How do you figure out the most used frequencies in an area? Say around Barstow Ca?

[lacofdfireman]

I'm a Fireman that commutes from St. George, UT to Lancaster, Ca where I work for LA County Fire and was wanting to setup one of my radios for my route to work. I know that through the Repeaterbook website I can easily scan for 2m and 70cm frequencies for a given area but if I put in say Barstow, Ca with a 50 mile radius and 2m and 70cm frequencies I get like 100 choices. How is the best way to determine the most used frequencies?

Like I said I really want to set up a channel list that will get me from St. George, UT down the I-15 interstate to Barstow then across Highway 58 and then down the 14 highway to my work. But I don't want to have 200 channels in the bank. If at all possible I'd like to have maybe 10-20 different channels that I could just switch to as I drive my route. Any help with this would be appreciated......

 

[mmckenna]

You scan, or you search for local info.
But amateur repeater traffic varies. Some repeaters are dead quiet. Some are quite active. Some are busy during rush hour.

Without local info, it would be difficult to figure it out since you likely pass through most repeater coverage areas in an hour or less.

Load them all in and listen for whats active.

 

[AK9R]

How is the best way to determine the most used frequencies?

One way would be to listen to them for a week or so to see which ones have any activity. Keep those in your scan list and lock out the rest.

Another way would be to systematically try to drum up activity on them. Key up and toss our your callsign. See if anyone comes back to you. If you get no response after a few tries on different days, lock that repeater out of your scan list.

Amateur radio repeaters are put up by clubs and individuals for various reasons. A few repeaters are very busy. Other repeaters just sit and collect RF dust.

BTW, I've driven from Kingman to Lancaster a few times. I don't envy anyone who has to do it on a regular basis.

 

[Lauri-CoyoteFrostbite]

That is some commute, Laco- What?... 400 miles??...
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To get any meaningful repeater information its going to have to come from locals along your route, and of course that is going to be fraught with lots and lots of misinformation right from the start...
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I used to 'commute' frequently between central Colorado and the Santa Fe NM area- it was a no win situation as far as ham radio repeaters- a few machines, but no activity-- so I just park'd on 146.52 and settled for the occasion simplex QSO. The drive down US 285 is so pleasant, crossing mountain passes, etc. that I simply enjoyed the beauty, peace and quiet -- and if became too beautiful, peaceful and quiet there was Sirus XM or the long ranged AM blowtorch of talk radio, KKOB-AM from Albuquerque. Sometimes the 2 metre squelch would break and I could chat awhile.
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But this isn't what you want to hear, is it...?
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I'll make a suggestion which is a bit radical to the discussion- Have you considered mobile HF sideband? I don't know your license class, but if you can get on 40 or 60 metres (5371.5 Khz is the Intermountain West HF equivalent of VHF "52") you won't have to rely on repeaters... On some of the others bands (17 is my favorite mobile band- or was, when the Sunspots smiled) you can converse with the world. HF mobile is quite easy to get on, and infinitely more reliable than trying to make a contact out in those lonely stretches of Nevada desert--
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..............and Oh! do i know that desert-- Nellis AFB, Mercury, Indian Springs.......the Panamint Mountains.... the real American desert for real isolation
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.............Hope this gives you some alternatives.
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Lauri
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[gonefishn1]

Near Las Vegas try 146.88 for the VHF Mt. Inter-tie, 146.97 Win System, and 447.000 Western Reflector.
They have a lot of traffic and you should be able to reach them, from the I-15 no problem.

 

[zz0468]

A lot of the I15 is covered by linked private systems. It's VERY difficult and expensive to provide coverage on those rural routes so, with few exceptions, you'll find membership required, particularly on 440.

The suggestion for HF is a good one. I'm quite familiar with the entire route. One you're between Primm and Barstow, there's just not much there that's available. There's a few open 2m repeaters popping up. Check the various on-line repeater guides. None of them are particularly good a but between all of them, everything is covered.

 

[mmckenna]

I've gotta make the run out to Las Vegas next week. I've never heard much out there, but I may not have been trying hard enough. As stated, the run between Primm and Barstow is pretty dead. Pretty rugged terrain to cover.

I don't envy that commute, that's for sure.

 

[techman210]

Barstow ARC has 3 linked repeaters that cover the I-40 and I-15 pretty well.
Club Repeaters – Barstow Amateur Radio Club

As you pass Barstow the JPL ARC Table Mountain repeater in 145.280 PL131.8 Hz which you can program for encode/decode - covers the 58 until you get to the grade that takes you to I-5.

And there's always Keller Peak on 146.385 PL 146.2 Hz.

All of the above repeater systems seem to be active with usually someone listening even in the overnight hours.

Here's a few more:
https://ke6rn.com/html/repeaters.asp

 

[Hit_Factor]

If you can do any of the digital modes. Consider a DV-Mega or Zumspot running Pi-Star tethered to your phone for internet access. Between D-Star and DMR there is plenty of traffic.

Will need both of these...
https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-015993
https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-016096

 

[ladn]

One wide coverage repeater to add to your list is the Keller Peak repeater, 146.385 + PL. 146.2. It's a very active system with a wide coverage footprint. You should be able to hear in from about the Cal/Nev border into Lancaster.

 

[zz0468]

If you can do any of the digital modes. Consider a DV-Mega or Zumspot running Pi-Star tethered to your phone for internet access. Between D-Star and DMR there is plenty of traffic.

So, the amateur radio link becomes the guys ht in the car, and the hotspot in the car, with the rest of the span on a 4g wireless internet connection.

Interesting idea, but a whole lotta nope, if you ask me.

 

[zz0468]

One wide coverage repeater to add to your list is the Keller Peak repeater, 146.385 + PL. 146.2. It's a very active system with a wide coverage footprint. You should be able to hear in from about the Cal/Nev border into Lancaster.

Does Keller Peak cover that far east? I know from sitting there at the site, the view is blocked by the mountains, and you can't see past Big Bear. I would expect it to get noisy east of Barstow.

 

[ladn]

I've had decent copy on Keller to near the Nevada line. It does get spotty depending on terrain.
A lot will depend on radio/and antenna. It's still a good option to have punched up.

 

[cmdrwill]

Same here, Keller Peak when we were at Hallorn Springs east of Baker near the top of the grade.