Sad News W9ICE Repeaters...

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INDY72

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The I C E amateur network is going away folks. Confirmed. Due to the sale of WISH, and the hosting on the tower sites here in Metro Indy no longer being allowed , they are having to end the service provided. Over the next few months, all the W9ICE repeaters are being shut down, and equipment removed from the WISH properties. Who will take over being the primary SkyWARN net after this is unsure at this time. Possibly move over to the other ARES/RACES repeaters. This was confirmed at the Dayton HamVention.
 
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cognetic

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I'm still bummed about this after garnering the news from another social media platform. The 442.650 repeater coverage area and the cast of personalities frequenting with use daily have been a wonderful resource for conversations and knowledge share. Let's be hopeful... I'm trying - ICE has been a wonderful group over many years. Maybe someone or a grouping of someones will help with a save. I have more money than time, so I'm in for fiscal support and any networking/influence that can help.

-cognetic
 

Mattnik

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This is a sad day for hams in the Indy Metro area. I first became an ICE member in 1998 when I got my license. Ray N9ARQ was a great dude who helped me overcome my "newbie-ness". I even was a frequent autopatch user (didn't even need to own a cell phone until 2005). I paid for two extra speed dials on the autopatch, and was a frequent user.

This reinforces one of my core axioms. It's not enough to be a repeater trustee. You have to train your replacements, and sadly this seems to have been the issue here.

To Dale, Frank, and the rest: Thanks for a great 20 years. I hope you reconsider and pass the torch to the next group of hams. I know what a thankless job it can be running these machines.

As an aside, do you think Skywarn will move back to W9IRA?

Matt
 

INDY72

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Confirmed with whom?
W9AMT Amateur Radio
May 18 at 10:08 AM ·
Sad news kids...
I spoke to Bill Akin K9YDO yesterday at Hamvention about some info I had been given by a close friend a couple weeks ago, and Bill confirmed unfortunately he, Dale, and Frank have made the decision to terminate all W9ICE repeater systems within the next 6-9 months, with the first systems possibly being the downtown Indy 220 and 1200 MHz machines. This comes in the wake of several things Bill states, including the recent sale (again) of WISH-TV. I asked Bill “what now?”, and at this time, they have no interest in passing the torch, so to speak.
More information to come, I'm sure.
For a list of repeaters this will affect, please visit http://www.w9ice.com/repeater1.htm
 

AA6IO

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With the advent of hotspots, this unlikely will be the last of repeater system owners leaving the repeater system scene. We have several large repeater network systems in California, but especially in the case of digital modes, the number of users is dwindling due to cheap availability of hotspot technology such as pi-star, mode linking, Wires-X, and other new technology. Fewer and fewer new hams are willing to contribute time and money to maintain legacy systems.
I've talked to long-time repeater owners and it is very difficult to find younger people needed to maintain these systems for another generation. That, together with cost of some repeater sites, and the time involved in maintaining these sites, will eventually lead IMHO to more shut-downs of such systems. I believe the repeater-system landscape will change and decrease dramatically as the current generation of owners are no longer able to maintain and promote such systems.
 

AK9R

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So, you haven't spoken to WB9OPR, WB9YCZ, or K9YDO directly and you are just passing along what you read on Facebook. Got it.
 

AK9R

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As an aside, do you think Skywarn will move back to W9IRA?
Another potential rumor that I want to nip in the bud.

The Central Indiana Skywarn Association has not approached the Indianapolis Repeater Association (W9IRA) about moving Skywarn nets back to our repeaters (I'm the IRA treasurer).
 

INDY72

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I can not say who will get the Skywarn nod, I asked W9AMT about that and they said they have no idea who would step into that role. Its a valid question to know among the Spotter/Chaser community, and is at the front of many of our minds given how active this year has been so far. ICE has the best set up currently with the way their multiple linked dual band of operations and coverage in the Metro Indy area is. If NWS Indy was DMR capable like many other NWS offices are now, then there at least would be an obvious second option. As far as on the analog side there are at least three options that CISA can pick from if needed, and again that is still a ways in the future.
 

AK9R

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From Central Indiana Skywarn:

To all Amateur radio & Skywarn Spotters. There will be no changes to the Central Indiana Skywarn System for the foreseeable future. We will be continuing normal Skywarn Operations on the ICE Repeater System 146.970 & 442.650. Any rumors to the contrary are just rumors. If you have any further questions, just ask. Continue to monitor our site for any further updates.

Thanks!

John Mills, Secretary
Central Indiana Skywarn Association Inc.
 

N4GIX

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Bob, this is confusing. Tony (W9AMT) did speak with Bill (K9YDO) at Hamvention:
I spoke to Bill Akin K9YDO yesterday at Hamvention about some info I had been given by a close friend a couple weeks ago, and Bill confirmed...
 

bill4long

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The ICE repeaters are great and I hate to see them go. But they are not indispensable.
Maybe K9XV's excellent wide area 220 repeater will get some use.
And of course, the HCARES repeaters in Noblesville are wide area and usually idle.
 

Mattnik

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The ICE repeaters are great and I hate to see them go. But they are not indispensable.
Maybe K9XV's excellent wide area 220 repeater will get some use.
And of course, the HCARES repeaters in Noblesville are wide area and usually idle.

Agreed. It's nice to have high profile repeaters in our hobby, but I'll always prefer the quiet low profile ones.

I still get a rush talking on a machine that hasn't been used in months. Especially when it's listened to by a small group of people I know.

Skywarn is an issue to be sure, but I'm sometimes irritated at the way a weather event will monopolize a bunch of local machines.

On this, I think planning and coordination is key. Just IMHO of course.
 

DiGiTaLD

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With the advent of hotspots, this unlikely will be the last of repeater system owners leaving the repeater system scene. We have several large repeater network systems in California, but especially in the case of digital modes, the number of users is dwindling due to cheap availability of hotspot technology such as pi-star, mode linking, Wires-X, and other new technology. Fewer and fewer new hams are willing to contribute time and money to maintain legacy systems.
I've talked to long-time repeater owners and it is very difficult to find younger people needed to maintain these systems for another generation. That, together with cost of some repeater sites, and the time involved in maintaining these sites, will eventually lead IMHO to more shut-downs of such systems. I believe the repeater-system landscape will change and decrease dramatically as the current generation of owners are no longer able to maintain and promote such systems.
Hotspots and IP linking are great, no argument there. We use a VoIP connection to link our sites. However, they both function quite well as standalone systems, even without the link. In general, I think we'll start to have problems when we rely too much on hotspots and IP connections made over terrestrial wireline, be it copper or fiber. That's any radio system's Achilles heel, amateur, commercial, or public safety. The whole point of having radio communications with minimal infrastructure involved is that it works sans terrestrial wireline networks. That's a little hard to do if everybody is relying on HTs and hot spots.

I do think we're going to see fewer high-site, high-profile amateur systems in the years to come. Many of these spots are rented or leased, and they do get quite expensive just to pay the rent for the position at the site. Add in the cost of maintenance, repairs, and upgrades, and its easy to see why people would want to get out of it. I won't even mention insurance. With changes in ownership and corporate consolidation always going on, it could be a nightmare. Then there's the lawyers. Unless you have an "in" with a site and/or can get access for cheap or free, it could easily turn into a money pit just to keep a system up, let alone build out anything new.
 

w4amp

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With the advent of hotspots, this unlikely will be the last of repeater system owners leaving the repeater system scene. We have several large repeater network systems in California, but especially in the case of digital modes, the number of users is dwindling due to cheap availability of hotspot technology such as pi-star, mode linking, Wires-X, and other new technology. Fewer and fewer new hams are willing to contribute time and money to maintain legacy systems.
I've talked to long-time repeater owners and it is very difficult to find younger people needed to maintain these systems for another generation. That, together with cost of some repeater sites, and the time involved in maintaining these sites, will eventually lead IMHO to more shut-downs of such systems. I believe the repeater-system landscape will change and decrease dramatically as the current generation of owners are no longer able to maintain and promote such systems.


After the Pavepaws radar restrictions many large UHF repeaters in California and the East Coast had to either reduce power or go off the air. This caused a resurgence in 1.2 repeaters. Now the FCC is doing the same thing on 1.2 due to the CARSR system. Couple that with the emergence of digital voice that has Balkinized the users even more. A repeater qso here in Georgia is almost as rare as the current HF dx.

The FCC has also approved the Theia Satellite System. This 112 satellite constellation will use 1215 to 1300 MHz for remote sensing (Synthetic Aperture Radar).

https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-19-42A1.pdf
 
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