As a new amateur radio operator I learned quickly that repeaters are an important link in communications. Particularly if you have to operate, currently, on cheap equipment. When they go out, new operators tend to get mad.

For several reasons, people are flocking to the Baofeng hand-held radios. The main reason is the price. For under $100 you can get on the air (if you have the appropriate license). Hand-helds are dependent mainly on repeaters.

Repeaters dot the United States from one coast to the other. Some are connected together in links, such as the WIN system and RIMLINK. When new operators get used to talking through repeaters, they may get upset and wonder why the repeater stops working. Why does my local repeater not connect to RIMLINK? Why do I not get the ARRL news feed on my repeater?

Well, here is one reason.

These pictures are from a recent storm on Bill Williams mountain. The antennas have been knocked around by high winds and ice. To protect the equipment, repeater operators necessarily have to shut down the repeaters. If you operate equipment without an antenna, you are asking for equipment failure altogether.

In fact, this is a good life lesson for new amateur operators who are not really electronically inclined. Antennas are the core of your equipment. A decent antenna will make your five-watt handheld travel farther.

I have received fair distance and reports with my Baofeng BF-F9 in my vehicle with a magnet mount antenna while travelling. The problem is the Baofeng microphone. The cheap mics you purchase through Amazon and other retailers are just that. Cheap mics. They work, but I have received reports of static. The earphone microphone I received with the Baofeng gave me a zap through the earpiece. Through the built-in mic I received pretty good reports.

If you are looking for a good microphone for the Baofeng, you might check out this web site. It is not cheap.

The point is that you can see why repeaters go down. Repeater operators cannot control the weather. Until you can afford better equipment and a decent antenna, you have to cowboy-up.

Personally I would like to help keep repeaters going. As an old Navy tweeker, I find that would help increase my knowledge of the Ham radio art. At the same time I understand that repeater operators have to carefully select who they receive help from. This equipment is not cheap.

Since I received my first license in October, I have been able to listen—but not always participate in—nets on the repeaters. I appreciate the efforts of the people who maintain the repeaters. These images even woke me up to the reality of keeping repeaters going.