Re: [Repeater-Builder] OT- Activity Level On Ham Repeaters Way Down In My Area

[Nate Bargmann]

* Tony L. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [2007 Feb 22 13:40 -0600]:

> 1) Has there been a decline in traffic and the number of active 
> repeaters in your area?

Not really.  Activity has always been spares, even when I was first
licensed as a Tech in 1985.  We have a low density of hams to begin
with since this is a rural area and even fewer of those are active.

> 2) If so, what do you feel the primary cause is?

I always blamed on the low number of hams and our work schedules. 
Personal lives don't mesh much at all usually.  Back when packet was
the going thing, it was very popular here because we could communicate
in without having to match schedules.  Email has replaced packet over
the years as it is faster to give the group the same message.  Even
when I ran a BBS, most would not check it for mail even.

> 3) What can be done to generate renewed interest?

Everyone needs to present a friendly attitude.  Be welcoming and engage
people in conversation.  Activity begets activity which is a bit of a
catch-22, I know.  As WY0X pointed out earlier, friends have a lot of
conversations, and that is the key--friendship.

73, de Nate >>

-- 
 Wireless | Amateur Radio Station N0NB  |  Successfully Microsoft
  Amateur radio exams; ham radio; Linux info @  | free since January 1998.
 http://www.qsl.net/n0nb/   |  "Debian, the choice of
 My Kawasaki KZ-650 SR @| a GNU generation!"
http://www.networksplus.net/n0nb/   |   http://www.debian.org

Re: [Repeater-Builder] OT- Activity Level On Ham Repeaters Way Down In My Area

[Nate Duehr]

On 2/23/07, Mike Morris WA6ILQ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:



Well all the good (and not so good) sites are now owned by nationwide
conglomerates that are run by accountants, with site managers that
are more bill collector than radio tech (ever try to explain to an
accountant
why a 931mhz paging transmitter needs a circulator and a pass cavity?).
Nobody has the desire or the ability do a freebie.



There's something interesting to be seen in your reply here Mike, if we look
deeper.  Shorty's system is basically a "conglomerate" itself.  Perhaps the
only way to "beat" the giants is to join them?

Our club is pretty big too... four sites, more than that number of
repeaters.

Perhaps what we're REALLY lamenting here is that it's difficult (in every
field) for individuals to do business with corporate giants.  That's true
everywhere, in everything.

But a large club has resources to deal with the large site owners.

The downside to running a large club is that it's a full-time job just
keeping up with the paperwork.  You need a small army of people to handle
various things -- no individual can do a large club alone.

The individual that owns a site and sees a chance to let someone with

a knack for electronics learn something while having fun with 25 year
old radios that were slated for the junk pile is long gone.



Yeah but you can still learn those things with a "backyard" repeater on a
small tower.  People that really want to learn put things up... I've seen
hams call up their buddies (through our repeater... ha...) and discuss when
they'll be over to put up the repeater antenna on the other guy's tower,
where they're going to run the hardline, etc.  (I just laughed and chuckled
to myself -- they were using our repeater to coordinate the build-out of
another one... heh.  Should I have been offended?  Nahh. GRIN...)

And if you join one of the "conglomerate clubs" (new name?) and show even a
modicum of technical prowess, the existing techs will happily teach...

If you show up and claim you know everything there is to know already, that
doesn't work... it's all about attitude.

One of the reasons, of course, is that the stakes are higher.  I bet Shorty
can't (not won't... CAN'T) let just anyone wrench on his club's repeaters...
he would run the risk of cutting off a large portion of the network if he
let the wrong person without the right experience and attitude work on a
backbone link, for example.

But seriously -- he has "safety in numbers"... and I think he might have hit
on something -- how to handle the changes in site ownership and prices...
one way is to simply get bigger.

Our club would NEVER be able to charge what a West Coast system or East
Coast system can reasonably charge for membership... but our site costs are
(a little) lower, and we run donation drives for specific projects... if we
want something bad enough, people cough up a little extra cash and everyone
enjoys it... whatever it is... and we save up our sheckles to do big
projects that no one's interested in (like upgrade controllers -- only the
techies care)...

I'm not saying it's truth, just asking -- is one technique for dealing with
bigger site owners to get bigger ourselves?

Nate WY0X

Re: [Repeater-Builder] OT- Activity Level On Ham Repeaters Way Down In My Area

[Jim B.]

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?

No. If anything, there are more repeaters. But the activity is about the 
same, so there are now 'busy' repeaters and 'quiet' repeaters. (And then 
there's the paper repeaters...)

> 2) If so, what do you feel the primary cause is?

It is true that people communicate more on the internet then just 
picking up a mic...sorta like right here on the list...;c}

> 3) What  can be done to generate renewed interest? 

I don't see a lack of interest in amateur radio as such, but there is a 
lack of interest in public service events and emergency communications. 
The number of hams involved in that area has dropped off. Do I have an 
answer? No-if I did, I'd do something about it...

[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> 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. 

And would be an incredibly stupid idea. The vast majority of the 
repeaters whose owners are pro-actively letting their repeaters be used 
for emergency communications are the least used. And that's a good 
thing, because then it's available when it's needed. While I firmly 
believe that a radio system needs to be used on a regular basis so 
people are familiar with it, by the same token, if it's tied up all day 
long with superfluous chit-chat between a couple of truck drivers that 
don't even live in the area, and wouldn't know how to help in an 
emergency anyway, the repeater is of little use either.

> ** AOL now offers free 
> email to everyone.  Find out more about what's free from AOL at 
> http://www.aol.com.
> 

What the heck is this? Please post in plain text, not HTML!

-- 
Jim Barbour
WD8CHL

Re: [Repeater-Builder] OT- Activity Level On Ham Repeaters Way Down In My Area

[Jim B.]

[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> 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.

For the most part though, even at it's peak, repeaters were not very 
busy during the day, unless there was a couple of old f***s sitting at 
home tying it up all day, which is something we had to put a stop to. 
Guys that could easily talk simplex parking on a repeater all day 
instead is just not good practice. Not to mention that they were being 
heard on 3-4 different repeaters in the summer.
Most people are at work during the day, so the busiest time is mornings 
and evenings-"drive time".
-- 
Jim Barbour
WD8CHL

Re: [Repeater-Builder] OT- Activity Level On Ham Repeaters Way Down In My Area

[Nick Papadonis]

I agree, repeater us is down.  

Maybe features such as Echolink, IRLP or DStar/AMBE digitial voice will 
generate interest?  For instance, with Echolink you can enter in another user's 
callsign and have your repeater "remotely connect" to the other user's one 
(providing your friend has identified with their local repeater).  I.e 
establishing a connection between two repeaters via callsign lookup service.  
While this feature only works using IP address now, it could be applied to work 
with frequency and direction.  I.e. a second digitally controlled frequency 
agile radio connected to the repeater and digitally controlled rotator.  This 
is also an interesting concept.

Nick

- Original Message 
From: Jack Taylor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2007 3:46:48 PM
Subject: Re: [Repeater-Builder] OT- Activity Level On Ham Repeaters Way Down In 
My Area









  







1) The number of repeaters in our area has 
increased slightly but the activity on any of them

is way-way down,  One local put a recorder on 
the output of one popular repeater channel

and found over a 24 hour period, it was in use less 
than 1% of the time.  Even the newer

IRLP and EchoLink repeaters attract very little 
interest.

 

2) Suspect the primary cause of the decline is due 
to alternative means of communication

being available.  Without a doubt, cell phones 
provide private communications world-wide

just about everywhere and whenever and, at 
relatively inexpensive prices.  Multi-channels

of TV with multi-content delivered via cable and 
satellite attract attention during the evening hours.

Ditto with satellite delivered multi-content radio 
channels available when mobile.  Then too of course,

are the ham forums on the internet such as this 
one, that competes for our time on the radio.

 

3) IMO this trend will not reverse but gradually 
continue.  A possible parallel would be packet radio.

In the beginning just as it was with repeaters, 
there was a rush to install packet network nodes

over most of the US.  Clubs and individuals 
were proud to be involved with the 'digital revolution.

User interest waned and as time passed the network 
deteriated.  Today there are very few

"live" users.

 

73 de Jack -  N7OO

 


  - Original Message - 

  From: 
  Tony 
  L. 

  To: Repeater-Builder@ yahoogroups. com 
  

  Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2007 12:36 
  PM

  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? 




  



  

Re: [Repeater-Builder] OT- Activity Level On Ham Repeaters Way Down In My Area

[Mike Morris WA6ILQ]

Comments in the text.

At 02:49 PM 02/22/07, you wrote:


"Tony L." [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote…

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?

Shorty K6JSI answers:

1) Some repeaters yes, our repeaters, no.

2) Cell phones, Ipod, computers, 100s of TV channels, etc.

3) Bring in young people to the hobby.  Make 
your repeater interesting to younger people.  Do 
things they enjoy doing.  Make being on the air more desirable to them.


I own and operate the Western Intertie Network, 
or the WIN System.  We have 44 repeaters linked 
together 24/7, with lots of activity.  We are in 
13 States and Three Countries.  Since 2000 we 
have averaged 60 new members a year (at $120 a year dues).


And no, that's not a typo.  Fourty-four separate repeaters.  Plus the
point-to-point RF links.  Almost all are 100w UHF Mastr IIs, some
are MVPs.  Most of the link radios are MVPs.

Make it interesting and they will come.  You are 
competing with a lot of splashy media out there, 
but nothing is as exciting as good two way 
communications through your own hand held 
radio.  Make the younger generation realize that.


Jeff (Shorty) Stouffer, K6JSI
Home:  760/ 724-4020
Cell:  760/ 716-7033
The WIN System
The American Red Cross
winsystem.org
flataudio.com

Western Intertie Network
www.winsystem.org


That web site above is worth looking over.  Some of the
coverage maps will astound the east coast folks.

One of the things that the groups does is have monthly
breakfasts where everybody is welcome, licensed or not.
For a long time the San Diego breakfast was at a family-
owned restaurant that didn't have breakfast hours - the
normal Saturday hours were 11am to 1am.  Somebody
talked to the owner and convinced him to have a cook
and two waitresses come in at 8am and do a buffet
breakfast just for the WinSystem
a crowd of over 30 folks each month made it worth it.

Another is to have an IRLP reflector nailed up 7x24.
Anybody can punch up reflector 9453 and join in.
Especially for the INSOMNIAC NET...
7 nights a week, 11:00 PM Pacific Time ... Every night
all of Southern California and portions of the known world
via IRLP.
There are regular checkins from Down Under, and Europe.

You can also listen via the streaming audio 
available at 



While 11pm Pacific is probably way to late (early?) for
most of the folks reading this there is no reason that
you couldn't "take a listen" some night with a tape
recorder tied to the Line Out jack on your computer's
sound card (listening to the streamed audio).  Then
play the tape on your way to work...

And the WinSystem and the Insomniac Net welcomes
the scanner folks... I don't check in to that net too often,
maybe 2-4 times a month, but remember hearing the net
control acknowledge the scanner folks that emailed their
answers to the trivia questions to the net control during
the net.
Shorty puts out a regular emailed newsletter and has a
paragraph of text on each new member - I remember
reading that several of them went out and got their tech
class licenses due to just that kind of encouragement.

And in answer to the posed questions, I will state that thirty
years ago several 2m repeaters in this area had PTT times
measured in the 5 to 10 hours per day range, depending on
day of the week.  I'd be very surprised if today they are over
15 hours per month range.  Some have joined interlinked
systems and while their hours may be similar the content
is redundant to other systems... i.e. 5 repeaters with 1/5 the
total users still have the same airtime.

Cellphones are the major cost.  The "entrance fee" to ham
radio is the time to get the license, the effort to learn
something (the technology) that is totally foreign to most
folks (how many adults can actually program a VCR or a
TiVo?) then add the cost of the radios.
A cellphone is a signature on a form and $30 per month.
Plus it's reasonably secure - which a ham radio is definitely
not.

One reason that nobody has mentioned is that the sweetheart
site deals are dying off.  Back in the 60s and 70s, end even into
the early 80s you could get a good site by having one person that
knew a site owner make a phone call.
One of my first sites was acquired that way - a friend made a phone
call and I was allowed

Re: [Repeater-Builder] OT- Activity Level On Ham Repeaters Way Down In My Area

[no6b]

At 2/22/2007 11:36, you wrote:
>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?

Yes & no.  In terms of "total TX time", I'd say no decline & maybe even an 
increase.  However, the number of "simultaneous QSOs" in a given region is 
way down.  The reason is with less traffic on the bands, more systems are 
linking together.  This is good for providing improved coverage, but it 
also results in many systems retransmitting the same traffic.  Sometimes I 
can hear the same QSO on over half a dozen frequencies, & often these 
multiple systems aren't that far apart in location.  Occasionally I'll even 
hear the same traffic coming out 2 different repeaters at the same site!

So I guess one could say we're making good use of our spectrum, just not 
very efficiently.  Given the reduced amount of actual communicating going 
on, maybe it doesn't matter?

Bob NO6B



>2) If so, what do you feel the primary cause is?
>
>3) What can be done to generate renewed interest?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Yahoo! Groups - Join or create groups, clubs, forums & communities. Links
>
>
>
>

Re: [Repeater-Builder] OT- Activity Level On Ham Repeaters Way Down In My Area

[Nate Duehr]

On 2/22/07, Tony L. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Questions:
>
> 1) Has there been a decline in traffic and the number of active
> repeaters in your area?

Reading everyone else's comments, I'm almost embarrassed to say this but...
Our activity level in our club has been going up here in Denver.
Especially on our wide-coverage VHF standalone rag-chew machine.

Usage of our large VHF/220 linked system is flat or down a little.
Usage of our autopatch is -- nil.  Usage of our IRLP links... high.

The UHF machines have always sat quiet most of the day, but seem to
have a little activity once in a while, with the exception of the
high-coverage UHF machine that has EchoIRLP on it.

That one's getting a work-out... but it covers easily from Cheyenne,
WY (we've had mobiles use it from 5 miles East of Laramie, WY) to the
ridge-line between Colorado Springs and Denver to the south, and
virtually the entire population of the Denver Metropolitan area, minus
Boulder, CO... it's shadowed into there.  3-4 million people in the
coverage area of that one machine -- probably 20-25 regular users.

I always use that machine to call other tech-heads I've met through
IRLP, the IRLP Convention in Las Vegas a few years ago, and other
out-of-towners who've moved away or whatever... that want to keep in
touch via IRLP.

Another local ham calls the Vancouver area virtually every day on
it... and there's a rowdy bunch up there... who are fun to talk with.

(We have such a high density of good well-set-up IRLP enabled
repeaters around here, that when people leave Denver for good...
moving, job change, etc... they set up IRLP nodes where they move to,
so they can call back here and say hello once in a while.  You get
used to having it available to you.)

> 2) If so, what do you feel the primary cause is?

New hams and content.  Some hams tend to only participate in the
regularly scheduled Nets on the big linked VHF system -- there's a Net
just about every night of the week, with various special interests
running each one.

The new hams are on the air and rag-chewing, and just as interested as
I was when I started in the early 90's.

http://www.w0cra.org/info/nets.html

I daresay (and have said it on the air too) that our club's repeaters
wouldn't be very interesting without those groups using them.  We
enjoy having them around!  We would be pretty dead without 'em.

As far as the rag-chew goes... it gets mighty crazy on our wide-area
VHF system... almost to the point of too crazy... and we've always
kinda let it "go there"... as long as it stays legal and relatively
sane...

Hams with any desire to have an orderly and simple conversation,
usually walk away from their rigs shaking their heads when they listen
to that system... and once in a while I have to send out notices to
people to back off of certain topics, etc... (We pride ourselves on
being a system that FAMILIES can use, so no matter what the FCC
says... sexual innuendo and topics are generally in poor taste no
matter how you slice it... always assume kids are listening.)

The doubling has been so bad that a new phrase popped up this last
year... (people don't wait for the courtesy tone at all on that
system, which grates at my nerves, but whatever...)... people key up,
say a few words, say "check for double", unkey and then continue.
Kinda funny.  Sometimes people turn it into a personal zinger.. "Check
for Nate"... Ha...

Many local older hams HATE how that repeater sounds and came
complaining to me when it was down a year ago -- begging us to put it
back on the air since the ragchewers had migrated to their repeaters.
People sometimes call it the "trash repeater", but I've heard REAL
trash repeaters in Los Angeles... and it's definitely NOT that.

So... I laughed quietly to myself all the way to the PA replacement...
WE HAVE ACTIVITY... their machines sit quiet... and dead... most of
the day.

(So yes... overall activity is probably down... but not our systems!)

That repeater is not for the faint of heart, or the easily annoyed...
but it's almost always active... which in turn ends up being a
continuous advertisement for the club...

New hams buy a new inexpensive VHF radio, hit scan, hear activity
there, find out it's our club, and then they look up our info, find we
have plenty of other repeaters also... and join.

Whether everyone likes it or not, that machine attracts all the
newbies.  And we work hard to foster a welcoming attitude (even
slowing down the speed of the discussion, and the  doubling... LOL...)
when we hear a new voice or callsign.  In fact, as club President I
monitor over there almost all the time -- just to break in and welcome
newbies.  Because that's where they are...

We also go out of our way to send a paper letter of welcome to every
new person we hear.  I can't take any credit for that part -- we have
a couple of GREAT volunteers in our club that handle that.

> 3) What can be done to generate renewed interest?

It's all about content... if you don

RE: [Repeater-Builder] OT- Activity Level On Ham Repeaters Way Down In My Area

[Barry C']

In my part of the world the base F call additions (and dropping of code)  , 
thats a very base ticket has resulted in a decent amount of activity and 
many of them upgrade to more power etc quickly , the dropping of code was a 
good idea because of the vhf restricteds accessing HF although some stick in 
the muds decry these advances it does improve activity , specific control is 
required and the 10 watts max tends to make these calls learn about qrp and 
making the most which I belive is a good way to enter radio .


>From: "Tony L." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Reply-To: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com
>To: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [Repeater-Builder] OT- Activity Level On Ham Repeaters Way Down In 
>My Area
>Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 19:36:50 -
>
>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?
>
>
>

_
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Re: [Repeater-Builder] OT- Activity Level On Ham Repeaters Way Down In My Area

[DaveH]

Hi,
There has been no decline in repeater use here. As a matter of fact it's 
getting busier than ever. After next week I suspect there will be even more 
traffic. I hold a "TECH NET" on our local machine one a week.  It's usually 
handled as a "round table". works extremely well.
73
David R. Henry LME
Licensed Master Electrician
Amateur Radio  W2DRH
Member ARRL
Accredited Instructor

- Original Message - 
From: "Tony L." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: 
Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2007 2:36 PM
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?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups - Join or create groups, clubs, forums & communities. 
> Links
>
>
>
>
> 

Re: [Repeater-Builder] OT- Activity Level On Ham Repeaters Way Down In My Area

[Jack Taylor]

1) The number of repeaters in our area has increased slightly but the activity 
on any of them
is way-way down,  One local put a recorder on the output of one popular 
repeater channel
and found over a 24 hour period, it was in use less than 1% of the time.  Even 
the newer
IRLP and EchoLink repeaters attract very little interest.

2) Suspect the primary cause of the decline is due to alternative means of 
communication
being available.  Without a doubt, cell phones provide private communications 
world-wide
just about everywhere and whenever and, at relatively inexpensive prices.  
Multi-channels
of TV with multi-content delivered via cable and satellite attract attention 
during the evening hours.
Ditto with satellite delivered multi-content radio channels available when 
mobile.  Then too of course,
are the ham forums on the internet such as this one, that competes for our time 
on the radio.

3) IMO this trend will not reverse but gradually continue.  A possible parallel 
would be packet radio.
In the beginning just as it was with repeaters, there was a rush to install 
packet network nodes
over most of the US.  Clubs and individuals were proud to be involved with the 
'digital revolution.
User interest waned and as time passed the network deteriated.  Today there are 
very few
"live" users.

73 de Jack -  N7OO

  - Original Message - 
  From: Tony L. 
  To: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2007 12:36 PM
  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? 



   

Re: [Repeater-Builder] OT- Activity Level On Ham Repeaters Way Down In My Area

[Tedd Doda]

On Thu, 22 Feb 2007 19:36:50 -, Tony L. wrote:

>3) What can be done to generate renewed interest? 

Everyone else gave good answers for #1 and #2.

As for #3, link as many repeaters as you can. We have 4
UHF machines linked 24/7 (see link below) and also have
Echolink and IRLP available. What a blast! The uptime for
the system would easily exceed all the individual repeaters
put together. Why? Larger audience. The chances of putting
out your call and having someone actually there to reply
is much greater.

Just my $0.02 worth...

Tedd Doda, VE3TJD
Lazer Audio and Electronics
Baden, Ontario, Canada

www.ve3tjd.com (personal)
www.eraradio.ca (Linked repeater system)

[Repeater-Builder] OT- Activity Level On Ham Repeaters Way Down In My Area

[Ted Bleiman K9MDM - MDM Radio]

this was inevitable. the hobby ages twice as fast
as new hams get licensed.even faster in some
areas. It stands to reason that sooner of later
activity on the bands will reach a point where
the FCC says we are not using the channels and
they take back the spectrum and sell it to
cellfones, data, or some other big money
interest. HAMS are not a big source of money the
government can tap for spectrum. Most wouldn't 
tony L
spend $5 to save the hobby they claim to
love.They will  spend hours and hours talking to
other hams who also wouldn't spend $5 to continue
it.
As the older population dies off there is no one
to take their place hence silence. It other words
the "Silence of the HAMS"...taint funny mcgee
220 should have been a lesson...unlearned...cb
was a lesson...unlearned...micorwave spectrum
that has been taken back or changed to a shared
basis of operation...we'll be back on 80 meters
AM if this keeps up. Got the idea
mdm ted
--- "Tony L." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:


  Ted Bleiman K9MDM
  MDM  Radio" If its in stock...we've got it!"
P O Box 31353
Chicago, IL 60631-0353 
773.631.5130  fax 773.775.8096  
   
  web http://www.mdmradio.com - 
   email -  [EMAIL PROTECTED] <<< DIRECT ALL EMAIL 












 

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Re: [Repeater-Builder] OT- Activity Level On Ham Repeaters Way Down In My Area

[cruising7388]

 
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. 
** AOL now offers free 
email to everyone.  Find out more about what's free from AOL at 
http://www.aol.com.

Re: [Repeater-Builder] OT- Activity Level On Ham Repeaters Way Down In My Area

[[EMAIL PROTECTED]]

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: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com
>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? 
>
>
>

Re: [Repeater-Builder] OT- Activity Level On Ham Repeaters Way Down In My Area

[Bob M.]

Computers and the internet, cell phones, satellite
radio, iPods, and now the ease of getting your very
own "amateur" CB callsign, so you can chat with all
your good buddies.

I can guarantee that if the coordinating body starts
asking questions about all these idle repeaters,
they'll instantly become busy for a few weeks. No one
wants to give up their nice quite, private frequency
pair.

Bob M.
==
--- "Tony L." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> 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?


 

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Re: [Repeater-Builder] OT- Activity Level On Ham Repeaters Way Down In My Area

[Steve Bosshard \(NU5D\)]

Same here in Central Texas - most repeaters dead - 2M, 440 as well - nothing 
to talk about.  We do have a Monday night 2M net that garners 10 to 15 
checkin's from a population of 54 K in the primary city and 248K in the 
repeater coverage area (Bell County of Texas).  Only activity is occasional 
QSO's on the Club repeater and weather spotting on the ARES repeater - not 
much else.  sb 

Re: [Repeater-Builder] OT- Activity Level On Ham Repeaters Way Down In My Area

[mch]

1. Yes. 
2. Internet/Cellphones 
3. I have no idea. Wish I did. More disasters that prove the worth would
help, but I certainly don't want to promote that.

Joe M.

Tony L. wrote:
> 
> 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?

[Repeater-Builder] OT- Activity Level On Ham Repeaters Way Down In My Area

[Tony L.]

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?