Background

California Officials declare Ham Radio no longer a benefit; Demands Ham radio repeater infrastructure to be Removed
Off Grid Survival
October 10, 2019

California, through unelected state officials, is severing ties to ham radio repeater owners throughout the state, jeopardizing the lives of millions of Californians who depend on these repeaters to operate during emergencies.

If you are unfamiliar with ham radio repeaters, envision that you are looking at a very tall antenna situated on a mountain top that connects by wired cable to a radio transmitter located inside an adjacent building that is programmed to operate on a pre-defined frequency to and from licensed operators who are located tens of miles away. That is what the California claims is not needed anymore to deal with emergency situations such as a dangerous and deadly wildfire. Just imagine that California is faced with another mega-wildfire like the one that destroyed the city of Paradise...

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This morning I attended a meeting with two members of my local ham radio club to discuss the revision of the club's website. During our meeting, one colleague told me that the club has until the end of this month to remove two of its heavily-used repeater systems on San Pedro Ridge and Big Rock that are both located in Marin County near San Rafael. These repeaters have been operated and maintained at the club's expense for years for the purpose of facilitating emergency radio reception and transmission, especially during scheduled public events such as bicycle rides and endurance races that involve trails and hilly areas where cell phone coverage is problematic or non-existent.

The club is scrambling to devise a feasible method to offset the loss of these two repeater systems. Many of my colleagues carry a portable antenna unit in their car or van that they connect to their mobile rigs at our public service events. Reliable ham radio transmission is contingent upon good line of sight from one operator's radio to another. Nearby obstructions such as buildings and trees impair the strength of the radio signal. The question boils down to the radio power rating used by each ham. Mobile rigs that typically operate at 50 watts are much more reliable than the inexpensive hand-hand units (similar to walkie-talkies) made in China whose maximum output is only 5 or 10 watts.