On 29 Aug 2004 14:59:55 -0700, (LJ) wrote:

I guess you'd have to actually pull over and program the radio....

Some areas (coastal Maine comes to mind) all of the repeaters use the
same tone frequency.

This helps the hams with older gear, where it is harder to change
tones, or even the ones who need to add on a tone board. Older gear is
still usable.

Obviously, this only helps with spurs and QRM from other services, not
interference from other repeaters, but it seems to work fine for that
area.

In an area with multiple repeaters close together, this won't help
much. I've run into issues when hiking on Mt. Monadnock (3200') in NH.
I tried calling in the Boston ARC repeater in Boston (which has a
tone), but also brought up a repeater on the same frequency in
Connecticut somewhere. I was the only one who could hear both sets of
hams, which led to a little confusion.

It makes sense to gravitate to more repeaters using tone, although it
would be good if a few stayed without, for emergencies and for hams
with older gear.

Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
------------------------------------------------
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Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom