Hello to all,
I returned from out-of-town last week, just in time for my scheduled semi-annual preventative maintenance on the repeaters at the tower site.
After finishing things up, and returning the repeaters to regular use, I was greeted with the usual thanks/appreciation, etc. and then something different....
A few of the guys on the 146.97 (KA4WJA/R) said that they weren't surprised that we were voted "the best repeater in the number 4 call area".....and as I inquired what this was all about, everyone said that there was a nation-wide vote, ranking repeaters in the 10 different call areas, in 5 different categories (apparently separate lists for "linked" systems and "un-linked repeaters")...
My first thought was "cool"....and then I thought maybe this was one of my friends playing a joke on me, but sitting across the dinner table from a few of them showed me that this was no joke...
It was explained to me that repeaters were ranked (from 0.0 thru 10.0) in five different categories, with a maximum score of 50.
The Categories:
A) "Friendliest" to all (old-timers and novices)...
B) "Most Reliable"....
C) "Easiest" to use...
D) "Coverage area"...
E) "Technical Expertise" of the owners/clubs/licensees...
And, in the "unlinked repeater" list, we received a score of 50!!
This is not surprising to me....
a) as I've always made it clear that although I don't use the repeater much, everyone is welcome (and actually had my syth. voice ID say "All are welcome" for many years!)
b) high-quality components, regularly maintained, with both battery back-up and automatic generator power (as well as redundant / back-up equipment)...all of which is needed when on a tall tower in central Florida (aka "the lightning capital of the world"!)
c) simple COR, open to all, no-CTCSS, long-time coordinated as a wide-area coverage repeater, no squelch-tail issues....upgraded a decade ago to voice-ID, time, etc...
d) antennas at ~ 1100' AGL (above-ground-level), standing off > 10' from the tower, fed with 7/8", from 100+ watt PA's, and modern low-noise / limited-bandwidth receivers, thru precisely tuned BP/BR duplexers...
e) owners' average number of years in RF engineering / RF systems : 35+ years each...
In addition to the many local users in our coverage area, with the tower a few miles from one of the only two Interstate Highways running N/S in the state, a few miles from other main highways, and only 60 miles from the other Interstate Highway, we get a LOT of travelers using the .97 machine, many of whom are heading to/from Disney World / Universal / Busch Gardens, etc. and/or to/from Cruise Ship docks, etc....
Late at night, truckers can use it for QSO's lasting two hours as they transit thru....and we even have a train engineer who calls in on many late nights as he drives a train "more than a mile long" at highway speeds...
And, with the "local" folks representing a wide cross-section of society / diversity...there is usually always someone to talk to to about something!!!
Now, I'm completely flattered and humbled by the ranking....but I cannot find the website that did this...
So, my question is:
Does anyone know the URL of the site, so I can pass on my thanks to all of them?
Thanks!
73,
John, KA4WJA