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You will be able to easily look up area repeaters close to you with a couple of websites. Try:
https://www.repeaterbook.com/index.php/en-us/
I prefer the first site but you can sort by band, mode, etc. Just to get you started, here is a repeater in Londonderry listed from above. I have used it before but not recently:
442.000 + 100.0 K1DED, Echolink enabled.
Welcome to the area. Here’s a couple of sites you can use to easily find repeaters near you (anywhere):
Just to get you going, here’s a Londonderry repeater from the first site:
442.000 (+) 100.00 Hillsborough K1DED FM, Echolink
Three experiences immediately come to mind but my first contact was the most memorable.
Two years before NARS helped my get my tech license, a friend had been helping several of us with evening classes toward the same. Sadly, some of his friends were there more to chit-chat than learn and it always descended into meandering topics and off-shoots of amateur radio. The classes dissolved and, while I was sorely disappointed, my friend teaching the class was even more so.
Two years later, after passing the test at the NARS class I called him on the way home to tell him I’d just passed my exam and would like him to be my first contact ever. We agreed to wait a few days for my license to post and, as soon as it did we connected on 2m simplex as he didn’t live far. He was as thrilled as I thought he’d be that, at least, someone from his class had completed the process. A few days later I received my first ever QSL card from him and it’s hanging on my “shack” wall next to my now-general license to this day.
My friend has since relocated to FL but, thanks to HF, we can still stay in touch using HF. I was honored and joyful to have him be my very first contact.
Oh! I should mention that I used a Baofeng UV5R that I won in the NARS class raffle to do this with. Man, that was my only radio for the first year or so. Used it everywhere and all the time with a mag-mount on the car.
My most memorable one, of three that come immediately to mind, was my very first and took place just after I took the NARS Tech class and passed my exam.
Two years before a friend of mine invited me to a mutual friend’s house as this person was running a small class in the evening, as a favor, trying to help several of his interested friends and help them get their Tech licenses. It didn’t work out which was a frustration to this friend teaching and to some of us in the class who actually intended to to learn. Sadly, those classes dissolved. However, two years later, NARS rescued my interest. The Sunday night after I’d passed the exam I called that fellow, told him I’d just passed the exam, and that would like him to be my very first amatueur radio contact. He agreed and, as soon as I saw my license posted, we arranged a time. He didn’t live far so we used 2m simplex. It wasn’t a hard-to-get dx, or an interesting place, but he was thrilled that his efforts had finally paid off somewhere and he sent me the first QSL card I’d ever received. It’s still on my wall, next to my license. I was honored to have him as my first ever contact and still am. He’s since relocated to FL and, thanks also to NARS for my General license, we can connect on HF to this day.
I had never heard of QSL cards until I took my tech license exam following a class with NARS. In the class, there was a presentation around it, lots of examples shown. Found it somewhat interesting but didn’t envision myself delving into it much. My radio interest at the time wasn’t digitally based or trading grid squares or contesting and collecting contacts. My motivations then, and largely now, were purely human to human interactions and making connections to people I’d never met in places I’d never been to. With the recent pandemic, that type of connection is, perhaps, even more desirable. After I passed my exam at the end of the class, even while driving home, I called a friend of mine who was an old ham. He’d promoted my interest in amateur radio and endeavored to teach a small group of us for license prep. When that fell apart, it was NARS to the rescue. Anyway, I arranged for him to be my first contact and later used the inexpensive HT that I’d won in the class raffle to have my first QSO ever on 2m. To my surprise, a week or two later, his QSL card came in the mail and I still have it tacked to the wall in my home office (hardly a “shack”) next to my license. It was a wonderful surprise and it’s the only one I’ve ever received. I enjoy it to this day.
Someday, if I can ever get myself on HF (long story), I think I may pursue the QSL card aspect of the hobby. I find my interest in them growing lately. I think it could only expand the human-to-human connection made over the air. I think now that I under-appreciated what was shown to me in the NARS class. Each card I viewed there had more than just QSO info, there were pictures that interested the sender, sometimes of the sender. They were mostly hand written, or filled out by hand and, like the one I have, they had short personal comments and well-wishes jotted down. All of this is more than just a “reminder” of the technical aspects of the contact; it’s also about the person behind the contact. More than I’m likely to have ascertained purely from the interaction with them on the radio. It’s something personal to them, being sent personally to me.
Anyway, just last evening, was rag-chewing with a radio friend about this very topic. He too has not participated in this aspect of the hobby but I found my interest in it growing via that discussion. Hence, your article arrives at just the right time to reinforce that some and promote my interest even further. Thanks for that!
Just tried from an iPhone 8 and also got a time out messag for N1IMO-R, Node 336966, carrier is AT&T. Echotest worked.
- Jim (N1SAK)
I have this radio in my car so this is, of course, interesting to me. The Group Monitor function is about the only feature I haven’t played around with and still want to. I know a couple friends who have the same model, always thought it’d be fun to try it with them. Curious what goes when losing the sync function you mentioned, Dan. I’ll have to read up some. I don’t think I’ll do the update in a hurry though, as I’m having no issues with the radio now. Have owned it about a year and am quite pleased with it. Thanks for posting about the update.
Jim (N1SAK)