Planning a new repeater? What are the most common mistakes a new repeater owner makes?
Below is Mistake #1. Additional installments are forthcoming.
Mistake #1: Using Mygmrs.com to Find a Clear Channel
You pick a channel from the Mygmrs Repeater Database having the least number of repeaters, or nothing immediately close by. You end up causing interference (IX). Other co-channel repeater owners (e.g., incumbents) become unhinged and pissed off.
Many existing repeaters, particularly those that have existed for decades, are not listed in Mygmrs.com. Often, these owners may not want the hassles of having multiple users, and prefer to avoid repeater kerchunker's, weak scratchy handheld radio users that are really annoying to listen to, and poorly performing radios (see Note 1 below). Also, radio signals can travel 150+ miles with no obstructions, even portable radio signals. There are possibly other repeaters just 50 miles away that are at a high elevation (or on a tall tower) that can hear your users just fine, causing IX. Notice I said “your users” and not “your repeater”. This will be discussed under Mistake #2.
(Note 1: The current trend in Cheap Chinese Radios [CCR] are models with unresolvable low transmit audio/volume, very poor quality audio [includes poor quality speaker/microphones] and improper default settings, like Roger Beeps.)