Are the ham repeaters this dead everywhere now?

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rapidcharger

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I live in a city with around 5 million people.
There are a lot of local repeaters but over the past several years activity on those repeaters has really dropped off a lot.

This past weekend was rainy and you'd think that in an area with 5 million people that is normally very sunny, that people would be indoors looking for things to do like talking on the radio and using local repeaters. But I scanned the local repeaters all weekend long and didn't hear much activity. Most of what I heard where kerchunks and some new hams were trying to make contacts. This one guy was flipping from repeater to repeater trying to make a contact but nobody would come back to him on any repeater. Nobody came back to those new callsigns either which is a shame.

It's not like there's a shortage of gear. You can buy a brand new dualband HT for $60.

And it's not like there's fewer hams. There's a lot of new hams.

I used to be able to turn on the radio and hear conversations at all times.
On a wide range of subjects. Not just about HF, computers, building antennas or geriatric health problems. And not just from people that were stuck in the car. People would actually set up radios in their homes and actually turn them on and talk through the microphones to other people, also in their homes. Wouldn't matter if it was 9pm or 3am. There was someone around monitoring that wanted to talk.

Being a large city with lots of commuters, drive times on the local repeaters used to be busy. But now even during the rush-hour, you might only get 10 minutes of brief conversation (if that) then that's about it for the rest of the day. Nothing but kerchunks until the evening rush hour when you might get another 10 minutes of conversation then when people get home, the conversation abruptly ends and that's the end of that.

I know there's still a lot of people out there because the local NETS are packed with check ins. But the second the net is over, it's back to silence. CRICKETS.

I know of some plans to install some new p25 and DMR repeaters but I can't help but wonder, if there isn't anyone even using the analog repeaters who's going to use the digital repeaters?

I literally hear more action on 146.520 (simplex calling channel) on any given day than I do on any of the local repeaters.

It's hard to stay interested at this point. Is it like this everywhere now? Or is it just here?
 

MOGA

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There were so many 2m and 70cm repeaters in the metro ATL area active during the drive home today that some were spilling into adjacent freqs! Right now there are about five repeaters that I'm switching back and forth between but that's not surprising because its dinner time. About 9PM the airwaves will pick up again until who knows when. On one 2m repeater I commonly join a round table QSO after sunset until WELL after midnight that has around ten stations participating at any time. I guess I'm in a good place for VHF and UHF. BTW RC where are you located? You aren't in N Georgia by chance are you?
 

gewecke

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I prefer simplex!

All the repeaters in this area with the exception of two, are "fisher price" talking, beeping & buzzing repeaters! :(
Nothing with a simple cwid anymore.

73,
n9zas
 

MOGA

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Simplex is another story for me.

Other than 652, I have one freq that I can QSO simplex that has any activity. With that said, those guys aren't really that receptive to newcomers, which explains why the participants shun repeaters. Consequence: same dudes every time, same subjects of discussion. Want to broach something new? It may or may not generate conversation. For that reason I personally prefer repeater contacts.
 

MOGA

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But all that will obviously CHANGE when I get a tuner & antenna in for my HF rig! Can you tell how excited I am to see the brown truck pull aside to my curb? lol
 

gewecke

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But all that will obviously CHANGE when I get a tuner & antenna in for my HF rig! Can you tell how excited I am to see the brown truck pull aside to my curb? lol

My sentiments too, in some cases.

Well before you jump into the hf "pileups" be prepared to be bombarded with all the 30 second contester qso's and all of the OM's talking about their bowel and back issues!:D
I'm sure you'll get all the variety you can handle on the "HorribleFreqencies".

73,
n9zas
 

pjtnascar

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Sussex County, NJ
I live in a city with around 5 million people.
There are a lot of local repeaters but over the past several years activity on those repeaters has really dropped off a lot.

This past weekend was rainy and you'd think that in an area with 5 million people that is normally very sunny, that people would be indoors looking for things to do like talking on the radio and using local repeaters. But I scanned the local repeaters all weekend long and didn't hear much activity. Most of what I heard where kerchunks and some new hams were trying to make contacts. This one guy was flipping from repeater to repeater trying to make a contact but nobody would come back to him on any repeater. Nobody came back to those new callsigns either which is a shame.

It's not like there's a shortage of gear. You can buy a brand new dualband HT for $60.

And it's not like there's fewer hams. There's a lot of new hams.

I used to be able to turn on the radio and hear conversations at all times.
On a wide range of subjects. Not just about HF, computers, building antennas or geriatric health problems. And not just from people that were stuck in the car. People would actually set up radios in their homes and actually turn them on and talk through the microphones to other people, also in their homes. Wouldn't matter if it was 9pm or 3am. There was someone around monitoring that wanted to talk.

Being a large city with lots of commuters, drive times on the local repeaters used to be busy. But now even during the rush-hour, you might only get 10 minutes of brief conversation (if that) then that's about it for the rest of the day. Nothing but kerchunks until the evening rush hour when you might get another 10 minutes of conversation then when people get home, the conversation abruptly ends and that's the end of that.

I know there's still a lot of people out there because the local NETS are packed with check ins. But the second the net is over, it's back to silence. CRICKETS.

I know of some plans to install some new p25 and DMR repeaters but I can't help but wonder, if there isn't anyone even using the analog repeaters who's going to use the digital repeaters?

I literally hear more action on 146.520 (simplex calling channel) on any given day than I do on any of the local repeaters.

It's hard to stay interested at this point. Is it like this everywhere now? Or is it just here?

Are you a ham? If so, YOU should be answering the few calls you hear on the repeater. Rather than go unanswered, YOU could answer them and bring some life back to the repeaters. If you're not a ham, get your license and start answering some of the calls. It only takes one or two regulars to bring a repeater back to life.
 

zz0468

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There's a couple of things going on... internet, cellphones, etc. has removed a fair amount of traffic from repeaters, but there's another thing that has done more harm than good. That is the proliferation of repeaters out there. Everyone wants their own repeater, so in many areas the available frequency pairs have a 10 year waiting list, yet no one repeater has as much traffic as they seemed to in years past. What activity there is has been diluted across a few hundred repeaters, not the half dozen in a given area like us old timers remember from the 70's.

Exceptions to this seem to be the larger linked systems where more people seem to congregate. Those are as busy as they've ever been.
 

SCPD

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Start the ball rolling

.... I scanned the local repeaters all weekend long and didn't hear much activity. Most of what I heard where kerchunks and some new hams were trying to make contacts. This one guy was flipping from repeater to repeater trying to make a contact but nobody would come back to him on any repeater. Nobody came back to those new callsigns either which is a shame....

Not sure if you have a ticket, you're saying you are scanning the repeaters, maybe you don't.
But if you have a ticket, I can show you that the bands are not quite as dead as you think.
Next time you hear someone throw you your call like that, drag your feet a few seconds. After about 10 seconds or so, come back to the person. Go back and forth a few times. Then ask a technical question.
Something like "During a storm, should I disconnect my feedlines and leave them hanging in free air, or ground both the shield and center to a good ground?" or "Should I use Coax-Shield on connectors, or just a good tape like Scotch Super 88?"

Pick a good question, and watch all the curmudgeons that heard the person throw out their call come out of the woodwork with their "expert opinion".

There are people out there listening. Trust me. The problem is, repeater users are changing. When I got in the hobby in the early 70's, with the exception of the repeater owner, having a mobile on a power supply as a base station on FM was unheard of. FM was for the mobile. HF was for the house. And when you threw your call out, anyone listening on FM would come back to you.

Now what you got is people sitting at home, talking to their buddies on a schedule. The Grand Old Fart who's got his two meter mobile on a power supply next to a pot of coffee, talking every day to the same buddies at the same time every day. And not coming back to anyone he don't know.
 

gewecke

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Are you a ham? If so, YOU should be answering the few calls you hear on the repeater. Rather than go unanswered, YOU could answer them and bring some life back to the repeaters. If you're not a ham, get your license and start answering some of the calls. It only takes one or two regulars to bring a repeater back to life.


The only problem with this scenario is we have to wait 30-60 seconds for the "fisher price" repeaters to stop spitting out call sign,time, date and it's own 4 part harmony every 15-30 minutes or every time some poor sap brings it up!! It's no wonder some of us lock these toy machines out and stick to simplex bliss! :)

73,
n9zas
 

zz0468

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The only problem with this scenario is we have to wait 30-60 seconds for the "fisher price" repeaters to stop spitting...

An excellent point. There are some very versitile repeater controllers out there and, unfortunately, people who insist upon using every single feature. Some of my favorite repeaters to listen to have nothing but a CWID every ten minutes. And nothing else but the guys chatting.
 

gewecke

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An excellent point. There are some very versitile repeater controllers out there and, unfortunately, people who insist upon using every single feature. Some of my favorite repeaters to listen to have nothing but a CWID every ten minutes. And nothing else but the guys chatting.

Mine as well, but unfortunately they all have to have everything but echo & reverb.
These are the controllers I build!

Integrated Control Systems

Commercial class 3 ROHS controllers that do not babble! :)

73,
n9zas
 

rapidcharger

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An excellent point. There are some very versitile repeater controllers out there and, unfortunately, people who insist upon using every single feature. Some of my favorite repeaters to listen to have nothing but a CWID every ten minutes. And nothing else but the guys chatting.

Pretty safe to say people still using repeaters in your area.
I agree with the speak & spells etc. If you key up on it, it turns to CW usually and I transmit right over it anyway even though S.O.P. in this area it to let it completely air without interruption.

So what about other areas then?
 
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rapidcharger

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Are you a ham? If so, YOU should be answering the few calls you hear on the repeater. Rather than go unanswered, YOU could answer them and bring some life back to the repeaters. If you're not a ham, get your license and start answering some of the calls. It only takes one or two regulars to bring a repeater back to life.

I do when I can.
Believe me, I'm trying!

A couple of years ago, I went on to the city's "main" repeater during their weekly net. I hate to call it the "main reapeater" but it's the radio club is named after the city and it's the oldest as far as I know. It's an active club and the net gets a lot of checkins but after the net ends, nobody sticks around to chew the fat.

So during the net, I brought up this issue. I said nobody talks on the repeater after the net or hardly at all during other times. WTF?, I asked in so many words. After that net, there was a fairly large group QSO that took place on the repeater. With the net op's encouragement, some people stuck around after the net. It was like old times.

Unfortunately that wasn't a tradition that continued after that one net.
 
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Everyone wants their own repeater...

You nailed it.

Everyone thinks they can have a better machine than the one already on the air - for whatever reason. So what happens? They get their coordination and their machine up and operating, and their 2 or 3 closest buddies migrate to the new machine. And those will be the ONLY stations you hear on that particular machine - EVER.

And then the "our machine" vs "the other guys" mentality starts, and people get divided into their own little cliques. The Ham "Community" ceases to exist for that area, rather a bunch of little pockets of activity spring up, totally resenting all of the others.

Multiply this times however many more think they want to put up the latest/greatest machine and then their friends migrate to those...

Or you have those who just do not like repeaters, and talk to their 2 or 3 buddies on simplex and rarely key up a machine.

Rather than a repeater serving it's community and being the local watering hole and sounding like there IS activity, instead you get 10 repeaters within a 15 mile radius serving 2 or thee ops each that are dead the vast majority of the time.

Gone are the days where everyone monitors one repeater: If you want to talk to "Jim", you have to call on simplex...if you want to talk to "Mike" you have to go to this other repeater...if you want to talk to "Dave"........you get the picture.
 
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62Truck

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I can definitely say in the last couple of years in my area repeater usage has gone down. When I was licensed back in 2005 my clubs main repeater always had a group on around 6am when they were heading to work, and one one of the clubs secondary machines there was always a group later in the night that would always met up on that machine. Most of my qso's happen on simplex but every once in a while me and my one buddy will go and use different repeaters to work the cob webs out.

There is one repeater system in my area that always has activity on it but most of the time I don't use it. Its a system that covers a wide area from NYC all the way up to the Catskills between the lids and Jammers I do not use it too often.
 

SCPD

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I hope the FCC does not read this forum talking about no one using amateur repeaters will add more fuel to the fire for them to sell off the spectrum,think before you speak .I myself like having repeaters where you may carry on a conversation over a 3 county range but if the comments continue I am afraid they will become a thing of the past.
 

rapidcharger

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I hope the FCC does not read this forum talking about no one using amateur repeaters will add more fuel to the fire for them to sell off the spectrum,think before you speak .I myself like having repeaters where you may carry on a conversation over a 3 county range but if the comments continue I am afraid they will become a thing of the past.


This post can go one of two ways. Either people will say "you're crazy, rapidcharger. Our repeaters have a lot of activity" or people will say "I noticed the same thing".

If people say their local repeaters are being used then that would tell the FCC special ops spectrum salesman that's monitoring the forum to back off. On the other hand, if people are also saying the repeaters are dead then maybe this post will serve as a call to action. You can use it or lose it.
If people are content now just using facebook or SMS or only interested in talking to people half a world away, then we may very well may lose spectrum for the local bands.

It sure would be nice to find out though, which was I posted to begin with.
 
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