[K3CAL] New Technician- Repeater and WebSDR assitance

[Andrew Charland]

Not sure about WebSDR's as I'm not really into them. Couple things to keep
in mind about dipoles for repeaters... 1.) If you tune it for a specific
repeater, tune to the input frequency since that is what you are
transmitting on. Examples: K3CAL 146.985 has a -0.6 MHz offset so tune for
146.385MHz., K3CAL 444.950 has a +5MHz offset so tune for 449.950MHz. 2.)
It's FM. Pretty much all FM repeater antennas are vertically polarized so
mount it vertically for best results.

May consider building a vertical. Youtube has a lot of good instructional
videos for building inexpensive but effective verticles for repeaters.

The club meets on the 2nd Thursday of the month at the Barstow Public
Safety Building at 315 Stafford Rd. (next to the jail) at 7:30. Come on out
and meet the folks. A wealth of knowledge to help you as you move forward.

Welcome to the world of amateur radio!

Andy
KC3WRX

On Thu, Feb 26, 2026 at 6:57 AM jimmy mumper via K3CAL <
k3cal at mailman.qth.net> wrote:

> Lusby has an offset  of  +005.000
>
> On Wed, Feb 25, 2026 at 9:28 PM Franklin Charity via K3CAL <
> k3cal at mailman.qth.net> wrote:
>
>> 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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