I think I found a repeater?

[Blaise]

Hi folks,

I'm continuing my upward climb against complete cluelessness in the gmrs/radio arena.  To that end, I've spent a good amount of time scanning the channels for traffic.  I apparently live in a *very* gmrs-quiet place, but I've identified one channel that has a morse-code transmission repeated every 15 minutes.  The fact that it repeats automatically makes me want to assume it's a repeater.

I've attempted in vain to decode the morse, by recording it and slowing it down.  I'm pretty sure it's four letters, followed by three numbers, which implies a gmrs callsign, but it just isn't clear enough to me to get the same answer twice, and none of my attempted decodings correspond to a callsign in the gmrs database. 

So I have two questions:

1. Is my assumption that this is a repeater completely ignorant/crazy?
2. Can anybody with a larger clue than I decode the morse code in the attached file?  It's the cleanest recording I've been able to get...

Thanks

WRON559

[MichaelLAX]

WQWA699

You didn't say which of the 8 Repeater Channels you heard the Morse Code and he has various repeaters:

Sloansville 462.550 151.4

Sloansville 462.575 703 DPL

New Scotland 462.675 141.3

Esperance 462.725 141.3

Schenectady/Rotterdam 462.600 in testing

Go to each individual repeater page to request permission

[wayoverthere]

1 hour ago, Blaise said:

Hi folks,

I'm continuing my upward climb against complete cluelessness in the gmrs/radio arena.  To that end, I've spent a good amount of time scanning the channels for traffic.  I apparently live in a *very* gmrs-quiet place, but I've identified one channel that has a morse-code transmission repeated every 15 minutes.  The fact that it repeats automatically makes me want to assume it's a repeater.

I've attempted in vain to decode the morse, by recording it and slowing it down.  I'm pretty sure it's four letters, followed by three numbers, which implies a gmrs callsign, but it just isn't clear enough to me to get the same answer twice, and none of my attempted decodings correspond to a callsign in the gmrs database. 

So I have two questions:

1. Is my assumption that this is a repeater completely ignorant/crazy?
2. Can anybody with a larger clue than I decode the morse code in the attached file?  It's the cleanest recording I've been able to get...

Thanks

WRON559

No, that's actually a pretty solid assumption.  The 15 minute repetition fits with GMRS rules; while it's not required to ID 24/7 when the repeater isn't in use, some repeater owners choose to do so.

Up front, I'll admit my morse skill is minimal (I can get SOS, and that's about it). That said, I downloaded the sound file, and uploaded it to a morse decoder (https://morsecode.world/international/decoder/audio-decoder-adaptive.html) which gave me WQWA699 (as @MichaelLAX posted as I'm typing this).  Further digging shows the licensee is on the forum (as A911Pro), and has a few repeaters listed; one of those is probably what you're hearing (Seacom 3 or Seacom 4 look likely possibilities, the frequency may help tell which).

[Blaise]

I'm such a dummy for not including the frequency!

462.725 - Which means, I guess, that it's Seacom4, about 60 miles away from me!

I'm at a loss as to how you got that morse decoder to work.  I uploaded to the very same one, and got results like

• EMQWA69E9E
• QWA6E
• WQWA69EE
• etc

My manual attempts were even less close, but still not helpful!

Also, I'm confused as to how All of A911Pro's repeaters are listed in the MyGMRS site, and display on maps in their links, but do not show up on the main MyGMRS map.  Is there something I need to do to enable seeing all repeaters in my area?

I really appreciate you guys hooking me up, by the way!

[wayoverthere]

1 hour ago, Blaise said:

I'm such a dummy for not including the frequency!

462.725 - Which means, I guess, that it's Seacom4, about 60 miles away from me!

I'm at a loss as to how you got that morse decoder to work.  I uploaded to the very same one, and got results like

• EMQWA69E9E
• QWA6E
• WQWA69EE
• etc

My manual attempts were even less close, but still not helpful!

Also, I'm confused as to how All of A911Pro's repeaters are listed in the MyGMRS site, and display on maps in their links, but do not show up on the main MyGMRS map.  Is there something I need to do to enable seeing all repeaters in my area?

I really appreciate you guys hooking me up, by the way!

It did give me a stray E when I did it, "WQWA699E", so it seems a little inconsistent on what it picks up...perhaps I just got lucky.

On the map, I didn't play with it too much, one factor is that the default map ignores repeaters that haven't been updated in a year. The fix is the toggle at the top to "show outdated repeaters".

[MichaelLAX]

There was some interference/static towards the end of the recorded clip (it was as if it was a recording of morse code on HF), but when I play it at 50% speed on the Voice Recorder HD App on my iPhone, I could easily decode the Morse Code and there is no "E" at the end.  

Next question is what radio are you using?

If a mobile or HT, take a drive around and see if you can hit the other repeaters he has that are in your region and while driving scan to listen for other repeaters that may not be listed on the Site (remember there are only 8 Repeater channels to scan).

RadioReference is another resource.