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Russ,
I think you are referring to this article Link to CrossBand Article in which the use of crossband repeater is used. Another discussion is here Tips on Cross-band repeater. It is correct that most people do not use crossband repeater correctly and there is a lot of debate on the subject all over the internet. My take on it is that you should not use a crossband repeater where you have a radio that cannot directly receive the signal from the original sender with an HT. The repeater that John built did have a remote control feature that would allow him to turn it off, however for this op, it was not functioning correctly and we did encounter some other issues late in the day. And I do not recall hearing any self identification over the air. My opinion is that we should develop a true portable repeater for ops in the future that can self identify, and can be remotely controlled, however the cost of those devices is significant, and should be an investment that we all contribute to.
I agree that we should have a true 2-meter repeater - however, Jim is correct - that can be expensive - too expensive for me, anyway.
As to Russ's concerns about the legality of our cross-band operation, I can find nothing in Part 97 that would indicate we were illegal in any way. If anyone has information to the contrary, please let me know what section we were violating.
As to the control operator issue, the person transmitting is the control operator of both the local and remote station. Part 97.109(c) allows a remote station (our repeater) to be controlled by a remote operator. And our operators ID'd at the end of each transmission. (Part 97.119(a)
In the article mentioned, I could find no reference to Part 97, which contains the actual rules we follow.
OK, I now have a cross-band repeater that will ID in morse code on both sides (VHF and UHF) every 10 minutes. In addition, I can remotely control it (turn it on and off, change channels, change frequencies, change tones, etc.)
The only issue I have with it is that it IDs every 10 minutes, regardless of whether someone is talking or not. So if net control asks for a repeat, it's probably because the repeater took you out.
Otherwise, it works great!
That's good news John! I know that Yaesu was offering some really great deals on their Fusion repeaters up to year end, but we missed that window. But I look forward to see your setup.
