What changed
Repeaters — edited Sep 5, 2026 by Unknown editor
This is the first recorded version, so every line is shown as added. Note: Imported from content/wiki
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A repeater receives on one frequency and simultaneously retransmits on another from a high site, so
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a five-watt handheld can cover an entire region.
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## What you need to program
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- **Output frequency** — where you listen
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- **Offset** — how far the input is from the output; conventionally −600 kHz on 2 m and +5 MHz on
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70 cm
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- **Tone (CTCSS/PL) or DCS** — a sub-audible tone your radio sends to open the repeater
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- Sometimes a separate **tone squelch** so you only hear signals carrying that tone
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Repeater directories, RepeaterBook and your local club all publish these. Modern radios can be
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programmed by cable and software far faster than by hand.
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## Using one
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1. Listen before transmitting.
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2. Pause after keying up — many repeaters and linked systems clip the first half second.
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3. Leave a gap of a second or two between transmissions so others can break in.
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4. Identify with your call sign every ten minutes and at the end.
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5. Say *"break"* or your call sign, not "breaker breaker", if you need to interrupt.
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## Etiquette that keeps you welcome
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- A repeater belongs to a club or an individual who pays for the site. Join and support the ones
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you use.
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- Keep it short on a busy machine; move to simplex for long conversations.
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- No profanity, no music, no business traffic, no political arguing — Part 97 covers some of this,
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common sense covers the rest.
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- If a net is scheduled, yield the machine.
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## Linked and networked systems
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Many repeaters link to others by RF or over the internet through EchoLink, AllStar, IRLP or
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[digital voice networks](/wiki/operating/digital-modes/dmr-dstar-fusion). A short local transmission
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may reach several states, so identify clearly.
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## Personal nodes
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Where there is no repeater within reach, a personal node puts you on the same networks with a
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handheld and a broadband connection: a small computer running AllStarLink, a USB radio interface and
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a radio, or a radio-less interface with a microphone and speaker. Cross-band full-duplex nodes are
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worth the extra effort — you can key up a linked system at any time rather than waiting for a
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courtesy tone, and you hear the system while transmitting.
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[AllScan](https://allscan.info/products/) publishes detailed how-to guides on building AllStar nodes
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and sells the interfaces, radio modules and complete nodes described in them. A node is a station
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like any other: it must identify, and you are responsible for what it transmits.