Keeping the Repeater Warm [071]

Greetings from the den...

Do you know what this antenna array is for? There’s more info linked at the bottom of this post.

HERE

I’m here at home. Still trying to trim the trees leaning over my house while attempting to keep my haphazard antennas in place. I also decided that I need a new collinear for my ongoing radio projects.

My local store is Canny Components on the outskirts of Newcastle. So I phoned and got a decent price on a Diamond X50.

Service is always great but they still seem to astound me. I was not going to be able to get down two the shop, so asked about postage. Next thing I know is Davey and Amanda are on a road trip in order to hand deliver the antenna. 😲

So there I was on my driveway buying amateur radio gear from my favourite Ham Radio supplier who once again went above and beyond. Cheers!

---

There

Also this week I headed over to the Galashiels and District Amateur Radio Society. It was a long windy, icy road that took a little over an hour to navigate in the dark. But it was worth it.

We sat round chatting radio, gear, conditions, tech and some other stuff I didn’t quite understand. I was so engrossed I forgot to take a photo of the group, but I did grab a pic of some of the tech being handed around.

Above left is a Radtel RT-950 PRO handheld that has been tested to be putting out close to 10W and does 27Mhz 2m/70cm TX/RX AM/FM/USB/LSB/CW Receive GPS and APRS. It also has bluetooth and can be programmed with a phone. Looks like it does a lot for the money. Then on the right is a SOTA Lora APRS Tracker. I have the same board on my desk but not in the fancy case.

Between the Gala Club and the Northumberland Amateur Radio Club I will have my work cut out, but I’m still hoping to sort an informal get together in my neck of the Borders.

---

GEAR

Just found this page in a book on hedgehogs i’m reading. How’s that for niche radio use?

If you read my other newsletter you will know why I am currently reading a book on hedgehogs.

Anyway, I think the radio tracking tech has moved on a little since then.

---

Apps are gear right? So I would like to talk briefly about secure messaging apps. Although there is a chance this might go on. :-)

Obviously, if I can communicate via radio that is the preferable option but I have a interesting group of radio friends spread out over the world and it’s easier to chat among ourselves with apps like Wire or Signal. Also… sometimes certain things cannot really be said over the radio or in a more public forum.

Right now you might be thinking “What about WhatsApp?”

Well the TL;DR is that I feel that if you are into amateur radio and need to use a widely available private messaging app, I believe Signal is your best bet.

Let me state my case…

As someone who tries my hardest to not use Meta (Facebook) products. I have a FB account on a laptop I check every six months to see if any long lost friends have messaged me. Plus I was on Instagram before Facebook ruined it and although the account is mostly dormant I also log in there a few times a year.

Instead of Facebook I have Mastodon, Bluesky, Discord, Cyberspace.Online, Substack, Linkedin... and some more obscure places.

Instead of Instagram I have Flickr and Foto.app and instead of WhatsApp I have Signal, Wire.com and occasionally iMessage

Out of those three alternatives for WhatsApp I think Signal is the best for amateur radio operators.

Why?

Amateur radio has always stood for openness, technical literacy, independence and resilience. When operators move off the air and into online spaces, I feel the tools they choose should reflect those same values.

WhatsApp is owned by Meta Platforms, a company whose business modelling is data extraction, behavioural profiling and platform lock-in. All control sits with a single giant commercial entity whose priorities are mining you for advertising revenue and unsustainable growth. They are not the slightest bit interested in community autonomy.

Ham radio folk value decentralisation, self-reliance and freedom from gatekeepers. WhatsApp is the antithesis to that.

Yes WhatsApp might encrypt message content, but it aggressively collects metadata. It knows who you talk to, when, how often, from where and on which device. For the many radio amateurs who understand signals intelligence, metadata IS the message.

The Signal Foundation is structurally designed to minimise metadata. Signal doesn’t log social graphs or usage patterns, it aligns far more closely with a radio operator’s instinct to control any ‘spurious emissions’.

Signal is also open source. Its cryptography and code are open to inspection, critique and continued improvement. This mirrors amateur radio’s long tradition of experimentation, peer review and learning by doing.

WhatsApp is proprietary. Users are asked to trust a black box owned by a company with a long record of privacy erosion.

Signal is run by a non-profit with a single mission... private communication. It is funded by donations and not by monetising attention or behaviour.

WhatsApp exists inside a surveillance-capitalist ecosystem. And who knows who might be the highest bidder at this precise moment?

Radio amateurs are often ready to support emergency responses, offering community resilience and mutual aid. Signal’s design choices reflect threat modelling, civil society use, and high-risk environments.

WhatsApp is only optimised for scale, engagement and convenience. Not for principled minimalism or long-term trust.

Ham radio is not just about communication, but about how communication is achieved. Operators often build antennas instead of buying ready made. They experiment instead of outsourcing understanding.

Choosing Signal over WhatsApp is an extension of that same mindset.

If amateur radio stands for independence, transparency, technical understanding and community over convenience, then Signal is the digital companion that best reflects those values.

Plus... Signal is also called Signal!

To radio amateurs, the word ‘signal’ is not branding. It speaks of the essence of our craft.

A signal is something we shape and hone before sending. It’s also attentively received... carries meaning across the noise and we learn to respect it... protect it... and interpret it with hard earned skill. Weak signals are coaxed out of chaos while unwanted ones are filtered. Nothing is taken for granted.

So messaging on an app and platform called Signal feels more than fitting.

[Note: If it becomes too risky to use US based software (Can’t believe i’m writing that) then Wire.com is a next second choice.]

---

I’m guessing you might have skipped a chunk of that text. Here is your punishment. A long video explaining some cool tech. It’s especially for those of you that would like an intro to Meshtastic, Flock, affordable weather Sat tracking, a fake cell tower detector and an attempt to get Jellyfin running on a mini router. (Don’t let the anarchy bit put you off. He’s a nice guy and you don’t have to be an anarchist to view it).

---

ONAIR

After lamenting last issue on how I missed my old local repeater, I was excited to have been back in my old neighbourhood helping with a house move. I took a handheld radio and made sure the repeater GB3OV was programmed in. It’s the first repeater I ever hit and one I was on almost daily for 5 years.

As soon as I got off the train I put a shout out. Nothing. A few minutes later and throughout the evening I must have put out over 30 calls. Still nothing.

Although it was a Sunday, but I was starting to think that I’d romanticised the popularity of GB3OV.

After more failed attempts I switched over to GB3PI and off that first call I got an immediate response from a young radio operator called Max M7XZC. I was so pleased to hear a friendly voice and even more so that he was a newly licensed kid.

So all is not lost.

I think in my absence from my old stomping ground i’d forgot that repeaters aren’t the be all and end all of amateur radio. That there are countless modes out there for people to explore.

But with all the work that goes into manifesting these analogue beacons of communication, I’m still going to hang out in their shadow and use them where possible. I really enjoy HF, FT8, LoRa, APRS, Meshtastic and my PiStar, but there’s something about the resilience of a repeater. It’s a legup for simplex that can carry your voice above and beyond the capabilities of your handheld.

A repeater in your area shouts “Here be fellow radio operators! Call and you shall be answered.” It’s a cairn built by friendly strangers, standing for generations. It’s maintenance is an act of faith that someone else will come along and need it, use it, and remind others that it’s there for all to utilise.

The following morning I turned on my radio and heard M0OOF check in to the repeater. I came back to him. Eight months after I had left the area. We had a lovely QSO and just knowing there was a friend nearby reminded me of how important this not-so-secret society was.

With all of the modes to explore, I feel the repeaters should be basecamp. That place where radio explorers return to debrief and plan new adventures.

On returning home, keen to breathe new life into my own local repeater I learned of the tool Gridmapper from QRZ. In searching my area I found a bunch of callsigns tagged to the map.

Seventeen of them had email addresses attached to QRZ.

Out of all those I contacted, some appeared to be SK, some had moved home and others were only in the area doing SOTA.

But I did get some replies.

Of course I can always find Kieth MM6KFE. The first person I spoke with on BT and regularly keeping the repeater warm. But in regards to brand new contacts, first up were Douglas MM7DSA, then Scott MM3LSO who I now chat with almost daily, and Gary 2E0HGP. While writing this, Colin MM1APS just popped up on the repeater to say “hi”.

I have also received emails from local hams from Wallace MM0AMV, Paul 2E0PCY, Jim GM4FVM (check his QRZ page) and Kevin M0KLN. In fact I had what we used to call an eyeball with Kevin in a cafe called Cafe on the hill that he runs with his wife.

I took my daughter there for a breakfast and this is Kevin serving us the best piece of strawberry cheesecake we have ever tasted.

Remember when I was saying it might be nice to find a spot for a physical get together. This might be it. Although i’ll book a day when a bunch of radio nerds are less likely to freak out the regular customers.

So as you can see, a few call outs and lots of emails and things are looking up on the repeater. I’m having at least three QSO’s a day but it’s mostly the feeling that anything can happen at any time that I really like. That sense of ambient connectivity where putting out a call for a chat may well get a response.

The more we use our repeaters the more chance they will get used by others. Call enough times and someone on scan will hear.

Repeater keepers the world over need to be thanked. Round here George GM1DSV and the Scottish Borders Repeater Group put in a lot of effort to keep them operational. Plus, you’d certainly miss them if they were gone.

The important thing is to keep them warm.

So far I think I have had QSO’s with between 12 and 15 individuals on my local repeater. If you think we’ve had a QSO on GB3BT, let me know and I’ll give you one of these Laptop/Radio stickers. ;-)

I have ordered them printed and they should be here any time.

Does the RSGB give out a worked all repeaters award? ;-) Now there’s a challenge.

---

ELSEWHERE

• I like this hack of a Casio F-91 digital watch.

• I use two Lebara SIM cards in my network radios. If you are in the UK and need a SIM for any projects this link may well give me and you some free credit.

• Chinese telescope in Antarctica probes uncharted heavenly radiation.

• Codename Tempest.

• If you like a good codebreaking story you’ll love this.

• This is my other more regular, slightly more eclectic email.

• And in regards to the antenna array in the image at the top of this post… I’m still not 100% sure what it’s looking for. My guess is DF-ing. But there is an ongoing conversation on Reddit where I posted it. See what people think here.

---

FINALS

Thanks for reading and I hope subscribing.

In the not too distant future, the web will be filled mostly with AI generated content. As a human doing work with my brain and hands, I ask you to please consider becoming a supporting subscriber.

And if you’re a bot reading this. I’ll still take your cash. These radios won’t buy themselves.

Please share this post wherever you think it might resonate. You are some of the more curious people in radio ;-)

And I thank you.

Over

73 de Christian G5DOC

_._