All, Thanks for the comments... Looks like I have plenty to research and keep me busy for a while.
I notice alot of people here use converted comercial radios for repeaters. How available are these?? A quick search on e-bay did not show a large number of hits... but maybe the availability is cyclical... Thanks again, Lou --- In Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com, Nate Duehr <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi Lou, > > I'll throw out my wishes for you to have fun and enjoy building a > repeater, but I'll also throw up in the air my usual comment to all > budding repeater-builder type folks... > > Find a local club that needs help. There's ALWAYS someone locally that > needs help with an existing repeater or system! (Or move to Denver, > we'll put you to work!!) > > Repeaters need maintenance, not a lot, if they're built right, but > there's always "something" to be done/checked every year or so. > > And every few years, you might have some tower/antenna work to do, and > every few other years maybe some measurements to take critically with > good test gear to see if the repeater is still performing to baseline > specifications that you measured a few years before that... and... > things fail... or get blown up by lightning... > > Well, the list goes on and on... it never stops, really. After you get > picky about audio you can start obsessing about that, and come up with a > project list twice as long and difficult as the "just get it on the air > and working" list! There's always something to analyze, think about, > and try to make better... without making it worse. > > Many clubs/organizations are short of qualified folks to work on their > systems. There's lots of "radio operators" out there, happy to use the > systems, but the number of techs who'll work on them -- it is a very > small group of people in most populated areas. In rural areas, you > really might find 3-4 people total who REALLY do repeaters right. > > (Hint: Pick repeaters in your area that seem to have better performance > than others in the area and then look up the callsign. Find out who > owns/operates it and approach those people. FIND THOSE techs... they > "did it right".) > > If you read up on EVERYTHING you find at the Repeater-Builder website > about your club/local organization's repeaters, and all the general > information there -- and there's a LOT!... > > Then start asking around to find out who the REAL repeater techs are in > your local organizations (hint: it's not always who talks about it the > most on the air!), you'll probably find some of the best people you've > ever met in Ham Radio. > > Try to meet a few people that do this stuff... get a feel for the local > "community" of repeater builders. Many people think the folks in charge > of certain clubs don't work with other clubs in the area, and often -- > although not always -- this isn't true. Most of the folks doing this > stuff do know and work with each other on problems, even if their clubs > "compete". > > Many repeater builder types are willing to Elmer new folks along in > return for some help on their systems. NOT ALL are, though -- some are > crotchety old grumpy coots who won't talk to anyone. Don't worry about > it, all aspects of this hobby have both types. (GRIN) > > And their biggest "turn-off" will be if you show up once, and never come > back. Make a commitment to stick around for a while, you'll learn some > interesting things. Repeaters are fairly different from many types of > Amateur Radio... a "specialty" if you will, within the hobby. And can > be quite challenging to get "right". > > Showing someone the ropes kinda requires a commitment from both sides > that is a little notch above this just being a "hobby". Especially if a > lot of folks are counting on a particular repeater or repeater system. > > Okay, off the soap box... plenty of well-wishers here, and folks who'll > answer questions. Off ya go! Find a repeater that needs fixing! > > (By the way, no harm done building a typical "back-yard" repeater to do > some learning. Hopefully your area has some frequency pairs set aside > for "experimentation" and/or "non-protected" use. Those are a great > open "playground" where you can learn a lot, and not have to deal with > coordinating the repeater at first... just be courteous to others also > using those pairs, if your area has them.) > > Nate WY0X >
