[K3CAL] New Technician- Repeater and WebSDR assitance

[Franklin Charity]

Good afternoon,

I recently earned my Technician license last week and am new to the amateur
radio hobby. I’ve been involved in radio-adjacent interests for years, but
only recently took the step into ham radio.

At the moment, most of my experience and equipment has been on the GMRS
side. I’m currently running a Nagoya UT-72G mag-mount antenna outside with
a budget 25W Radioddity mobile radio in my basement, along with a couple of
GMRS HTs that my family and I primarily use for travel and hiking.

On the amateur side, I have the cliche starter radio, a Baofeng UV-5R
paired with a home-brewed 2m dipole (not fully tuned yet; I’m waiting on a
NanoVNA to arrive). I live in St. Leonard and have been trying to make
contacts through the 2m repeater, but so far I haven’t received any
responses. I do hear the repeater feedback when I key up, so I may be
getting in, but it’s also possible no one is monitoring at the times I’ve
tried.

I’ve had similar challenges reaching the GMRS repeater, so I recently
ordered a better roof-mounted antenna in hopes of improving my overall
reach. I’m saving up for a higher-quality amateur radio, but in the
meantime, I’m hoping to make some progress with the repeaters.

Does anyone know of any WebSDRs in the area that I could use to verify
whether my signal is making it out when I’m not hearing responses? I have
searched websdr and kiwisdr, but do not see any that are on the 2m band in
the area. I’d love to confirm whether it’s an equipment/antenna issue or
simply a matter of timing and activity.

Thanks in advance, and I’m looking forward to learning more and getting
involved with the club.

Best regards,
Franklin
KD3CQH | WSKR559
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