Jerks hogging the repeater.

Yesterday afternoon while driving down the highway, I tuned into a local repeater located in Torrington CT. The entire time I was on the highway (roughly 15 minutes), these two Hams held the repeater hostage. From what I could tell, they had been chatting for some time prior to be tuning into that repeater. Their chat was rather boring but after about 5 minutes without either of them pausing, I became agitated. Not once did either of them open the repeater up to any one else.

Does anyone else have this problem?

I think it is fair to say that if you are going to have a 20 minute + chat about your Condo associations tyranny and rules about curtains, bird feeders and such, you should either switch to a simplex frequency or use your cell phone so that other Hams like myself and the other guy who couldn't get a word in edgewise until one of you had to take a break to go to the ATM, could utilize the repeater.

By the way, that other ham sounded like a newer operator, I am sure he doesn't appreciate having you spell out your callsign using gibberish instead of the phonetic alphabet. I'd post your callsign but I'd rather not call you out in an open forum. I wrote it down anyway.

So please, understand that there are many Ham radio operators out there besides you and your pal. Be courteous and have some respect for other Hams.

A little confused here.
What makes you think you have priority to use the repeater over them?

dave6890 said:

Yesterday afternoon while driving down the highway, I tuned into a local repeater located in Torrington CT. The entire time I was on the highway (roughly 15 minutes), these two Hams held the repeater hostage. From what I could tell, they had been chatting for some time prior to be tuning into that repeater. Their chat was rather boring but after about 5 minutes without either of them pausing, I became agitated. Not once did either of them open the repeater up to any one else.

Does anyone else have this problem?

I think it is fair to say that if you are going to have a 20 minute + chat about your Condo associations tyranny and rules about curtains, bird feeders and such, you should either switch to a simplex frequency or use your cell phone so that other Hams like myself and the other guy who couldn't get a word in edgewise until one of you had to take a break to go to the ATM, could utilize the repeater.

By the way, that other ham sounded like a newer operator, I am sure he doesn't appreciate having you spell out your callsign using gibberish instead of the phonetic alphabet. I'd post your callsign but I'd rather not call you out in an open forum. I wrote it down anyway.

So please, understand that there are many Ham radio operators out there besides you and your pal. Be courteous and have some respect for other Hams.

Click to expand...

Happens all the time on THIS repeater!l K6MWT 147.4350 MHz Los Angeles Renegade Repeater Live Audio Feed

dave6890 said:

Yesterday afternoon while driving down the highway, I tuned into a local repeater located in Torrington CT. The entire time I was on the highway (roughly 15 minutes), these two Hams held the repeater hostage. From what I could tell, they had been chatting for some time prior to be tuning into that repeater. Their chat was rather boring but after about 5 minutes without either of them pausing, I became agitated. Not once did either of them open the repeater up to any one else.

Does anyone else have this problem?

I think it is fair to say that if you are going to have a 20 minute + chat about your Condo associations tyranny and rules about curtains, bird feeders and such, you should either switch to a simplex frequency or use your cell phone so that other Hams like myself and the other guy who couldn't get a word in edgewise until one of you had to take a break to go to the ATM, could utilize the repeater.

By the way, that other ham sounded like a newer operator, I am sure he doesn't appreciate having you spell out your callsign using gibberish instead of the phonetic alphabet. I'd post your callsign but I'd rather not call you out in an open forum. I wrote it down anyway.

So please, understand that there are many Ham radio operators out there besides you and your pal. Be courteous and have some respect for other Hams.

Click to expand...

If the repeater was a personally-owned private-repeater and either of them was the repeater-owner, they can use it as much as they wish.

If the repeater was a club-owned private-repeater, for which access and use is governed by club-membership, then they can use it as much as the club allows.

If it was an open repeater, then they should share. It's not uncommon for regular-users of a repeater to get into a habit of long and/or frequent conversations.

If you need the repeater, just...

• be polite,
• say the word "break" once, and
• wait patiently for them to pause or end their conversation,
• attempt to contact your person-of-interest when the repeater is available, and
• if possible move your traffic off of the repeater, or
• at least make your conversation brief.

This will demonstrate that you don't intend to hog their repeater, and will be a gentle reminder to them to avoid hogging it also.

If it is a club-owned repeater, and you are a dues-paying member of the club, and if this is a recurring problem, you can politely mention it in a club-meeting, to maybe encourage awareness and change.

Hope this helps,

oooops

dave6890 said:

The entire time I was on the highway (roughly 15 minutes), these two Hams held the repeater hostage.

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Whoa...15 minutes. I can have a conversation that last that long if not longer easily.
Why didn't you throw out your callsign and ask to use the repeater?
Even if they were quick keying, it most likely would be noticed by one or the other that someone else was trying to break in on the conversation.
People in my area do that all the time, have a good rag chew and have others break in to make a quick call and then they clear out or join in on the conversation.
That's how you are supposed to operate, just don't think the repeater should be ready to use at your time of need and other should not be using it when you want to use it.

If it is your repeater, close it and limit it's users.
If the repeater belongs to someone else, then you have nothing to complain about.

dave6890 said:

So please, understand that there are many Ham radio operators out there besides you and your pal. Be courteous and have some respect for other Hams.

Click to expand...

15 minutes is nothing. On the system here we talk for HOURS, all throughout the day and sometimes it goes well into the overnight hours. And we talk about tyranny and HOAs frequently. But it's pretty easy for someone to jump in to the QSO as we leave long gaps and make a point to say why we're leaving those gaps.

Leaving gaps that are long enough for the carrier to drop so people using crossband repeaters to get in are sort of a policy and also practices being a considerate ham.

That said, the systems are privately owned and leaving gaps and allowing others is merely a courtesy and by no means a requirement. Part of the reason we set up our own is precisely so we can use it as much as we want without one of the hall monitor types getting in there and telling us to take a break.

Must be nice. Nothing around here but silence, only occasionally broken by a CWID.

QDP2012 said:

If the repeater was a personally-owned private-repeater and either of them was the repeater-owner, they can use it as much as they wish.

If the repeater was a club-owned private-repeater, for which access and use is governed by club-membership, then they can use it as much as the club allows.

If it was an open repeater, then they should share. It's not uncommon for regular-users of a repeater to get into a habit of long and/or frequent conversations.

If you need the repeater, just...

• be polite,
• say the word "break" once, and
• wait patiently for them to pause or end their conversation,
• attempt to contact your person-of-interest when the repeater is available, and
• if possible move your traffic off of the repeater, or
• at least make your conversation brief.

This will demonstrate that you don't intend to hog their repeater, and will be a gentle reminder to them to avoid hogging it also.

If it is a club-owned repeater, and you are a dues-paying member of the club, and if this is a recurring problem, you can politely mention it in a club-meeting, to maybe encourage awareness and change.

Hope this helps,

Click to expand...

It seems my previous word-choice might have been confusing to some, as I was PM'd with a nice reminder that using the word "break" is not "current-practice", at least in some regions. So, let me adjust my above statement for clarity:

• If you NEED the repeater, you can say "break" (because since many people do not use it any more, it gets others' attention and helps indicate that you NEED into the repeater).
• If you simply want to use the repeater, as others have suggested above, simply give your call-sign and wait patiently to be acknowledged and given use of the repeater.

I hope this helps clarify my previous choice of words; sorry for any confusion.

Thanks,

toastycookies said:

A little confused here.
What makes you think you have priority to use the repeater over them?

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I never said I did. The repeater isn't private and I think it was just obnoxious that these two Hams acted as if they were the only ones who use that repeater.

rapidcharger said:

15 minutes is nothing. On the system here we talk for HOURS, all throughout the day and sometimes it goes well into the overnight hours. And we talk about tyranny and HOAs frequently. But it's pretty easy for someone to jump in to the QSO as we leave long gaps and make a point to say why we're leaving those gaps.

Leaving gaps that are long enough for the carrier to drop so people using crossband repeaters to get in are sort of a policy and also practices being a considerate ham.

That said, the systems are privately owned and leaving gaps and allowing others is merely a courtesy and by no means a requirement. Part of the reason we set up our own is precisely so we can use it as much as we want without one of the hall monitor types getting in there and telling us to take a break.

Click to expand...

I get that. In this case, the two Hams were having a personal conversation which is why they should have moved to a different frequency. There were only two times when I was listening that there was a "break"
-When the repeater ID came on
-When one of them got out of his car to use an ATM.

If you're not having a discussion that is open to other Hams, why are you having the discussion on a repeater; especially one of the most active repeaters in that area? Maybe their convo was open to others but it sure didn't seem like it.

QDP2012 said:

If the repeater was a personally-owned private-repeater and either of them was the repeater-owner, they can use it as much as they wish.

If the repeater was a club-owned private-repeater, for which access and use is governed by club-membership, then they can use it as much as the club allows.

If it was an open repeater, then they should share. It's not uncommon for regular-users of a repeater to get into a habit of long and/or frequent conversations.

If you need the repeater, just...

• be polite,
• say the word "break" once, and
• wait patiently for them to pause or end their conversation,
• attempt to contact your person-of-interest when the repeater is available, and
• if possible move your traffic off of the repeater, or
• at least make your conversation brief.

This will demonstrate that you don't intend to hog their repeater, and will be a gentle reminder to them to avoid hogging it also.

If it is a club-owned repeater, and you are a dues-paying member of the club, and if this is a recurring problem, you can politely mention it in a club-meeting, to maybe encourage awareness and change.

Hope this helps,

Click to expand...

I don't know if it was a club owned repeater, I'll have to check. It's not that I needed to use the repeater, I would have liked to use it. I just think it was inconsiderate of them. When I was studying for my exam, I recall reading in one of the books I bought that if you are going to chew the rag, you should use the repeater to "find" someone to chew with and then switch to simplex.

I don't think that it is too much to ask for.

Were they in simplex range?

OMG - they held the repeater 'hostage for a whole 15 mins.
How despicable. You'd think their licenses gave them a right or something.
Oh,yeah... IT DOES.

And yes, they can have a QSO
and not welcome the comments of other hams.

Hams b*tch when people use repeaters.
They b*tch when the repeaters are silent.

If you have an emergency key down and repeatedly
say break break - otherwise, suck it up, QSY, or turn the thing OFF.
Nobody's holding anything or anyone 'hostage'.

And that might be fine if they are within simplex range.
But WHO says they are within simplex range.

As someone else said.
Repeaters are silent and folks complain
Repeaters are in use and folks complain

15 minutes ? That was a short QSO

dave6890 said:

I don't know if it was a club owned repeater, I'll have to check. It's not that I needed to use the repeater, I would have liked to use it. I just think it was inconsiderate of them. When I was studying for my exam, I recall reading in one of the books I bought that if you are going to chew the rag, you should use the repeater to "find" someone to chew with and then switch to simplex.

I don't think that it is too much to ask for.

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O no, watch out for the PM's about using "Break" It is too much like....

mikepdx said:

If you have an emergency key down and repeatedly
say break break - otherwise, suck it up, QSY, or turn the thing OFF.
Nobody's holding anything or anyone 'hostage'.

Click to expand...

dave6890 said:

I never said I did. The repeater isn't private and I think it was just obnoxious that these two Hams acted as if they were the only ones who use that repeater.

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They very likely MIGHT BE the only ones who use the repeater on a regular basis. When people let things go, like not using the repeater, something inevitably fills the void. For a little while I had to drive out of the range of my current repeater and was using the local club repeater to speak with home. I had a husband and wife team who chatted incessantly. I didn't like it much, but, oh well. They've been doing it for a long time, they were club members too, and they had every right to be there as much as me. It wasn't even my repeater, although I help pay dues to support it. I wasn't going to split up a family because I would rather listen to nothing than listen to them.

I've owned both ham radio and GMRS repeaters since the 80s. I did it because I like building stuff (way more than using it) and because a club I was a member of way back when was doing things that were counter to my preferences. I started what I called a "benevolent autocracy." My repeater, my rules. At the height of it's popularity, it was on top of a 32 story high rise building and I was out-of-pocketing site rental to keep the antenna and repeater cabinet up there. I had tremendous HT coverage and an autopatch. The repeater attracted all kinds, and since I owned all of the equipment (probably about $15,000 worth of Motorola repeater, duplexer, intermod and lightning suppression, 7/8" cable, and a 22 ft. tall 10 dBd antenna, with schedule 40 mast, building penetrating mounts, etc.) and paid over a thousand dollars a year to keep it in a killer location, I was able to lay down the law about how the repeater was used. That's about the only time anyone can get away with that.

There are only three things you can do here:
1) Let them carry on.
2) Join them.
3) Get off the repeater and do your own thing.

dave6890 said:

I get that. In this case, the two Hams were having a personal conversation which is why they should have moved to a different frequency.))

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Why?

dave6890 said:

(((If you're not having a discussion that is open to other Hams, why are you having the discussion on a repeater)))

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The purpose of a repeater is to link two stations that might not be able to communicate without it. Some of them have large 50 mile coverage areas.

dave6890 said:

(((Maybe their convo was open to others but it sure didn't seem like it.

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It's polite to leave gaps for people to join but not all repeaters are not all open repeaters. They might be a closed repeater. Especially if you don't know who owns it.

Contrary to popular opinion, repeaters are NOT public utilities and are in fact PRIVATE property.

If the two stations were following FCC rules, and they have the blessings of the owner/control operators, then as others have said, than one is more than welcome to not use the system.

I can't count how many QSO's I hear that don't interest me. This is why I invested my money and put up my own system. There is plenty of unused spectrum around here to do so.

So if you don't like the way someone's system is run, feel free to NOT use it, spend the money and do the work and put up your own and run it the way you see fit.

I really don't see what the problem is. A 15 minute long QSO? Really?

I also fail to see how this is an issue. Hams using a radio/repeater for a personal interest... HOLY CRAP THATS WHAT THE LICENSE IS FOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not everyone has to chime in on everything and sometimes, your opinion isn't valued (possibly like some people who are reading my post will silently ask "why is he bothering?").

Contacts don't always need to start on a repeater and end on simplex. They don't need to start scratchy on simplex and end on a repeater either. An open repeater is for use by anyone at any time, first come first serve. Also, I'll add that "break break break" in a time of an emergency will get someone's attention and who cares if it is "OKAY" to say that or not. It freaking worked, didn't it?

Stop being overly critical of WHAT is happening and be glad that SOMEONE is using it!

902 said:

There are only three things you can do here:
1) Let them carry on.
2) Join them.
3) Get off the repeater and do your own thing.

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4) Suck it up buttercup. :lol: