The new repeater has been on the air for about 7 months now. As a member of the repeater committee, myself as well as other committee members monitor the repeater quite frequently and have noticed some minor problems with operators. Soooo, maybe a gentle reminder for the old hams and some new advice for our new members.
When talking into yours mics it should be held 2-3 inches away from your mouth and speak in a normal voice. Using an HT it should be about the same. Some baofeng portables have notoriously low audio, so you may have to speak a little closer. Many of our club members who have been around awhile are speaking way to loud into their mics making then sound distorted or even “Clipping” their audio. Talking loud on a FM radio does not make you go further.
Another issue is when checking into a net. The NET controller will give the instruction “Say this is, drop your carrier, wait then give your call sign, name and location”.
The drop your carrier part means to unkey your mic , listen that your not double keying with someone else before giving your information. New and old operator’s are just going ahead saying “This is” and then giving their info without the carrier drop.
Also try not to use non ham terms used in the CB days. Also Calling CQ is not normally done on the 2 meter and 440 bands.
Please , if this sounds sounds like you, do not take it personally, Its a gentle reminder on proper amateur radio protocols and good ham practices.
If you are wondering were does he get off on giving this information, let me tell you a little about my background. Besides being on the repeater committee and being a licensed amateur operator for over 30 years, I worked in the two way radio business for 20 years. I installed complete systems, installed antennas, consoles, and mobile installations in emergency vehicles as well as commercial service vehicles. I also repaired and tuned mobiles and portable radios. I used test equipment that cost as much as a new car to measure frequency, power, sensitivity and audio deviation. So I know what over deviation sounds like.
By following these tips , it will make us better operators and enjoy the new repeater a little more.
In the spring I will bring a service monitor to the club house so that we can check the transmit audio settings on your portable radios. Many radios have software settings (Mic Gain) that can be adjusted.

Finally , There is no need for Roger beeps, or other noises on your radios when using the W1NRG “36” repeater. You can shut them off in the software or keypad programming on your radios. There are other repeaters in the area that have plenty of bells, whistles and beeps.

Thanks for your time.
Joe
N1LES
WPOM719