Helpful Hint for FM Repeater Users

I was listening to a conversation on the Frederick, Maryland W3ICF 146.730 MHz repeater this morning.  The gentlemen I heard shared a helpful hint for those, like me, who were listening.  The hint follows….

There are hams who use the SCAN function of their VHF/UHF transceiver to monitor several repeater frequencies.   Sometimes the ham is in front of the transceiver.  Sometimes the ham is nearby, within hearing distance of the transceiver.

The gentleman I heard on the air mentioned that some hams configure their transceivers to resume scanning a few seconds after the frequency goes quiet.  If you key the repeater and announce yourself, saying something such as:   “This is AF3I, Listening” the other ham, who was out of the room at the time, probably has no idea on which of the several repeater channels you were speaking.

His suggestion:   If you key the repeater and announce that you are listening you may wish to include a few additional words to convey on which repeater or on which frequency it is that you are listening.  For example:   “This is AF3I, Listening on the 146.730 Repeater.”

Sounds good to me.  Give it a try.

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It was a dark and stormy night.

We’ve all heard that opening line at one time or another.  Here is the Summertime-In-Central-Pennsylvania version of the same concept:   

It was a hot and humid afternoon.

One of the creative writers, who is a vertebrae in the backbone of our club, spent this hot and humid July afternoon writing an article for our Resources page.  The article describes how Ham Radio Operators use the terms WAVELENGTH and FREQUENCY BAND to describe the location of their radio signals.  I hope you will read and enjoy the fruits of his labor.

Here is a link to the article called:  Waves and Bands

Regards,

Andrew Forsyth,  AF3I