Guidelines for Repeater Use
If you hear a B ( B) courtesy tone, we are on back-up power.
While on back-up power we ask that the users not use the repeater to rag-chew or participate in lengthly conversations. We would also ask that net controllers refrain from conducting roll calls and use the net to share or exchange only important information.
- FCC rules state that you must legally ID at least once every ten minutes and at the end of your communication. See §97.119 (a).
- We ask that you refrain from political & religous conversations on the repeater. They will almost allways tie up the repeater for long periods of time and will end up offending someone.
- As a courtesy to other operators, please keep all communication free from obscenity and/or from any and all indecent conversation or comments. See §97.113 (a)(4).
Please remember this is a family repeater—24 hours-a-day. - Do not communicate with unlicensed or unauthorized stations. Completely ignoring the offending station has proven to be the most effective way to discourage unlicensed operation.
- Please do not recognize (or even discuss) hecklers, jammer's or jamming activity on the air. Ignoring hecklers and jammer's, completely, has proven to be the most effective way to discourage them, even if it means leaving the air without completing your contact.
- Listening to the repeater for a few seconds before initiating a call will reduce accidental doubling.
- Pausing between transmissions to listen for others who may need (or wish) to use the repeater is always good practice. Just remember to listen for the courtesy tone before proceeding with your transmission.
- Using the repeater to initiate a contact then moving to a simplex frequency allows access to weak mobile stations during traffic hours. (This is good amateur practice, anytime.)
- Breaking into a contact when you have nothing to add is disruptive and is no more polite on the air than it is in person.
- If you feel the need to break into a QSO which is in progress, do so by saying "break" followed by your call sign or by saying "break, please" or your call sign alone, and then wait to be recognized. Please avoid using double break (saying "break, break") unless you are calling for "life or property" type emergency assistance. If you are using the repeater and you hear someone say "break, break", immediately relinquish the frequency to the calling party and stand-by to assist with emergency communication, if your help is requested.
- Avoid lengthy transmissions. Keep transmissions short, thoughtful and to the point.
- In the event of an Earthquake no matter how big or small we would ask that users refrain from using the repeater to exchange their ideas on how big, where etc. for at least ten minutes so that if there is someone in need of help, they would be able to use a clear repeater.
- In the event of an Emergency or major disaster. This repeater will be used by several organizations that are involved with the saving of lives, setting up shelters, blood drives, hospital info etc. as well as giving important update information the top of every hour. At the time of a disaster we would ask that all users who frequently use this repeater keep all traffic down to a minimum so that the above mentioned agencies may get the necessary information required so that they can be deployed or even operate on another assigned frequency.
We do anticipate hams from other repeaters that may not be operating as well as folks just wanting to know what happened and where. This is all normal reactions however the first golden hour of saving lives is the most important one. We feel extremely confident that with the proper education and training of our users that we can and will accomplish our mission and prove to the world once more that amateur radio is still the most reliable source of communications there is.