So, you might want to pre-program your radio before your trip. With most radios, it is not easy to program "on the fly" especially when it comes to putting in the PL tones, etc. If I have time before my trip, I look up cities along the route and make a list of the repeaters there. The larger version with a full sized page costs a couple dollars more but is well worth it. It costs around $10 and comes in two page sizes.very small and not easy on the eyes when traveling. But it really is a lot of work.Įvery year while attending the Dayton Hamvention, I buy the latest ARRL Repeater Directory. If you want to do the work, VHF can be fun. There are CONTINUOUS conversations on HF and you don't have to know any frequencies. I have had soo little luck on VHF/UHF, and I have gotten so tired of having to do the trip planning. But there are dozens of lower level sites that just aren't worth programming IMOīUT, things have changed. You can stay within distance of some of these repeaters for an hour or more. Since our sites are high up on mountain peaks, they have enormous footprints that cover hundreds of miles.
I got this info from the groups.įor example, here in Wyoming, knowing 3 or 4 repeaters will cover 90% of the interstates and towns. I wanted the wide coverage or linked systems. Most are too low level and I will only be within range for 10 minutes. There are so many repeaters in this country, 99% of the ones I pass I am not interested in. Whenever I traveled, I would spend several weeks or months attempting to contact repeater groups along my route. If you don't want to spend the money for the ARRL repeater directory, there are several on-line repeater sources, but I have found their accuracy is sometimes lacking a bit.Truthfully, you need to do a little research. I have an old Kenwood TR-7400 which was a great 2 meter mobile rig in its day, but it was not able to program or change PL tones without literally tearing the rig apart everytime you changed the tone.
By the way, back in the 70's relatively few repeaters were "toned" and it was easy to just dial up the frequencies and not have to worry about PL tones. Every year while attending the Dayton Hamvention, I buy the latest ARRL Repeater Directory.
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