WAKING THE DEAD, UNRUDING THE RUDE

© 2005 by T. J. "Skip" Arey N2EI
Originally Published in Monitoring Times Magazine May 2005

Recently I had the opportunity to drive through a region of the country I have not had reason to visit for about ten years or so. In looking over my logs I recalled the area to have quite a few fine and very active repeater systems. Consulting the current edition of the ARRL Repeater Directory revealed almost a dozen machines that should have made my stay in this area lots of fun amateur radio wise. In preparation for the trip I programmed all the aforementioned systems into the memories of my handheld and looked forward to many hours of relaxing rag chewing.
What I discovered did not speak well of the state of VHF/UHF repeater activity in 2005, at least in that particular part of the country. I shall keep things nameless and regionless because, I know the situation to be a fact in more than a few locations around the country. As I drove through the area and set up shop in a number of bed & breakfasts and motels during my travels, I found incredibly little repeater activity. On many of the machines my calls went unanswered, even during peak drive time hours. (This does not bode well for travelers in need of aid in an unfamiliar part of the land). Those machines where my call was answered almost always resulted in curt responses, sometimes with an overt indication that outsiders were not all that welcome. Roundtables consisted of a handful of friends talking only to one another and not opening up matters to general discussion. I can recall passing through this area in the past and being invited twice on two different repeaters to meet some local hams for coffee at local eateries. Now I find only dead air or the cold shoulder. Something is not healthy in ham radio land. While most areas are not in as dire straights as this part of the world I was visiting, I think we can all think of one or two machines near our QTH’s that are either unfriendly or have been so inactive that dust comes out of the speaker when you key them up.
I guess the analysis needs to begin with how things might have gone down this road to radio hobby entropy. The most common thing I hear from folks is “The Internet is to blame!” I suppose by some stretch of the imagination, an argument could be made that some folks have stopped playing radio in favor of playing with computers. My experience, and that of many of my friends, does not reflect that possibility. I cannot think of any ham who has become inactive due to the addition of a computer in the shack. Everyone radio person I know, ham or otherwise has seen the computer as a tool to enhance their hobby fun. While computer technology is a convenient excuse and target I just don’t see anything to really support this notion. Have you ever seen an ad in the ham radio press stating “Must sell my ham gear to buy a PC?” That dog just won’t hunt.
A more reasonable argument might be made for the growth of the cellular phone industry as cutting into ham repeater activity. Many machines sprung up around the use of, and access to, a viable area telephone patch system. I know more than a few folks, whose ham activity is mainly in the HF bands, who bought a 2 meter rig and supported a local repeater just for the security of being able to make an emergency call from the road. Today, for most folks, cell phones do the job. So the lack of need for phone patch based systems and their group support brings us to where the problem probably really comes home to roost.
I think we have nobody but ourselves to blame for the lack of repeater activity. Most metropolitan areas (with the reduction in phone patch use) probably have more repeater systems than they reasonably require. In the late seventies and early eighties, everyone who could get a channel off of their regional frequency coordinator (and even some who didn’t) put a repeater system on the air. So instead of a good number of folks sharing the fun in a few good places, smaller and smaller groups broke out onto the different machines and, over time, there just wasn’t enough activity to keep folks interested. And with very few folks depending on phone patching to let their significant other know when they will be home for dinner, a lot of machines have gotten awfully quiet. Quantity is seldom quality.
So we have addressed the dead systems, what about those unfriendly ones. That might be a tougher nut to crack but it’s something we need to look at because, along with a drop in repeater system use has come a drop in the interest in emergency service activity. Even in spite of the events related to tightening up emergency response in relation to homeland security, many areas still find it hard to get folks out for ARES/RACES nets and field activities. And sadly, some of those groups that are active show a trend to being rather insular and, while paying lip service to wanting new folks to participate, seem to go a long way in treating newcomers as outsiders. This is actually a fairly complicated subject that goes well beyond the ham radio world. An excellent book that looks at the problem and some of the solutions is called Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert D. Putnam (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000). I commend it to you for further study. Some systems that were once open, with gregarious memberships who encouraged new activity, have turned in on themselves, feeling little or no connection with hams outside of the local group. I once drove through an area and made a call on a system listed in the ARRL Repeater directory as being “open”. Before the squelch tail dropped someone (who by the way neglected to give their callsign at the time) felt the need to inform me on no uncertain terms that people who did not pay dues on the system were not allowed to talk on it. Even if this was a case where the system had gone “closed” for some reason (it hadn’t) I am sure you can think of quite a few ways that interaction could have been handled with better amateur radio spirit and camaraderie.
So how do we get these inactive and insular repeater systems to wake up and operate in the best traditions of the amateur radio fraternity? In checking out matters with some of my local repeater groups and talking with folks in other parts of the country I think there are lots of ways to turn dead and unfriendly systems around. Let me outline a few that might be useful should you run into similar situations in your area.

JOIN YOUR LOCAL REPEATER GROUP
Regardless of if a system is considered open or closed for use purposes, the people who pays the bills always have the most say in how a system is run. Contributing membership in your local system(s) allows you to have input into matters, or at least have direct access to those that set policy. Remember that system I spoke of where I was told to get off the air because I wasn’t a paying member? I made a point of finding out who the system trustee was and getting in contact with him. That gentleman assured me that this unknown individual was not speaking for the repeater group, that the system was open and use by travelers was encouraged. He assured me that the matter would be discussed at the next quarterly Repeater Group meeting and that he would advise regular users to keep an ear out for anyone making such inappropriate statements on behalf of the group. I wasn’t a member of that group and my concerns were well heard. Think of how much more clout your position will have if you are a card carrying member?

GO TO GROUP MEETINGS
This is sort of a chicken and egg situation. I know of some repeater groups that, as they have become more inactive, have held less frequent meetings. This is 180 degrees out of phase. You need to hold more frequent meetings to discuss how to improve system participation, to meet and welcome new hams to the group, and to find out about any emerging matters that could have a negative effect on the system. More meetings will produce more activity. A more active repeater will have more members, who will come to more meetings… Get the picture? And while you’re at those meetings, be a voice for the kind of repeater group you would want to be a member of. Remind folks of the public service aspects of the hobby as well as the brotherhood and sisterhood all hams should show for each other.

LEAD BY EXAMPLE
As a bona fide member of your local system, make a point of getting on the air frequently and taking the time to greet and reach out to newcomers and travelers you hear on the system. Often, these folks will be people just starting out in their ham radio experience. You can not only help them to feel welcome, you can help them to learn correct practice and procedures and make them a better ham in doing so. Since the general demise of the Novice Bands, newcomers have no safe place to cut their amateur radio teeth. New folks need support and encouragement. I little effort on your part will go a long way and probably even bring in a new member to your local group. You may even make a friend for life.

TALK ABOUT SYSTEM CONSOLIDATION WHERE APPROPRIATE
This can be a touchy subject because some folks have a lot of sweat equity as well as personal finances tied up in building and maintaining their particular systems. But what good is it to have a bunch of systems with nobody to talk to? In areas where the need for multiple systems has fallen off for the reasons mentioned above, repeater groups need to reach out to on another for their mutual survival. Most areas of our country could be better served if repeater groups begin to look at consolidation seriously and reasonably.

HOW ABOUT SOME ON AIR ACTIVITIES?
It easy to encourage repeater system use through organized activities. How about a weekly swap net? Code practice? Technical discussion? Encourage taking turns moderating the activities to get more people involved.
Here’s a great activity that allows for participation by retirees and shut ins. Set up a schedule for repeater monitoring so that as many hours of the day or night are covered by someone from the group. Easy enough to do, just get folks to sign up for an hour or two where you promise to keep your rig on and answer any call that comes in. Even if you can’t get 24/7 coverage try to see that your machine is covered during peak commuter hours and on weekends. What a great service to travelers and newcomers!

No repeater has to fall into disuse or, worse yet, rudeness. With a little effort and some reflection on what makes the amateur radio hobby great, any repeater can become a popular place that performs good service and is fun to hang around.

I’ll see you on the bottom end of 40 meters, that is, unless you answer my call on your local machine!

Back