Talk:Key:communication:amateur radio:repeater

Modes

There should be easy way to distinguish FM analog, FM digital and what digital mode is available on repeater. Also it is possible that single repeater covers several modes. communication:amateur_radio:repeater:modulation dos note even cover that. Some of the repeater types are FM audio, Echolink, APRS, D-star, DMR, Fusion... -- Pedja, 26 February 2023

I propose communication:amateur_radio:repeater:rf_modes as a semicolon-delimited list of strings to designate the available modes. Common values might be those listed on wikipedia but there is not a canonical designator like WARC 79 for modulation. Values would require details necessary to use the mode, like DMR-CC1, since we probably don't want new keys for every new mode. edit: there are WARC 79 emission designators for digital modes! Added info to the page, so it's easier to find. It remains unclear how mode-specific access codes should be communicated, such as DMR color codes. Perhaps repeater:access or similar could encapsulate CTCSS, toneburst, DCS, and digital access as well. Is "access" a protected word in tagging, to refer to physical access? --Roleohibachi (talk) 23:39, 17 November 2025 (UTC)

It would also make sense to include a listing of repeater linking features in the same sort of way. I'd propose communication:amateur_radio:repeater:link_modes which could work similarly. An example might look like:

communication:amateur_radio:repeater:link_modes=AllStar-54321;BrandMeister-3100;YSFReflector-12345

--Roleohibachi (talk) 04:06, 15 November 2025 (UTC)

Frequencies

Also, not all repeaters use just plain frequency shift. In official documentation it is more usual for repeaters to have specified input and output frequencies, not shifts. Frequency shifts are convinent and practical and should nto be avoided but there is need to be able to specify exact frequencies.

On cross band repeaters both frequencies are input and output. So for them it is more viable to specify exact frequencies

-- Pedja, 26 February 2023

Some solutions for crossband repeaters exist in the wild. VR2Z uses a semicolon-delimited list of outputs and shifts, as parallel arrays in respective order. DB0ZU used communication:amateur_radio:repeater:frequency_out, ...:frequency_out_1, and ...:frequency_out_2.

I think the semicolon-separated list makes for easier querying.

--Roleohibachi (talk) 04:06, 15 November 2025 (UTC)

Antenna Parameters

In addition to transmit power, coverage depends on antenna height and gain.

Height could be expressed using either height (above ground level) or ele (above mean sea level). For buildings, height is used for 3d rendering. Most hams report antenna height AGL when discussing the equipment, so it seems the natural choice.

Gain is difficult to measure accurately, so hams generally discuss antenna *type*. Common antenna types have well-documented gain values. antenna:type may be usable.