How to Use a Repeater

A repeater is a radio station placed somewhere high, such as a hilltop, a tall building or a tower. It hears the weak signal from your handheld or car radio and sends it out again from that better spot, usually with more power. A handheld that might reach a few miles on its own can often cover a whole county through a good repeater.

Most repeaters on 2 meters and 70 centimeters use FM, and they are where many new Technicians make their first contacts. Every repeater is shared by everyone in range, and each one has its own habits. A few simple practices will have you sounding like you have been on the air for years.

How a Repeater Works

A repeater has two frequencies. It listens on its input and transmits on its output, at the same moment. Your radio does the opposite: it listens on the output and transmits on the input. The gap between the two is called the offset, or shift.

On 2 meters the common offset is 600 kHz, and on 70 centimeters it is 5 MHz. The direction matters too. In the ARRL band plan, repeaters with outputs from 146.61 to 146.97 MHz listen 600 kHz lower, and those with outputs from 147.00 to 147.39 MHz listen 600 kHz higher. Local practice sometimes differs, so the repeater’s own listing always wins.

Most repeaters also need a CTCSS tone, a low tone sent under your voice that many hams call a PL tone. The repeater ignores any signal that does not carry its tone, which keeps it from being triggered by distant stations or interference on the same channel. If your radio is set to the right frequency and offset but the repeater never answers, a missing or wrong tone is the usual cause.

Finding Repeaters Near You

You need three facts for each repeater: the output frequency, the offset direction and amount, and the tone. A few good places to look:

• RepeaterBook: a large online directory of amateur repeaters, kept up by volunteer administrators, with a website and phone apps.
• Local Club Websites: clubs usually list their own repeaters, along with net times and any local customs.

Directories can fall out of date when a repeater moves or changes its tone. Treat any listing as a starting point and confirm it by listening. Our page on clubs and nets has more on finding the people who run your local repeaters. When you are ready to load the details into your radio, see How to Program a Handheld Radio.

Listen Before You Talk

Spend a few days just listening. You will learn when the repeater is busy, how people call each other, and whether there is a regular net. You will also hear the repeater’s own sounds, which tell you a lot about how to use it.

Many repeaters play a short beep, called a courtesy tone, a moment after each person stops talking. It means the repeater has heard the end of that transmission and it is fine for the next person to go. Waiting for it, then counting a second or so before you key up, leaves room for anyone with urgent traffic to break in.

Most repeaters also have a time-out timer. If one transmission runs too long, the repeater stops retransmitting until that station lets go of the microphone, which guards against stuck microphones and long speeches. Keep each transmission short and the timer will never catch you.

Making Your First Call

When the repeater has been quiet for a while, try this:

1. Listen for a little longer to make sure no one is mid-conversation and waiting for a reply.
2. Press the push-to-talk button and wait about a second before you speak, so the start of your call is not cut off.
3. Say your callsign and that you are listening, for example “this is” followed by your callsign, “listening.” Use phonetics if your call is hard to hear.
4. Release the button and wait. If no one answers, try again in a few minutes, or call during a busier time of day.

To reach someone in particular, say their callsign, then “this is,” then yours. Long CQ calls are rare on FM repeaters; a simple “listening” does the job. Hold the radio an inch or two from your mouth and speak in a normal voice.

One habit to avoid is kerchunking: keying up for a moment without saying anything, just to hear the repeater answer. It annoys everyone listening, and it is an unidentified transmission, which the rules do not allow. If you want to test, say your callsign and “testing.”

Identifying Your Station

Under 47 CFR 97.119, you must give your assigned callsign at the end of each communication and at least every 10 minutes during it. On voice, that means saying it in English, and the rule encourages phonetics to make it clear. Giving your call when you first come on is not required, but it is polite and expected.

The repeater sends its own identification automatically, often in Morse code. That covers the repeater, not you. In a long conversation, glance at the clock or simply add your callsign every few exchanges. Our Part 97 in Plain English page covers identification and the other rules you will use most.

Emergency Traffic Comes First

FCC rules say that at all times and on all frequencies, operators must give priority to stations providing emergency communications. The rules also say no frequency is assigned for any one station’s exclusive use. In practice, that means anyone who needs the repeater for an emergency gets it, right away.

This is the real reason for the pause between transmissions. If someone breaks in with urgent traffic, stop your conversation and stand by. Offer help only if you can actually provide it, such as making a phone call, and otherwise keep the channel clear.

Good Habits to Start With

• Keep It Short: brief turns let others join and keep you clear of the time-out timer.
• Follow the House Rules: repeaters are built and paid for by clubs or individuals, so respect any customs or limits they post.
• Use Only the Power You Need: if the repeater hears you clearly on low power, stay there and save your battery.
• Mind Your Antenna: keep a handheld’s antenna away from your eyes and face while you transmit, and in a car use an outside antenna where you can.
• Join a Net: a regular net is an easy way to practice, and many repeaters host emergency and weather nets too.

Set up one or two local repeaters in your radio, listen for a few evenings, and then make that first call. Most hams remember theirs, and most are happy to answer someone new.