Okay, lets talk repeaters.  How about what ones are active in SE Mich?
What clubs/groups are they affiliated with? PL, etc?

My 2M mobile is itching to be keyed up.

18 responses total.

Do you have a copy of The ARRL Repeater Directory? It lists all the
repeaters, their frequency and offset, and the clubs with which they are
affiliated, for all amateur bands. 

No I don't.  I will probably get one, but I was also looking for a bit
on the 'personality' of the local repeaters as well.

For example:  Since I've installed my 2M mobile, I've been listening to
whatever I come across (mostly what was already programmed into it's memory
channels) and I got the feeling that the Northville repater (W8RUR?) is a good
one for just shooting the breeze, although they have a 'formal' net every
night from 11:30PM-12:30AM for socializing.  The repeater that carries the
local (Washtenaw) Skywarn net seems totally inactive except for when the
weather kicks up.  

I've not looked through the repater directory, but does it give times for the
nets that the repeaters carry, etc.?

  I assume you passed your tests?

Nope, but note I said 'listening'.  That xmit key wont be touched until
I pass the tests. :-)  I'm confident.

The local club is the ARROW (www.cyberspace.org/~arrow) and its repeaters
are on 146.96(-), 224.38(-) and 443.500(+). I can't say they have any
"personality", however. There are a few regulars (mostly around commute
time), some incidental use, and heavy use during a few public service or
emergency uses by ARROW. I listen in my car on the 2-m, but seldom
communicate, as I'm not much for chatting - which might be generally true
in the environs of Ann Arbor.

My favorite repeaters when I was living in Michigan were:

145.17  Northville      owned by terry
146.92  Ypsi            also owned by terry
145.33  ???             the edison, which has the SEMTN
                        usually ran by WI8K
146.96  A2              the arrow

occasionally when there was a band opening you could
get into the Findley, OH repeater which was linked
all through out Ohio (I think it was on 145.19?)

And these are all open repeaters?  I picked up the ARRL Repeater Dir.
and I couldn;t find 145.17 listed even though I've been listening to it 
all week.  146.92 isn;t there either.  The Edison is located in Detroit
according to the Directory.

The Michigan Repeater Coordination Council was in the dumps for some
time and didn't do any coordination or get information to ARRL. This
has recently changed. There are a lot of omissions and errors for
Michigan in the current directory, which should get fixed in the next
edition (we all hope). 

The last I know of, they were all open
but ya gotta be a member to use the autopatch

  Most repeaters in MI are open systems. This is not the case in Southern
California which has a high percentage of closed repeaters. The SMART is a
very good repeater (147.14 +.600) although they don't have an Ann Arbor
recieve site.

I went to a little gathering of folks from the 145.17 tonight.  They described
the 146.92 as a split system with the recieve in Ypsi (on the EMU science
building), and the Xmit in A2 (on Wolverine Tower)  How does this work?
Is there a landline, or microwave link between them?

One of the guys mentioned that he found the ARROW repeater to be pretty
anti-social, yet utilitarian.

and speaking of autopatches (#9):  How does one access autopatches for
emergencies (i.e. dialing 911)?  I don;t carry a cellphone, but would like
to be able to call 911 if I see an accident etc.

  There has been a pretty big rift between the folks on the .92 and the Arrow,
and God knows I've tried to mend fences, but some people are really dug in
and really hate the ARROW. Conversely, there are ARROW folk who cannot stand
the people on the .92. Don't get into running with a clique, because it only
tends to polarize our hobby. We are supposed to have a brotherhood here, and
sadly we don't, but people play politics and they always will.

  I will talk to anyone with a callsign, that is when I can remember to put
the damn thing on. I tend to leave it off. (Being an Extra, I have a rep to
maintainm you know, and I cannot be seen running with lowly Tech plusses and
Generals) ;)
   Seriously, I typically don't have a lot to talk about.

Jim, that was ages ago.  That rift no longer exists, at least not from the
ARROW's perspective.

I think the .92 machine uses a phone line to link the receiver to the 
transmitter.  The arrow also uses a remote site as there is simply too
much RF on Tower Plaza to receive locally.  The ARROW use a 440 MHz
link instead of a phone line.

  Exactly. I was saying that the problem exists on thier side, not ours.

  We've become cool and about as open as we're gonna get.

I also think it's fair to say that the the attitude you perceive, on the ARROW
at least, is that of the person you are talking to and not that of the club.

It seems to me that the UHF and VHF repeaters in this area are not at all
busy, at any time of the day, so there is little reason for anyone to be
upset.  The only thing I can fathom that a person might be upset about is
that there is so little activity.

Are there any 'social' nets on local repeaters besides the ARROW net
on Monday nights? (Check-in nets don't count as 'social'.)

  The Chelsea group has a net on Mondays. I think it's at 7 or so. It is a
social net, everyone gets 2 transmissions to rattle on about what is or what
is not happening in thier lives. It's not that bad, if you like that sort of
thing.

This item has been idle for awhile, so I thought I'd put an
update in it. :)

The Arrow's repeaters on Tower Plaza are all offline right now, and
have been for over two months. The 2m repeater has been basically
duplicated at another, temporary, site. Once we are able to get
our equipment back, and make arrangements for another location,
the W8PGW repeaters will be back.

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