The title of this post was a search that hit my blog recently. Now, in order to discuss the topic, I'm going to make a couple of assumptions: first, that the individual in question is interested in American practice (since the IP address in question geolocates to Alabama, I'd say that's a safe bet), and that the repeater in question is an amateur repeater, rather than a commercial one. (I'll touch on the situations in the commercial services, and in other countries, at the end of the post).
My immediate reaction to the question is, of course, "If you don't know the answer to that question, you shouldn't be running a repeater." That is, I suppose, a bit harsh of me. Part 97 is pretty unclear about coordination. Frequency coordinators are only mentioned twice in Part 97, once in the definitions, in §97.3(a)(22), and once in §97.205, which specifies the special rules that apply to the operation of repeaters. All §205(c) says is that if one repeater interferes with another repeater, the operators of both stations are primarily and equally responsible for resolving the interference, unless one of them is coordinated and the other is not, in which case the uncoordinated station's operator is primarily responsible for resolving the interference. That doesn't equate to mandating coordination. In fact, Part 97 nowhere mandates coordination, and so that's the answer to the question: assuming you're in the United States and you're talking about an amateur radio repeater, you do not have to coordinate your repeater. Unless you're in an area with lots of repeaters, there's a good chance that not coordinating your repeater will turn out to be no big deal; just pick a frequency nobody is using for anything at the moment and have fun.
Of course, if there are a lot of repeaters in your area there might not be any frequencies that nobody is using. And even if there aren't, if the local repeater coordinator council is run by a bunch of annoying busybodies (as many of them are), they might arrange for your uncoordinated repeater to "interfere" with a coordinated repeater just to teach you a lesson. People are, after all, people, and politics are often at their worst when the stakes are the lowest. Not coordinating a repeater that's intended to serve a large area or large number of amateurs is probably not a good idea, for a lot of different reasons. But if you're just putting up a small repeater to cover you and a few guys down the street, it's probably not worth the hassle. And many coordination bodies have gotten way too big for their britches; I think some of them miss the days when coordination was mandatory.
Of course, repeatars in the commercial services have to be coordinated, but then again virtually all uses of commercial frequencies have to be preapproved by a frequency coordinator of some sort. And the "permissive coordination" practice that US amateurs enjoy is pretty unusual; most other countries have some form of mandatory coordination, either through their regulatory agency directly or through a coordinating body assigned by the regulator. American hams really have it pretty easy, in comparison.
My immediate reaction to the question is, of course, "If you don't know the answer to that question, you shouldn't be running a repeater." That is, I suppose, a bit harsh of me. Part 97 is pretty unclear about coordination. Frequency coordinators are only mentioned twice in Part 97, once in the definitions, in §97.3(a)(22), and once in §97.205, which specifies the special rules that apply to the operation of repeaters. All §205(c) says is that if one repeater interferes with another repeater, the operators of both stations are primarily and equally responsible for resolving the interference, unless one of them is coordinated and the other is not, in which case the uncoordinated station's operator is primarily responsible for resolving the interference. That doesn't equate to mandating coordination. In fact, Part 97 nowhere mandates coordination, and so that's the answer to the question: assuming you're in the United States and you're talking about an amateur radio repeater, you do not have to coordinate your repeater. Unless you're in an area with lots of repeaters, there's a good chance that not coordinating your repeater will turn out to be no big deal; just pick a frequency nobody is using for anything at the moment and have fun.
Of course, if there are a lot of repeaters in your area there might not be any frequencies that nobody is using. And even if there aren't, if the local repeater coordinator council is run by a bunch of annoying busybodies (as many of them are), they might arrange for your uncoordinated repeater to "interfere" with a coordinated repeater just to teach you a lesson. People are, after all, people, and politics are often at their worst when the stakes are the lowest. Not coordinating a repeater that's intended to serve a large area or large number of amateurs is probably not a good idea, for a lot of different reasons. But if you're just putting up a small repeater to cover you and a few guys down the street, it's probably not worth the hassle. And many coordination bodies have gotten way too big for their britches; I think some of them miss the days when coordination was mandatory.
Of course, repeatars in the commercial services have to be coordinated, but then again virtually all uses of commercial frequencies have to be preapproved by a frequency coordinator of some sort. And the "permissive coordination" practice that US amateurs enjoy is pretty unusual; most other countries have some form of mandatory coordination, either through their regulatory agency directly or through a coordinating body assigned by the regulator. American hams really have it pretty easy, in comparison.
Perfect commentary on a semi-messed up system! I'm in the process of setting up the ONLY 220Mhz repeater in the Richmond, VA area (that will actually be on the air)and we have been dancing the SERA dance for WEEKS. Having grown up in Cook County, I have a fair knowledge of the "buddy system" of repeater people back home and how important they are in their own minds.
ReplyDeleteAmateur Radio has always been based on one simple truth: RESPONSIBILITY. Responsibility of the operator to follow the rules and regulations as set forth by the Commission (even though most of those are wrong), and, first and foremost, like Hippocrates said: "Do no Harm". Co-ordination is useful,and in some cases, as you said, necessary. But if you've got everything right (like we did here) and you know you aren't interfering with any existing systems, why go through the co-ordination process? The Commission doesn't require it. But hell hath no fury like a self-important twit with a bug up his ass.....
Jay
N9WMU
Coordinating bodies in many regions of the US have set up "Shared Non-Protected" (SNP) repeater pairs. These are generally available for anyone that wants to put up a repeater, as long as they tolerate potential interference. This is a quick way to get on the air and try out the repeater thing while waiting for the coordination process to take place.
ReplyDelete73, Bob K0NR
Besides my Amateur license, I also have a GMRS license for my business, and I use a mobile repeater when on location (televisionbroadcast uplink). I have a frequency-agile setup using an Aarow Industries "repeater in a box" setup and two transcievers (also works with HT's. What I do is check the databases before hand (if I have time), and, if I don't, I simply leave the receiver open (no pl) and key the transmitter and identify to see if I bring up another local system. If not, I put the pl back on and identify. Admittedly, GMRS is not as active as Ham bands, but it's a simple practice, especially in an itinerant situation. Back to what I said earlier: RESPONSIBILITY. and mabe THINK FIRST.
ReplyDelete