(This is the fourth installment of a multi-part article reprinted with permission of the author, Peter O'Dell, WB2D. CQ Magazine April and June 2002)

This time we are going to talk about the social aspects of using repeaters. As we go through these discussions, please keep in mind that repeaters are fun to use.  Some of them have clever tools (bells and whistles) to play with. It's okay to play with them--just do it responsibly.

One thing that was implicit in the last discussion should be stated here unequivocally: Because of the special requirements of repeaters, it takes a fair amount of money (and/or ingenuity and scrounging) to put a repeater on the air and to keep it on. Somebody has to pay for it. Therefore, most repeaters across North America are club operations. There are some privately owned repeaters, particularly on 222 MHz and higher, but most are group operations.

Whoever owns the repeater, individual or group, has put a lot of time, money, and effort into getting the repeater on the air. It is their station. Within legal limits, they can do whatever they want with it. They set the tone or atmosphere for communicating, and they have the right to restrict who can use the system and how it can be used. Besides, Elvis really is dead. Just learn to live with it.

In the past this has been a controversial issue in some areas. Certain hams took the attitude that the airwaves are free and that anyone can and should use any repeater he (or she) wants in any manner he wants. The airwaves are free, but the station isn't. The repeater is a station just the same as the one you have in your home. Suppose someone came over to your house and demanded to use your home station; or maybe he just walked in and started using it without saying anything; or perhaps someone walked up, pulled your handheld off your belt, and started using it without asking. The airwaves are still free, but . . .Well, a repeater is a station, too, and it belongs to someone or some group. They have a right to run it pretty much however they want, as long as its operation stays within the parameters of the FCC rules and regulations.

What it boils down to is this: If you are going to use a repeater that belongs to a club, you should join the club as soon as you start to use the repeater on a regular basis. (It would be considerate of you to volunteer to help, too. There are a lot of non-technical things that need to be done from time to time). If it is a private repeater, then find out who owns it and ask permission. You could offer to help out there, too. There are no rules that require this, just common decency. Think of what you would want from strangers who are guests in your home and apply those standards to your behavior on the repeater.

When you look through the ARRL Repeater Directory, you will notice that some repeaters are listed as "open" and others as "closed." An open repeater is one which has been made available to the public for use--not misuse, not abuse, just use! It is an open invitation to join as you pass through the area or from time to time if you live or work in the area. However, if you are going to be a regular, frequent user, you should follow the guidelines above--that is, pay your dues.

A closed repeater, on the other hand, is one where use is limited to those invited to join in. Closed repeaters are more prevalent among those which are privately owned, but there are plenty of clubs around that restrict use to club members in good standing. There is nothing wrong with this. Just accept it as the way things are. Such repeaters are often dedicated to a special use, such as DX spotting, or the members tend to have similar narrowly defined interests (all involved in broadcasting, for instance).

When FM first exploded on the ham scene back in the early 1970's, some groups used CTCSS (Contin-uous Tone Coded Squelch Systems) on the repeater receiver as a means of limiting access to group members. Everybody called it "PL" back then, which is Motorola's trademark. As such things go, PL even became a verb in ham jargon, as in "they PL'd the machine." In those days a CTCSS encoder was big, ugly, and expensive, and you were limited to one tone, too. I don't recall a single FM box offered directly to the amateur market back then that featured a CTCSS encoder as an option. To add one to your radio, you had to be technically proficient. In certain groups there was even an effort to keep the specific tone secret.

Don't be surprised if you run into a few old timers who complain about the evils of "PL" and the curse that it has brought to ham radio. They came up through the ranks when it was a tool of exclusion--perfectly legal, perfectly justifiable--but a tool of exclusion nonetheless.There are those who just don't deal well with any form of rejection.

Now almost all new ham FM transceivers come with a CTCSS encoder built in--one which can dial up any of the 32 standard tones at the touch of a couple of buttons. CTCSS is of little value these days to help enforce a closed repeater's status as such.

CTCSS does have some really wonderful uses, however. With the proliferation of repeaters, it is not uncommon to find some unintentional overlap in coverage areas. For instance, a particular hilltop might be outside the prime coverage area of two or more repeaters, but because of its height, any mobile driving over it or parked on it might key up two or more repeaters simultaneously. Also, there are certain areas of the country prone to weather patterns that produce skip. This is particularly true along coast lines.

It can be maddening to try to monitor a repeater when the band is just barely open. Signals are there with enough strength to key the repeater's transmitter, but not strong enough to fully quiet the receiver. In other words, your ears are treated to a constant bombardment of static. This is a perfect time and place to use CTCSS on the receiver input. All that is needed is some cooperation with the distant repeater so that each site is set up to receive a different CTCSS tone. With CTCSS in place and turned on, the repeater transmitter does not activate unless the proper CTCSS tone is present, regardless of how strong the received signal may be from moment to moment. The system is not flawless, but it beats stuffing your ears with cotton.

That brings up a point of courtesy: If you happen to live where you can key up more than one repeater on the same frequency, it would be a good idea to switch over to a directional (beam) antenna. That way you can "point" your signal at the repeater you intend to use and leave the other(s) in peace. Also, the FCC requires you to use the minimum power level to maintain good communications--a largely unenforceable rule, but one which just makes good sense. If 5 watts will do, then turn off the 100 watt amplifier. You don't need it. Running an amp when you don't need it just makes you look like a jerk.