Repeater Use Guidelines

Repeater Use Guidelines

These simple guidelines should help us earn access to repeaters from year to year and promote respectful use of an organization's equipment. They will also help us provide reliable communications for important messages, or when emergency traffic is needed. Because these guidelines are the basis by which we have communicated we will operate, it is important for everyone to take a few minutes and review them before the event.

During operation, please pay particular attention to the notes on identifying. Current FCC enforcement actions have been admonishing amateurs and repeater owners in our area on the use of tactical call signs.

Here is the FCC part 97 rule:

97.119 Station identification.
Each amateur station, except a space station or telecommand station, must transmit its assigned call sign on its transmitting channel at the end of each communication, and at least every ten minutes during a communication, for the purpose of clearly making the source of the transmissions from the station known to those receiving the transmissions. No station may transmit unidentified communications or signals, or transmit as the station call sign, any call sign not authorized to the station.

Here is an example:
Rest Stop 1 Calls: Net Control, Rest Stop 1
Net Control Answers: Go a head Rest Stop 1
Rest Stop 1 Traffic: We need 2 cases of water, when can we expect them?
Net Control Replies: ETA on the 2 cases of water is 20 min.
Rest Stop 1 Replies: Rest Stop 1 copies, KE6XYZ
Net Control Replies: Net Control, WA6ABC

This was a short conversation so one ID is all that is needed. Had this gone on for longer than 10 minutes, we would have given our amateur call every 10 minutes and at the end. When making a contact, please be brief in making your point. Rambling statements and non-event comments slow traffic confuse those listening and increase the loading on an already busy frequency. All of which will create an unnecessary delay should an emergency develop.

"Jammers" trying to disrupt events seem to be happening too often. If we experience a disruptive person, we will use the guidelines listed below.

Thanks to all of you for volunteering for this public service event to help our community.

REPEATER GUIDELINES:

To use an amateur repeater, all radio stations must be in compliance with FCC rules, and the 'best practice' Amateur Radio procedures listed below:

Our net control station (NCS) will operate as a control of a directed net and will try to control all radio traffic during the event, however we will leave some room for quick brief calls to arrange a frequency change to alternate frequency.

Amateurs are responsible for their operating practices, but if NCS observes a problem during the event, expect a brief discussion so it can be resolved.

NCS will also identify the purpose of the net at least twice each hour.

All net participating stations may use tactical call signs, but you must ID with your FCC issued call at 10-minute intervals, or at the end of a final transmission if that is shorter.

All stations must leave a sufficient pause between transmissions to allow emergency traffic; generally, waiting for a second or two or the courtesy tone, if used. should be sufficient. It should be noted that most repeaters have a max user transmit time, also known as a time-out timer, of 3 minutes. This timer can only reset by allowing the input signals to the repeater to drop.

All net traffic must yield for all emergency traffic, or "911" phone patches. Any station with emergency traffic should use the term "break", or "break, break". These key word terms are reserved for emergency traffic only, and should not be used for non-emergency requests to interrupt traffic.

Any station wishing to call, or contact another station monitoring the repeater, should attempt to enter just their call sign, or the word "Contact" between transmissions. Any hearing this interruption should acknowledged the calling station and allowed to communicate their need as soon as possible. During slow net periods some stations may not be aware of net activity and should be allowed to make their call without acknowledgment of NCS. If necessary, net control may break-in with net traffic using the above-described methods when necessary informing the other stations why the repeater is being used.

Intentional interference, or "Jamming", must be handled with extreme care. Experience has taught us that improper handling of disruptive people will embolden their efforts and may even make the net operation impossible for an extended period of time. Intentional interference is rare on most repeater system, but in the event it happens during our net, the following guidelines are offered:

Never talk to, or about anyone operating illegally ("Jamming") on the repeater.

Never acknowledge that any "Jamming" activity is occurring.

Never let "Jammers" know they are having an effect on our event.

Never conduct any search, interference mitigation efforts on the repeater at any time during our event.

Should the jamming make it impossible to continue net operations, move to our backup frequency, or stop operation for a short period of time.

Our NCS will open and close the net with an "official' announcement declaring that a net is/has been in operation. This announcement might include a short description of the event and net operations. This announcement should be repeated thought out the duration of the net at regular intervals. We recommend announcing the nets operation every 30 min. At the close of the net, NCS should "officially" return the repeater to normal-operation.

Recommendations to help us demonstrate good operating practices:

Mobile stations working the event should operate with a minimum of 5 to 25 watts using an outside mobile type antenna. Using a portable radio with a "rubber-duck" type antenna within a vehicle almost always sounds terrible. Please try to avoid it.

Portable stations should operate with a minimum capability of 5 watts into a gain antenna mounted on the roof. If an external antenna isn't possible, it is recommended that the radio/antenna be elevated during radio transmissions.

When working a repeater that is linked, there will almost always be delays on receive and transmit. After pressing the PTT button, always pause 1 to 2 seconds to allow the system to fully activate the links. Failure to wait will eliminate the beginning words of your message from being heard by others. More importantly, short messages that are inherent in net type operations, won't be heard at all, leaving you thinking people are not responding to your message when in fact nobody heard anything, because you didn't wait for the link-delays to finish.

If a repeater is producing synthesized speech messages because we couldn't get them suspended, ask if the messages will stop when regular audio is heard. If they will, do not wait for the message to complete before making your transmission.

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Last modified: Sunday February 17, 2008.