FT8 is used in VHF, but you will need a SSB capable or SDR receiver to hear it. As to digital voice modes, like you I was only able to use them with prior arrangement.
So the problem is that there is no room for new repeaters? Simple answer, get rid of the Zombie Repeaters. In the Chicago Metro area, and Illinois in general, my unscientific sense is that probably as many as 30% of all listed repeaters aren't even there. And that doesn't even count the ones that are listed as "Off Air", and have been for a few years. And, of the ones that actually do work, less than half of those have any traffic on them at all, maybe a net once a week or once a month. I realize the coordinators are volunteers and have limited time, but there is a way they could attack this: 1. Announce you will be doing a repeater audit. Put out a call for volunteers to find and document inactive repeaters that are on the website 2. Assign each volunteer 10 repeaters to test (or whatever number they're willing to handle) This is something that would probably require a mobile radio and the ability to go to various locations, or a good base station. A Baofeng from your basement isn't going to work for this. 3. For each repeater, assign a geographical location to test from, a few miles from the repeater site should be sufficient. 4. Use the published frequencies and PL/NAC/Color, etc., and try to access the repeater. (Maybe have a good portable with you so you can hear yourself). 5. If the repeater doesn't work, mark it as bad. Maybe have someone else try to check it just to be sure. If it works, mark it as good and no further action will be required. 6. Once the coordinators know which repeaters aren't working, they can contact the owners and let them know the volunteer couldn't access the repeater. This could be due to several possibilities, wrong test area, volunteers had the wrong information, maybe the repeater really did fail. 7. Give the repeater owner 30 or 60 days to demonstrate that the repeater is up and running. A volunteer can retest. 8. If the repeater is still down for more than 90 or 120 days, revoke the coordination. Especially if you don't hear back from the owner. As far as the working but unused repeaters, perhaps a future requirement is to make the owners install a PTT counter. Low use repeaters would be subject to review. After all, if it's not getting used, why have it?
Now your talking!...or were talking....or the repeaters are being used...or something. I like your plan sir. 73
All that is great, but when repeater coordinators are often run by "Dick and his cousin Tater", you'll get responses like: "That's Bob's repeater, he's having technical difficulties" "That pair is reserved for..." "We are not in the business of de-coordinating repeaters" (an actual quote I got when putting up a repeater, which is still on the air today, from a local goodbuddy coordinating org. I reached out to Riley Hollingsworth, and magically the pair became available and coordination granted. I get there are issues, but coordination in part 97 is voluntary, unlike part 90- and if some paper repeater hog has no repeater up for years and one uses the pair, then tough cookies. Prove to the FCC actual infrastructure was in use. Narrow banding will not stop the DickNTater coordinating and all it does it make repeaters work poorly on analog FM and make them even less useful to the amateur community.
AB9TA said: "1. Announce you will be doing a repeater audit. Put out a call for volunteers to find and document inactive repeaters that are on the website" You could call the volunteer group DOHE; Department of Ham Efficiency! But for this task they'll need big ba... oh never mind.
Those are paper repeaters. A zombie repeater is one that is still on the air months or years after the licensee died.
Sounds like a plan to sell new radios is all. Where I am it is immaterial due to low activity. And the moribund claimed but empty sounding channels for repeaters that may not be there anymore. Now if something happened like we lost part of the band to a billion dollar spectrum sale, it might make more sense. And it is certainly not really needed on 220 or 440 around here either. I never hear anyone on all the 440 repeaters and 220 is not very active despite lots of repeaters listed on those too. All that it will do is obsolete all our older radios. If you want cutting edge I guess you can go digital instead of narrow band. Narrow band became a necessity for commercial concerns apparently due to serious congestion which we do not have at least here. IF other areas have too much demand for repeater channels, maybe they should be required to prove some kind of proof of need and utility versus just creating another dead channel tying up spectrum for someone's ego.
Prior arrangements arent in my mind. FT8 was a bad example, in cause of SSB. But other modes dont exist anyway. Just a bit of SSTV and I never got an answer at 144,500 Mhz. All I could saw was that the counter of my QRZ page raised, so my pics were received. At next our german 145,375 Mhz isnt really good in use. And when operators try to use these frequencies, often a repeater isnt necessary. Especially like C4FM as a range extender, when a S1 or S2 is enough. Often repeaters are overvalued.
Yes I don't see the point about narrow banding analog FM for voice communications..We've already done that as hams with digital modes (e.g. DSTAR). We've carved out everything in terms of bandwidth and we're left with disparate systems that need the Interet to communicate with each other - and software - to make it happen. Just a fiasco. Its an embarrassment. If a club puts up a "repeater" then its usually tied to the Internet, and, usually, there's just one digital mode out of at least three modes that can be used by local Hams. Funny thing is, the digital modes DMR and Fusion use the same bandwidth as an analog station. Now, the DMR folks could say that with TDMA we cut down bandwidth. True, to a degree. But then you need Internet, provided by cell phones or your own home service. But for analog voice? Piss off (as the Brits say). Most amateur stations operatings FM simplex have a max range of about 40 miles. And repeaters are silent. But you know what? Its so much fun to work FM to Europe and Antarctica with 100W on FM. It's actually a challenge versus SSB. There's no reason an already challenged phone signal has to sound like a rubber duckie with a kid squeezing it in the bath tub. We've compressed FM enough already.
Yes I don't see the point about narrow band analog FM for voice communications. There doesn't seem to be much support in the literature for narrow signal propagation on FM phone. In fact there is nothing substantial at all. We've already carved up FM into slices as HAMS (e.g. DSTAR and FT something or other). We've carved out everything in terms of bandwidth and we're left with disparate phone systems that need the Internet to communicate with each other - and software - to make it happen. Just a fiasco. Its an embarrassment. If a club puts up a "repeater" then its usually tied to the Internet, and, usually, there's just one digital mode that can be used by local Hams. Funny thing is, the digital modes DMR and Fusion use the same bandwidth as an analog station. Now, the DMR folks could say that with TDMA "we cut down bandwidth" - to a degree. But I've found it entirely useless. For analog voice? Piss off (as the Brits say). Most amateur stations operating FM simplex have a limited range and repeaters are silent. But you know what? On HF it's so much fun to work Europe and Antarctica with 100W. It's actually a challenge versus SSB. But, to my point. We've already compressed FM enough. There's no reason an already challenged phone signal has to sound like a rubber duckie with a kid squeezing it in the bath tub.
