Texas needs more

[Jonjon6904]

So I have a question. Why does Texas not anougg repeaters?  Texas is a big state and has  lots of land. 

[OffRoaderX]

So I have a question. Why haven't you put one up?

[nokones]

There are more repeaters in Texas than mygmrs.com depicts on the map. If you become a member of the Texas GMRS Repeater Club you would have access to a bunch more repeaters throughout the State.

[Socalgmrs]

Maybe they don’t need them?   Maybe they don’t want them?   When I’m hunting or running cattle in Texas I hear more simplex then I’ve ever heard in any state.   It’s pretty much none stop.   However, ever piece of lease land, hunting club, or ranch ect I’ve been on has there own small repeater that usually covers the acreage very well.  So they do have repeaters but i think some of the answer is, they don’t feel the need to chit chat with strangers on the radio.  From what I see in general gmrs is used in Texas for what it was designed for.   

[WRTC928]

GMRS repeaters have to be operated by an individual licensee, unlike amateur radio repeaters which can be owned and operated by a club or other entity. That means the cost and work can't be spread across numerous individuals as it can with ham repeaters. Most people who go to the expense and effort of installing a GMRS repeater do it to support a specific activity, such as operating a ranch or other business, keeping contact with family members, etc. There are a number of altruists who put up a GMRS repeater for use by the general public, but that's a small minority. Ham clubs can maintain a little tighter control over the use of their repeaters because the license is harder to get and because there are literally thousands of frequencies across several bands they can utilize, so it's not so easy for some random idiot to find the repeater and jump on it. Hence the existence of GMRS repeater clubs. They won't tell you the tones unless you belong to the club and if necessary, they can notify all the club members and change the tone. Sure, it will cost you a little to join, but operating a repeater isn't free, and you will have access to a lot more repeaters as long as you behave in accordance with their rules.

[BoxCar]

1 minute ago, WRTC928 said:

GMRS repeaters have to be operated by an individual licensee, unlike amateur radio repeaters which can be owned and operated by a club or other entity. That means the cost and work can't be spread across numerous individuals as it can with ham repeaters. Most people who go to the expense and effort of installing a GMRS repeater do it to support a specific activity, such as operating a ranch or other business, keeping contact with family members, etc. There are a number of altruists who put up a GMRS repeater for use by the general public, but that's a small minority. Ham clubs can maintain a little tighter control over the use of their repeaters because the license is harder to get and because there are literally thousands of frequencies across several bands they can utilize, so it's not so easy for some random idiot to find the repeater and jump on it. Hence the existence of GMRS repeater clubs. They won't tell you the tones unless you belong to the club and if necessary, they can notify all the club members and change the tone. Sure, it will cost you a little to join, but operating a repeater isn't free, and you will have access to a lot more repeaters as long as you behave in accordance with their rules.

Our ham club operates a GMRS repeater on our tower and is maintained through club resources. Yes, it is licensed through a club member holding both licenses. So, stating a club cannot operate and maintain a GMRS repeater is incorrect. The licensee is the owner of record and responsible to the FCC but it's a ham club operated repeater.

[WRUE951]

350 some odd repeaters strong in Texas..  Texas has big beers too,,  OP needs to stick with the smaller bottles

[Raybestos]

2 hours ago, Socalgmrs said:

Maybe they don’t need them?   Maybe they don’t want them?   When I’m hunting or running cattle in Texas I hear more simplex then I’ve ever heard in any state.   It’s pretty much none stop.   However, ever piece of lease land, hunting club, or ranch ect I’ve been on has there own small repeater that usually covers the acreage very well.  So they do have repeaters but i think some of the answer is, they don’t feel the need to chit chat with strangers on the radio.  From what I see in general gmrs is used in Texas for what it was designed for.   

Yep!  I recall ham friends who visited Texas saying that they used 2m (VHF) simplex out there the way we used repeaters in South Carolina.  They said due to the flat terrain, you would hear more people chatting away on simplex in places they were, than you did on repeaters in SC.  While UHF would likely still have shorter range in those places, it probably would do well at 50W and running gain antennas on base and mobile.

[amaff]

11 hours ago, Jonjon6904 said:

Why does Texas not anougg repeaters? 

Google tried.

[WRTC928]

1 hour ago, BoxCar said:

Our ham club operates a GMRS repeater on our tower and is maintained through club resources. Yes, it is licensed through a club member holding both licenses. So, stating a club cannot operate and maintain a GMRS repeater is incorrect. The licensee is the owner of record and responsible to the FCC but it's a ham club operated repeater.

Semantics. Yes, anyone can pay for it and do the work of maintaining it, but a single individual has to be the licensee/operator of record. 

[SteveShannon]

10 hours ago, WRTC928 said:

Semantics. Yes, anyone can pay for it and do the work of maintaining it, but a single individual has to be the licensee/operator of record. 

Yup, legally the repeater is operated by the individual who holds the license. I doubt that club ownership matters.

[MSnow]

17 hours ago, Jonjon6904 said:

So I have a question. Why does Texas not anougg repeaters?  Texas is a big state and has  lots of land. 

There are a lot of repeaters in Texas. I am assuming your asking why they are not all listed on mygmrs and I cannot tell you that answer. All I can tell you is there are plenty there, and they are all listed in different resources on the web. Here is a snip of just one website that shows some GMRS repeaters in Texas. 

[WSEZ864]

Our club owns several repeaters, which operate under the club call sign. A "trustree" carries the club license (and responsibility) for their operation.

 

ETA: Clarification - referring to amateur radio repeaters.

Edited Tuesday at 02:26 PM by WSEZ864
Clarification

[SteveShannon]

29 minutes ago, WSEZ864 said:

Our club owns several repeaters, which operate under the club call sign. A "trustree" carries the club license (and responsibility) for their operation.

For GMRS? When did the club get its license?

[WRUE951]

6 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:

For GMRS? When did the club get its license?

that would be an interesting one to look up..   Hmmm  Alias name?   is that legal?  

[SteveShannon]

1 minute ago, WRUE951 said:

that would be an interesting one to look up..   Hmmm  Alias name?   is that legal?  

It’s possible that the club license is grandfathered. Since 2017 no new club GMRS licenses have been issued. 

[WSEZ864]

10 hours ago, SteveShannon said:

For GMRS? When did the club get its license?

No, not GMRS, ham. Sorry for the crossover.

[WRUU653]

16 hours ago, WSEZ864 said:

No, not GMRS, ham. Sorry for the crossover.

 I thought perhaps since OP didn’t specify GMRS repeaters in their statement (I fully acknowledge that’s likely what they were talking about). it would be worth mentioning ham repeaters as well. Which according to Repeater Book there are 1,707 Texas repeaters in the database. Add the 112 GMRS repeaters or 263 if you count stale and offline repeaters listed here, and all the repeaters that are not listed here it would be safe to say Texas has a significant number of repeaters. Hopefully OP finds this encouraging and if there are no repeaters in their area because like it was mentioned it’s a big place, do as @OffRoaderX often says you can be the pillar of your community and add one. He has an affiliate link below for you. 

[WRUE951]

On 4/21/2025 at 6:59 PM, WSEZ864 said:

Our club owns several repeaters, which operate under the club call sign. A "trustree" carries the club license (and responsibility) for their operation.

 

ETA: Clarification - referring to amateur radio repeaters.

How many across states under the same call sight?   Just curious. 

[WSEZ864]

None, all are located within and service the central Maryland area.