Amateur repeaters established by an amateur or several amateurs may or may not be viable at various times or periods. Money is often tight and construction may or may not be of first quality. There are no mandatory schedules of operation and who knows if a frequency coordinator follows through in an rural area to see if any construction has been done.
There is one UHF 'backyard' repeater in my town and it when it is on, there is no traffic that I've been able to eke a response from. I sent a SASE letter to the on file licensee/owner asking, but never received a reply as to status or hours.
The Internet isn't going to tell me if it is functioning or the weekly net is simply on hiatus for vacation or the holidays.
R.B. is a decent reference material for myself and others who want to know what may be in a county or State.
Still, the ARRL is not a worthy advocacy group for many amateurs who aren't into EOTW prophecies, contesting, CW on 80 meters, or Chronic Illness Chat nets.
