Have you noticed a repeater or remote receiver that appears to be malfunctioning? There is a lot of equipment in the BEARS network, and things do occasionally fail or malfunction. Rather than wait for me to discover the problem perhaps days later, help the users of the network and me (WA3BXW) by sending an e-mail message describing what you have found.
We have identified some problem categories (below) and, to ensure there is no misunderstanding, what we mean by the various phrases. If you would include the highlighted terms in explaining the problem being reported, it will help us to locate and fix the failure or malfunction. If your finding is not described below, please describe the problem in your own words.
Off the air : I can neither talk through nor hear the repeater.
Talk-in : I can hear the repeater audio and other persons talking, but the repeater receiver does not hear me.
Talk-out : I can be heard on the system by talking on the input and listening to the output of a different repeater.
No audio : I hear only a carrier; there is no audio.
Audio issues : I hear other persons talking, but the transmitter audio seems (1) low, (2) intermittent or (3) distorted.
Output level : I can hear the repeater and the audio level appears to be normal, but the signal strength seems to be weaker than usual.
Antenna problems : I hear scritch-scrath noise on the transmission as if antenna connections were problematic in a high wind.
Other : The problem I am reporting does not seem to fit into the terminology listed above please describe your finding(s).
In your message, please include the following as appropriate:
Send your message to WA3BXW , and thank you for your help!
Last Revised 2007-01-15
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