What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? (or whatever your name is)
I love helping new hams. I enjoy doing the New Ham Booth at the GARS Tech Fest every year. One of the most frequently asked questions I hear is, “Where can I find the frequencies to program my radio with?” Of course, this is not a major concern on the HF frequencies, but for hew hams just starting out with their new portable “HT”, it is.
I am a firm believer in simplex operation when possible. Of course, there is not nearly as much traffic on simplex as there is on the repeaters. There are several places to look for simplex frequencies. They vary from location to location. The national calling frequencies do not vary. They are 146.520 on VHF 446.00 for UHF. According to the ARRL Band Plan, VHF simplex frequencies are located between 146.40 and 146.580 and 147.42 to 147.57. The UHF simplex frequencies are listed as from 445.00-447.00, and are shared with auxiliary and control links and repeaters. It is best to check with experienced hams in your local area.
Where do I find the repeater frequencies? One of the best web sites is “Repeater Book”, https://www.repeaterbook.com/. Click on “North American Repeaters”, and your state (Georgia). There will be a listing of several bands. The ones most new hams will be interested in are two meters (2 m) and 440 (70 cm). Click on those links. On the same page you will find a listing of repeaters by the nearest city. The only Gwinnett County city I found listed was Lawrenceville. That listed a few nearby repeaters. Clicking on the 2 m and 70 cm links yielded more results.
There is another amateur radio repeater database at http://www.artscipub.com/repeaters/. Click on the state you want (like Georgia) and there you will find a listing for the whole state. You will likely need to look at nearby communities other than your own for other nearby repeaters.
The American Radio Relay league publishes a comprehensive repeater directory about every other year. It is an excellent source for information. Listings are by band and state. Go to http://www.arrl.org/ and look at the ARRL Store. Their repeater directory is currently on sale.
Doing an internet search on Atlanta area radio clubs will yield a wealth of information. Just about every club has at least two repeaters. Go to a club web site, and look around. This is usually the best place to find the most updated information about a particular repeater.
Finally, there is one other way to get a good list of active repeaters in your area. That is to ask one of two nearby hams. Find out what other hams have stored in their radios. They might even give you a printed list of what they have. If you know of a ham who has the same type of radio you have, they might even be able to clone your radio.
“Your mileage may vary.” Of course if you are using a handheld radio with a whip antenna, you will not be able to contact nearly as many repeaters as your neighbor with the 100 watt base station and a 50 foot tower, but even with the most modest setup, you should be able to hit several repeaters. GARS has an excellent repeater system, thanks to a super repeater committee, so whatever your setup is you should have many hours of talking pleasure.
73
David Harden, KJ4CMY