Why Have Ham Radio Repeaters Suddenly Gone Silent?

In this video, Jason provides opinion and insight into why there is so little activity on Ham Radio repeaters. This comes from a challenge that was issued earlier this year, and then mentioned recently in a Reddit article.
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Thanks for watching!
#Hamradio #kc5hwb #hamradiorepeater

[@Chris-hy6jy]

If you want someone to come back to you just enable the "Roger Bleep" on your Chinese radio. You'll have a ton of people yelling at you in seconds! 🤣🤣

[@seandrake7534]

I cam here to say just this

[@coreybabcock2023]

I'll do that

[@radiotests]

Gatekeepers, when they should be training and encouraging hams they instead achieve ham warrior status by slaying those that don't meet their expectations of operations. It's why simplex nets are growing in this area.

[@wallychambe1587]

🤣🤣

[@robertmoorej]

I like the Roger beep

[@joelhuntress6736]

A 70cm repeater near me with a large coverage area was very under utilized. A young fairly new ham took it upon himself to get actively going on it. Now it’s getting lots of use and he even got a round table going every afternoon. Just a little effort is all that’s needed. Thanks for putting this out.

[@HamRadio2]

Awesome story!

[@j.b.708]

"technically calling CQ on a repeater" isn't mentioned anywhere in any law. and the only people making a big deal out of it are retirees who volunteer as range safety officers yelling at people to only shoot once per minute.

[@elsuperpollo2273]

Or they will say one shot every 45 minutes, yes lame a** sad ham boomers probably would.

[@TimGray]

The Old farts have been a problem in ham radio forever. Too many people demanding their special "rules" should be followed. This is a hobby and we are supposed to be friendly to each other. the point is furthering the hobby and getting enjoyment. I've been an old fart for a while and I try like heck to be the opposite of all the other old farts. I will absolutely respond to any one and be nice to them and talk. People need to stop being rules lawyers and crossing guards on the repeaters. Heck I have a repeater near me that the only person on it is a angry old coot telling people to get off the repeater as it's his private repeater.

[@Eric10179]

It’s not a law or a written rule anywhere, it’s just not the social norm. You don’t go and walk up to a stranger and try and shake their hand without introducing yourself first. There’s nothing wrong with what you did, you were trying to be nice and friendly, but it goes against the social norm. It’s no big deal but humans are simply just creatures of habit and patterns.

[@darrellgill804]

Need to be careful calling ppl.old carts. I'm 83 been a ham most of my life. I dint claim any rules except fcc rules.

[@chrissewell1608]

​@@TimGray Is that repeater really his? And / or is it advertised as an Open Repeater?

[@philliprickman1394]

I joined a local radio club a few years ago when I got my General. I felt like a wedding crasher at the meetings. I stopped going. I recently decided to give it another shot. Same thing. I just can't seem to connect with anyone. There are lots of hams in our area, but there seem to be a few who "control" the bands. The ones going to the meetings are the Elmers.

[@Mike--WA7QZR]

Clubs can be like that. Maybe, since you're a General, you could look around for some roundtable discussions on HF where the subject interests you. Listen for a couple of rounds to see how it's running and note some of the subject matter. Note the callsign of a station you can hear clearly and, introduce yourself on one of the breaks. Contact that Ham and see if he'll stick around at the end and chat for a few minutes with you. That's a good way to find an on-the air Elmer who hasn't sat on a stick. Don't be pushy or obnoxious in a roundtable. Just be patent, writing the callsigns of all the participants down on paper. That way, you'll be showing that your interested and being respectful. Give it a try & see what happens.

[@N6OIX]

Must be papa system in Calif 😂

[@stephenmorton8017]

room full of Fudds? lol.

[@WI_Can_Am_Guy]

Same kind of experience here, about 12 years ago. All they really wanted to do was have 3 hour evening meetings and plan brat frys. Gave that up after a few months.

[@nicoradv3923]

same here... i went as a visitor... never again.

[@BrianNC81]

"breaker breaker" then call sign. That will get some people talking. Lol.

[@kurttuttle1817]

Heard that done.

[@HamRadio2]

True

[@marknesselhaus4376]

Even on 20m ssb.

[@spaceflight1019]

The problem is that throwing the word "break" or "breaker" into an existing amateur radio conversation is an internationally agreed upon convention to indicate that you have a life or death message. "Break" is also used as a sort of punctuation in military and aviation messaging.

[@hankhalbert6542]

Actually, the American CB is very much alive. Especially SSB. Loads of Hams on too.

[@RLKD8DNS]

Great video, and information. My 13 year old son recently achieved his tech, and hopefully passing his general tomorrow. The one thing that almost discouraged him after receiving his Tech was nobody would come back to him when he called out “listening”. I agree with you 100% Jason, I’ll call out “listening” and when I hear someone call out “listening” I almost always have a QSO with them….. well, that is if my son doesn’t beat me to it.

[@aqdrobert]

CONGRATULATIONS for him. We had unlicensed adults on our club repeater complaining GMRS and Ham licenses are too difficult.

[@leehyde6610]

At this point "hear something report them" is the problem !!!

[@wallychambe1587]

@@aqdrobert "unlicensed adults on our club repeater complaining GMRS and Ham licenses are too difficult" They are just lazy!! Sad!😢😢

[@macgyver5108]

​@@aqdrobert LMAO! "Too difficult"?! Tell them they don't know what that word means. I literally have brain damage, a TBI to my forehead so bad I was _knocked out cold for a day_ and still have serious short term memory issues a decade later ( like just now remembering the now _cold_ cup of coffee I made an hour ago, for the 3rd time today... 🙄) yet I still passed the exam after a month of tenacious daily study.

[@aqdrobert]

@@macgyver5108 When I hear an unlicensed operator say, "Don't worry about it. I got this radio for DISASTERS. License is too hard." I will not answer.

[@matthewtaylor3301]

If someone calling CQ on a repeater is enough to trigger you, you need to reevaluate your life. Who cares?

[@HamRadio2]

Exactly

[@Johnyrocket70]

I have a habit of saying Come on. Lol it pisses some old farts out because they somehow think they are better than people on CB. If I key down and say come on. My friends know its me and will respond. Then I'll throw my call sign out after a response. I crack up when a old fart says cut out that CB talk like they are in charge of the 1st Amendment.

[@indridcold8433]

They have no life. They are worthless operators. Then they get drunk and go to 80 metres to act like fools and think nothing of it.

[@anthonygallo3576]

Heaven forbid anyone follows rules these day. This is why the world is going to shit

[@dalepres1]

@@anthonygallo3576 I agree completely. And while I also find the attacks on "old farts" offensive and pointless, being a sign of the problem: disrespect for others, back in the day we didn't criticize those who didn't follow the rules or understand them; we helped them (they helped me). But, also back in the day, I respected my elders and I listened to what they had to teach me. I understood that as the number of amateurs grew, and the number of licensees on other uses of the limited spectrum, it would be important that people follow basic rules. All that said, "come one" or "callsign" or "call sign listening" or "callsign is mobile", doesn't really rise to the level that I'm going to cancel or ignore anyone who chooses any of the above. Anyone who thinks cancel culture is new, though, hasn't been a ham very long. We always started with helping a newcomer along but those newcomers who just wouldn't learn or listen, we just ignored and they quickly found no one to talk to. Many would then settle into the traditional keying their mic on top of everyone because they were butthurt that no one liked them, and, being cancelled and ignored, they would usually simply disappear for a while, hoping we'd all forget, and come back with better manners. They may not have realized that we never forgot but we did always appreciate the better manners and they were welcomed into the community as though it was their first appearance. The problem today, I think, is the numbers of newcomers is so great, and the rate at which they arrive is so great, that they create their own community and don't need ours. I don't have a fix for that except to be flexible and respond to "come on" and maybe make a new friend. I hate change but I just don't seem to be able to stop it.

[@lapinebob]

We have a net 7 days a week in Central Oregon at 8:00 am on a local VHF repeater. It runs for 1/2 to 1 hour with 20 to 30 check ins daily. We are an emergency communications team with several net control operators. There are more than 50 team members. There is always someone monitoring in case of need. We have had check ins from Texas to Alaska on Echolink. We are a family of hams ready to help.

[@zachschmidt7417]

Where about in central Oregon? I'm not familiar with this on any HiDARG repeaters that I've heard

[@adventureseeker9800]

I remember my brother in law wondering about the lower usage in our area and he said I think what we should do is get on, start a friendly discussion about firearms. Ask if anyone is online who could answer a question about _CLIPS_ and he said wait 30 seconds and get a dozen responses screaming _MAGAZINE!!_ 🤣🤣🤣

[@HamRadio2]

Lol

[@stephenmorton8017]

o brother...

[@NosebergEatzbugsVonShekelstein]

Ask where you can get assault clips for your gat.

[@DudeSoWin]

Money Clips, as in bullets cost $$$ or other currency. Nerds who Pun Around and Find Out are such disgusting prison bait. Mobile Internet Access killed the Internet 10 years ago. Now we have one-liner zombie commentors such as the offline crackheads who drop reaction baiting expletives playing life like a game of duck hunt.

[@DudeSoWin]

@@stephenmorton8017 Downvoting was never enough to throttle Agreement and Acknowledgement so that Cain & Abel can play grab ass in hell. Nice guys always PEBKAC a priority problem.

[@carlmenger9145]

The solution is to call CQ on the repeater. It will get people riled up and come back, thus breaking the silence: a clever way to make repeaters active.

[@HamRadio2]

Abrasive, but probably true

[@isaacstiles5710]

I always do this when no one will talk to me😂😂 always brings at least 2 angry old hams 😂😂😂😂

[@optimisticpessimist484]

I'm an old ham and I have no problem with someone calling CQ on my repeater system, but try to limit it to one or two CQ's.

[@J0HN3]

Hahaha. 😂 brilliant.

[@K5JHP-John]

Make them even madder by using the phonetic alphabet for your call sign on a local repeater and call "CQ DX." They will then complain about you for days.

[@gregquinn6827]

I have not been involved in amateur radio since the 1970s. I am not, however, surprised to see that ham and the web both went the same way. We have a whole lot of people in this country with lots of time on their hands to bicker, but very little motivation to spend that spare time creating meaningful things.

[@wyominglife3202]

I recommend putting out your call sign a couple of times with the repeater you're using. I've heard people call, but I was busy and didn't catch their call or frequency. I would have answered. I repeated my call twice the other morning. A guy answered the second time and we had a great conversation.

[@RickPaquin]

That's a good point. I watched a video of a guy who builds antennas. He said, NEVER repeat your call sign! Another foolish rule. Of course it's even better to use your call sign at the END of your first sentence or question because it give people like me a better opportunity to actually hear it. I also get frustrated with people who rattle off their call sign like an airline pilot. People need to SLOW down and speak it clearly.

[@farmerdave33]

Nothing wrong with saying "last station calling, this is K1nnn, good morning" if you hear someone on the repeater but didn't catch their call sign...

[@knotquiteawake]

I live in the DFW area. In my way home from Plano to Rowlett I’ve put my call out on the Plano repeater, the Garland Repeater, and the Dallas Repeater. For days nobody would come back in the afternoon. One afternoon one guy gets on and throws out his call and suddenly 4 other guys instantly jump on and they all start talking. So it seems because they didn’t know me they just ignored me.

[@dougearnest7590]

In case y'all didn't know, there are auctioneers out there wanting to get into Ham radio hoping they can learn to talk faster. Being the grouchy guy that I am, one rule of thumb is that if they want me to answer them, they can articulate their call sign in such a manner I can get most of it on the first pass. Rattling it off at Mach-3 doesn't save time when you have to repeat it three or twelve times. Like the old pilot with the Southern drawl said to Air Traffic Control: "Y'all hear how fast I'm talkin'? Well that's about how fast I listen."

[@bassmanjr100]

People keep saying cell phones have killed the need but you can't pick a cell phone and say, hey is anyone out there wanting to chit chat and get an answer. I like using the repeaters tied to a club with people I know.

[@aqdrobert]

There are "adult chat" services, but they charge by the minute on your cell phone. Nice ladies "working towards college career" will be HAPPY to chat. :0

[@jamesseaman2950]

@@aqdrobert Amusingly, I thought much the same thing. "Adult" oriented businesses have always figured out how to make money from the cutting edge of technology.

[@jamesseaman2950]

When was the last time you saw anyone under 50 make a telephone call on a mobile phone? There are apps for that! The younger generation "talks" with two fingers from their keyboard. This helps explain why non-voice digital modes are now the majority of all ham radio QSO's.

[@Sonicgott]

Just got my Amateur General today thanks to amazing people here and a couple other channels. I was inspired by you all to learn more about the world of electronics. ❤

[@HamRadio2]

Welcome!

[@Mike--WA7QZR]

Congrats on your new General. I'm glad to see you indicating that you're eager to learn more about electronics. There's a lot out there and in Amateur Radio, there are worlds that have not been explored by most for decades, just waiting for folks like you to step in and see that the water's fine.

[@N6OIX]

HF is Life 😊 congrats

[@3TQVK]

congrats sonic hear you on hf, d-star, dmr echolink, fusion. p25, m17 and if im lucky fm...or one of the 1600 brandmiester TGs.........FT8 ? No

[@ozone385]

I started a net when COVID shut down a lot of things. It is on are main repeater and I still do it today. The net started as a wellness net during COVID. Today I run it 6 days a week no Sundays or holidays. We are on IRLP 9732 at 9am central time.

[@HamRadio2]

Nice

[@webanon]

I don't catch all your videos, but I do remember hearing you issue the challenge. It's a good idea, really. 👍

[@HamRadio2]

Thanks 👍

[@stephensmith8354]

My local repeater just didnt have much activity. I since faded away from radio. CB use to be a lot more enjoyable to me.

[@davesanders9203]

You still want to be "connected".

[@stephensmith8354]

@@davesanders9203yea, I enjoyed talking on the radio. But, I've packed up all my radios. I just didn't really like Ham radio.

[@stephenmorton8017]

i was an advanced class for 30 years but never had as much fun as when the skip was running on 11 meters.

[@lexheath8276]

​​@@stephenmorton8017 the hobby changed in bad ways. No one wants a "conversation" in any mode. 31+ year former Advanced here as well. I allowed wy7ac to expire. Cheers

[@jeremycole3008]

a person can use am anywhere on the 40 channel cb band, but I need a general class to run am on 10 meters. Now, i believe you can run FM on CB, and i still need a general class to do that. Never ever made since to me

[@gregorymaine9615]

Extra Class license holder here: I quit the hobby for the most part 10 years ago because of a general intolerance for making the occasional mistake in air. It happens, but there was a clear expectation of perfection or you’d get hammered. Last QSO was sometime in 2020 on 2 meters. I keep my license up to date might return someday.

[@glenk0]

I am a new Ham and have found people on the air are far more accommodating than people are in these forums on line. That you’re here and commenting suggests that you may still be interested. Come on back to the hobby! 👍 73

[@user-sp4gy7ko5l]

Lol you let them get to you!? You do know you can ignore what they say right?

[@dalepres1]

You let them win? No offense but I'm guessing you were never the president of your local club, huh?

[@uranusimploding9830]

A M E N !

[@shuntawolf]

@@dalepres1 I was both the VP and Pres of our local club, mainly because no one WANTED the position. I was also the EC and DEC for our state ARES. Tried and tried and TRIED to get folks involved into doing things. I got ZERO help from the SEC, out of 7 counties I had only 3 or 4 EC's wanted to help in some way, but their club members didn't. I got fed up with the "Oh we did that a billion years ago several times and don't want to do it again" from the Grey Haired club within the club. Their "been there done that" attitude absolutely KILLED the local club. It's now a once a month Old Man's club get together where their "program" is stuff from 40+ years ago. Our local hamfest is a FIGHT to get folks to say they'll help for even an hour. Mind you, the Bylaws state the clubs purpose is to "further amateur radio knowledge and use in the community", which they've failed at miserably. THAT'S why most likely most folks get fed up with their clubs... I know it's caused me to get away from all these fancy radio's I own.... Enough is enough then it's time to move on...

[@djlegenduk]

Passed my foundation exam today (UK equivalent of technician I believe) and will definitely be doing this when my call sign arrives in a couple of days

[@HamRadio2]

Congrats!

[@N6OIX]

1st thing to get is Allstars. Then 9000 repeaters at your touch. In 1 day you will find groups you like and will have a lifetime of fun

[@aqdrobert]

I am the first to work many newly licensed hams using our mountaintop club repeater. I call daily, waiting about 10 minutes for the CW ID, then call again. One new ham was so happy to work me, he volunteered to become club president. The other new hams are now on the board of directors. If everyone listens, or wait until they "have time" to get on the air, that results in dead air.

[@chrissewell1608]

Not sure If I'd want all new hams being a club's board members, since there is more to that part of a club, than just actively chatting on the repeater! Ie. Taxes, band plans, emergency activities, etc. ... A more seasoned, expierenced, members should provide better info.

[@radiotests]

​@chrissewell1608 not likely to pan out that way. So many clubs in this area of Chicago with old members that have become part of the decor. They enjoy the title and are comfortable with thy status quo. Without new blood to infuse the enthusiasm and new activities you just get the same old, same old.

[@aqdrobert]

Our new members prepared taxes, organized clubs, planned emergency activities, and supported marathons and public service events BEFORE joining the club and obtaining an amateur license. "New Ham" does not mean inexperienced with life.

[@aqdrobert]

@@radiotests Phoenix, not Chicago. Demographics do matter, unfortunately. Some large cities with fantastic repeater sites suffer non-stop repeater QRM from unlicensed operators and LID licensed hams taking over. Some towns have dead repeaters with only the owner active. Phoenix, DM33, has more repeaters than users. Wise repeater owners know when to sell the inactive repeater, stop paying electric and site rent, seeking alternatives.

[@squirlmy]

@@chrissewell1608 Taxes? not a non-profit? I'd go for educational non-profit specifically. The internet came together with all "clubs" having new members only, and it's outgrown Ham just a little tiny bit.

[@Joe_N7]

I’m the Director at large for my club and we have an analog wide coverage/footprint repeater. I try to throw my call out when I’m sitting at home or driving to keep it “alive” as do some of the other officers and permanent Directors. Unfortunately our sites power is down and the club funds aren’t enough to setup solar and we are relying on a couple guys who volunteered without being asked to setup a backup in their house. My area is also flooded with repeaters I want to say we have 75+ in my metro area. At Director meetings we have discussed this because before the outage we were mostly quiet minus those of us trying to stir activity. One Director brought up a good idea. For one day shut off 75% of the repeaters keep all wide range on period, and you might be surprised of all the activity that picks up as it’s not spread across 75+ repeaters. The bulk of our system fusion machines are linked and are constantly flooded with almost non stop chatter almost as bad as brandmiester 91. Half the time it’s “my doctor said” talk.

[@chrissewell1608]

Sounds like the "My doctor said" group is a bunch of old farts, just complaining about their failing health! 😅

[@christianknight2905]

It's not repeater-related, but I just did my first VHF contest and only made 5 contacts over the weekend. It was truly a disappointment. I later learned everyone is using ft8 instead of voice.

[@thomasmaughan4798]

FT8 is a great way to see where your signal goes combined with the PSKReporter. JS8CALL is basically the same incredible protocol but is *conversational* .

[@allanhood4397]

Ft8 is boring and people are afraid to talk each other

[@thomasmaughan4798]

@@allanhood4397 "Ft8 is boring and people are afraid to talk each other" FT8 is a protocol, neither boring nor interesting, except in the mind of the beholder. I find it useful to test antennas and propagation particularly when used with PSKReporter. As to people being afraid to talk to each other; some are, some aren't.

[@stephenmorton8017]

this nation is polarized. (get it?) the orange man put half of us on the 'flat side.'

[@thomasmaughan4798]

@@stephenmorton8017 "the orange man put half of us on the 'flat side.'" While Sleepy Joe says, "Wut?" Anyway, I'm not sure how half of me can be on the flat side but whatever 🙂

[@emeraldjay]

I have the issue of silence after throwing out my call. I even give a long spiel in case someone has their rig in scan mode, like 'this is n2nrv mobile, listening 685' for my local machine. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. The depressing thing I have experienced is making a hazard report like wires or trees in a road after a storm and getting no response. I miss the days of wall to wall hams where we needed multiple repeaters to accommodate everyone. 😢

[@TheScottClifton]

As one who had a UHF repeater with an HF remote interconnect as well as a 2-meter remote base back in the 80’s when the machines were very active, I couldn’t care less if someone jumped on my machine and called CQ! That’s what we were taught to do when we were calling any station. We are all supposed to be teachers of our craft, not radio police. I hope to hear a number of CQs on the repeaters and will be happy to answer any of them I hear. Ironically, here in Chicago, there are more conversations happening on simplex than the repeaters. Jason, you should take a poll of your followers to see what the reasons are for those who don’t get on repeaters, or RF at all. Seems like many are drawn to the internet connections more than RF, which defies the primary purpose of ham radio. We need to be building statewide RF connected networks like we used to see back in the 80’s. I remember going to Dayton and being able to talk into Dayton via the 145.25 machine in Indianapolis, in which we would connect my UHF repeater with, and allow St. Louis traffic to talk all the way to Dayton, well before the internet.

[@HamRadio2]

Taking a poll sounds like a good idea

[@jeremycole3008]

I always thought i'd be cool to have a repeater that takes 440mhz in, and puts it out on 29.6 Mhz. South of Peoria here N 9 I Z X

[@JamminJellies]

I saw this Reddit post and appreciate your input. I’m a new ham (received my call sign a little over a week ago) and the etiquette is important to me. There were a lot of conflicting opinions on that post. There are a couple repeaters by me that are “dead” and I’m going to try your suggestion of throwing my call out at least once a day. So far I’ve only made contact with one individual on two separate occasions. It’d be nice to hear increased activity on the repeaters I can hit from inside my house with the HT. 73

[@HamRadio2]

Good luck and let me know how it goes

[@rbmwiv]

One local repeater near me has an almost nightly trivia game. Guys get on there and ask questions to see who knows the answer. It’s not like a net, just people enjoying the hobby. I must be in a good place lol. 😂 now the other ones are quite except when a net is going on.

[@HamRadio2]

Awesome

[@dogbarbill]

In Oklahoma City we've had quite a number of repeaters, and there used to be tons of activity on them, especially during morning and afternoon drive time. This was during the early to mid 1990's. Then disaster. The age of cell phones hit, and repeater activity dropped off to almost zero. Clubs that had autopatch capability began seeing/hearing less and less traffic to the point it wasn't worth paying AT&T money for the phone patch feature anymore. So that's part of the answer. After that, we had the OKC Bombing in April 1995. Everyone in our ham community helped out. After that, repeater activity dropped off even more. I theorize some people got 'burned out' on it. Now days, you can turn on the radio and scan the repeaters all day, and you don't hear much at all except for a little bit during lunch and nets in the evenings. Our ham community does utilize our repeaters for civic events such as parades and marathons, though. Now I do know that several of the repeater hogs from years ago are now SK and that, also, is part of the answer to the question of "What's happened to 2m repeater activity?" 73 de N5NUK.

[@SIGINT007]

Agreed on all counts.

[@Dan-gg8fk]

Hi Jason it was nice to see you again at Dayton. Here in Lakeland Florida the K4LKL repeater is seldom used. I have been doing a 2m net on Thursday nights which is actually a ham radio talk show. The response is really good. Over the years I have done over 750 of these 'nets'. We also have a fusion net as well. This is a great subject to cover. I think you have addressed the issue very well. 73, Danny WZ1P

[@shaunteckno]

Hey man, nice video. I’m not a ham, but I am licensed in GMRS. I have a couple of repeaters near me, and I’ll try to complete that challenge. Nice video again.

[@spweber54]

Jason, great video and topic! I've been a ham for over 50 years and have seen lots of changes. Your discussion reminded me of the Ten-Ten International number for 10 meters. I remember getting on 10 meters back in the 70's and being asked for a 10-10 number. I researched it and found out an interesting thing. The Ten-Ten International Net, Inc. was formed back in 1962 as the Ten-Ten Net of Southern California. Its purpose was to promote activity and good operating practice on the ten meter amateur band. The reasoning was if we didn't use that band, we might lose it. This was a way of promoting activity on the band and spurring QSO's. Well, I wonder if someone might come up with a similar thing for repeaters across the country? Can you imagine getting on the local 2 meter repeater asking for a 'Two-Two' number? 😂 Sounds a little silly, but, hey.... If we want more repeater activity, maybe we take a cue from the Ten-Ten International program that has lasted for many, many years! Keep up the great content! Stan - WB5UDI

[@TonyYarusso]

I hate the “just your callsign” method and much prefer something longer like a CQ call, whether those particular letters are spoken or not. My radio is probably across the room quietly scanning through several repeaters, so you need to talk long enough for me to walk over to it and see WHICH repeater had the activity before it resumes scanning. I also definitely didn’t catch half of your callsign, if I got any of it at all. The entire “no CQ on FM” thing is nonsense with no relevant basis in anything.

[@justincase9638]

Thankfully we still have a lot of activity on a few hot repeaters in the NYC area. There are just so many people around NY City that the density is still there. But as soon as I get outside of NY it's DEAD. I recently removed DMR from the car, no activity. I attempted 440 in the car - it's a fantastic band around here but - it's dead mostly and - then the digital repeaters blow me out of the car. So finally I put just 2M high power analog in the car. That's the magic. While driving I'm on 146.52 and most of the time I can find people. It's fun and has decent range. Also the 2M repeaters seem to have more people on them in general. I think FT8 damaged ham radio. Way too many people jumping on Ft8 make a couple automated contacts - no conversations, no interaction and or sharing of Ideas or technical banter. Then they jump off and that's it. Hundreds of hams on FT8 every day - all those folks used to be on repeaters or on HF... FT8 is the scourge of ham radio. Oh I forgot to mention - Parks on the Air, is really injecting a lot of excitement into the hobby. 2M is active as well. Thank you for that!

[@vicbulbon8821]

Interesting, when I was in NYC. I could only hear activities on the Glenn Oaks repeater. Are there any other 2m ones that are regularly active?

[@justincase9638]

@@vicbulbon8821 Murry Hill - 147.255

[@NukaVaultReadiness]

We just got our club repeater linked up to a reflector set of repeaters. Hopefully that will kick up the amount of participation when call signs are thrown out. Thanks again Jason! 73's

[@LWRC]

Here in SoCal, there are litterally dozens of repeaters both on 2 meter and 440 MHz that are basically dead. Even if you key up and throw out your call, no one comes back! A complete waste of bandwidth and equipment and the allocated frequencies!!!

[@mikebauer9948]

I just spent 16d in Montana, flying into Bozeman and driving via Missoula to Whitefish for a Glacier National Park experience. On both the initial and return trips, I tried a number of repeaters (2M and 70CM) in each of the locations, plus St. Mary on the Eastern side of Glacier. Plus 146.52 everywhere. Analog. About 2/3 of the repeaters were open and active (repeater data gotten from Repeaterbook). But no one was talking or answering. This follows this past year when, as I re-activated my interest in ham after a pause of about a decade (I did keep the license through this period), and tried similar contacts in and around my home on the Jersey Shore (various locations covering 50+ miles of northern and central Shore locales), Maryland's Eastern Shore, Northern NJ and Ottawa, Canada. Nada everywhere. Repeaters used to be active all over. Prior to 2015, I was on the road a lot for work, and ragchewing helped pass the hours and miles. Very discouraging now. One of my interests in ham at Glacier was for emcomms in an area of poor or non-existent cell coverage, such as the village of Polebridge and road to/from it. I also carried a pair of GMRS that didn't see much usage.

[@stargazer7644]

You have to know which repeaters are popular. We have 20 repeaters in my area, but only 1 has great coverage and has any significant usage.

[@Radioman7600]

My wife and I were in South Dakota for a vacation last year. I keyed the Rapid City repeaters twice daily with my call KA2YDW/Portable. Got no comebacks for the week. Even 146.52 was quiet.

[@stephanhersey1186]

Whenever mobile I put out My call with mobile and monitoring. When in my local area I normally get someone from my club repeater because they know me. On the local linked system it's hit or miss. Sometimes yes and sometimes no. When on the road I do the same on 146.520. Very seldom a comeback. I probably can count on one hand how many comebacks from .520 I have had. I've been a ham and traveling mobile since 2013. There are certain linked systems out here in the West that are very active and you can usually find someone to talk to if you throw out your call sign but unless someone knows you most repeaters are silent. Enjoy your videos, Steve, k7ofg.

[@markjenkins1454]

Thanks for pushing back on the brevity at all costs approach. A distinction is worth making here between literally using the old CW term "CQ" and putting a somewhat long winded message to all seeking a contact (provides that mental warm up time to folks multi-tasking) vs the brevity of "CALL" or "CALL monitoring". The brevity advice makes sense when a repeater is busy. Even a generally quiet repeater may have a busy time, so folks can adjust accordingly. A longer, attention getting message to all seeking a contact is the technical meaning of "CQ", but the grumpy hams might be less inclined to be bothered if you don't literately borrow the terminology from the CW and SSB side of things. Plain language instead of codes is better for low barrier to entry voice modes like 2m repeaters anyway. My approach. If the repeater is quiet and if there is a reason a contact is needed, such as to put out a bulletin, make a demonstration, to make one's debut, visiting a new location, to test new equipment and/or setting, or if feeling quite lonely (not me), then I'll put out a longer call explaining looking for a contact. If I just want folks to know that I'm a regular who is present and multi-tasking, but willing to come back to them, I'll go for the brief call+monitoring.

[@RickPaquin]

AMEN!!!! So right!

[@RishayanPorMexico]

Great video. If most of the amateurs had a good attitude about these things, like you, I would run out and get my license today. I am just an SWL or VHF UHF listener only. I have been listening to repeaters for the last 50 years or so. Years ago, it was really quite entertaining as well as informative. But today, it's almost a waste of time to even scan the ham bands( VHF UHF), as they are almost totally silent. I do however monitor the HF bands as they are much more active. Cell phones my friend. They are the no.1 radio killer.

[@jesseatthreelittlegoatshom9681]

LIGHTNING! That's what made our club repeater suddenly go silent! I'm going to give your challenge a try on another repeater and hopefully get over my "mic fright".

[@DavidMitchell79]

Volunteer to be a net controller of a "round table tag chew net." That's what I did to get past mic fright.

[@HMSResolute]

Gave you a call on 224.54 last week when I was in Grapevine as you suggested in your other video. I’ll keep trying and also try the 442.9. Thanks for all the great information on your channel. Kirk-N3KDP

[@HamRadio2]

I should monitor 220 more often. I can hear that repeater from home but it's scratchy.

[@dougmyers8767]

You mean 224.56?

[@dougmyers8767]

​@HamRadio2 you're lucky. Down near Cedar Creek Lake there is no 220 repeater. I'll try that one and the W5EUL repeater on Father's Day as I'm visiting with my wife's family in Keller. Listen for KL1DJ. That call comes with a story.

[@FightUni09]

6 of us have a ragchew on 223.940 every weekday morning from 1100 to 1200 UTC. Repeater is not linked. W3KG. I ❤️ 220.

[@FightUni09]

Been using a TYT-9000 in the shack a lot on 220. Got the rig in 2011 and it still runs FB. Also use the Wouxun HT which is also 2011 vintage everyday. Shack antenna is an Ed Fong jpole up 75' in a tree.

[@redfox_outdoors]

Hey! I like what you have to say. I have several ham radios, HT's, and I used to run them only in my truck when I was out and about. I have a new truck and have not setup the radios in the truck yet, but I do plan to here soon. I use the HT's in the house but its hard to hit some of the repeaters from my house. I used to carry an HT with me when I was out on the job sites working by myself, I had a few QSO's back in the day, but now I barely use them the HT's I mean. I haven't really had time to hop on due to stuff going on in life, moving, new job etc. I am also in the North Texas area. I just recently moved from South Dallas to Granbury, watching this lit a fire under me to get the radios setup in my truck again. I use 2 different mobile radios, lost the batteries to my HT's and the charger somewhere in my move so I will most likely have to order some new ones. this really made me want to get back on the repeaters, I do not have an HF rig yet, maybe one day when I get enough money for one I will buy one. anyway great video, thanks for posting it up, I hope to make contact on the air one day till then KF5POB 73's!

[@HamRadio2]

Awesome

[@DeLorean58]

For me in my area we have plenty of repeaters, many of them linked, and multi and as well. I noticed that for my area it is common when keying up a repeater we often give what frequency we are using as well as our call sign. I love working a DX station coming in on the 10m link while on 2m or 70cm.

[@mikehemeon2473]

I think that it may have to do with Cellphones. Back in the day people would get their licenses just for access to a repeaters auto-patch for emergencies.

[@dogbarbill]

BINGO!!! Hit the nail on the head.

[@thomasmaughan4798]

That was a big part of my motivation.

[@RickPaquin]

I can't get anyone to answer a cell phone except my immediate family (except for their kids). It's this new generation I think. They just want to text.

[@elsuperpollo2273]

One thing rhat also annoying hams dont want to talk cause they want to be anti social and only will solely work digital modes. Seems like hams who get licensed dont want to talk they only wanna use ft8

[@courtainret]

Great vid buddy! I agree 100%! ! !

[@HamRadio2]

Thanks 👍

[@RobertMcClellandJr]

I travel a decent amount across the Southeast. I use repeater book and key up repeaters along the way. I have had some good conversations but I would probably say I get an answer 5% of the time or less.

[@SNMSRACING]

Ha! I couldn't get through his video without being in a conversation on one of our group repeaters.

[@davidc5027]

In my area there is a simplex club, and it is fairly good size. They say they don't need no stinking repeater :)

[@HamRadio2]

Well that's good too

[@reighmund284]

I have been in three states lately where a bunch of operators have boycotted the local repeaters due to band police or those on who hang out there refusing to talk to anyone but their clique so they started several simplex nets.

[@WolfQuantum]

We don't have that many folks here in our small, SW Texas county (Just under 4K population). Our club does have both 2M and 70CM repeaters on the air. When I first got my license 6 or 7 years ago I kept a HT handy as it was a new thing. I was kind of the ambassador because I would always have it with me. It did make it possible to connect with some folks who were passing through. I did eventually get tired of keeping a radio on practically 24/7. Most folks around here will announce their call sign and mobile while heading out to check the mail (no residential delivery here), hit the local, small grocery or such. Kind of the Kinney County circuit. Some days when I'm spending too much time on the computer, I'll monitor the repeater from the base station along with monitoring GMRS and a scanner. On other days, it's just too much noise. So I don't always monitor. It does get a bit of a downer when you toss out your call sign multiple times in the day and no response unless you happen one of the other retired folks out and about. In our case, it's just a matter of very few people with plenty of other things going on. If they do hear someone they will respond. If it's someone visiting the area they'll get invited to join the weekly net or come to a meeting if they are in the area when we're having one.

[@AI5DQ]

Great video. Will you be at the Denton DFW Hamfest this weekend? Driving over from Shreveport, LA to find some goodies de AI5DQ

[@major__kong]

I have a license. But my local amateur radio community is not the kind of people I want to associate with. There's the proverbial old farts talking about hemorrhoids and prostate problems, the guys who don't care you're using the repeater for a public event and keep chatting, and then there's the guys on power trips. So why would I want to get on my local repeaters? If the FCC takes the spectrum, I'll just get a Part 90 license.

[@HamRadio2]

Most places aren't like that

[@Robbie-sk6vc]

Sadly, a lot of hams are that way these days! I actually met someone in a local repeater once that said "I don't talk to people on the radio that I haven't met in person first!" Really? Why bother getting a license, only to deal with folks like that? I used to get on much more than I do now. In part because of stupidity like that, and partly because most folks don't have much to say that's real interesting. They don't know how to have a conversation either.

[@dougmyers8767]

Not too bad now. One time I heard an Extra on the local repeater in Anchorage, AK make a call to someone specific but got no answer. I corrected him that he needed to use his callsign at the end but he tried to correct me, a Tech. Repeater trustee set him straight though. The Extra ID'd and then I made my call on the repeater, following the rules.

[@bassmanjr100]

Honestly, I think it is time to examine your own attitude. My club has old farts but those old farts, in worn out pickups and overalls know a ton about radio and antennas. If your club has more than 6 or 8 people I guarantee you that one of those old dudes is a cool guy that just got old. We all do. If you were expecting 25 year old brunettes you took up the wrong hobby. This a nerd hobby and for people that have homes and extra money. Sound like today's 20 somethings??? The other thing you can do is twist the arm of a couple of your friends to get their license and do your own thing. What I wouldn't do is to go it alone. The hobby is no fun that way.

[@docalexander2853]

All types of people are addicted to any form or shape of power.

[@radiorob]

Calling CQ on a repeater, is not like the way we called CQ on HF. When I was first licensed in the 1960's, repeaters were still rare. Most of the local action took place on 80 metres and long strings of CQ were often necessary to attract another station's attention as they were tuning around the shortwave bands. A five minute CQ was not unusual. That was considered a normal CQ. Obviously such a CQ would be completely unnecessary on a channelized FM repeater frequency that everybody is tuned to. Hence the early request, not to call CQ on a repeater. There is absolutely nothing wrong with simply putting out a single CQ, this is K5XXX. The term CQ simply means that I am looking for a QSO, it is not profanity. Unfortunately the self appointed band police do not know the background of why early repeater owners said a traditional shortwave CQ was not welcomed on a channelized repeater and make newcomers frightened to even mention the word.

[@stargazer7644]

That's because there's a segment of the population who don't or can't understand the distinction. For those people, we have to impose simple rules.

[@machfive916]

Great topic!

[@solo63137]

I try to go outta my way to be friendly, wecoming and helpful especially new ticket holders, of those newon the radio.. We had two new folks at our last club meeting. We made sure to welcome them, answer all their questions, and invite them to our weekly nets.. That next week, one of them was on tne net and thanked the club for the wecome and answering of their questions...

[@HamRadio2]

That's great

[@BryanDaniel42]

there's no FCC rule against calling CQ on a repeater, therefore you can't call it "wrong" to do so. It may not be the traditional or normal way to do it, but it isn't "wrong". if you have a radio in your car, turn it on and put your call sign out there when you are driving. if you don't and complain about silent repeaters, then you're part of the problem. I put my call sign out almost every time I get in the car on 146.700 repeater in Dallas (it covers almost all of DFW) and, sadly, I normally don't get a response.

[@thomasmaughan4798]

I advise my club that I almost always have my radio on; but we have a wide area linked repeater system that includes mountain territory without cellphone coverage so I do NOT treat someone "listening" as a CQ. It is a notice that IF you were waiting to tell me something, now I am listening. I have *not requested* a conversation; I am LISTENING. If I wish a conversation: CQ. It means "seek you" I wish to have a conversation with anyone! I am quick to answer CQ's on the local repeater, often from new hams that can be very nervous about procedure. Relax! The rules are very basic; every ten minutes of talking state your callsign. To be sure there's a lot of cultural baggage out there, "This is WB0ABC for ID" well of course is is "for id" so you don't need to SAY "for id". But if you do, well that's okay too. I admit to being annoyed by excessive and improper use of "QSL" to mean almost anything and QRZ? is not CQ. QSL? QSL!

[@MrMiked3151]

You might consider GMRS, Dallas has an awesome repeater which is usually linked to Houston and others. You will almost always have several people to talk to.

[@HamRadio2]

FCC has nothing to do with any of this

[@BryanDaniel42]

last time I checked, the FCC has no rule against calling CQ on a repeater.

[@HamRadio2]

@@BryanDaniel42 Again, like my last reply - FCC has NOTHING at all to do with any of this

[@jdscoco]

I have found local repeaters are a bit clique.

[@galenbarnaby]

I remember someone complaining that another ham and I were talking about "antennas". Some want the repeater to be silent until they want to use it. If they are trying to monitor, they turn it down because others are talking. I also remember someone asking for a phone patch and everyone went quiet waiting for someone with a phone patch to come in and help him. A few weeks later there was a story in QST from this fool claiming that these people didn't understand what a phone patch was. Being polite to some is considered ignorant. You never know who you will get giving a call on the repeater. One evening I was going to work and a guy answered me. While chatting he asked where I worked, I said DEC. He responded and I heard laughter in his background. He said we are with the CEO Ken Olsen and the VPs of DEC.

[@christopherkusek1362]

This is a great video! Def something to talk about. Wonder if criticizing the comments on the topic supports the concern people have of HAMS criticizing people who key up on repeaters and are afraid to make mistakes, and be corrected for them, on a broadcast station. Appreciate.

[@k6usy]

Because we are all busy talking on 2m sideband, lol. I talk on a wide area repeater system here in central CA when I am out driving driving, we have a good group of guys that get on the system. Most of the time when I put out my callsign someone will come back to me. But when I am home I am on simplex (FM & SSB) or I’m on HF.

[@HamRadio2]

That sounds fun

[@seandrake7534]

So is SSB the place to actually hear someone on simplex? I drive 60 miles one way to work and have tried and tried to get a simplex contact and never hear anything except for repeater traffic and that's slim in its self

[@RickPaquin]

So I hear more and more people say "HF is where it's at! And that would require me to up my license. But I don't hear anyone on HF. I hear plenty of international communications, but no local communication. I REALLY wonder if HF is as dead as 2M, and maybe for the same reason? WHERE is this HF traffic and in what form? I would assume SSB.

[@k6usy]

@@RickPaquin Here in CA, 40m is busy every night with regional traffic until the band goes long.

[@k6usy]

@@seandrake7534 All depends on where you are. I’m on VHF/UHF sideband almost every night but that is because we have nets here in central CA. I also use FM simplex all the time to talk to some of my friends and a group of older guys that never get on the repeaters. Just keep in mind that CA has the most hams in the county and I live in a city with 500,000+ people… even then sometimes the bands are dead because you know, everyone is at work.

[@southseapirate1]

CQ meaning you want to talk to any station. So it seems reasonable, that if I'm willing or wanting to talk to any station, I SHOULD call CQ. Anything else is just stupid. This shit is exactly why they are dead. State Police like rules and scorned if you step out of line. Let's put them back to use, weather it be telling my buddy a stupid joke, or someone tell me where the squad car is sitting. inb4 GoTOcB

[@stargazer7644]

People who don't or can't understand the reasons for rules are the main reason we need these rules.

[@butterbean4195]

here in N.E. Georgia there is several repeaters, a couple smaller town ones are kinda silent but the greenville SC Anderson, SC are very busy but i have so many rep that i can reach gona find some dead ones during the day. i also try the GMRS rep and same thing net nights are busy but normally during work hours dead. but the 145.610 in Greenville, SC somebody always there..

[@johnbegler7687]

I’ve made numerous trips out through both the Denver and Kansas City metro areas and have the repeaters programmed in my radios for the trips. Have called out I can’t count how many times on all the repeaters in both cities and have only had one reply in Denver and none in KC. Sad. I get more activity on our repeaters in western Kansas and even that’s not much, but it’s more than the big metro repeaters

[@Rusted_Link]

KERCHUNKING!!! That's why I'd rather talk on Simplex! STOP Kerchunking! Stop Asking for "radio check"! Just ask for a quick QSO. Talk about anything besides politics or religion. Talk about the weather, your favorite whiskey. Beer, Girlfriends, Boyfriends. Talk about Anything but just talk. Your quick QSO may lead to another Armature with similar hobbies. I've keyed up asked for a local friend then have one QSO after another after another after another. JUST TALK!!

[@markr.1984]

Another Armature with similar hobbies? What about a Commutator with similar hobbies? There are many parts of DC motors.

[@che59v]

The internet "antenna" killed your local wireless hobby , what a shame. Most are going to a known nodes and stay there with many of those connecting directly to the internet using their computer, or 20mw " magic box", why use a repeater when you could use the internet and get special digital ID number (similar to a phone number), I even heard CQ-DX there, what a feel of an achievement. lol The way things are going you should enjoy the radio ham simulation and expect to lose the spectrum that is known not to be used (very true statement when it comes to 2m and above when getting away from the cities). The real wireless guys know the difference between wireless and the internet and know where to find each other. If a ham wants to go digital internet based with me than he will have to use the cell phone. Again, digital while used antenna to antenna all the way is a part wireless hobby, no problem there, The Internet might be a more convenient way of communication but using is in a wireless hobby ethos helps kill our hobby. It is simple, If you use the internet as an antenna than YOU are part of the problem. 73 and now back to H.F

[@HamRadio2]

Except it didn't

[@Rusted_Link]

@@HamRadio2 what did he say jajajaja

[@che59v]

@@Rusted_Link He Said," Except it didn't"? you try and understand, I won't waste my time. lol

[@bassmanjr100]

OK. 😂

[@Rusted_Link]

@@che59v I was asking about your babbling.

[@unclemikeyplays]

It really can be quite random. This morning I was (pleasantly) surprised to catch a rag-chew on my city club's repeater -- usually i expect something during evening drive-time. I think from my own perspective I'm going to hear a bit more activity now that I've got an FTM-500 with that PMG function that can basically listen to up to 5 channels for activity without the usual scanning behaviour, because there are 4-5 repeaters I can hit from home that have random activity. But...that randomness can be frustrating. Over the weekend I tried to do a radio check against that same repeater and got nothin' except the repeater's own ID back. You're right that FT8/SSB on HF is very different from repeaters...and that's the "problem" -- if I'm spending time on HF (always portable for me), I don't always have an HT for talking on repeaters on hand!

[@scorpiotaurus]

I have my base station on Scan when I’m home. That way I’m always monitoring the local repeaters and 52 here in rural north Idaho.

[@dannyboydkj7bpn]

I call out on our local repeater any where from 1 to several times a day. Mostly quiet but there is that possible moment someone else will come back. We have a net on a repeater fairly close, on Monday evenings. I get anywhere from 0 to 5 to 7 check ins. I like vhf uhf. You can have it on just like HF. I say monitoring or mobile.

[@HIGHLANDERNEO2]

First off many repeaters changing to DMR have 2 local full time talk groups open. Here in Atlanta the groups are Atlanta tg8 on time slot 1, and Georgia statewide on ts2 . All other talk groups area on push to talk. If you want to comunicate on any other talk group you have to key up to switch the repeater temporarily to that time slot and t group. If you want to talk on say south east group you key up on ts2 and talk group for that service. There can be many conversations on DMR world wide but you won't hear them unless the repeater is shifted to that group. Push to talk was to prevent complete confusion that many talk groups come in to the repeater would cause. Licensed ham since 1989.

[@KeepEvery1Guessing]

I got my Novice in '63. My first few 2m rigs required you to buy PAIRS of crystals to add a new repeater. (Everywhere had a 34/94 repeater, so you could still use your HT when out of town.) There was no PL (CTCSS). That, and a few bucks, will get me a cup of coffee, but if people are saying no CQ is historic, I'm here to say Behind Secretions. There's noting wrong with CQ on a repeater, though it may be slightly harder to copy on a noisy channel than "listening" or "listening for a call", etc, if things are noisy. But not much. Just don't use it like you do on HF, where you're trying to catch the attention of someone tuning past on SSB (or CW), that is no long repeated long strings of multiple CQs. The FCC requires us to identify our transmissions, so if keying up to see if you have good SWR and a good path to the repeater, or to confirm that the repeater is working, that transmission should include a bare callsign. That's why I won't necessarily answer if that's all I hear. I might say "sounds good, KE1G", but won't necessarily be expecting a conversation. But if I hear "listening" or "listening for a call" or "CQ", and I'm in the mood to talk, I will answer (and I won't be upset if he said CQ). I may be more likely to respoond to "radio check" or the more specific "does this mic sound OK?", but I won't be expecting to commit to an extended conversation. An exception for just your call is to ask to join a QSO in progress: just drop you call on the tail of someone else's transmission. (Those old tail beeps were precisely for this purpose: folks already in the QSO wait for the carrier to drop, because the time out timer doesn't reset until then, but the beep happens at the beginning of the squelch tail, when the previous station stops transmitting, and the breaker knows that he can be heard.

[@craiglyles6898]

El Paso TX has many local repeaters. They use to be constant now you only hear activity during local nets and that's only 3 times a week.

[@truckinguy92]

I thought the local analog repeaters were dead. During the day, during the week most of them are dead, but not as dead as you would think. I drive a box truck for a living and just recently installed an Icom IC-2730 2m/70cm. Plugged in a bunch of local repeaters in the greater Philadelphia area and quite a few of them are fairly active, especially during drive time. You’ll get some random people answering when throwing out your callsign and sometime you won’t. I think repeater activity is really based on how populated the area is that you’re in and how many of them stations are retired. Point being you really don’t know unless you throw out your callsign. Great video Jason de W2ITG

[@ElFrigginChupacabra]

Looking for contacts on a repeater is covered in the ARRL License Manual (Mine is the 5th Edition for the Technician license) in chapter/section 6-4. It also comes up on the exam under question T2A09. It's commonly accepted practice not to call CQ on a repeater, but instead, to just simply say your call sign followed by either "Listening", "Monitoring", "Mobile", "Looking for a contact", etc...

[@Mike--WA7QZR]

Each repeater has a different policy concerning calling "CQ". The main reason is, communications-wise, it isn't really necessary. With FM, you're either full quieting or you're unreadable, and calling CQ under the latter conditions won't earn you much. I usually advise new Hams to key the mic and say something like: "This is monitoring (or) looking for a call". I don't say "over" because the repeater will repeat the noise of you unkeying. I do, however, when I've made my last transmission for which I do not expect or will not be listening for a reply, say "OUT". I think that procedure and those prowords would be acceptable on just about anybody's repeater system.

[@3TQVK]

same in Australia, just say your callsign, Listening..... easy

[@tangobayus]

When I was a Technician last year, I made 100 QSO's, on the CARLA system in California. Now that I have my General, I'm more interested in connecting to nets and making random contacts with POTA and other hams on HF. I've checked repeaters in various areas using Echolink and rarely make contact. If you use the SDR's you will see traffic, particularly on 40 meters. I'm mainly interested in having something that works if the repeaters go down. It's hilly where I live and VHF/UHF simplex is not very useful. I run an antenna that is basically NVIS and can reach as far as 700 miles. (End fed half wave cut 65 feet for 40 meters, 9:1 unun.)

[@patrickedout4571]

In my area the GMRS repeater network is very active (Atlanta - NGGMRS), the ham repeaters, not so much. It seems many GMRS members are also amateur operators who have moved over to GMRS which is more accessible to the general public. Fortunately, that leads many to pursue their ham license as they get more active on the air.

[@stantonroyce9377]

Loved NM ham radio. Fifth largest state but only 2 million people. Yet, has statewide linked repeater system, and repeaters all around the state including APRS & PACKET. Robust AUXCOMM operations, including HF.

[@capndavey1]

back in the mid 90's local 146.76 repeater also 220 and 440 was active 90% of the time 22 hours a day!

[@TravelinHam]

I’ll have to give your challenge a shot. I’m rarely in repeater range (closest repeater today is 45 miles away) but that’s a poor excuse. There’s always the calling frequencies and wilderness protocol. -KEØVIM

[@pale_2111]

There's activity here in East Tennessee on 2m for the most part. Some on 220 and very little. As for 146.52, I've made a couple contacts in Crossville while mobile. One station was mobile as well and had about a 10 minute conversion. In Knoxville, no luck there on 52.

[@jm-sh6qr]

im in east tn too, do you have any good tips?

[@Novoworks]

Relatively new myself, so good info 👍 I'm over in Allen, so not that far from you either.

[@HamRadio2]

Nope, that's close

[@Novoworks]

@@HamRadio2 Can't hit that one from here though... tried

[@HamRadio2]

@@Novoworks Try 443.875 pl110.9 - not sure how high up your antenna is

[@Novoworks]

@@HamRadio2 Nothing there either.... DBJ-2 in the attic, so not really high

[@sierrawhiskey5144]

To me (unliscensed and seeking one.) Its a clear instance of those with social skills and those with out.(Reddit in a nutshell.). HR2.0 has decent social skills and by this recounting brings those good social skills to the airwaves.

[@charlie_nolan]

Repeaters aren’t very quiet around me but there are definitely some old grumpy mean HAMs. But there’s also several really nice older HAMs who I know as well. Ironically the repeaters with the best footprint (one of which has a fancy simulcast setup) around me are barely used but the ones with poor coverage (skywarn) are used all the time.

[@larrybragg7406]

Larry-N7LWB, I've noticed in California that HAM radio is not nearly as active in recent years on both HF and the repeaters. It seems like most activity is on in the southern and eastern states. I'm going to take your challenge and do the same here locally. We have several repeaters and several digital repeaters in the Central Valley of CA. I'd like to see the activity come back.

[@N6OIX]

Get Allstar link there are great repeaters in Calif. Alburn ca is the best. Morning coffee net. Daily night nets. Fantastic people who love ham radio. I'm in Irvine, our papa is crap and a money grab. I'm a paid member and 29 repeaters are dead all day. But Alburn is where the action is. 73

[@N2ELS.]

In my area there are 3 repeaters and one set of 4 repeaters linked together that I can think of that are active. Most days the morning and afternoon commute to and from work is when it's active. Two of the repeaters, that I can think of right now, have constant activity on them In the evening into late night. It used to be busier years ago. I know with some hams now sk and with technology getting better could be reasons why they are quiet. Just a thought. Have a nice day.

[@3TQVK]

very simple very true, there are a lot more leaving us than joining us .... world wide

[@adamsonofdon2766]

There is a gmrs repeater two counties south of me that used(3 years ago) to be quiet. Like 3-5 regular gmrs guys. Me being one of them. Now, there all a ton of people using this and most are hams. We had a get together recently and by and large most of the hams prefer the gmrs repeater over the ham counterpart as it is more casual, not as “stuffy” or “rigid” from all the old timers. I’m studying for tech currently and for some time have wondered what the appeal for the ham guys to enjoy the gmrs repeater, It is interesting that the majority of the, felt this way.

[@ravenbarsrepairs5594]

Heard my first guy this morning calling CQ on a repeater. I was still in bed, so no responce. He kept calling for a good half hour before I turned the radio off when I got sick of sleep disruptions.

[@JohnGotts]

I was licensed in 1991. In the 1990's it was common to have 10 repeaters in use on 2 meters at once in Metro Detroit, pop around 4 million. There was even a 220 repeater that was quite active. Today the bands are dead. Many of the repeaters are still there after all these years but nobody uses them anymore. Admittedly I don't have as good an antenna set up as I used to, and I moved to the west side, but I hear nada.

[@kchaney56]

I live in MIddle Tenn and monitor the local repeaters but there is little activity. The 5 radio clubs in my area each have around 5-7 members. As I look at their websites the pics show that at one time the had 30-40 members.

[@ai5dd]

Lots of activity on our repeaters here in central Oklahoma.

[@jimrubin3335]

I dunno about your area, but here in the Richmond, VA area is busy on our few wide-area repeaters, with multiple nets each week as well as regulars rag-chewing with each other.

[@HamRadio2]

That's great to hear

[@edbloom4897]

We have two that are relatively quiet. But they are there "Just In Case." An April storm took out an antenna for another that is part of a two repeater linked system. This is where most of the activity is. With this down, the other two were available to pick up the slack. There is a third repeater that has a very active group of users. None of these have "Radio Police." New Hams are encouraged to get on.

[@HamRadio2]

Great news

[@DavidMitchell79]

One way is to get on the repeater and call out "CQ, CQ, CQ, " . I am wagering ten or twenty long time hams will come back and tell you how badly you messed up.... LoL! Works Everytime, like chumming when fishing.

[@stevengill1736]

It's been dying off for years... everyone's busy with their phones.

[@fubarsnafu4994]

I remember yhe I95 service center repeater was as busy if not busier than ch 19 on 11m. Not your lucky in broad daylight you get someone to call back.

[@brandonporter4227]

I have a 25 minute ride home from work every day. I would say I call the repeater about 90% of the time when I get within range. Every now and then the repeater response is extremely noisy and I don't bother to give my call sign. I'll never be able to hear anyone on those days. I would say about a quarter of the time when I DO give my call, someone actually calls back and we have a five or ten minute conversation. It's usually the same two or three people. When I get home, I'm usually sitting next to the radio and will answer most calls that come over the radio unless I'm in the middle of something. Trying to make our repeater more active. Only reason I would call CQ on a repeater is if I needed a response for some reason like an emergency. Generally speaking though, I only ever say mobile, listening or need a radio check.

[@michaelyancey3021]

When I was working in north Dallas, we kept a regular, morning group conversation going. We occasionally had a skip-in from Little Rock or the Oklahoma-Kansas border or Eastern Louisiana on 2m Tropospheric Propagation. Other locals would chime in. Every day, every morning drive-time. Jobs shifted, people moved on. But this used to carry on for maybe 10 years or so. I thought it would come back during COVID, when they did the disastrous shutdowns. Nope. About 16 years ago, there were some 440-linked repeaters would have a quiz-show originating in California (I think) late around midnight Central Time. There used to be a group of older guys in Ft Worth after midnight. Either people have moved on to Digital Talk Groups or maybe have just become less outwardly oriented than they used to be. I'm really concerned it's the latter. Folks don't have much they want to share, or they think they won't be welcomed. Just a hypothesis.

[@3beltwesty]

Had a great mobile QSO from Carpenteria /101 freeway to Orange County at 4am. On the roge 147.435 repeater. All the knuckleheads must have finally gone asleep. 25 years with my Kenwood 27Th a? Handheld with a mobile antenna. Darn that repeater had some great reach..normally it was a zoo. They had a radio review on that repeater on Sundays??? Roy Tucker??

[@juststeve7665]

lo I operated on that repeater for many years. Roy was a good guy. We all had a lot of fun. Roy tried to keep that repeater open for free speech which sometimes backfired. The Jammers aka squeakys were there since the early 1980s... lol probably many of the same people for decades... the user group changed over the years/decades and people came and went... but there were some there from the beginning... 147.435 was the first repeater, started off as an AM repeater then went FM as soon as technically possible. We had many in person events with fairly large attendance... Hams For Tots, Chili cook-offs, Field day... and many on radio activities... radio history and trivia with Roy then later other control ops and general trivia... I was even control op a couple times. the call sign Roy put on the repeater W6NUT was appropriate lol It was great fun even though at times the jammers were obnoxious... but what better incentive to hone your direction finding skills with a live target lol The repeater was best when it was located on Mt Wilson... when it lost/got kicked off that location it went to quite a few different hilltops. I helped with maintenance a couple times. Once Roy sold the system it went downhill from there and never recovered. I moved away from So Cal 21 years ago but I do miss the 435 radio banter.

[@toybuns775]

Love me some WEul great folks! Hurst is a good repeater as well as any of the North Central Texas Connections. I have to hand it to those GMRS repeaters in the area, especially Haltom725, lots of activity on that one. I will try to catch you sometime.. keep it low SWR my brother. Ki5TNY

[@cooldad4]

Year's ago how many modes did you have disregarding frequently? AM,FM,SSB; now what do we have AM,FM,SSB, + many digital modes as well! If I want to talk the world and don't have HF then my only option is digital, and I'm not restricted by propagation! Great channel. M7FDJ 73s

[@HamRadio2]

Yep, agreed