Newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.misc
Subject: Re: 430mhz band under th
From: emd@ham.almanac.bc.ca
Date: Sun, 27 Dec 92 16:36:35 PST
Distribution: world
Organization: Robert Smits

Kirk.Smith@launchpad.unc.edu (Kirk Smith) writes:

> I'm admittedly the new guy on the block, but I'm still trying to figure out
> how it could cost "thousands" of dollars a year to keep a repeater on
> the air.  If one went full tilt with a repeater, controller, duplexors
> and antennas, I can't see how it could get much above $5 or $6k total,
> and that's with all new equipment.  Does your repeater get hit by
> lightening and completely destroyed every year, necessitating its total
> replacement, or am I missing something?
> 
> $15 a month for the phone bill, and probably not much more for the power
> bill (probably less...I'm not sure how much current these things draw).
> Combine this with presumably at least a dozen paying members, and $15 a
> month is $2160 per year.  Ouch.  Most of the local clubs around here charge
> around $25 a year, and the university charges the same and provides access
> to their shack (with HF gear, a packet station, etc) for its users.
> 
> I once checked into using a community repeater (business band shared,
> with a phone patch) and it was $45 a month.  This is a FOR-PROFIT
> company.  Hummmm...
> 

Obviously, these costs are going to vary substantially from site to site, 
repeater to repeater and repeater group to repeater group. Let me give 
you some examples of costs borne by some repeater clubs....

Site lease - while some hams get it free, or for nominal cost, others are 
paying $150 -$200 /mo and up for access to their site.

Power - while some hams can connect to the power company, others must use 
solar panels, propane generators, potash batteries, etc. Or pay
through the nose for power from someone else sharing the site.

Antennas - while some sites are ice-free, other hams are on top of 3,000 
or even 6,000 ft mountains that need to have commercially built antennas 
that can withstand the tremendous ice/windload they get. Or add fiberglas 
antenna covers to house the antennas in. Even then, they often need 
replacing every few years.

Feedlines - You check out the cost of 7/8 heliax lately? Try adding the 
cost of seven or eight 150 ft runs of that, replacing it every 10 years 
or so.

Telephones - some groups may be able to get away with $15 a month for the 
phone. Others have NO telephone access at the repeater site, and must add 
the cost of maintaining, say a full duplex UHF link from the repeater 
site to the phone access point.

Equipment costs. Sure, you can operate a "garage" repeater with old 
ex-commercial equipment you have borrowed or scrounged and modified. If 
you've got LOTS of time and MONEY, you can keep a repeater going with 
this kind of gear. 

If, however, you're maintaining a system with, say, two 2 metre 
repeaters, a 2 metre packet repeater, a 220, 440, and 1.2 Ghz repeater, 
an autopatch system tied into all the other systems, and maybe a 1.2 Ghz 
ATV repeater as well, and you're at a site shared with commercial users, 
you're going to use the most reliable commercial equipment you can find - 
and that means new gear.

Start adding up about $5K per system for the radio gear, add another $2K 
for duplexers, $1K for each antenna. Then budget to replace them every 
ten years or so. Don't forget the $4K or so for a repeater controller.

Maintenance costs add up too. Every time somebody has to go up the 
mountain to fix something, it can cost a lot of money for access. We 
don't all have paved roads to the site - some of us need to use 
helicopters or cable cars, etc.

And don't forget all the little items like antenna connectors (Type N if 
you're serious), cable ties, solder, wire, coax, test equipment, etc.

Insurance. Many site owners will insist that YOU carry all mannerof 
liability insurance to protect others from your equipment. If you want 
insurance FOR your equipment, that'll cost you even more.

Membership costs - Are you going to maintain a club newsletter, with it's 
attendant mailing and printing costs? Club dues and lists, renewal 
notices, mailing, regulatory costs, etc.

I grant that not everyone will incur all these costs, but it's easily 
possible to do so. What is accurate in one situation is not in another. I 
know, I speak from experience. Our club of about 400 maintained a system 
like I described with annual dues of about $25, or about $10,000 a year. 
It was never more than barely enough to keep the gear going and improve 
(or add) one or two things a year.


Robert Smits  VE7EMD Ladysmith B.C. 
Ph (604) 245-2553 e-mail: emd@ham.almanac.bc.ca 
PACKET VE7EMD@VE7KIT.#VANC.BC.CAN.NA                             

                                         
Newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.misc