MyGMRS repeaters list needs updating?

[Logan5]

I am hearing on line, that a new repeater list is being generated. Many people claiming MyGMRS list is stale and has many old listing that no longer exist. Anybody have any idea, out of all the repeaters listed, how many are actually active?

[WQWI871]

I don't travel, so, I can't comment on any areas except my city and surrounding, but, most repeaters local to me are down, with word from the repeater owner(s) to verify that. And all working repeaters that I can't verify (because of the distance) I assume are more than twenty miles away, so, can't check.

[PastorGary]

It has been the responsibility of the person entering the data in the first place to modify or eliminate data as changes are made.  The owner of MyGMRS (Rich) has no way to verify info listed in the main site UNLESS the owner of each system actually keeps things up to date.

 

Rich knows what the issues are and may be considering a change as to how things are listed.  We'll wait for his feedback.

[WQWI871]

I understand that. But, I like the think that the community can help by reporting down repeaters by clicking a button. If, of course, the community (I define community as anyone capable of verifying) is local and can verify. The report button doesn't seem to work, though. Although I feel there could also be a security measure considering that would allow random individuals to report repeaters that the owners have listed, which could be unfair.

 

Edit: Speaking of community. It's possible that very few share my views, but, I like to think that forums are a way to interact with and meet people, especially others that have similar interests. I've probably met most operators that I have while checking into nets. And, I know that this forum seems dead sometimes, it might not be used much. But, has anyone considered fixing that Chat feature? I don't get out much, and, don't really have any friends, so, It's nice meeting and having a quick chat sometimes.

 

PS; Sorry for asking in your topic, I just thought I'd slip a comment in. No one has to go too far into it, though.

[SteveC7010]

If it is possible to easily generate an email list from the database, it would be fairly straight forward to send out an email asking that all listings be updated or confirmed once or twice a year or face automatic deletion. I don't think that is unnecessarily harsh or unrealistic. It's a free listing so expecting the lister to keep it up to date is not an unreasonable condition.

 

If there's no email address associated with the listing, I see no reason not to delete it. Or at the very least, flag the listing as unreliable. If the word around the net is that MyGMRS is becoming unreliable, then it's time for some action.

[WQWI871]

I think that's a nice idea for the repeater owners that simply need a reminder and are wiling to keep the status update. There are, however, owners that are informed by the community, and, even responding to the communities contact, that the repeater is out of service, and, still does not update the status. With that said, I feel that if there will be a penalty after a duration of not updating, such as deletion of flagged, owners may update an out of service repeater while it is still out of service, just so that the repeater can remain listed. Considering all that may need to be done to update is clicking a button or re-entering the previous defined. There is no way to verify that an updated repeater is still out of service, except by the community. With that said, I think in addition to Steves comment, the ability for users to report a repeater, which may send an email to the owner to verify if the repeater is out of service or if the details are correct.

[coryb27]

Its been my experience that everybody wants to own a repeater till they have to maintain it or pay tower rent. Also Lot's of people build small repeaters with low power radios using cheep duplexes with low antenna height. I decided to hunt down some of the machines in our area only to find "GARAGE" repeaters, (3' antenna on a 3' tripod on somebody's house roof) over half with less coverage then what you could work simplex from a base but listed at 35 miles of coverage. I can not understand why people put repeaters into service that don't cover any useful area and then list them on myGMRS. I would bet a lot of the machines listed are no longer on the air or have a tiny foot print. I would also bet when somebody takes a repeater down the listing remains.

 

Here is some other food for thought. Several of us in the WI, IL and IN area have linked a system of repeaters together on the myGMRS network. Our system of 5 machines is open to any licensed user and covers a few 1000 sq miles of area and it yet it has only 18 users. I promise it is not because the machines are junk but rather the limited number of GMRS users. I know Rich is working on something new and he is well aware of the dead listings, we will just have to wait and see.

 

Just my $.02

[WQWI871]

I like to think that repeaters don't have to provide wide coverage, depending on ones needs. I'm not implying to be selfish and not focus on the general public, but, one can only do what they can afford. If they cannot afford they're desire, doesn't mean they can't accept something they can afford. Of course if I had a repeater, it would be open to all licensed users. But, if all I can afford is, perhaps one of those "garage repeaters" that's still useful. Some operators are just using handhelds. I will say that with my crossband repeater (non GMRS related) I can reach with handhelds about five miles. That may seem like a joke and not useful, but, in my city with the obstructions, I would be able to reach only about one and half to two miles if It's simplex handheld to handheld. A mobile with a magmount or base to handheld / mobile / base is different. So, even a small five mile repeater is useful with there's no others. I, however, can't even afford that. I'm still job seeking, so, can't do much. The most do-able for me is something like two handhelds with external antennas and a tiny repeater box. I'm not implying anything on that, though, It's just an example of my budget.

 

A side note, that's a lot of coverage you got their 1000 sq miles.

[coryb27]

A side note, that's a lot of coverage you got their 1000 sq miles.

 

This is our coverage so far...  MAP

[WQWI871]

This is our coverage so far...  MAP

That's fancy.  I hope the local owner to me decides to get the repeater back up. I'd donate what ever I could afford if it helps. They said they still plan on it, but, It's been a while.

[bergmannap]

When looking at the repeater details, below Travel Tone is an icon that says ORI. What is this "ORI"? Does anyone know?

[SteveC7010]

When looking at the repeater details, below Travel Tone is an icon that says ORI. What is this "ORI"? Does anyone know?

I thought that question was just answered in another very recent thread, perhaps within the last two weeks.

 

OPEN REPEATER INITIATIVE

[rdunajewski]

I've been working on a new map replacement which will hide old and offline repeaters by default, but still gives you the option of showing them all.

 

https://mygmrs.com/map-new/

 

I still have a lot of things to add to make it ready to replace the current map, but I wanted to share the progress now and get feedback from the community here. Some outstanding issues are:

1. The label below each icon needs to be styled, so it stands out against a dark background. I'm having trouble getting this to work with the library I've chosen to use on this version of the map, but I'm sure I'll be able to find a way without scrapping anything.
    
2. Clicking on the repeater icon should modify the URL to point to the repeater ID that is selected.
    
3. Repeater details (the description field) aren't visible yet.
    
4. Several repeaters do not have GPS coordinates and show up at 0, 0 which is off the coast of Africa. This is mainly a problem with the database that needs to be fixed, but the map should hide them since it's obviously wrong.

At least the performance of loading that many repeaters and toggling the switches on and off seems to be quite good. Let me know if it's slower for you than the current map.

 

I have big plans for a complete site redesign to make it more modern. I've headed down this path several times but got bogged down between work and my personal life, so I never got a complete redesign done. I've been making small changes here and there to support this big effort, so I'm hoping we can get a better site off the ground which will solve some of the pain points like the stale repeaters.

[n4gix]

It looks much nicer Rich!

[rdunajewski]

I made this new map live. Still a couple minor things to fix, but I think the ability to filter out the stale stuff is more important.

[mcallahan]

Hi Rich, I noticed that the AZ GMRS club repeater no longer appears on the map. Is this an error or does a setting need to modified on the repeater listing in order for it to appear on the map?

[coryb27]

Hi Rich, I noticed that the AZ GMRS club repeater no longer appears on the map. Is this an error or does a setting need to modified on the repeater listing in order for it to appear on the map?

 

You need to edit the repeater, it as simple as hit edit, hit save, that will get you current for a year and put you back on the map.

 

Corey

[n4gix]

Link is 404 now.

[coryb27]

Link is 404 now.

 

Because its live on the site that was a link to test.

 

Try this https://mygmrs.com/map/#/

[n4gix]

Try this https://mygmrs.com/map/#/

Thanks for the reply. All I get is a completely blank page when I click on the link you provided.

[berkinet]

Thanks for the reply. All I get is a completely blank page when I click on the link you provided.

Try force re-loading the page. You may have a cached copy.

[coryb27]

Thanks for the reply. All I get is a completely blank page when I click on the link you provided.

 

https://mygmrs.com  click on the map link

[kenmarple]

Here's my thought on this topic.

 

I have built many websites dealing with database type information and trying to keep the information current.

 

I do not know if it can be done with this platform or not.

 

How we accomplished this with members,  we would send them an email notification that their information was  going to be invalid and removed from the system if it was not updated within a specific amount of time.  The system would automatically removed a person's information and suspended until the member had an opportunity to update the information required.

 

You are correct it is the member of the repeater are the repeaters owner to update the information or remove it. However, I think we can put  in place an automated mechanism to remove the information if it was not been updated within a specific time frame.

 

Just my Food For Thoughts.

[Astrodog]

I am new to myGMRS, but I have found reading the "Posts" to ba educational.  Although licensed a couple years, I recently regained my interest in GMRS and am learning more each day.  Studying for the HAM Tech. License too.  I have only used the Simplex operation and wish to learn how to use Repeaters for greater distances when needed.  I dearly need to know where I can obtain complete information (Inp Freq, Output Freq, Offset Direction, PL Tone,etc) for local OPEN Repeaters!!  Naturally I intend to use the proper procedures before attempting a certain Repeater's service.....BUT have searched extensively and cannot obtain this information.  HELP Someone PLEASE.  

[wqnd300]

Is it possible to "hide" the listings and let them reappear when the owner updates it? If possible send an email out asking everyone with a listing to update it to show if the repeater is still on the air.

 

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