Get on the Air and Make Some Noise—Advice on Increasing Local Repeater Activity
Why are VHF and UHF repeaters so quiet much of the time? Where is everybody? When you tune in on the local 2-meter repeater, more often than not it’s nothing but crickets—and they’re not chirping PL tones.
Oldtimers would tell you someone on the repeater was always willing to talk during the day. Many were retirees with time on their hands or hams operating mobile while running errands or traveling to and from work.
But today, it seems like just the opposite.
It’s not for the lack of licensed hams—there are nearly 27,000 in Ohio where I live. Nationwide, there are about 745,000 (ARRL, November 2024, as reported by the FCC). Granted, not all are active on the air, but you’d think some would be on a local repeater at any given time.
Why is this? What’s changed?
Cell Phones & Other Distractions
With radio tech changing rapidly, more communications options are available than a decade ago.
Mobile phones and their capabilities have changed our lives. Why would you carry a radio when you can use your smartphone to contact your significant other, kids, or friends? It’s so much more convenient. You don’t have to monitor the repeater, and you can almost always reach them or leave a text or voicemail. At Dayton Hamvention®, I usually don’t bring an HT to keep in touch with my ham friends—the phone has become the primary means of communication.
Once you upgrade from your Tech license, a new world opens on the HF bands. You’ll likely spend more time there finding DX, POTA, and contest stations than on VHF/UHF radio. There’s certainly evidence of increased HF activity, especially now during the peak of Cycle 25. But it’s not likely we’re talking to locals on HF.
Digital radio has become an integral part of amateur radio. DMR, D-STAR, and System Fusion are among the current favorites on VHF/UHF. In addition to the traditional voice communication we’re used to, digital modes allow us to transmit text, images, and even data packets. Thanks to the Internet, you can expand your HT’s communication from local to worldwide when used with a digital hotspot and computer.
Space-bound communications have become increasingly popular in the UHF/VHF bands. Options include talking with the ISS Space Station, moonbounce, and meteor scatter/aurora propagation. FM satellites function just like an orbiting repeater. There are dozens of ham radio satellites in orbit right now, and they allow short QSOs over a few thousand miles to take place. Several satellites use FM, others use SSB or CW, and a few use digital modes.
Life gets in the way as well. Little League, music lessons, carpools and other family obligations take up significant amounts of time. Other activities like golf, pickleball, video games, cooking or baking, fitness, and watching sports are popular pastimes that compete for our attention. Many of us also volunteer with various charities and organizations.
Too Many Repeaters/Modes?
Every club wants its own repeater (or several). Instead of having all the locals on one or two repeaters, you have a dozen repeaters that are quiet most of the time. On any given repeater, you have a more challenging time finding someone to chat with because there are potentially fewer people on it.
Then along came digital, limiting the hams you could hear and contact. Analog people couldn’t talk to the digital people. And with several competing digital modes, nobody can really talk to anybody who doesn’t use the same one. D-STAR isn’t compatible with DMR, nor is Yaesu compatible with P25. Newer mixed-mode repeaters will accept FM signals if programmed to do so, bridging some of the digital gap.
Making 2M/70cm Radio Active
So what do we do to increase activity? I don’t think there’s one easy answer for solving the problems with VHF/UHF repeaters, but here are some suggestions that might work. All involve being more active on the air.
- Put your call out there. Announce you are listening but extend the transmission a bit. For example, add phonetics for clarity: “N8XYZ, November eight, XYZ. Or say something like “N8XYZ, monitoring 146.94.” Do something to keep the squelch open for a few seconds and give the scanners time to settle on you or listeners to react. You might be surprised that someone is listening and willing to talk to you. Do it more than once if there’s no response.
- Wait and listen. Avoid the temptation of quickly moving to the next repeater frequency. Waiting 15 to 30 seconds after a call might not be long enough to give someone a chance to answer. If you’re using the scanner function, temporarily pause. Give it a minute or two before moving on. If you hear someone, answer them.
- Ask for a radio check. Asking for a radio check is good because if somebody is otherwise busy but wants to be helpful and friendly, they know they can get in and out of the conversation quickly if it’s just a radio check. Let them decide if they want to continue the conversation.
- Take advantage of drive time. Why not switch off talk radio or music and listen on repeater frequencies to and from work? It’s probably the best time to find someone on the repeater.
- Net results. Check into regularly scheduled nets. Our local club has a weekly net and sponsors an ARES net twice a month. If you randomly stumble upon one, join in. When the net ends, there may be some stations that hang around to chat for a while.
- Gather ‘round the radio. Recruit a few ham friends and establish a net of your own with the cooperation of a local repeater group. Form a breakfast or coffee break group to meet on the repeater and encourage activity and friendly chat. Looking for a service net? Form a ham Q&A net or an Elmer net to help new (and not so new) amateurs with questions about the hobby or technical issues
- Adopt a digital standard. This could be the most challenging thing to accomplish since it requires hams to agree, some who may already have vested interests in a particular mode. Rather than have multiple repeaters with differing digital modes, look at all the available resources in your community and choose the mode that is the most active. Is the D-STAR repeater the most active? Then go with D-STAR. If System Fusion is big in your community, then go System Fusion. Choose the dominant mode and run with it.
- Event communications. Whether it’s marathons, parades, hamfest check-ins, or other events that use 2M/70cm for communications, a repeater can assure good coverage for participants with HTs over distance and difficult terrain. Sometimes, simplex doesn’t cut it.
Support Your Local Repeater
Get on the air and make some noise. The amateur radio service is a hobby with so many opportunities, but let’s not forget our local ham radio community.
Get on the air and put those repeaters to work.
There is a saying in ham radio that you need to use it or you may lose it. There’s a constant threat of bandwidth being taken away, whether it’s by the FCC or the owner of a tower site. It is easier to justify the existence of a repeater if it is part of an active community and provides a needed service.
into the DX Engineering repeater, 146.985 MHz, no PL. We’re fortunate to have several local clubs nearby, so there’s always plenty of activity. The repeater covers most of the east side of Akron, and stretches close to the Pennsylvania state line. (Image/DX Engineering)
