3 of the 7 coordinated 2-meter repeaters in my area are quite active. 6 are actually on-the-air. One of the active repeaters is currently getting a facelift which should increase its activity even more.
One of the machines I maintain currently runs Echolink and is linked with a WX-200 weather station to provide real-time weather information. We also run an APRS WX Station from the same site. The repeater is used weekly for the clubs VHF net and also to provide communications for the Christmas Parade and our Santa Patrol. We are also beginning to get a group that is interested in storm spotting, so expect we'll have a good spotters net next year. This machine will soon be linked to our other machine, about 25 miles away, providing us with some wider-area coverage and allowing our ARES organizations from several counties to team up. I'd also like to have a 2-meter remote base for the WX Spotters so they can link to cooperating (but not member) systems in the outlying areas to help fill in some holes. Generally, there is somebody listening 24-7. Obviously drive-time is the busiest, but there is activity all day from about 0600 - 2300 or so. I've been using my computer to record repeater traffic for the past several weeks, and I have good evidence to show that we have good activity for the majority of the day. We do have several advantages. We're close to I-75 and we run no PL tone, so it's easy for passers-by to access us. We also are host to Robins Air Force Base, the single largest employer in the State of Georgia, so even through we're a small town, we get a lot of visitors and newcomers. Yes. there are some inactive systems here, but everybody cooperates and if we have an outage of one of the main systems, the backups fill in the gaps. 73, Mike WM4B From: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com [mailto:repeater-buil...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Tony L. Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 2:45 PM To: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Repeater-Builder] Amateur Radio Repeater Usage We're continuing to experience a significant drop off in usage of ham repeaters (all bands) in the Northern NJ area. It is not uncommon to find a repeater that has been dormant for months. What's it like in your part of the country?
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