GB3YL Lowestoft

[ACL]

I've been off 70cm for a while but always used to receive this at full strength in Norwich on 433.350. These last few evenings I've noted it rarely IDs and when it does its extremely weak, only just breaking the squelch. All the repeaters I used to receive are still around at usual strengths so it's unlikely it's an aerial problem. Does anybody know if it's on reduced power or changed beam direction?

[ACL]

Confirmed by repeater keeper as off air. My weak signal must be Colchester.

[G4RMT]

They don't keep the website updated either, and the strange thing is that the repeater keeper doesn't really do ham radio any longer, but is a very competent technical person, running his own business - so the website has a link to the local radio club from their page, but YL has been amazingly reliable and so kind of forgotten about - just a few locals, but a very good site on top of a nice blue clad very high bock of flats .................... hmmmm.

[ACL]

Blue clad is concerning...Ray emailed back and just said "off air, sorry".I didn't get the impression it will be back soon. I hope I'm wrong.

[G4RMT]

The trouble is that he doesn't use it, and understandably gets a bit fed up being expected to look after it. Last work I think was CTCSS and adding the link. It's not a five minute job to go to the site and take it away and then put it back. I'm sure he'll sort it at some point, but it's historically never been quick - and the kitty is empty. I donated a colinear years ago - I assume that one is going dead and it's on a newer one now.

[m0lsx]

Am I remembering correctly when I say that YL does not ask for membership?

[G4RMT]

No - donations not refused of course, but no - it's got very few users, mostly the local radio club, and just sort of got installed back in the 80s, and then moved home once - all just done by volunteers out of their own pocket. With most of the original users not doing radio very much, the local club kind of kept it going. In the depths of my memory I think they cover electricity and that kind of thing, but don't delve into the actual equipment - I think the cavities are probably still the original. There were some issues with bees at some point, and perhaps that's caused the problems again. Ray lives in the country, so was able to find a good home for the last lot that blocked all the vents up - so perhaps they have done the same again, and it overheated. I know his wife is a nurse and had to treat him for quite a few stings trying to get the things out, so maybe he's a little reluctant to do it again, and using smoke at this moment in time is perhaps not sensible. The building is Council owned, but they don't actually do pest control, and even if they did - bees aren't pests, so it would need to be a professional bee expert - and I guess somebody would have to pay.

To sum up - Yes, YL is free to use, no membership of a group required to throw in a few quid a year, and that's good!

[MØXTA]

Hi guys,

I can access GB3YL from time to time on my 14 element vertical 70cm beam from JO01BO Chigwell, Essex.

If this repeater has gone off the air forever, i would be very saddened. I think we all amateurs should take more responsibility and use the repeaters, keep donating to keep them going!

Right now there is a national VHF/UHF crisis and many amateurs are becoming disheartened and disgruntled that the repeaters and simplex FM and SSB on 2m and 70cm has been neglected with lack of activity.

I've spoken to amateurs and been all over the UK and they all tell me the same story!

I don't want repeaters like GB3YL to close. and I'm against fully turning an FM repeater into DMR or fusion repeater because many who want to use their local FM repeaters, can't!

I really want ALL Radio Amateurs to stop being so negative and dismissive that they think "no one is on the band" to make an effort to call out more, create nets on simplex and repeaters, and go mobile more!

All these things can be achieved and it's not impossible! We have over 80,000+ amateurs in the UK and there is no excuse to use the VHF/UHF bands, including 4m, which I've encouraged many amateurs in my part of the UK and all over the UK to get on the band and use 4m!

So I ask all of you, to try and help encourage more activity on ALL VHF/UHF bands, because if we don't, OFCOM will come in and take them away!

If GB3YL does comes back, i would be more than happy to donate to keep it on the air!

Selim M0XTA

[m0lsx]

The problem is Salim, there are too many repeaters now & too many poor operators using them.
If you look at the map below which was posted on this forum 2 years ago by Staffs Paul, it shows JUST the 70cm repeaters in this area.
https://ukradioscanning.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3266



Add to the above that repeaters attract a much too big a percentage of the poor operators & the only use I see for repeaters is keeping the poor operators off the rest of the bands.
What I use to hear when I listened to repeaters was predominantly the same fools sitting on the repeater for hours at a time using much too much power to access it & using the repeater at 50 watts input when simplex contact was not only possible but possible on well under 10 watts.
I would say encourage simplex operation. Encourage more to use the satellites. But close down the repeaters & then maybe more people will return to VHF/UHF usage. Personally other than very rare simplex operation, I have not used 2 meters for years. And I cannot remember the last time I had a 2 meter radio in the car, or the last time I even had repeaters programmed into my scanner.
For me repeaters are the problem on VHF/UHF, not it's lack of simplex users.

[MØXTA]

The problem is Salim, there are too many repeaters now & too many poor operators using them.
If you look at the map below which was posted on this forum 2 years ago by Staffs Paul, it shows JUST the 70cm repeaters in this area.
https://ukradioscanning.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3266



Add to the above that repeaters attract a much too big a percentage of the poor operators & the only use I see for repeaters is keeping the poor operators off the rest of the bands.
What I use to hear when I listened to repeaters was predominantly the same fools sitting on the repeater for hours at a time using much too much power to access it & using the repeater at 50 watts input when simplex contact was not only possible but possible on well under 10 watts.
I would say encourage simplex operation. Encourage more to use the satellites. But close down the repeaters & then maybe more people will return to VHF/UHF usage. Personally other than very rare simplex operation, I have not used 2 meters for years. And I cannot remember the last time I had a 2 meter radio in the car, or the last time I even had repeaters programmed into my scanner.
For me repeaters are the problem on VHF/UHF, not it's lack of simplex users.

I disagree. Can't just get rid of repeaters because of the idiots using them. We need the repeaters to remain on the air! The problem is that the idiots have ruined repeater usage experience. We need to encourage many amateurs back and encourage them to use repeaters again!

Yes, simplex should be used more too. but many people can't be heard very far away on simplex! Repeaters are *not* the problem causing this lack of activity. Rubbish!