The Google Earth Repeaters Overlay Project for the Entire United States and Territories

Thank you for your hard work. Feedback: On my laptop's HD display, the repeater call signs show in a small enough font that is very difficult to read, especially when I zoom in over a urban area. The dark green font color maybe could be replaced with something brighter like yellow so the call signs stand out better against the busy backgrounds. Keep in mind I'm 74 YO and my eyes ain't what they used to be.

 

You can change the fonts in Google Earth .kmz/.kml files/folders to whatever size, color or font type you want (that you have installed on your computer).

 

There are in fact a handful of "moon towers" here in Austin. They are some very early style street lights....and the city has preserved several of them, which are still in use. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlight_towers_(Austin,_Texas)

 

The repeaters I assist with have two lines with three popup waypoints each with identical info... as do a few other repeaters I checked. Not sure why this is, but I suppose the KML has the details.

Copyright © 2006-2023 RepeaterBook.com. All Rights Reserved.
Created and owned by KD6KPC/WREQ745 since 2006.
All data, including non-copyrightable data, is protected from theft under Oregon law (ORS 164.377).​

Emphasis added.
Despite the great utility of the web site, that last sentence is nonsensical. While RepeaterBook's expression of a compilation of data is copyrightable, the data itself most certainly isn't. Anyone is free to use basic data, especially when published in the open, anyway they wish... hence no worries for you... and good on you for providing a new way to view the data. Bravo.
Now, obviously, this great volume of data was supplied to you to convert to KML for this noble purpose so good on you for respecting the wishes of RB, but that data is now in the open per the KML.

I suspect RepeaterBook quietly understands what I mentioned above, hence data, public data no less, being valueless as an asset. The real value of RepeaterBook is the collation and presentation of the data.

 

Ryan: I would like to include this data in the Internet Archive's Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications. It will be easier to find, and provide a longer-term storage, than a Google drive. If you approve, I can do it (or you are welcome to upload it to Internet Archive.)

73, Kay K6KJN — email: kay at archive.org

 

I'm in the Bend Oregon area. Virtually all of the popular repeaters are not on your map!?

 

I thought HAWKEYE 360 was doing this with computers ?
From satellites.
watching the earth RF
Not that I am paranoid or anything like that . . .

 

Here it's the opposite. RepeaterBook is polluted with non-existent repeaters.
It even has repeaters that were only on the air for a couple years over thirty years ago.

 

ND5Y,

Great question. Blind trust I guess, since it's their information. I wasn't going to adjudicate 21,000+ Repeaters. I am a brand spanking new ham, got my ticket on 4 Feb 2023, but I do know there's plenty of repeaters that don't have precise locations on repeater book. Simply click the link on the lists (Webpage), and it'll show you whether its specific geolocation or not. Personally, I've physically reconnoitered each repeater I can hit with my current rigs, but this is simply for me to get out of the house, if not for anything else. I get the compass bearings for line of sights azimuths to my house for when/once I play around with directional antennas. But Repeater Book also gives the directions that the antennas are pointed. I also taught tens of thousands of troops in combat skills over the years, so I have my own idiosyncrasies. I guess an direction finding experienced ham, of which, I am not, could get the readings from 3+ different locations and do a simple Resection on a map, and/or Google Earth to narrow down the exact location of the repeater, but I don't know if the juice it worth the squeeze as far a playing radio goes. Omnidirectional Vertically Polarized Antennas comprise the lion's share of what's interacting with repeaters, so "Good Enough" is usually what it comes down to. Either you can hit it and talk on it or not. However, for folks that may want 3-Dimensional Awareness to create a path with their own systems/mini-repeaters could find it useful. Of course travelers could use it for route planning, as I've found the "Travel" repeater function extremely lacking, at least for my areas of focus in a 4-state area. Finally, I've found that if the Location isn't exact on Google Earth, then look around... Turn it to Bird's Eye/Horizontal View and look for Key Terrain (High Spots). Additionally, you can look for the Tower's, Building's, Water Tower's Shadows, which is a key indicator of a likely repeater location.

I've diatribed enough, but wanted to be helpful. Thank you for the question ND5Y.

Ryan, AE0TO
o7

 

Great point KA0HCP. When we programmed tactical repeaters with discrete camouflaged antennas in the USAF, we'd tell the troops the general direction to make sure there was a clear line-of-sight. KISS method. Geographically, smaller in scope, but generally the same. For some new ham that lives in a hilly or mountainous region, it could be useful to rig up a jumper/cross-band type rig for what it's worth. Each Ham has to figure out their own circumstances. Plan your work, work your plan.

"I do not entertain hypotheticals. The world itself is vexing enough."
~ Col Stonehill, Horse Trader, True Grit

https://www.americanrhetoric.com/MovieSpeeches/moviespeechtruegritmattienegotiates.htm

 

Odd, I have the Parent and all subfolders set to open access with comments for all. Here's a direct link copied as the owner with the open permissions verified from my end. I'm not a big fan of Google, personally, but it seemed the easiest for the most access.

OREGON FOLDER
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vsxuvvoMJGKdK6jdjhduOZtzhAhxs-fi?usp=sharing

Ryan, AE0TO
o7

 

W6SDZ,

Great to hear it is useful for you!

I know there will be some complaints as I didn't validate 21,000+ repeaters nationwide, but some people's ice-cream is too cold...

I am glad it is useful to you. For others with incorrect information, as I stated in the instructions, simply validate and report the inconsistiencies via Repeater Book's website. I don't plan on updating this anytime soon, but it provides an offline archive which serves the main purpose for this effort.

73's
Ryan, AE0TO
o7

 

KJ7WT,

Thank you for the kind words. With all the sheer brain power in ham world I was surprised at this not having been done yet. I'm also old enough to know that sometimes it's easy to overlook things, especially in a hyper-specialized field. As far as coverage goes in sporadically covered areas, I don't see why a couple of hams couldn't front $220 for a Quadband Crossband Capable TYT 9800 or similar radio to cover the gaps. Again, I'm new to Ham world, but being a Hillbilly from Arkansas, and having the privilege to have served our beautiful country for over 23+ years, has taught me to cut through the Gordian Knots we individually and collectively create for ourselves.

IF:
AND: 1st Order Effect
AND: 2nd Order Effect
AND: 3rd Order Effect
THEN:

Helps a lot with problem solving in my mind, but everyone is different. The redneck in me want's to tell you, "Get up in them thar hills and fix it!" But the middle-aged man in me says, "Meh, is that juice worth the squeeze?..."

I will make it to them there hill eventually, prolly after Gavin Newsom is gone or otherwise... So much to see in that beautiful country. Having spent 4 years in Alaska and 9+ years in Colorado, I miss my big mountains and forests.

73's KJ7WT

Ryan, AE0TO
o7

 

K9JOZ,

Glad to hear it! I hoped it would be useful for these communities, as I figured they'd be dialed-in, pun-intended, enough to bastardize it for their uses. Not withstanding the inherent inaccuracies on Repeater Book. I just know, from a former life as a National Level Emergency Continuity of Government Planner/FEMA Emergency Manager/Special Events Coordinator/Presidential Security, that this would be useful during a bad day... Many of which I've served and lived through... But ultimately it can be used for more mundane uses for the everyday ham.

Thank you for the feedback again K9JOZ!

73's
Ryan, AE0TO
o7

 

KF0G,

Well since most companies are owned by either Blackrock and/or Vanguard... which, like the Federal Reserve, is mostly owned by a particular family, "House of the Red Shield", in Europe, it surprises me little. The fact that Hawkeye 360 is HQ'd out of Herndon, Virginia, tells me all I need to know about it, since the Clowns-In-America is just up the road a piece... A quick open-source internet search reveals;

Hawkeye 360 was owned by Allied Minds > 2019 to Advance Publications owned by > Newhouse Family > Neuhaus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samue...rn Solomon Isadore,, was from Austria-Hungary.

You can make your own SӨrӨs-esque connections there, but I'll digress from here. Many are awakening to what's been really going on. I'm just a someone in the background taking copious notes. Some may call it "Paranoid", I call it Discernment.

Regardless, Repeater Book is from the ground-up from folks who are actually servicing, or not, repeaters, so it's on the individual to validate locally. This hopefully will provide another resource for hams to individualize for their own needs.

Just remember this, from a guy who knows where ALL the bunkers are... Do you trust leaders who build bunkers for themselves, with our tax dollars, to run and hide to AFTER they mess it up so bad that we all wake up as charcoal briquettes from their ineptitude?

I swore an Oath to the Constitution and OUR Patriot Citizens. I am retired so no one, not one of [Them], is "Appointed Over Me", any longer. Given the current state of affairs, it's like a bad version of the Manchurian Can't-I-date anyways... Balloons and Venn Diagrams... But I digress.

Without going any further down a very deep rabbit-hole, I'll say 73's and recommend some light reading on COG/COOP (Continuity of Government), SENEX (Senior Executive Service), Yankee White, Devolution, and SIOP (Single Integrated Operational Plan).

Ryan, AE0TO
o7