Florida Repeater Council

The Florida Repeater Council, Inc. (FRC) is the ARRL-recognized amateur frequency coordinating body for the State of Florida. The FRC provides frequency coordination and interference resolution services to all Florida repeater operators, FRC members and non-members alike. We are a volunteer non-profit organization of fellow amateurs.

NOTICE: SEND CERTIFIED MAIL TO SECRETARY MARSHALL PAISNER.

The REPEATER LISTINGS were updated on 12/16/2012.

The next meeting of the board of directors will be held at the Melbourne Hamfest on Saturday, October 12, 2013 at 3 PM.

The Board of Directors would like to thank retiring District 7 Director Ed Biederwolf, W9CHA for his service to the amateurs of Florida.

The following change in coordination procedure was approved by the Board of Directors:
New coordinations will be issued for a period of 6 months to allow for system construction and testing. The coordination letter will inform the applicant of the need to file an update or renewal before the expiration. Failure to file an update or renewal will be considered abandonment of the application and the coordination will be revoked. The applicant may submit an update to request additional time for construction stating the reasons for the delay. This request will be submitted to the FRC Board for review by email, phone or live vote and the applicant will be advised of their decision within 15 days of the vote. The applicant may submit an update notifying the FRC of the completion of construction and the actual operating status and features of the repeater noting any conditions that differ from the original filing. The Trustee must state that the repeater is on the air and operating as filed. The Board of Directors can designate any Director, even one of an adjacent District or other area of the State, to verify the operational status of the subject repeater. Upon processing of the update, if the specifications meet the coordinated conditions and no other issues are found the FRC may issue a 2 year coordination for the repeater as provided in the rules.

Two candidates have been accepted as Director of District 1. The Secretary will be conducting an election by the members of District 1. The new Director will be announced by end of April. In the meantime, Marshall Paisner, K4MAP will serve as acting District 1 Director.

The Board of Directors would like to welcome new District 6 Director Mike Gonzalez, N2FSU.

The Board of Directors would like to thank retiring Vice President Ira R. Bickham Jr, K8HRR for his service to the amateurs of Florida.

The Board of Directors approved the following addition to the Council By-Laws:
5.6 (d) Failure of a Director to attend 2 consecutive scheduled board meetings shall cause the automatic removal of the Director. The President shall appoint a successor as provided in the By-Laws. The By-Laws were revised. Click HERE.

All instances of MotoTRBO or TRBO have been replaced with DMR.

Visit our APPLICATION page to submit a repeater renewal, update or application for new coordination.

I would like to remind all repeater trustees of section 9 of our coordination policy that states "As stated in the Coordination document, no technical or geographical changes may be made to a coordinated repeater installation, such as effective radiated output power (ERP), antenna height, or location, without prior approval by the FRC. In some cases, such as moving the repeater more than a mile or so, recoordination may be required." The trustee MUST file a LONG-FORM update so that I can check for new conflicts.

Dana, K4LK, Database Manager.

Donations for membership in the Council can now be submitted on-line using secure PayPal. Click the "Donate" link to the left. Thanks for your support.

Due to the tremendous growth of Amateur radio, especially 2 meters, there are few (if any) repeater pairs available in most areas in the state. Many of the coordinated repeaters are inactive, or are being used for other purposes, such as simplex autopatches. Some repeaters have no inputs and their outputs are simply re-transmitting other active repeaters simply to generate activity. Some amateurs simply like to hoard repeater pairs for future use. In addition, repeater licensees are relocating their repeaters or increasing the antenna height or output power without authorization from the FRC Coordinators - in direct violation of FRC Coordination Policy. Please notify the appropriate FRC Coordinator (see the Directory of FRC Staff and Directors), if you suspect that a repeater is inactive, is no longer in its coordinated location, has an abnormally large coverage area, has no receiver, or is being used for a simplex autopatch.

The FRC needs your help in locating the repeater pairs that are being used for anything but legitimate full-duplex repeaters, so that they may be re-coordinated to amateurs who will use them properly.