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 Previous: Astronaut Greets his Children from Space via Ham Radio | ![Next (later) Story](/images/sty-up.gif "ARRL Asks FCC to Eliminate, "Refarm" Novice CW Bands"){kind=small} Next: ARRL Asks FCC to Eliminate, "Refarm" Novice CW Bands |
By Bob Mauro, KZ2G
March 22, 2002
What does it take to maintain a friendly repeater? Patience and self-discipline might be a good start. Rate your behavior with this little quiz.
 Bob Mauro, KZ2G, with 2-meter rig in hand, departs his van mobile to operate wheelchair mobile. [Photo by the author] |
There's one on every repeater. We've all heard the know-it-alls, the former class monitors, the self-appointed repeater cops.
You know the type: The person who's made ham radio his life instead of his hobby, and--in the process--has made everyone else on the repeater miserable. Here's a simple quiz to determine if you're a repeater cop. If you are, don't panic--there's a cure. But first, take the quiz. For each question, circle A or B:
1. Someone on the repeater has a noisy signal. Do you:
A. Tell the person to get a better antenna and a more powerful rig before using this repeater again?
B. Say, "Try again, my friend; you're a bit noisy?"
2. You hear a low-level alternator whine on someone's signal. Do you:
A. Tell the person to stay off the repeater until that damn alternator whine is gone?
B. Suggest how the ham can cure the frustrating alternator-whine problem?
3. Someone new on the repeater doesn't wait for the beep before talking. Do you:
A. Tell the person in an extremely nasty way to "Wait for the darn beep?"
B. Explain the purpose of the beep--in a friendly way?
4. Someone from Fiji is visiting his sick mother in your area and gets on your local repeater. You then:
A. Tell the person to join the repeater club and pay club dues before using the machine and wasting the repeater club's electricity.
B. Welcome the visiting ham and invite him or her to enjoy the repeater while visiting the area.
5. A 10-year-old new ham gets on with an H-T. You:
A. Refuse to talk to children on the repeater.
B. Welcome the youngster and congratulate him or her on his or her great achievement, explain how wonderful ham radio is and what a friendly bunch of folks we all are on this repeater--except for that one repeater cop, of course.
Okay, now it's time to determine if you're a repeater cop. Get ready to rate yourself. For each A you've circled, give yourself two points. For each B, subtract two points. Add up your score and rate yourself below:
(10) You are a nasty SOB and should turn in your ham ticket for a job with the DMV or the Taliban Vice and Virtue Police.
(6) You are not as friendly as most correctional officers in Attica or Sing Sing.
(2) You're bordering on sociable, but still need a few drinks to be tolerable--not during mobile hours, however.
(-2) You're passive-aggressive or aggressive-passive, i.e., you're hard to figure out. Dogs like you, but cats don't.
(-6) You're nice enough to take to a mildly violent hockey game.
(-10) You're the kind of ham who makes ham radio a really fun hobby.
(0) Er...you're cheating or believe you might, indeed, be a repeater cop; therefore, you were too afraid to take this quiz.
Finally, what if you are a repeater cop? There's a simple cure: LIGHTEN UP ALREADY! GEEEZ, IT'S ONLY A HOBBY.
Editor's note: ARRL member Bob Mauro, KZ2G, lives in Levittown, New
York and has been a ham for 36 years. A self-employed artist and writer, he has
also written plays for student actors. Check his Web site
for a complete list of his work and ham activities.
| Previous: Astronaut Greets his Children from Space via Ham Radio | Next: ARRL Asks FCC to Eliminate, "Refarm" Novice CW Bands |
