Hi Dan;

A blind ham is no different then a ham who is sighted.

A ham who is sighted will also need to scan for PL tones and, if the
repeater does not pass the pl tone then that will be that much less use that
the repeater owner's repeater will get.

I mean let's be practical here.

If we want to be treated with the same respect that everyone else is treated
with then, I think we need to stop classifying ourselves and just go with
the flow.

Their are always work arounds and, no matter what segment of the population
we are in, we will always need to make adjustments.

73 De Anthony W2AJV
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----- Original Message -----
From: "dan kysor" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2004 12:31 PM
Subject: Re: PL Required for Repeater Coordination


> well now days with the plethera of repeaters in high density populations,
> its necessary, unfortunately.
> For example, when coordinating my 440 repeater, we discovered that a high
> level frequency on a frequency i was trying for was so loud that even a pl
> wouldn't have solved the problem and the repeater was 200 miles away but
> it
> is on a 4000 foot peak.
> on the other hand, 90 mile frequency sharring is very common and really
> only can be accomplished by pl.  i personally wish and long for no pl
> because for a blind person, its much easier to tune around the band
> especially if your traveling but reality is reality.
> finally, saying all of this, coordinating councils are typically not very
> strong when push comes to shove.
> the fcc in many instances, disregards these councils with respect to
> disputes.  I will always defer to a council up to a point.
> dan w. kysor n6ikc
> At 12:21 PM 8/28/04, Mike Duke, K5XU wrote:
>>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
>