Comprehensive Repeater App?

[Tdub779]

I am looking for an app (or website) that not only lists all repeaters in my area, but which ones have backup power (solar, propane, etc.).

Also is there a resource that shows the repeaters reach?

On one one of hoshnasi's youtube videos (famous ham youtuber), it shows the reach of a specific repeater shaded in green and where in relation to the tower you could theoretically get coverage.

 

[AK9R]

Repeater listings that use the old ARRL Repeater Directory codes will have an "E" or "e" in the comments which indicates emergency power.

As for actually finding listings, there are some crowd-sourced repeater directories out there, but their accuracy can be hit or miss. I'd start with the amateur radio repeater frequency coordinator for your area. They may have an online listing which reflects current coordinations.

 

[nd5y]

Also is there a resource that shows the repeaters reach?

You can calculate that yourself using tools like Radio Mobile or SPLAT! but you need some RF knowledge and you need to know the repeater's exact location, antenna height, ERP, gain, system loss, etc., and the same for your base, ht or mobile station.
Good luck on finding a lot of those parameters if it's not your own repeater or you don't know the owners real well. Most online repeater directories don't publish enough information.

 

[WB9YBM]

I am looking for an app (or website) that not only lists all repeaters in my area, but which ones have backup power (solar, propane, etc.).

Also is there a resource that shows the repeaters reach?

On one one of hoshnasi's youtube videos (famous ham youtuber), it shows the reach of a specific repeater shaded in green and where in relation to the tower you could theoretically get coverage.

coverage also depends a lot on what the user's using (i.e. H.T. versus mobile; 1/4-wave versus 5/8-wave antenna etc)

 

[robertmac]

I use repeaterbook.com as a general guide. Some of the repeaters in my area that are on repeaterbook.com do show a theoretical area for what a HH and a mobile should be able to reach repeater. Any listing whether repeaterbook.com or a club repeater listing is only as good as the information fed to the editors and how this information is used to update. But they are better than none. We have a repeater that is listed on repeaterbook.com but one would have to click on the frequency to see that it is a portable repeater. It is only used for emergency use, or when working public service where it will be used as primary frequency or as a back up. In Canada BC repeater coordination has a list of repeaters and what back up power is available and is a good resource for travelling through BC. I cannot comment on how up to date it is but I have used it to input frequencies into my radios when travelling through BC and it seems to be fairly accurate. At least better than nothing.

 

[Kaleier1]

I second repeaterbook.com . They also have an app but it isn't as detailed and is only updated every 2 weeks vs everyday for the website. It doesn't have the details you are looking for but I just spent a couple hours putting a bunch of ham repeaters in Sentinel from repeaterbook that were not listed in the RR database.

 

[rapidcharger]

What you are asking for doesn't really exist. The closest thing that has the look and feel of an all inclusive list with coverage map and features that is the most up-to-date is probably Repeaterbook but as was already mentioned that is crowd-sourced information and can be really out of date or just pure fiction. A lot of what's posted on there is by the repeater owner themselves that have a backyard repeater and they list all the features that they dream for the repeater to one day have and the coverage map that covers the entire universe but their repeater probably isn't on the air any longer, probably never had coverage beyond their subdivision, probably never had all the fancy features the description said it did and probably never had any other users other than the XYL.

If you want to put some repeaters in your radio and not just waste time with stuff that's not even on the air or that you can't receive well, my advice would be to scan the band often and cross reference with what you find online. Also check with local clubs. They often have the largest budgets, largest base of users and well sited repeaters. Also, unlike repeaters owned by a single individual or a private corporation that does not accept any membership (as hard to imagine as that may be) clubs typically welcome membership who may have some say in how it's operated, what features the repeater has as well as the leadership that runs the group. Typically clubs aren't real secretive about where their repeaters are located either so you can ask, get an answer, and create your own coverage plot using the mapping apps that are out there.

I am looking for an app (or website) that not only lists all repeaters in my area, but which ones have backup power (solar, propane, etc.).

Also is there a resource that shows the repeaters reach?

On one one of hoshnasi's youtube videos (famous ham youtuber), it shows the reach of a specific repeater shaded in green and where in relation to the tower you could theoretically get coverage.

 

[ladn]

If you want to put some repeaters in your radio and not just waste time with stuff that's not even on the air or that you can't receive well, my advice would be to scan the band often and cross reference with what you find online.

Excellent advice! I do that regularly in my areas of travel. I also use the mobile Repeaterbook app.

 

[Chronic]

Since RFinder has taken over the repeater databases for the ARRL many state / county coordinator are no longer publishing repeater coordination.

Area Coordinators

Notice Regarding the ARRL Repeater Directory

The Ohio Area Repeater Council received notice from the
ARRL that they were terminating the current
ARRL Repeater Directory License Agreement between the
ARRL and the Ohio Repeater Council (and every other state) effective September 30th, 2016.
We were very disappointed in the RFinder Repeater Directory that was published in 2017.
It contained incorrect, out of date and unverified information scraped from the internet.
Only 12 of the 50 United States contributed data to RFinder, Ohio was one of the 12.
We have received many complaints about the data presented. Rfinder wants more information
than the ARRL, including where repeaters are located. That data that has always been protected.
Ohio has not provided any further updates.
Repeater Trustees are welcome to contact RFinder Directly if like.

 

[ladn]

Rfinder wants more information
than the ARRL, including where repeaters are located. That data that has always been protected.

That has been one of my major complaints with many repeater directories. I know very little about Ohio, but here in (at least) Southern California, accurate repeater location is important. I don't need to know exact lat/lon, but I do need to know (for instance) on which mountaintop the repeater is located. A repeater located on, say, Santiago Peak may be listed as "covering Los Angeles and Orange counties", fine and good if I'm in the San Gabriel Valley or Pomona. What if I'm in Lancaster? That's part of Los Angeles County, but not within radio range of Santiago Peak. Knowing the (general) location of the repeater helps users choose repeaters more closely suited to their coverage area.

 

[vagrant]

I am looking for an app (or website) that not only lists all repeaters in my area, but which ones have backup power (solar, propane, etc.).

What is your area? The repeater coordinating body for your area may have some of the information you are looking for. For example, northern California has NARCC.

 

[nd5y]

Here is a list of frequency coordinators.

W2XQ.com : Amateur Radio : Frequency Coordinators

Some have their own online databases that may or may not be more accurate than repeaterbook, etc.

 

[ecps92]

Couple of GREAT ones are

New England Repeater Directory

www.nerepeaters.com

New York Repeater Directory

www.nyrepeaters.com

Here is a list of frequency coordinators.

W2XQ.com : Amateur Radio : Frequency Coordinators

Some have their own online databases that may or may not be more accurate than repeaterbook, etc.

 

[AK9R]

Since RFinder has taken over the repeater databases for the ARRL many state / county coordinator are no longer publishing repeater coordination.

The notice you found on the OARC website is old news. When the ARRL contracted with RFinder to manage the database for the ARRL Repeater Directory, a few coordinators opted in, but most opted out and I think everybody in the U.S. is out by now. RFinder has tried to make deals with some of the coordinators, but their terms were not all that great. Since then, RFinder has forged ahead with their crowd sourced data and, sadly, the ARRL spits that questionable data back out in the form of the ARRL Repeater Directory.

Crowd sourcing repeater data has good points and bad points. The good is that the database will, hopefully, reflect what repeaters are actually on the air and how they are being used. The bad is that it takes a dedicated individual with knowledge of the local repeater landscape to know when the crowd is feeding bad data to the database. Whenever the subject of crowd sourced online databases comes up, I make some spot checks of the popular websites and I usually find all kinds of errors (including one county where half the listings are incorrect). All because nobody is vetting the data.

As I mentioned early in this thread, the coordinators often have an "online listing which reflects current coordinations". The key to that statement is "coordinations" as the coordinator knows what frequencies have been set aside for which repeaters, but may not know if the repeater is functioning. The coordinators I know strive to keep their databases "clean", but they are still at the mercy of the trustees and the data they supply.