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Reviews For: ARRL Repeater Directory 2005-2006 (34th ed)

Category: Books/Manuals/Videos/Pod-WebCasts on ham radio

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Review Summary For : ARRL Repeater Directory 2005-2006 (34th ed)
Reviews: 14MSRP: 10.95
Description:
The ARRL directory of VHF/UHF repeaters in the US and Canada
644 pages. ISBN 0-87259-942-6 Includes band plans and contact information for repeater co-ordination. IRLP nodes also listed.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=9426
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00142.1
K6LCS Rating: 2005-06-19
Not Publisher's Fault Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Reviewers here seem to blieve that the ARRL has a staff to travel to all fifty states and personally verify each and every entry of the thousdands of repeaters listed in this Guide...

Let's get real.

Sourcebooks like this one are only as good as what the contributors submit. It is NOT the ARRL's fault for problems - it is the repeater coordination committees and governing bodies that haven't submitted current information that are at fault.

Instead of demeaning the ARRL, how about submitting corrections? And get your local coordinating committee off its rear end and submit current data. It is only by our timely and accurate submissions that this book gets to be a respected volume.

Clint bradford, K6LCS
N1QZ Rating: 2005-06-19
useless fiction Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I couldnt agree more with the other two postings. There are listings for many machines that do not even exist or many that have not been operational for many years.........Someone needs to go thru these listenings and let some frequency pairs go for those who will actualy get use out of them. I dont think it is a very hamlike quality that some people collect up six frequency pairs for themself and put one repeater on the air......thats not right.
About the only thing that this little $11.00 gem is good for is the band plans in the begining of the book and even at that the info is not all that much to remember.
For The New England area the best and most acurate source is http://www.nerepeaters.com/
Its the only way to go !
K7VO Rating: 2005-06-18
Highly inaccurate and only vaguely useful Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I, too, find the ARRL Repeater Directory to be poorly organized and highly inaccurate. I'm sorry but a published *IS* responsible for what goes into the books they publish. If the ARRL can't put out a reasonably accurate repeater directory then they shouldn't put one out at all.

When I lived in the southeast the SERA Journal was my resource for what repeaters are where. It, too, listed non-existent repeaters, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the Repeater Directory. I bought one this year as I am now in Ohio. I'm not convinced I got my $10 worth at all.
KC0ORP Rating: 2005-06-18
I paid money for this? Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Yes, it *is* possible to go downhill in both accuracy and utility from the previous editions of this guide. I live in the St. Louis metro area, and I have found that tracking the Illinois and Missouri repeater co-ordination websites is far superior to shelling out money for this turkey every year. Pity the travelling ham.

REPEAT, ARRL: We are paying you money for this. Don't bitch about tracking amateurs is like herding cats, WE ARE PAYING YOU MONEY FOR THIS.

AND YES, THE PETTY, BITCHING, DETAILS *DO* COUNT! ESPECIALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, IN THE RAIN, TRAVELING IN UNKNOWN TERRITORY.

I feel better now.

Some egregious violations:

Stations in same geographic area not listed in freq order, as well as by city of license. In metro areas, this is important.

AA9ME'S collection of dead air. Six stations listed that have not been on the air for five years. He's not the only one. You don't field check this stuff?

Umpteen tones missing. Field check?

SK machines and hams, changed calls- you guys can't use the FCC database?

No SKYWARN notes. You're outta luck if you're travelling.

K0RWU listed in STL when it is in High Ridge, and many other city of license follies.

Most hams are elderly, and your typeface is, like, 8 point?? That's really readable by a dome light...aaawww you'd have to make the book bigger. GOOD. It doesn't fit on most pockets anyway. You might as well make it useful.

I'm sure other hams in other locations would be glad to do some dxpeditions for you as secret kerchunkers.

Ok. Enough, it's time for dinner.