New HAM need some help!

First off all I would like to mention that I received my Tech license moths ago, haven't made a single contact with other HAM's. Though I'm very familiar with public safety equipment/radios, HAM terms still confuse me along with the use of 12.5kHz (narrow), 25kHz bandwidth repeaters, simplex frequencies and APCO 25/P25.

Yes, I do have radio/s (Analog wide & narrow band, P25) except for HF, D-Star or any manufacturers proprietary formats.

Any suggestions on up to date; simplex and open repeater frequencies (VHF-FM 136-174 MHz & UHF-FM 380-520 MHz) for Southern California (where I travel)?
I'm currently on budget until I can get some amature radio with 200MHz band, other bands, formats etc. so have to stick to what I have.

Please excuse typos, sent from mobile.

Start here Amateur Radio Repeater database - Updated daily for information on your area. It is not perfect, as some repeaters are not updated regularly, (not the ArtSci responsibility) but it should have enough to get things going. Both 2 meters and 440 mhz use 25 khz spacing for normal analog repeaters. Narrow band is not part of the amateur rules. The are far fewer repeaters on 222 mhz in most areas and even less traffic when they are present. Stick with the basics until you understand better and then branch out. eHam.net Home - Amateur Radio (Ham Radio) Community Site is also a good place to get information.

I don't know if the Artsci information is any good for CA. In some areas of the country it isn't accurate.
For southern CA open repeaters, simplex channels and band plans I would refer to the frequency coordinator web sites:
TASMA | Two Meter Area Spectrum Management Association
220 MHZ SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION (220SMA)
Southern California Repeater and Remote Base Association

Is there something wrong with http://repeaterbook.com SoCal listings? Look pretty accurate to me. I use it mainly because you can search by band, mode, zipcode, or interstate route. I know it's updated frequently... I submitted info re: a PL tone needed for a 6M repeater in my area and it was on repeaterbook.com a couple of days later.

popnokick said:

Is there something wrong with http://repeaterbook.com SoCal listings? Look pretty accurate to me.

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Woefully inadequate, incomplete, full of errors and omissions. I could go on, but I won't, other than to say don't waste your time.

nd5y said:

I don't know if the Artsci information is any good for CA. In some areas of the country it isn't accurate.

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As bad, or worse, than repeater book.

nd5y said:

For southern CA open repeaters, simplex channels and band plans I would refer to the frequency coordinator web sites...

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Excellent advice. TASMA and 22SMA list ALL coordinated repeaters for their respective bands, 2m and 220. SCRRBA has an excellent listing of OPEN repeaters on all SCRRBA coordination bands, 6m, 440, and all higher bands. They have a policy (member requested) to not list closed or private repeaters, so if it's not on the open list, you don't need to know about it.

To the OP... You seem to be specifically looking for digital repeaters. Go to the frequency coordinator web pages that ND5Y posted. There's very little in the way of digital repeaters out there right now, but there are some listed.

Having lived in San Diego for a few years back in the '90s... these:

Palomar Amateur Radio Club
Winsystem

Several of these guys were my Elmers back in the day.

zz0468 said:

Woefully inadequate, incomplete, full of errors and omissions. I could go on, but I won't, other than to say don't waste your time.

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Then please submit the updates to RepeaterBook.com! That's the only way things get updated.

As popnokick described, I've submitted plenty of updates myself and have had them all approved and posted within a couple of days.

RepeaterBook.com also has a free Android and iOS app that works great. Highly recommended to anyone looking for a repeater!

TASMA | Two Meter Area Spectrum Management Association
Southern California Repeater and Remote Base Association

Went over each one including Reapeaterbook app. Trying to figure out if any digital format and analog (12.5kHz - narrow & 25kHz - wideband) are allowed in simplex frequencies (see below) as non specify formats.

•144.310-144.375 < This would mean 144.310, 144.31100 and so on up to 5 decimals under 144.375?

•144.405-144.490 < This would mean 144.405, 144.490 and so on up to 5 decimals under 144.490?

•145.510
•145.525
•145.540
•145.555
•145.570
•145.585
•145.600
•145.615
•145.630
•145.645
•145.660
•146.445
•146.520 (calling freq)
•146.535
•146.550
•146.580
•146.595
•147.510

440.00000
445.00000
446.00000
446.50000
446.52000

Also what has me mixed up is FCC Part 97 - How come some HAM's say "it has to be Part 97 approved in order to use the radio in HAM bands", but HAMs can build their own radios or use military surplus radio if they were never approved by the FCC when military radios are NTIA approved only?

Wouldn't it be correct to say "if the radio transmits and receives according to the FCC bandwidth, formats, proper frequency band and operate without causing interference it's okay to transmit?"

Please excuse my ignorance about HAM radio, I'm new to this.


Sent from mobile device.

The best way to make contacts would be to join a local club or find local nets to check in on. That way people get to know who you are and, if you're involved with their activities, they are more likely to talk to you. Most clubs have web pages that list their repeaters. You will also get in contact with people who can answer your technical questions.

By the way, ham is not an acronym, it does not need to be capitalized.

DarkStarPDX said:

Then please submit the updates to RepeaterBook.com! That's the only way things get updated.

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The problem here in Southern California is the vast majority of UHF repeaters are private, and most of the owners have clearly stated that they don't want them listed. So, I'm not going to step up and make those submissions.

In any case, data provided by anything other than the frequency coordinating body is likely to be incomplete. There are private systems I'm intimately knowledgeable about that are seriously flawed on their repeaterbook listings because they were submitted by someone other than the coordinator, or the owner.

It's a nice idea, but in this area, it doesn't really work. TASMA and 220SMA already post pretty good lists, and on UHF the few open machines are listed on SCRRBA's page,so repeaterbook is a distant second to those three.

CommunicationsFreak said:

Went over each one including Reapeaterbook app. Trying to figure out if any digital format and analog (12.5kHz - narrow & 25kHz - wideband) are allowed in simplex frequencies (see below) as non specify formats.

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You could probably get away with it on 2 meters in the unchannelized simplex part of the band, as listed by the TASMA Southern California bandplan. On UHF, the SCRRBA band plan specifically prohibits digital modes on the simplex frequencies.

I would suggest that people contact both frequency coordinating bodies and suggest that they create an allocation for dedicated digital modes. It's time. The current problem is that the vast majority of users are on FM. FM and digital modes are mutually incompatible, and it's especially annoying for the majority of analog users, hence the UHF prohibition against digital modes on the designated simplex frequencies.

CommunicationsFreak said:

&#8226;144.310-144.375 < This would mean 144.310, 144.31100 and so on up to 5 decimals under 144.375?[/

&#8226;144.405-144.490 < This would mean 144.405, 144.490 and so on up to 5 decimals under 144.490?

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It's unchannelized, so anywhere within those limits is ok.

CommunicationsFreak said:

Also what has me mixed up is FCC Part 97 - How come some HAM's say "it has to be Part 97 approved in order to use the radio in HAM bands", but HAMs can build their own radios or use military surplus radio if they were never approved by the FCC when military radios are NTIA approved only?

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That one is easy. Some hams are wrong, and you have to be careful who you listen to.

CommunicationsFreak said:

Wouldn't it be correct to say "if the radio transmits and receives according to the FCC bandwidth, formats, proper frequency band and operate without causing interference it's okay to transmit?"

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The answers you seek are buried within part 97. Read it.

zz0468 said:

The answers you seek are buried within part 97. Read it.

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True.

Aside from Part 97, some commercially-made amateur radio gear is required to have Part 15 approval as a receiver, especially if it has scanning functions or reception capability in the 800MHz band.

Emailed the local ham club 3 weeks ago that is 10 miles away from me and I haven't received a phone call or reply from them. They do not list any phone numbers on their webpage, just emails. What else can I do, beside what can be found online?

So California??? Can you be more specific, LA, Orange, counties, ect.

CommunicationsFreak said:

Emailed the local ham club 3 weeks ago that is 10 miles away from me and I haven't received a phone call or reply from them. They do not list any phone numbers on their webpage, just emails. What else can I do, beside what can be found online?

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Don't expect a phone call or email from a ham radio club. Most aren't paying enough attention to that sort of thing. What you need to do is find out (preferably from the website) when and where they have their regular meetings, and just show up.

What area are you in, maybe someone can recommend a good club.

Searched the entire FCC Part 97 page/s and I can not find the bandwidth, offset (simplex) and transmission formats allowance for 2M and 440 simplex frequencies.

CommunicationsFreak said:

Searched the entire FCC Part 97 page/s and I can not find the bandwidth, offset (simplex) and transmission formats allowance for 2M and 440 simplex frequencies.

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Frequency offset isn't in there, but the rest is, though the transmission formats as listed in the regulations don't exactly resemble what we would be most familiar with.

Standard repeater offsets are listed at Offset - The RadioReference Wiki

Bandwidth and emission standards are listed in 97.305 and 97.307.

Amateur radio emission standards are not so tightly defined as they are in other services. Since one of the principles of amateur radio is experimentation and "advancement of the radio art", amateur radio operators have a fair amount of flexibility to set their own standards.

Authorized emission types are discussed in 97.305. Emission standards are in 97.307. Further detail follows in subsequent sections.

Depending on where you live, a frequency coordinating council or spectrum management association, both formed by amateur radio operators in the area, may have set forth standards for the 2m, 70cm, and other VHF/UHF bands. In most parts of the country, emission type for FM communications on both bands is 16K0F3E or 20K0F3E with a spacing of 15 kHz on 2m and 25 kHz on 70cm. Standard repeater offsets are 600 kHz on 2m and 5 MHz on 70cm. There are many variations around the country, so it would be best to seek out your local frequency coordinating council.

K9DAK said:

Having lived in San Diego for a few years back in the '90s... these:

Palomar Amateur Radio Club
Winsystem

Several of these guys were my Elmers back in the day.

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Here is the listing of all the clubs that are members of SANDARC, the San Diego Amateur Radio Council. Each individual club website will have a list of the repeaters owned and operated by that organization.

Club Listing