uniden278

There a quite a few repeaters in Mass using all of the available frequencies, so the reach of your system would be a consideration. I know there is (or at least was) a machine on 625 in Nashua though I've never used it. But to summarize the machines I know of/use in Mass: 550- Quincy (128 belt/south shore coastal areas) and Medford (local) 575- Quincy- Covers to southern NH 600- Kingston (a super machine- covers quite far!) 650- my repeater in Winthrop 625- Boston (moderate coverage), Arlington (decent coverage) 700- Lincoln area, decent coverage 725- Wilmington, probably covers up your way Following to see where you set yours up, because I have a potential plan to set another machine up in Newburyport and as you know the pairs around here are already pretty crowded. Also, the 550 machine is listed here as LIT 55-o and is run by a member here. I can confirm the input tone is different from the output tone. Just reach out to him for access. PS: I'm jealous of your good fortune. The best site I have access to is a 4 story apartment building and it's at or just above sea level with some small hills around.

My repeater is programmed to ID via every 15 minutes via Morse code and it does so without the PL tone. Mainly just to ensure it's still working without having to key it up. But you are correct there is no requirement for the repeater to identify as long as each individual user does.

A bit off topic: I've been thinking about picking up a CS800 and/or 801 soon. How is the performance of that unit? My only DMR radio now is a TYTERA MD380 handheld, not sure if you can compare ease of operation to that or a similar portable. Like the clean setup you have there.

Very interesting program! I'll have to give it a try tomorrow when I'm home. I have a desktop PC I can dedicate to the cause running XP.

Rob, Thank you for your new repeater. It looks like it covers central Mass fairly well. I have a home brew repeater with linking capabilities NOT currently on the air due to several factors, but I'm hoping to cover the North Shore area. There are also very few known (read: public/open systems) in my area. The south shore area has a few open/published repeaters with sufficient coverage (the Kingston 600 repeater being the widest coverage, but others may find differently). I also applaud your efforts to better network with local users and repeater operators. Let me know your thoughts/interpretation on repeater linking. I'll be closely watching this thread. -Greg

I'm a recent ham licensee so this is something that piques my interest. Sorry it took so long long for me to see it. Greg KC1ELP

If a repeater IDs in CSQ, is it a lot less annoying to listen to. My neighbor's system identifies CW on his PL every 15 minutes regardless of usage (we are just two of maybe 3 or 4 people who ever use it). He calls on the air a few times a day. My repeater was never set to ID (I didn't have the capability until recently) when it was on the air. Contemplating turning it on when I move (not sure if my new controller will let me do it without the PL enabled), but this controller uses voice ID which is cooler anyway, at least to me as a recently licensed ham.

So I have a homebrew repeater that I've been using at home with abysmal coverage. I'm trying to relocate that at the moment and might be able to get it about 50 feet up at an apartment complex my parents live in. But in the long run I'd love to get a proper commercial grade repeater (I've been eyeing a MSF5000 on eBay) and put it on a tower but that's probably out of my affordable price range. What's the best approach for contacting commercial properties about locating my system there? I'm in an urban area so not many open farmland/private tower options. Many of the larger office buildings, schools, hospitals etc already have antennas on them. You would think some of the "nonprofit organizations" would take a donation in lieu of rent for a tower site.

Hello all, Twenty-something new father and a newly licensed GMRS user here in eastern Mass. I'm in the process now of selling off some unused radio and other various electronic equipment to fund a repeater setup. I've been monitoring the repeater channels... there isn't much repeater use in my area and I've only heard a couple of other users that appear to be using simplex only. I've used CB for many years growing up and I'm an avid scannerist and commercial radio user for my two public safety jobs. Just looking to learn as much as I possibly can about repeaters, radio etiquette and pretty much just the lay of the land before I expand my radio usage to amateur... hoping to take my tech in the spring. That's pretty much it. Feel free to say hello, especially if you're local to me. -Greg