with no club, no committee, and I do not take contributions.  If someone doesn't like the way the repeater is working or if I have to turn it off they can go use something else.  My repeaters are capable of APCO25 digital in addition to analog and I still get calls to this day "telling me" that the repeater is broken cause they heard all this digital intereference and I " need to do something ASAP to fix it".  I usually blow off these sort of calls, but really...if you don't like it move on.  There are lots of other available repeaters in the County.

You must have one of them fancy Quantars 

I own 1 repeater 2m and its enough for me. But kinda like you no club no committee but I will take donations.
If only this stuff was cheaper....

Yep they are fancy Quantars... 

[W2IBC]

Absolutely....I personally own 2 repeaters with no club, no committee, and I do not take contributions.  If someone doesn't like the way the repeater is working or if I have to turn it off they can go use something else.  My repeaters are capable of APCO25 digital in addition to analog and I still get calls to this day "telling me" that the repeater is broken cause they heard all this digital intereference and I " need to do something ASAP to fix it".  I usually blow off these sort of calls, but really...if you don't like it move on.  There are lots of other available repeaters in the County.

You must have one of them fancy Quantars 

I own 1 repeater 2m and its enough for me. But kinda like you no club no committee but I will take donations.
If only this stuff was cheaper....

Yep they are fancy Quantars... 

oh my. I wanted one well still do. but cost so much.