I see the same thing even in the big cities - Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Vancouver B.C., etc. As you tune across 2-Meters, 220 and 440 MHz, most Repeaters are quiet, most of the time. You can often scan the entire band(s) from a clear location and never hear one signal.
With all of the high-quality retired commercial equipment, duplexers, linking equipment, etc. that has come available from government agencies (often for free) over the last 15-20 years as people move to frequency ranges like 800-MHz, just about all VHF and UHF ham Repeater frequencies now have a Repeater coordinated to them in the bigger metro areas. Homeland Security and local government agencies have made funds and radio sites available to many hams for their Repeater projects. There appear to be just about as many Repeaters now as there are users to actually talk on them! LJ -----Original Message----- >From: "Tony L." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Sent: Feb 22, 2007 11:36 AM >To: [email protected] >Subject: [Repeater-Builder] OT- Activity Level On Ham Repeaters Way Down In My >Area > >The number of active ham repeaters in my area is way, way down in >comparison to levels of 10 years ago. It isn't uncommon to monitor a >repeater frequency and hear no traffic for weeks. Some clubs & >individuals have just walked away from coordinated pairs. > >However, there are a few repeaters that have remained active, although >certainly not to the extent they were in the past. Interestingly, even >though traffic is way down, there's still a waiting list in my area for >coordinated pairs on all bands. > >Questions: > >1) Has there been a decline in traffic and the number of active >repeaters in your area? > >2) If so, what do you feel the primary cause is? > >3) What can be done to generate renewed interest? > > >
