Then it's a moot point. Do you even have any idea what it takes to get a nice repeater system on the air??
Philadelphia PA Strong Gmrs repeater 462.575
- Thread starter Sisqo
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Sisqo
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all I know is that this repeater is on a commercial site and it is very good. They must pay a lot of money to be there at those sites. Hence, the reason why they charge a membership fee to help pay for all the equipment and leases.
For now, I just stay to myself and have my little 550 machine up for the neighborhood and the kids to enjoy
For now, I just stay to myself and have my little 550 machine up for the neighborhood and the kids to enjoy
Do you have a tone on your repeater?
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- May 20, 2020
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I had to remove 575 from my scanner since I'd always get stopped there for all of the rag chewing. I think it's funny personally, hearing all the "police style" communication, "unit ID's" and "10 codes" it really gives me a chuckle.
Sisqo
Member
I enjoy it since it’s the only activity in my general area.
I get a repeater on .575 here in the NYC area, a bit weak - will have to note the tone next time.
.675 is a powerhouse here in NYC, but it's either quiet or being jammed. If you are hearing normal conversations vs. rap music and burping sounds, it's not NYC.
Surprisingly little repeater activity here as well.
.675 is a powerhouse here in NYC, but it's either quiet or being jammed. If you are hearing normal conversations vs. rap music and burping sounds, it's not NYC.
Surprisingly little repeater activity here as well.
Sisqo
Member
I hear the jammers around here. They’re actually pretty funny sometimes, but it does get old.
Agreed. The repeater owner/operator, Bruce Williams, has been fighting with the jammers for over a decade - same old lines about having the FCC/NYPD/FBI tracking them. Maybe he enjoys it, but it certainly motivates them to keep up their antics.
Sisqo
Member
I scan around on a ham bands also and it’s not very active. Looks like everybody switched over to DMR and hotspots.
It's not very active here on 2m/440 either, except during evening nets and morning/evening drive hours. Only a couple of 220 machines that at ID but are quiet. Huge difference from when I first got my license in the late 90's.
Yep, I agree totally. I think @Sisqo hit on a lot of the reason why however. I occasionally watch a DMR dashboard on our local repeater here and while it covers most the Chicago land DMR TG's the other day I actually froze it and counted and out of 100 hits, 2 were actually on repeaters and the other 98 not.
Tie that with cellphones now, and you have your reasons for the dead air. My auto patch alone back then probably got used over 20 times a day, and at times it was hard to get a word in edgewise. Honestly miss those days.
Exactly right. When people look for personal communications, radio is not their first choice. They don't want to deal with licensing applications, antenna/radio installations, or spotty coverage with a handheld. GMRS should be hopping in a major metro area like Philly (and here in the NYC area).
Ditto for ham repeaters. I can't remember the last time I heard an auto patch!
Edited: I find far more activity on the original 14 FRS channels than GMRS.
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Ya, honestly, unless someone lived in an area with 0 cellphone coverage, I know I have a GMRS license and never use the thing. My son occasionally uses some HT's when they're out jeeping but, that's about all the usage it gets. Now that being said, if they were smart enough to ever allow say....DMR on GMRS, I'd probably actually use that on occasion. LOL.
Edited to add:
of course then then the type acceptance would have to be changed and etc.etc.etc...so I'm pretty sure that will never happen.
Allowed or not, I do hear what is likely DMR on one of the FRS simplex frequencies. (My 536HP cannit decode it, so safe to say it's not P25). Maybe DMR would change things, but allowing FM on CB has caused any miracles, AFAIK.
I tend to agree I hear more traffic on those also, however a lot of those are also GMRS frequencies now so who knows what kind of radios they're actually using. I know of at least two people using modified "ham stuff" in a FRS type situation. I mean, if they don't have a GMRS license it has to be FRS right????? I'll not get into too much more other than to say, only one even has a ham license.
Ya, could be DMR I guess, makes it a little harder to get heard I guess. Every now and then when I'm actually scanning those I'll get something "strange" on there too, maybe next time I'll throw my 536 which does do DMR on there and see if I can hear it there. usually I just have one of my ham radios scanning those cause it's on the outside antenna. I do have a DMR mobile radio I guess I could (at great personal self sacrifice LOL) throw that on the antenna and check too. I'll have to dig that radio out.
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