Tag: repeaters
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Human Relay Networks: Moving Traffic Across Town on Simplex
When the repeater goes down, your club becomes the repeater. How to set up and run a simplex human relay network before you need one.
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How Far Can Your VHF/UHF Radio Actually Talk? A Range Map
A stock handheld, a better whip, a J-pole up 20 feet, a 50 watt base and a 2,000 ft repeater, mapped side by side so you can see who actually talks to who.
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Your Repeater Is Not a Plan: Why HF NVIS Matters Just as Much
Without the repeater, VHF/UHF is line of sight. Here’s why HF NVIS matters as much, and how I’d layer both into a real SHTF comms plan.
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How to Use AI to Program Your Ham Radio (With a Free CHIRP File)
I gave an AI assistant one plain-English prompt and got back a CHIRP-ready CSV with my local repeaters, calling frequencies, weather channels, and more. Here is the prompt, the file, and what you have to verify.
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What Is an HF NVIS Regional Net?
What an HF NVIS regional net is, why it beats a repeater net as a regional comms test, plus modes, antennas, radios, and four station builds.
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Repeater Coordination Councils: What They Do and Why It Matters
Coordination is not legally required, but ignoring it is how repeater owners end up in years-long interference disputes.
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How to Read a Repeater Directory Listing (RepeaterBook, TravelPlus)
A repeater directory entry is dense with abbreviations. Here is what each field actually tells you.
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FCC Cracks Down on Linked GMRS Repeaters: What the Notice of Violation Means for You
The FCC just did something it has never done before: it issued a formal Notice of Violation against a GMRS repeater operator for internet linking. If you have been following the linking debate in the GMRS community, this is the moment the argument stopped being theoretical. What Happened On August 5, 2026, the FCC’s Enforcement…
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Radio Field Cards: Quick-Reference Programming Guides
Part of our Handheld Radios (HTs) guide. I keep pulling up the same four questions on every new radio that lands on the bench: how do I program a repeater, how do I get into VFO mode, how do I adjust power, and how do I scan. Every radio buries these in a different menu…
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1950s-70s: 70cm Opens and Repeaters Change Local Ham Radio
Part of our The Evolution of Amateur Radio timeline series. Two meters got amateurs into VHF in 1946, but the real transformation of local ham radio took another three decades to arrive, once hams pushed into UHF and figured out what to do with repeaters. This period covers a lot of ground, from new band…
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When the Repeater Goes Silent: Your Backup Plan for Grid-Down Comms
Part of our Emergency Communications and Preparedness guide. Repeaters are one of the best parts of this hobby. Stick a repeater on a tower or a mountain and suddenly two handhelds that couldn’t hear each other across town can talk clearly across a whole metro area. Under normal conditions, this is exactly what GMRS and…