Crete 600 Midwest linked repeater tower rent is due and I don't have enough donations to cover it...

[JB007Rules]

Attention Midwest GMRS users,

 

Tower rent is due for the Crete 600 tower on 10/31/2023 for a sum of $1584 for the year of 2023 ($132/month) which doesn't include the Verizon bill which is another $360/year ($30/month tax included on my grandfathered Verizon plan) totaling $1944.  As of now I have a total amount $1408.89 in donations to pay for this rent leaving me at a negative $535.11.  keep in mind that I've kept the donations in a high yield savings account as of April 2023 which has needed me an additional $25.35.  Better than a stick in the eye I guess.

 

$660 was covered and paid on 11/29/22 which was rent for August 2022 thru December 2022 - 5 months

$1584 is for 12 months and while it's due on 10/31/23, rent is good through December 31st 2023

 

To cover rent through 12/31/2024, the total now increases to $2479.11.  I've updated the Gofundme page to show a new goal of $4109 to reflect that.

 

I was clear out of the gate that I put this repeater in for hobby use and I'm not within it's usable coverage footprint (which is quite massive) 99.99% of the time.  As such, to keep it in the air, I'm encouraging everyone to donate here otherwise, if I cannot cover the operational costs, I have zero incentive to keep this repeater online.

 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/crete-600-yearly-operation-costs

 

Thanks everyone who has donated thus far!  Here's to a great 2024!

ROB - WRDU235 

[WRXX537]

I just donated, thank you for allowing me to use your repeater.

[JB007Rules]

Thanks Rich!  We're at $537 additional now.  Barely enough to cover rent payment though.  I paid the bill so we're good.  Now we have 11 months to come up with another $1944....

Thanks!

[gortex2]

This ^^^^ is what many dont understand about having a good coverage repeater. Some of us pay alot of $$$ out of our pockets to have this stuff on the air. 

[WRQC527]

1 hour ago, gortex2 said:

This ^^^^ is what many dont understand about having a good coverage repeater. Some of us pay alot of $$$ out of our pockets to have this stuff on the air. 

One of the more irritating things is when I'm confronted by non-paying, non-member users of my semi-private amateur repeater that has arguably the best coverage in southern California on the rare occasions when it's down. Which is almost always through no fault of the repeater. 

[gortex2]

Yup. Thats why my repeater are closed and not listed. Even my 2meter repeater is not listed anyplace. I spend lots of time and money to keep these on the air for my use and not others. 

[GreggInFL]

On 10/29/2023 at 3:06 PM, JB007Rules said:

Attention Midwest GMRS users,

 

Tower rent is due for the Crete 600 tower on 10/31/2023 for a sum of $1584 for the year of 2023 ($132/month) which doesn't include the Verizon bill which is another $360/year ($30/month tax included on my grandfathered Verizon plan) totaling $1944.  As of now I have a total amount $1408.89 in donations to pay for this rent leaving me at a negative $535.11.  keep in mind that I've kept the donations in a high yield savings account as of April 2023 which has needed me an additional $25.35.  Better than a stick in the eye I guess.

 

$660 was covered and paid on 11/29/22 which was rent for August 2022 thru December 2022 - 5 months

$1584 is for 12 months and while it's due on 10/31/23, rent is good through December 31st 2023

 

To cover rent through 12/31/2024, the total now increases to $2479.11.  I've updated the Gofundme page to show a new goal of $4109 to reflect that.

 

I was clear out of the gate that I put this repeater in for hobby use and I'm not within it's usable coverage footprint (which is quite massive) 99.99% of the time.  As such, to keep it in the air, I'm encouraging everyone to donate here otherwise, if I cannot cover the operational costs, I have zero incentive to keep this repeater online.

 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/crete-600-yearly-operation-costs

 

Thanks everyone who has donated thus far!  Here's to a great 2024!

ROB - WRDU235 

What size tower do you have?  Curious because our group is deciding whether to rent or build.

[WRKC935]

On 11/1/2023 at 12:58 PM, GreggInFL said:

What size tower do you have?  Curious because our group is deciding whether to rent or build.

That is a HUGE decision if you are going to any significant height.  And the biggest issue is cost.  Putting up a tower over 100 feet can easily exceed $50K in cost.  And that could double depending on property value. 

Any sort of 'group effort' tower should be placed on a neutral site, and not at any one members location.  Reason for this is simple.  Legally it's THEIR tower.  No matter how hard you lawyer that effort, it's on their property and locks it into them.  And there is the need to figure out income if a tower of any significance is erected and a prospective tenant approaches the group / land owner for access.  The land owner WILL want in on the income stream if a tower on his land is all of a sudden making 2 grand or more a month.  And yes, depending on location and other factors is a reasonable number.   BUT, do not expect a tenant on your tower as a method to pay for it. 

Another requirement is cost going forward.  Tower sites have maintenance costs, taxes, utility costs and anything else a piece of real estate would have.  And additional costs like obstruction lighting maintenance and registration that no other piece of real estate has.

But, renting space from one of the large vertical real estate companies has it's own set of issues.  Mainly that you would be hard pressed to get into an agreement of less than 5 years with them.  And their contracts are iron clad.  If you enter a contract with them, it doesn't matter if you are there 5 months, or 5 years.  You are going to be on the hook for the 5 year term of the contract.  The only plus to renting is you do have some way out at the point of the term of the contract ending.  Keep in mind that this is hobby radio.  Folks loose interest and ultimately there may come a time that no one is interested any more. 

With a rented space, you can hire a tower climber to remove your antenna's and such from a rented site and not extend the lease for another term.  With an owned site, it is real property and would need to be transferred to another or razed (tower and building torn down) and the property sold.  Which again, creates issues with the original group that funded the build.  The way that the ownership was worked out will have repercussions on how the money from the sale of the real estate gets distributed.  And those things need to be worked out  prior to building a tower site that will be for a group.

 

I understand this rat hole pretty well and can give you information on what needs to be done and how to do it, within reason. 

[JB007Rules]

Quick update.

From the time of posting until now, $552 in donations have been received, which yields $533.88 after fees.

Tower rent is or course paid as of 10/31/2023 and the donation savings account is now at $364.68.  Hopefully we can raise $1579.32 by 10/31/2024 to pay for another year!

 

Over and out!

[JB007Rules]

On 11/1/2023 at 11:58 AM, GreggInFL said:

What size tower do you have?  Curious because our group is deciding whether to rent or build.

The Crete 600 is 310' feet tall and I'm on the very tip top extending up to 330' AGL.  ASL is 825' at that site so it's quite a screamer to say the least.  Easily 40-60+ miles of mobile coverage in all directions with HT coverage being 30+ miles all day.

Coverage here:  http://crete600.com/

Thanks!

[WRZI776]

Donated as well, keep it up !!

[MrGoodwreck]

YOu should get everyone together and have a bake sale.

Or a bikini car wash.

[BoxCar]

7 hours ago, MrGoodwreck said:

YOu should get everyone together and have a bake sale.

Or a bikini car wash.

I can't fill out the top very well.