[ETS/PARC List] Use 220 or lose it...

[Pete Fierro]

Making 222MHz Great Again
By Rob Neff (KW2E)

FCC Takes a Bite

Not since the Eighties and early Nineties has the 222 MHz band been very
active at all in some areas. Going back to 1988 when the FCC reallocated
(took) the lower portion of the band, repeater operators had to make the
decision of retooling or shutting them down. The latter choice being more
common, the band slowly died off and became one of the least used VHF bands
in which equipment is readily available. Hams sold their equipment, boxed
them up and put them on shelves or just simply left them off and hardly a
thought given to turning them on again.

Asleep for too long

For close to three decades now this band has been under utilized and out of
the minds of a good deal of Amateur Radio operators for many reasons, most
of which I will outline in this document. I have taken a personal interest
in trying to re-invigorate this band and generate some excitement for its
use both here where I live and everywhere in general. I am hoping by
presenting these ideas to others in the community, we can share in the
effort to bring the 222MHz band back from the dead.

Why Bother if no one is on?

This is the main cause for the band being underutilized in my opinion. The
question is, why would a person want to invest in equipment or dedicate any
time to operating if there is no one on the band? For some of us die-hards,
we have a 222MHz radio on all the time, at home and while mobile, if for no
other reason it’s simply hope. Hope that someone will turn on their radios
too, but rarely happened. For others who are not geared up for the band,
what can you do to change the thought processes around not wanting, to an
extent that they acquire equipment and dedicate time to monitoring or
calling on this band? The answer to that is as simple but takes time and a
lot of effort but will pay off over time.

Let people know you’re there!

When you’re on the air talking to others on the various local frequencies,
let them know you’re on the 222Mhz band and available to be worked. Check
into local nets, when asked for traffic, give a short QST about being
active, invite people over for a QSO, and most importantly, try to be on as
much as possible. Do these things often enough and perhaps that will be
just the spark that inspires someone to dust off the radio, purchase one,
program that part of their tri-bander they haven’t used, or actually turn
the radio on and key the mic.

Be there when people are on!

Second to telling everyone you’re active on the band is to be on the band
when people make calls. If your area is fortunate enough to have repeaters,
get them programmed in your radio along with the simplex calling frequency
and SCAN! People may not show up on just one frequency, they may try a
repeater, they may try simplex, or both, but if you’re not on frequency
when it happens to interact, it may reinforce the belief the band is dead
and not try again. When you hear something break squelch or kerchunk the
repeater, throw your call out to let them know you’re there. Even if you
hear nothing, regularly key up a repeater, or on simplex from time to time
and give your call and mention you’re monitoring (along with the frequency
for those that scan). There may be someone scanning as well, so be the
person that breaks their squelch! Be heard!

Costs of investing in equipment

There will always be a cost factor involved for any new band someone wants
to operate. The difficulty here is getting people to want to make that
investment. Once someone is interested in being on the band, the big hurdle
for some may be equipment costs and availability. As we all know, it’s not
just having a radio, but might also be need for a good antenna or
transmission line. The 222MHz band is unique to the United States and just
a couple other countries so there isn’t a whole lot of incentive for the
big three to make new radios with this capability. When they do, this band
is generally a low powered after thought. The good news is there are a ton
of options in the used market that if a person is patient enough, can score
a great deal for little money. There are plenty of options in with cheap
Chinese rigs too, but that’s a subject for a different article.

Inevitably there will be some that could be active but just cannot afford a
radio or still don’t want to make the investment. They could be youngsters
new to the hobby or someone on a fixed income. In this scenario consider
seeding the band yourself or form a group to share the financial
responsibility and put your money where your mouth is. When you run across
a good deal on a radio, consider purchasing it or acquire “tech specials”
and fix them up so that you can give to people in your community. Find
people who will be active and give them another reason to be active on the
222MHz band! The more people that are on, the better the chances of finding
someone on. The more people find someone on, the more they talk and talk
about it with others, and the more they talk about it, the more interest is
generated and hopefully equates to more people getting on!

Start a net!

In addition to making sure someone is on the band when others are looking,
give them a target time and date when it’s guaranteed! Start a quick net,
either on simplex or a repeater if one is available, and advertise it on
social media, other nets and in idle conversation with other amateurs on
other bands. This will give people a time and a place where they can be on
the band, test their radios and antennas out, see how well the band
propagates, and more importantly ask and answer questions related to the
band. You will be amazed at how quickly news of the net travels and may be
just that extra bit of incentive someone needs to get involved with the
band.

Extra contest points!

As an extra incentive to lure out those contest types, give extra points to
people making contacts on the 222MHz band. Every bit helps when it comes to
promoting the use, and prolonged use of the band. Try and think of other
exciting ways to incentivize the use of the band. Just be sure to be active
for those contests to make it worth their time.

Build a repeater!

This is a big topic but to be brief I will water it down a bit. The
costliest effort one can undertake is to build a repeater, should one not
already be available in your area. In addition to the cost of the equipment
you must find some place to put it. Readymade repeaters can be purchased
from companies such as Bridgecom, but there is a whole lot more to a
repeater than just the box itself. You need cavity filters which must be
tuned, power supply, a rugged weatherproof antenna, feed line isolator,
lightning arrestors and much, much more. Meet with your local club(s) and
see if this might be a project they would be willing to help with. Building
a repeater is expensive and will only be effective as part of your
strategy. You’ll still need to employ all the other suggestions in this
document to generate interest. One without the other is a recipe for
failure. Personal experience talking.

Make it so!

I hope I have given you a few ideas in this article to help generate some
interest for the band in your area. All of these suggestions and ideas can
be applied to other bands that don’t get used such as 928, 1296 and so on.
Share this information, post it, email it, print it and pass it around.
Lets all do our part to activate the lesser used bands and contribute to
this great hobby of Amateur Radio.

73, DE KW2E