I am warming up to the idea of a neighborhood "radio watch". Maybe because I'm retired and have too much time on my hands, but also we just recently endured hurricane Helene the knocked out power, phones, & internet for an extended period of time. I'm seriously thinking of setting up a low power neighborhood Retevis repeater on a battery/solar backup for times of uncertainty. Now if I can just figure out how to get an antenna to play nice with the densely packed oak & pine trees...
Wayne