Don't repeaters that have tones always use them anyways? I don't really see
much reason to disable them if systems already use them. I know a local one
used to have a code for doing such, which I used a few times on my old rig
when the PL would get messed up and I didn't have assistance to change it. I
heard some systems only use it at night for some reason. I've known of a
couple repeaters that had different courtesy beeps at night, not sure what
the point of changing at night does to the repeater besides a different
beep.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kristine Hickerson" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, August 28, 2004 3:21 PM
Subject: Re: PL Required for Repeater Coordination


> Hi Mike,
>
> I had heard about six months ago that within the next year or so all
> repeaters will be required to operate with PL tones.
>
> Although I understand the interference issue, I don't like it.
> I have an HTX242, which I like very much, but I can't set the tones on it.
> This means one of two things, either I get a new radio, which I really
don't
> want to do, or I depend on someone being available everytime I want to add
a
> new frequency.  It's a darned nuisance.  Also, I agree that on a
retirement
> budget, it isn't always easy to run out and buy a new radio everytime
> something changes.
>
> If anyone can tell me a way to enter tones on the HTX242, I'd certainly
> appreciate it.
>
> 73
> Kris Hickerson
> Highland, IL
> E-Mail:  [log in to unmask]
> Ham Call:  WB9SLM
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mike Duke, K5XU" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, August 28, 2004 2:21 PM
> Subject: PL Required for Repeater Coordination
>
>
> This is from this week's ARRL Letter.
>
> What do you think of it?
>
> K5XU
>
>
>
> ==>REPEATER COORDINATOR OKAYS MANDATORY REPEATER TONE POLICY
>
> The Southeast Repeater Association (SERA) Board of Directors has approved
> an "all tone, all the time" policy for the repeaters SERA coordinates.
> SERA provides voluntary frequency coordination for amateur repeaters in
> Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi
> and parts of Virginia and West Virginia. The Board okayed a motion to
> amend its coordination policy and guidelines to require CTCSS or DCS
> receive and transmit tones on all new FM voice repeaters. Existing voice
> repeaters will have until July 1, 2006, to comply. The SERA Repeater
> Journal reported the move in its August issue. Repeater Journal Editor
> Gary Pearce, KN4AQ, said a need to relieve interference complaints led to
> the Board's decision.
>
> "The point is to stop the ongoing complaints and skirmishes between
> co-channel neighbors running carrier-access repeaters," Pearce explained.
> "The vote was unanimous, but SERA recognizes that tone isn't universally
> popular nor is it a cure-all. And it causes new problems, particularly for
> travelers."
>
> South Carolina ARRL member Laurie Sansbury Jr, KV4C, would agree with
> Pearce on that score. He also has taken issue with SERA's new policy and
> with Pearce's Repeater Journal "SquelchTale" editorial, in which Pearce
> said he had "little sympathy for the ham whose radio doesn't have a tone
> encoder" and "Radios are cheap today."
>
> "Not for the senior on a fixed income they're not," Sansbury retorted in
> an e-mail copied to ARRL. "Not for a teenager--the future of ham
> radio--they're not."
>
> ARRL South Carolina Technical Coordinator Marc Tarplee, N4UFP, said he
> believes an important consideration of SERA's tone policy is its potential
> effect on emergency operations. "The Amateur Radio Service is expected to
> provide emergency communications," Tarplee said. "How does broad CTCSS
> implementation enhance or hinder our ability to deliver those
> communications?"
>
> SERA has no plans to automatically decoordinate repeaters that continue to
> operate without tones, but "SERA would not entertain an interference
> complaint from the owner of any repeater who chooses to remain carrier
> access," the Repeater Journal said. If a carrier-access repeater owner
> getting co-channel interference complains to the FCC, SERA would tell the
> Commission that the complaining repeater's owner was opting to operate
> outside the conditions of coordination. "SERA would expect that to be
> interpreted as a 'no,'" the Repeater Journal report said.
>
> "If a repeater owner wants to complain about interference, they'll have to
> incorporate tone first," Pearce said.
>
>
> Mike Duke, K5XU
> American Council of Blind Radio Amateurs
>