Repeater output on 467.550 MHz repeater input channel (maritime users)

[intermod]

While scanning the GMRS input frequencies last week I  found a strong repeater output operating on 467.550 MHz using a 118.8 Hz output code.  It was heavily-accented maritime traffic.  We found their input on 457.550 MHz (10.0 MHz lower).  I presume they were using 118.8 in as well.  There were there for 48 hours before departing out the Golden Gate into the Pacific.

 

The choice of 118.8 is interesting as we get lots of spurious signals on that code (almost 2X 60 Hz??) most everywhere in the bay region - so most repeater owners have disabled that code.  So this helps them hide.  Yea, a conspiracy theory...  

 

Both the 467.55 and 467.575 have been taken over by maritime traffic here in the San Francisco area for many years (and sometimes includes 467.600, .625, .650 and .675), but it has always been direct mode/simplex. 

 

This is a disturbing development...

 

I am bringing these incidents up because if we lose control of our repeater input channels, high-level (and some low-level) repeaters will become impractical.

 

Greg

KAF1291

 

        

[Logan5]

Yes we had this happen here in South FL on our freq. 600, I recorded the comm's and managed to get the name and e-mail of a local coordinate. I e-mailed him a copy of the FCC charter and notified him of the fines and penalties for such illegal operation. He stopped communicating with the party immediately, and the rest stopped within a few hours. I agree this needs more attention, having a high power output on our input is catastrophic to even basic comm's.   

[intermod]

I would imagine Fort Lauderdale gets slammed with the same stuff we get here.

 

The problem here was affecting another person's repeater - we are not on .550.  But they were completely unaware of it.  With internet access at the site its relatively easy to monitor out input. 

 

Greg   

[WRHV328]

This same issue has been going on in LA area in the DILA repeater located on Mt. Wilson.  for the last two months we been having the same heavily accented maritime traffic on 467.550 tone 103.5, but been here for too long, hopefully they leave soon as they are very loud in the repeater. 

[WSFP980]

I know this is kind of an old thread but the mt Wilson 550 repeater have a tone on the output. I have noticed 462.550 is a busy frequency and I want to filter some of that out. 

[SteveShannon]

6 hours ago, WSFP980 said:

I know this is kind of an old thread but the mt Wilson 550 repeater have a tone on the output. I have noticed 462.550 is a busy frequency and I want to filter some of that out. 

The DILA repeater on 550 has no output tone.  I replied to your other comment with that information.

The Mt. Wilson repeater on 600 has a tone which is indicated on its information page on the mygmrs repeater page: https://mygmrs.com/repeater/4553

 

[MarkInTampa]

Keep in mind that maritime users ARE allowed (even digital!) on the GMRS repeater input frequencies of 467.550 and 467.575 per ITU (not FCC) regulations but not the outputs of 462.550 and 462.575. They may affect (as they do in my area) the input of a 550 or 575 repeater mixing in with legit traffic even if on a different tone causing a bit of chaos on the output.

 

[WRXB215]

37 minutes ago, MarkInTampa said:

Keep in mind that maritime users ARE allowed (even digital!) on the GMRS repeater input frequencies of 467.550 and 467.575 per ITU (not FCC) regulations

Wouldn't the FCC regulations override the ITU regulations in this case? Although I'm sure the FCC is in no bigger hurry to enforce this any more than they are in a hurry to enforce other GMRS regulations.

[SteveShannon]

24 minutes ago, WRXB215 said:

Wouldn't the FCC regulations override the ITU regulations in this case? Although I'm sure the FCC is in no bigger hurry to enforce this any more than they are in a hurry to enforce other GMRS regulations.

No, the frequency 467.550 is not solely allocated to GMRS. Look at US287 on page 153 of this document: https://transition.fcc.gov/oet/spectrum/table/fcctable.pdf

[WRUU653]

17 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:

No, the frequency 467.550 is not solely allocated to GMRS. Look at US287 on page 153 of this document: https://transition.fcc.gov/oet/spectrum/table/fcctable.pdf

Thanks for including page and sitation number... I'd be reading all day lol. Nice find. I guess the repeater might want to consider some tones for the radios RX. 

[dosw]

2 hours ago, SteveShannon said:

No, the frequency 467.550 is not solely allocated to GMRS. Look at US287 on page 153 of this document: https://transition.fcc.gov/oet/spectrum/table/fcctable.pdf

On the far left half we have International. On the right half, we have US. Within the US half, we have 460-470: Meterological-satellite space-to-Earth, and we have 462.5375-462.7375 LAND MOBILE - Personal Radio (95). They do overlap. But I don't see how "Meterological space-to-Earth" can justify someone setting up a digital land based repeater. But the international Fixed Mobile, on the left... that could interfere if you're in Key West and picking up Cuba, I suppose. But there's more overlap in the 467 range: Maritime (80) and Personal Radio (95). Perhaps that's one more reason why channels 8-14 are limited to a half watt?

 

Also notice that 462.5375. Strange number, right? The lowest GMRS channel is centered on 462.5500 (15). So why doesn't the chart show 462.5500? Because channel widths are 25kHz, which means -12.5kHz and +12.5kHz. So 462.5500-0.0125=462.5375. Or to put it a little clearer, 462.550MHz minus 12.5kHz (half the 25kHz channel width) is 462.5375MHz.

 

You'll find the same math problem at 462.7375, 467.5375, and 467.7375.