K8BIG Home

Welcome to the Home of the K8BIG Repeater Group! Cincinnati's friendly Repeater System

Operating Analog, D-Star, DMR and P25 Repeaters for the Greater Cincinnati Amateur Radio Community.

Tom Case, K8CLA, long time Trustee of the K8BIG repeaters and co-owner of Debco Electronics passed away on November 10, 2019 after a battle with Cancer. Please keep his wife, family, and friends in your thoughts and prayers. See the announcement below.

K8BIG REPEATER OPERATING PRACTICES

	All repeater users are expected to operate in the manner described in the FCC rules and operating guidelines published by the ARRL. The following are specific operating practices expected of users of the K8BIG Repeater Group repeaters.

1.	You must clearly identify your station in the manner specified by the FCC.
	On D-Star it is suggested that you identify in the following manner to avoid confusion on reflectors: (Callsign) (Status-Mobile, Portable, etc) on K8BIG port (B or C - B for 444, C for 145.350) (City) - Example: "K8CLA portable on K8BIG Port C, Cincinnati, Ohio"

2.	On D-Star Please wait for the repeater and Gateway ID following each transmission and wait 1-2 Seconds before keying up again. This allows others to join the conversation and will allow any station with an emergency to break in. This is very important when talking on the gateway as there are some delays involved and quick-keying can keep other users from accessing the reflector or repeater.

3.	Do not monopolize the repeaters. The repeaters are a place for round-table discussions where each party should have an equal chance to participate in the discussion. The repeaters are not a place for you to broadcast. Be courteous and leave breaks for others especially when connected to a reflector.

4.	Many people (including non-hams) listen to the repeaters. Use language you would use with someone whom you wished to favorably impress. Rude, offensive or threatening language is inappropriate and violates repeater and/or FCC rules. Personal attacks on other repeater users WILL NOT be tolerated. Remember when you are on the repeaters you are connected to the world. When connected to reflectors your conversations may be heard over 30 or more repeaters worldwide - please don't embarrass yourself, our city, or our country with childish or inappropriate behavior.

5.	Use proper amateur radio language and prosigns. Language that is generic to other services (e.g., CB, commercial, public service) is generally inappropriate for use on amateur radio. (IE: “10-4 Good Buddy” is not appropriate)

6.	Do not acknowledge the presence of jammers and malicious interference. Try to work around them. Do not talk about interference or inappropriate activities on the air! If you suspect the repeater may be tied to a public safety frequency please cease operations and call a control operator.

7.	You are welcome to link or unlink the repeaters as you desire as long as you are courteous when doing so and follow these guidelines. On D-Star please check the status of the repeater (Put K8BIG__I in your your call (URCALL) field and key up prior to linking or unlinking. This will trigger an announcement with the current state of the link. Make sure nobody else is using the link or the repeater before linking/unlinking. When you are done using the link please return it to the default state (Port C - 145.350 - Linked to REF001C, Port B - 444.000 - Unlinked). If the link is abused you may have your gateway access disabled. If linking is abused it may result in closed control on the gateway where control ops would be the only users with access to gateway control. We hope this will not become an issue and thus far all users have been extremely courteous in their gateway usage.

8.	The use of the repeaters is a privilege, not a right. Any station not following these guidelines may be suspended from operation of the repeaters in accordance with the FCC Rules.

	Dan Woodie, KC8ZUM Trustee K8BIG Repeater Group