Hi Ken,
It may be that way in Montana (one of my favorite places in the summer)
but it's not that way in CA. Output tones on a repeater are common here
because of the repeater density (simple proximity, co-channel or by
distance) and because summer ducting is common.
It's a poor mans noise filter. Many of our 'communities' are larger
than Billings or Helena (together) and the cities are obscenities. The
RF noise floor can be rough. Using output tones on a repeater makes a
huge difference for users.
Even where I live, in suburbia, the local club uses an output tone on
all of our repeaters (6, 2, 220, 440 and 900) and there is no other 2M
channel user for 200 miles, rare here.
I'd bet that most metro areas of size (DFW, NYC) also use output tones
on ham repeaters. It's a simple means to lower user irritation from
other radio systems.
We're starting to see more DPL used as well.
No, to the original poster, the K3 does not listen for tones. I'm sure
it could be added, but frankly I'd rather the team works on other
things. Use of tones on 10/6M (stock K3 feature) repeaters is common
here and the percentage of folks using 2M transverters for repeaters is
a small percentage of the whole. There isn't much demand or return on
engineering time to change the K3 to decode.
I use a commercial radio on 6M repeaters (except when remoting from my
station while traveling) and a dual band radio for 2M/440. It's simpler
in the long run and they have the decode features, plus I can listen to
the local DX repeater without tying up the K Line. ;o)
73,
Rick wa6nhc
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