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All Licensed Amateur Operators are welcome to use any ARRG repeater, or link for normal, day to day usage. You do not have to be a ARRG member to utilize the repeater system, however, we admonish all users to become a member of the ARRG and by doing so, directly support the repeater systems. To Become a member of the ARRG you can click on the ARRG Membership tab or click here. If you or your group wish to schedule weekly usage of the repeaters for emergency or social nets, please let us know by contacting us here or simply click on the Repeater Scheduling link in the menu section. If emailing us, please include your Name, your Group or Organizations Name, Your Callsign and a valid phone number, so we can respond to your request quickly. The use of the ARRG Repeaters is open to all properly licensed amateur radio operators. The ARRG repeaters are OPEN ACCESS. In return, ARRG requests that you be courteous to others and use proper operating practices at all times. 1. ARRG promotes family oriented repeaters and all users should be courteous at all times. Follow good amateur practices and at all times follow current FCC Part 97 Rules & Regulations.
2.
Lead others by your example.
3.
Use your call sign to enter an
ongoing QSO. "
Break " indicates Emergency or Priority Traffic.
If the party has Emergency or Priority Traffic, please
relinquish the repeater immediately.
5. Allow the repeater carrier to drop before transmitting. This will allow the timer to reset itself or the controller will time its self-out. It will also allow other stations to break in. This is especially important in the case of an EMERGENCY. 6. Keep QSO's short. Generally, QSO's should not last longer than 10 minutes and should be shorter during commute hours. Remember, some people are shy and will not interrupt an ongoing QSO even if it is announced that they are welcome to break in. A good policy is, once you make contact with another party, go simplex or use a local repeater to continue your QSO. This frees up the repeater for others to use. 1. DO NOT acknowledge transmissions from unlicensed stations or stations causing the interference. 3. Be prepared to report the time, your location, signal strength, the type of antenna you were using, and if directional the direction in degrees. 4. Let the control operators handle interference problems and repeater autopatch guidelines. There may be an ARRG control operator taking action that you are not aware of. REPEATER TRAFFIC PRIORITIES 1. Emergency traffic, ie: 911 calls 2. Priority traffic 3. Public service and scheduled nets 4. General use, ie: QSO's and autopatch use. Things you should know about Repeater Operations Since the advent of the relaxed requirements for entry level amateur licensing, many new hams first taste of on-the-air operation is quite likely to be through a VHF / UHF repeater. With few exceptions, all hams are welcome on the local repeaters. There is, however, a tendency for new hams, and some old timers, to take repeaters for granted and simply come to expect there will be repeater service. Repeaters, and the services they provide, are not public domain. They are owned by individuals, groups, or clubs and were most likely created to support a particular purpose or activity for the common interest of their owners. When you operate on them, you are actually operating through someone else's duly licensed and coordinated station. It is therefore, important for you to find out as much as you can about the repeaters you intend to use on a regular basis. Who owns the repeater? What is the preferred operating mode? It may be rag chew, net operation, autopatch, emergency communications or public service event support. You wouldn't just walk into a ham's shack and begin operating his station without some type of invitation or permission. If you find a repeater you like, don't be afraid to ask questions. Ask if the repeater is available for use by anyone. Ask if there are any special operating procedures or prohibited types of operation, like restricted or quiet times, rag chewing, net operations, and so on. Inquire if you must join a group of club in order to operate the repeater or system autopatch. Ask if it is appropriate to help defray the costs of power, maintenance, or site rent by offering a periodic contribution. Ask if there are any special features available like an autopatch or direct 911 access. By initiating a dialog with the repeater owners or control operators to show your interest, you may be surprised how welcome you will be. Repeater Terminology and
Jargon At first, the new ham may be confused or unfamiliar with the bells, whistles, and jargon encountered while operating on a repeater. By no means complete, the following definitions are offered to help the new ham and the experienced operator gain a higher lever of operating comfort and repeater expertise. What
is a REPEATER? A repeater is a specially built transmitter and receiver, placed at an advantageous location, that automatically repeats signals it hears out to other stations that would normally be unable to hear the signals directly, thus extending your communications range. What
is a TIMER and what is RESET? Repeaters often incorporate a TIMER or transmit time limiter to control the length of a single transmission from a user. The time limit is set by the repeater owner. The term RESET applies to when the timer is reset back to zero and normally occurs when the carrier of the transmitter drops. What is a CONTROL OPERATOR? The Part 97 of the FCC Rules requires all stations in the Amateur Service that are capable of operating unattended must be monitored for proper operation while in the unattended mode. This monitoring function is accomplished by a control operator. This person can be the licensee of the station or his or her designee. In many cases, he or she also ends up being the person that answers questions about the repeater. The monitoring requirement is waived for repeater owners that incorporate CTCSS in their repeater. What
is PL or Tone? PL, an acronym for Private Line, is Motorola's proprietary name for a communications industry signaling scheme call the Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System, or CTCSS. It is used to prevent a repeater from responding to unwanted signals or interference. Tone is an electronic means of allowing a repeater to respond only to stations that encode or send the proper tone. Any station may be set up to transmit this unique low frequency tone that allows the repeater to operate. What is an AUTOPATCH? An autopatch is special equipment incorporated in a repeater to allow the user access to the public switched telephone system. The repeater owner may limit access to certain individuals or limit the types of calls that can be made to insure proper operation and prevent misuse. What is
WHITE NOISE? White noise is a scientific term used to describe a spectrum of broad band noise generated in a receiver's detector and sampled to control the receiver's squelch. This term is often incorrectly used to describe the sounds heard when the received transmission is noisy and hard to understand, usually attributed to a weak signal. What is
meant by the term DOUBLED? Doubled or doubling is when two parties attempt to talk at the same time through a repeater Seldom does this work and normally happens accidentally. Doubling is akin to being 'walked on', a common CB term. What
is INTERMOD? Intermod, short for inter modulation, is the
generation of unwanted signals by the inadvertent mixing of several
strong transmitters. This
mixing can occur at the repeater site or in your own receiver, depending
on the circumstances. A good
example of interference caused by intermodulation is the strange
overriding signals experienced while driving in a large metropolitan
area. Strong signals emanate
from high power paging or dispatch stations transmitting simultaneously
and mix in your receiver or in some cases, mix in another transmitter
somewhere and re-radiated to your receiver.
The result is a mixture noise, garbage, paging tones or voices
coming out of your speaker on certain ham band frequencies.
The term intermod is frequently used by hams to label any
unexplained noise or interference heard on their receiver.
General
Information regarding the ARRG Repeater Operating Practices ARRG, a
non-profit corporation, was incorporated on October 5, 1977 by the State
of Oregon. The ARRG was formed to
encourage and foster mutual interest in amateur radio communications and
provide public service (by providing such communication when required as
a result of normal communication means being disrupted by natural or man
made causes), operates several radio repeater stations to enhance the
quality of communication available. Licensed by the
Federal Communications Commission, the ARRG repeaters and the users of
said repeaters MUST comply with ALL FCC mandated rules and regulations.
IN ADDITION, beyond the minimum required by law, ARRG has established
operating procedures to optimize the use of the repeaters and to define
a level of quality which is representative of all ARRG members. While not all
inclusive, the following procedures establish a baseline for all
repeater users to follow.
Proper and legal operating etiquette is 95% common
sense. While the above limits on content are not all inclusive, they
should make clear the type of communication, which is NOT
appropriate. In general, if what is being said could be construed as
embarrassing or hurtful by a listener, it is probably NOT permitted.
Always err on the side of caution. When in doubt... DON'T. Anyone who
violates the above will be warned after the first offense.
Portions of this page are reproduced with the permission of the Long Island Mobile Amateur Radio Club and the Western Washington Amateur Radio Association.
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