In Williams over a few days we received 27″ of snow. This is an image which shows why the Bill Williams Repeater is still silent. Ditto the WIN system repeater. These images were taken by my friend Steve who lives in the area.

Williams has probably received as much snow as last year and the winter is just getting started. This is great for the water situation in Williams and the surrounding areas. But it reeks havoc on electronic equipment and antennas. It can be aggravating when your favorite repeater does not work. We must remember however that amateur radio is a volunteer hobby and volunteers keep our repeaters going. Safety is important.

Fortunately in our area we have the Mount Elden repeaters we can reach in Flagstaff. With the appropriate power you can probably reach the repeater on Mingus.
This brings up a tip for people trying for an amateur license in the future. You are only allowed to use the amount of power required to make a contact. For example, many people use hand held (what you used to call walkie-talkies) that generate two or three levels of power. Some Baofeng units can generate 1-, 4- and 8-watts of power. If you are in close proximity to a repeater, you may only need 1-watt. In Flagstaff you could probably reach the repeaters from most areas with 1-watt. You might need to move up to 4-watts depending on the area and atmospheric conditions. Traveling on the freeway to and from Flagstaff, you might need the 8-Watts. You can adjust the level in VFO mode, usually.

Of course I use the above as a general example that new Hams who are using the cheaper radios will understand. 1- to 10-watts is generally not powerful enough to cause much interference. UHF/VHF is generally short distance. This ruling is generally enforced more on the other HF bands; like the popular 10-meter band. Units designed for the HF bands are allowed to use much more power. These power levels can interfere with other Ham operators, television signals and the like.

With a good antenna, it takes little power to make great DX (long distance) contacts. There are propagation techniques that allow you to conduct DX operations. With UHF/VHF you can use amateur satellites. There are videos on YouTube showing amateurs using Baofeng radios for amateur satellite contacts. You can even bounce a signal off the moon (earth-moon-earth or EME). You can even use computer digital communications or the original digital code; Morse code.

Of course each contact method has its own advantages and disadvantages. This is the fun of amateur radio. Trying to get the best contacts with the best equipment you can afford or build yourself.