I think I really agree with you, calling a brief CQ is not a bad idea these days. Sometimes, I monitor a single repeater, but there are simply too many here now, so I miss people on the other local machine when I do that. So, I have a rig set up to scan all the repeaters I can hear well. The scanning is fairly quick, but I do miss short calls. I do think that a big part of the problem is that we have too few hams spread out over too many repeaters. There needs to be a 'critical mass' of activity to keep a repeater busy, and very few repeaters achieve that. Scanning helps, and another thing that helps is linking repeaters, increasing the effective coverage area and audience. In my frequent travels, I find most of the activity on linked repeater systems, and these days, many of those are digital.
I recall when I was first licensed back in 1980 reading the ARRL FM and Repeaters book. I think I saw that old saw about not calling CQ on repeaters there. Unfortunately, I think what the advice forgot to add was, "Do not call a long CQ like on HF on a repeater". That makes little sense on a single channel but as a friend in Salt Lake City mentioned, he wants to give a general call to tell other hams he wants to talk. We already have the perfect phrase for that, "CQ". In that spirit, a single "CQ this is NY4I" makes perfect sense. CQ 2 CQ 2 CQ 2 this is NOVEMBER YANKEE FOUR INDIA, NY4I calling CQ hello CQ" clearly does not make sense on the repeater. As already mentioned, when someone comes back to let you know you do not call CQ on a repeater, you can have a fun conversation by asking "Why?". That's just one more of the things ham repeat ad nauseam without really understanding why they are saying it...SWRs, anyone? Tom NY4I
They need a voice record memory on the 2M rigs so you can dump a macro load of dribble (PSK 31 ref.) while setting back doing your nails.......
"This is AD5KO, Andrew in Winnfield calling CQ" on 2m repeaters sometimes. I also do "CQ CQ CQ, this is AD5KO, Andrew in Winnfield Louisiana calling CQ in EM31QV" on 2m FM. But I almost always do this with a grin, unless I can't get anyone which happens sometimes. I give my name in case someone can't remember who I am but knows my call. I give my name checking into nets for the same reason, it works.
Newbie here, getting ready to take my technician exam tonight. My first transmission is going to be a CQ on one of the local repeaters. After reading this thread and watching KN4AQ's video, I'm very curious what kind of response I'll get. I've been scanning all of the area 2m and 70cm repeaters for around a week now, and I'll admit to being disappointed at the level of traffic I'm hearing. I've been able to listen in to a few morning conversations, and I caught an an informational broadcast of Amateur Radio Newsline, but it's mostly silence.
like anything in this hobby, you need to make noise to be acknowledged, I call CQ on HF all the time, why not try it on FM. Too many people listening and not transmitting
I get on the local repeater and or simplex in my car, announce my call and say" listening" perhaps someone would come back to me. Hit or miss. Oh yeah, when I first got my tech license, I called CQ on the repeater a few times since I only had a Vertex 150.
Even if you don't use the term 'CQ', a longer call is certainly helpful, and above all, be sure to indicate where you are listening. I scan about 30 repeaters here, and unless it's on D-Star, I have no way of know which repeater you were on, unless I happen to see the display before the radio starts scanning again. " This is K0RGR, listening on 82, anyone around?" is usually how I do it. But I think it's time to kill the 'CQ Taboo'. Calling a very brief CQ makes it sound more like ham radio, somehow.
Calling CQ on VHF or UHF simplex regardless of mode has always been deemed "acceptable". The idea of not calling CQ on a repeater probably started when timers were installed to protect the older tube type transmitters from "melting down" due to long transmissions. Remember, back in the early days of repeaters you would still hear long CQs on HF. How silly would it be for a long "windbag" CQ to time out a repeater ? I see no problem with a 2x2 CQ on a repeater, especially if you've listened a couple minutes and not heard anyone talk. For those who don't now what a "2x2" is; "CQ CQ this is K5RT, K5 Radio Tango standing by". Paul
