In a message dated 2/22/2007 11:40:17 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
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? 1) Yes 2) Cellular phones, internet 3) Probably nothing short of natural or terrorist caused disaster that obliterates terrestial communications. The reason for the waiting list for coordinating pairs even in the presence of declining repeater usage is because there is generally no requirement for a repeater to maintain a threshold activity level after coordination. Implementing such a requirement to retain coordination would undoubtedly free up pairs, but man, it would get ugly. <BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR> AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
