2 Meter/70 CM Activity In Your Area

[KJ4BDK]

I was wondering what kind of activity everyone gets on the 2 meter and 70 cm bands in their area. It seems its just about dead quiet in my area, just north of Fort Lauderdale. I dont know if my HT isnt reaching out far enough or if most of the activity is on HF. Sorry if this thread is a repeat, im fairly new to the board and amatuer radio.

73,
-Curt KJ4BDK

[k0dxc]

HF is by far more active, it isn't your ht, there is minimal, if any activity on 70cm around here, I would get HF


73

[k0dxc]

2M does have a bit of activity in the repeaters though



73

[wa9cwx]

Well, two is occupied, rather busy actually...But I really don't use the local repeater any more. Two FM simplex is so-so for activity, and SSB isn't like it USED to be, but some people still there, especially during contests.

440 is almost dead here..a FEW repeaters, but VERY active ion the Chicago area, 100 mi south east of me.

Frank

[ai4ep]

I dont know much about your area, but here in northwest Alabama I know of 2 - 2 meter repeater frequencies that are not being used...possibly due to no one has the money to get the frequencies.

146.780 has been open for about 2 years now.
147.210 has been open for over 6 months now.

the 78 machine went off the air due to the old owner sold it but the new owner aint put it back on the air ( if he ever intends to ??? )

the 21 machine supposedly went OFF THE AIR due to a lightning strike, and no one knows IF / WHEN it will go back , or how to contact the supposed owner...!!

no one knows anything about either one....but I would bet that if some one has some money in their hand that something COULD get done...!!

But if " john doe " with NO money attempts to get either of those frequencies, he proablably get told neither are available.......alabama politics ??

Dont believe me...do some research on your own and come up with another version ( I dont mind ) . :D :rolleyes: :eek:

No I dont want a ai4ep repeater, not enough money or patience.

[k0dxc]

Things are different up here, I don't even bother with 2M anymore, it's all HF for me

[K0RGR]

Two meter activity has never been overwhelming here - it comes in cycles.

It seems there are a lot of people monitoring at all times - when something comes up, they seem to appear out of nowhere. But you don't hear a lot of ragchewing - just a few old regulars. Our EchoLink-ed repeater gets quite a bit of traffic - my 'office' is right next to the gateway, and I can hear relays clicking when it's in use, even if I have the monitor speaker turned down. There are several folks - mostly younger hams - who use it to keep in touch with ham friends and family around the country.

We've had a few 'problem children' on our repeaters around here, and it only takes one to wipe out the 2 meter activity in an area. We've had a lunatic, a drunk, and a beggar up here in recent years. They monitor the repeaters with a scanner, and when somebody appears, they pounce on them. It doesn't take long for people to stop getting on the air. They just don't want to be hassled. The local radio club does try to work with the offenders, but it takes time, and the mentally ill are not receptive. Don't blame it on 'no code' - two of these three passed code tests - one was an Advanced Class.

Up here, the drunk chased off the beggar, the county got the drunk, and the lunatic was encouraged to leave town by the police and probation departments. All of this took time, though. I don't know if we'll ever get back to the former activity level.

[n2cfj]

I keep the 2/70 rig in the car on scan and haven't heard anything. I was chatting with the owner of a store around here that sells ham & cb stuff, (cb pays the rent but his heart is in the ham stuff). He said that in his opinion, no code allowed all the NCTs to get on HF and they lost interest in VHF & UHF. Years ago, morning and evening drive time would find a rotation of about 10 hams on the local repeaters.

[KD6NIG]

Out of about 20 repeaters I have programmed in here, 3 of them see activity. One is a local club machine, one is based in Tracy (why it gets used a lot I don't know, I'm guessing its just its proximity and coverage) and one is a 440 that has echolink capability, though thats only part of the traffic.

The rest seem to ID and on rare occasions get use.

You'll probably want to set up a scan bank with all of the local and semi-local (say within 20 miles) repeaters near you and just listen for a few days. You'll probably identify pretty quick which ones get the lions share of use.

Traffic has gone down, but its not a bad thing-if you want to actually have a conversation there are a few repeaters around here you can switch to that don't get much usage if you don't want to tie up a "busier" one.....

[KB1KIX]

Plenty here in CT.

Can't even get a frequency if you tried.

There are several linked systems that cover a good deal of the state.

I have noticed that the linked repeaters are active and the standalone machines are all but dead except for the occasional net.

Jonathan

[N8GAV]

We have two local repeters for 2m and they only seem to be used for WX net on Tuesday night and a local Sunday night net. 440 we had a repeter running for a while but, I think it been taken off the air it was linked to 147.060 but have not heard anyone using that Rpt for a while. Other then guys talking going back and forth to work 2m is dead around here

[ab9lz]

The Chicago area repeaters were quire dead, which was surprising considering the population density.

Down here in Charlotte, things seem to be much more active, I never used 2m much in the past, but now get on at least once a week during a day hikes in local state parks.

73 m/4

[k0dxc]

2 meters is sometimes active in the repeaters, but not much other than that

[N5USR]

In the OKC area, things are "moderate" on 2M. There are a few repeaters that see pretty regular use during drivetime, and there are a few nets through the week. Other than that they only get occasional traffic when I've monitored. Otherwise, every 2M pair is taken but unutilized - between machines that do nothing or (frequently) machines that are down (or never existed) but the owners won't release the pair.

Most of my time is spent on simplex, and there's almost always someone there. We aren't "politically correct" since we stay on 146.52, but on the other hand we've had many travellers driving through who comment that they've been on 52 for several states and OKC was the first place they found someone to talk to. We're quite accomodating though, and let people make calls and shut up when long-distance stuff starts coming in.

We are trying to get interest going again in 2M SSB - there used to be a fairly large group using it here, but between people moving and the lack of SSB rigs it died off. Now that the DC-daylight rigs are making it easy to get SSB people are starting to show up.

70cm is chock full of repeaters that do nothing. A few do have a small handful of regulars that get on to talk to each other, but that's about it. I listen to 446.0 simplex fairly often, and have heard a few people driving through on I-40 using it car-to-car but that's it.

[KS4VT]

I was wondering what kind of activity everyone gets on the 2 meter and 70 cm bands in their area. It seems its just about dead quiet in my area, just north of Fort Lauderdale. I dont know if my HT isnt reaching out far enough or if most of the activity is on HF. Sorry if this thread is a repeat, im fairly new to the board and amatuer radio.

73,
-Curt KJ4BDK


Curt,

For some reason Broward County isn't very busy, except for drive time on the Motorola 146.79 and during the SE Florida Traffic Net. I usually have a scanner on 24/7 in the shack and it scans most of the robust Broward and Palm Beach repeaters and other than net time, the Broward 146.61 and 146.91 aren't very busy.

Up here in Palm Beach the 146.82, 145.29 and 147.39 that are in Boca are pretty popular and there is usually someone around to answer a call. In West Palm Beach the 146.670 is the frequency of choice.

You didn't say what freq in particular your on but it maybe that "new call" syndrome is seting you apart from the locals. Feel free to stop by on 147.39, which is mine in Boca, and say Hi. I usually have something on listening and always on dring drive time.

As to 440 activity, its hit and miss. There are a lot of local repeaters but for some reason the activity just isn't there.

Chck out the FRC website that has all the listings for the Florida repeaters:
www.florida-repeaters.org

73
Mark KS4VT

[KC9IUX]

Up here, the drunk chased off the beggar, the county got the drunk, and the lunatic was encouraged to leave town by the police and probation departments.

LMAO!!!!!

It all worked out.:D

The Chicago FM Club has a pretty active 2M repeater.

A few here in IN get used on 2M, a little 70CM.

[KC2ESD]

In the Atlantic City area one local repeater is active on the week days and two others, a 2M and a 70M get used once a week for nets. There are a couple of link repeaters that are active since they are linked to repeaters in the Philadelphia area. Simplex action is above average due to me getting Hams in to it. We do have one Drunk/Mentaly Ill Extra Class Ham with only a VX-5R getting it to the 146.745 repeater. He has chaised alot of hams off the repeater but now the Hams around here are taking action such as ignoring him. Its starting to work, we don't hear the drunk as much and the local hams are returning to the repeater.

73 de Rick KC2ESD

[KJ4BDK]

Curt,

For some reason Broward County isn't very busy, except for drive time on the Motorola 146.79 and during the SE Florida Traffic Net. I usually have a scanner on 24/7 in the shack and it scans most of the robust Broward and Palm Beach repeaters and other than net time, the Broward 146.61 and 146.91 aren't very busy.

Up here in Palm Beach the 146.82, 145.29 and 147.39 that are in Boca are pretty popular and there is usually someone around to answer a call. In West Palm Beach the 146.670 is the frequency of choice.

You didn't say what freq in particular your on but it maybe that "new call" syndrome is seting you apart from the locals. Feel free to stop by on 147.39, which is mine in Boca, and say Hi. I usually have something on listening and always on dring drive time.

As to 440 activity, its hit and miss. There are a lot of local repeaters but for some reason the activity just isn't there.

Chck out the FRC website that has all the listings for the Florida repeaters:
www.florida-repeaters.org

73
Mark KS4VT


I have been monitoring the 146.82 machine, and have made a few contacts, but it does seem like the same people using the repeater. Thats great I'll try and call you tommorow. Look out for KJ4BDK in Boca.

-Curt

[k0cmh]

2 meters is pretty active around St. Louis. You can find a conversation almost any time of the day, by scanning the many repeaters in the area. Evenings up to about 10:00 pm find about 6 repeaaters failry busy. Lots of local 2 meter club nets at night also.

[K1VSR]

Around here, there's plenty of activity on 2m, be it on sideband, FM simplex or repeaters. There are a few wide-area coverage machines that get plenty of use and then there are local-area coverage machines which normally have small groups that use them. 70cm isn't quite as active. There is a bit of activity on a few of the repeaters, but FM simplex and 432 sideband is all but nonexistant. 1.25m is also somewhat active around here. There are a number of repeaters which get used easily as much if not more than some 2m repeaters, and there's also a group of us around which talk on 223.460 simplex very regularly.

The reason why VHF and UHF isn't as active as it once was is very simple. Back in the 70s and 80s, people got on VHF and UHF so they could talk with their friends for free. In those days, a friend 3 or 4 towns over was easily a long distance call. Nowadays with cell phones, e-mail, the Internet, etc., VHF radio is no longer necessary to talk to friends. Because of that, you've seen that facet of people shift to other means of communications, leaving those of us who just like radio because it's radio, thus why activity has decreased to what we see today.

[KS4VT]

I have been monitoring the 146.82 machine, and have made a few contacts, but it does seem like the same people using the repeater. Thats great I'll try and call you tommorow. Look out for KJ4BDK in Boca.

-Curt

np...talk to you then Curt.