Michigan Repeaters for the 144 MHz Frequency Band (2 Meters) |
In the early days, 1965-66, I didn't have a HF receiver that worked well for CW. But the receiver worked well for AM. So I added a 2 Meter converter to it, along with a transmitter (Heath Twoer with the receiver disabled) and tried to work 2 Meters. I was only 16 or 17 and didn't have an Elmer, but oddly enough, it all worked. In a manner of speaking.
My main problem with my setup was the operating frequency. Not knowing anything about this band, or a band plan, I chose a crystal that put me on 145.998 MHz (8.110 MHz × 18). My rational, at the time was that, I didn't want to operate near the band edges. So I picked a frequency that was right in the middle of the band. I figured I was safe.
Because this was before the wide use of FM and repeaters, which didn't happen till around 1970-1972, using that frequency wasn't a problem. The problem was that most AM activity was about 1 MHz lower, at 145.0-145.5 MHz. Many 2 Meter AM operators, at that time, didn't bother tuning all the way up to 146 MHz, so many of my CQs were never heard. But this turned out to be a minor inconvienence. I adopted a rather long CQ and, sooner or later, other hams heard me. That was the only crystal I had and couldn't afford another one so that's where I stayed. I operated that way for several years and had a great time. Once everyone knew I was up there, I had no problem making contacts.
Fast forward to today, it's been a long time since I have been on 2 Meters. I bought a used Icom IC-255 and a sub-tone box at ham fest. I probably should have bought a hand held and may do so in the future. But that's what I have. So I started looking around for some information on the current layout of 2 Meters. I must say, it was very confusing.
144 MHz (2 Meters) Band Plan |
For the most part, everyone relys on the ARRL HF Band Plan. However, the ARRL VHF/UHF Band Plan is subject to modification by the state. For example, in some states the FM Simplex area at 146.4-146.6 MHz uses 15 KHz spacing whereas others, like Michigan, use 20 KHz spacing.
To help me visualize band usage a little better, I created the drawing/list below. The upper part shows the 2 Meter band with sections of different colors. The sections that are "Red", "Blue", and "Orange" are "paired" repeater sections. Of these sections, the ones that say "FM Repeater Outputs" are repeater transmit frequencies and the ones that say "FM Repeater Inputs" are repeater receive frequencies.
- Red - For any repeater that transmits 145.1 MHz to 145.5 MHz range, there is a paired receiver 600 KHz "below" the transmitter frequency, in the 144.5 MHz to 144.9 MHz range.
- Blue - For any repeater that transmits 146.6 MHz to 147.0 MHz range, there is a paired receiver 600 KHz "below" the transmitter frequency, in the 146.0 MHz to 146.4 MHz range.
- Orange - For any repeater that transmits 147.0 MHz to 147.4 MHz range, there is a paired receiver 600 KHz "above" the transmitter frequency, in the 147.6 MHz to 148.0 MHz range.
- Yellow - These are the FM Simplex operating areas. With FM Simplex You transmit and receive frequency are the same. Note that 146.520 MHz is the National FM Calling Frequency. This frequency is intended for initiating contact. If you use this frequency to call a specific station or call CQ, you are expected to change frequency, once the contact is initiated. This frees up the frequency for others to use.
The other colors were selected at random and have no significance as to the relationship to another Single frequencies of note are highlighted in "blue".
The lower section is simply a listing of the sections in the 2 Meter band drawing. The items in the list are linked directly to the 2 Meter band drawing. If you hover your cursor over an item in the list, the drawing will be highlighted by a square bracket or a single arrow. The square bracket is for bands of frequencies and the arrow is for single frequencies.
For an active HTML version of the chart below, by itself and without the green background, click on 2-Meter Band Plan.html.
For a printable PDF version of the chart below, click on this link to 2-Meter Band Plan.pdf.
Repeater Locations |
This section is conceivebly very simple. It's intent is to provide a simple way of finding repeaters in your area. But the actual implentation was a bit complex. According to Wikipedia, Michigan is divided into 83 counties and contains 533 incorporated municipalities consisting of cities, villages and townships. Specifically, Michigan has 276 cities, 257 villages, and 1,240 townships. So I did have to do a bit of digging to get all of the information needed.
Enter Zip Code Swartz Creek |
Enter Search Radius (Miles) |
18 Repeater(s) found within 30 Miles |
Finding a list of all repeaters in Michigan was pretty simple. But getting a list of cities in Michigan, with Latitude/Longitude was a bit complicated. But that listing was a little odd. Initially, the listing included Zip Code, City, State, Latitude, Longitude, Timezone (Offset from Z-Time), Daylight savings time flag, and geopoint (string with the lat/long comma separated) all separated by semi-colons. Many cities had multiple Zip Codes, so some cities are listed multiple times. As an example, Sagianaw has 10 different Zip Codes. Detroit uses 52 Zip Codes and covers a large area (138.75 sq/mi || 359.4 km2). This can cause a bit of uncertainty in the calculated distances, if your using the wrong Zip Code.
The repeater table below is pretty straight forward. Just enter your Zip Code and search radius and a listing of repeaters within that radius will be listed. You can probably get a similar listing by going to The Repeater Book. I have checked my work with theirs and found that my results are pretty close to theirs. But note, I did not implement any error checking. So you might get some odd results if you enter a non-existent Zip Code.
City County | Frequency (MHz) | Miles (KiloMeters) | Compass Heading | PL (In/Out) | Features |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Owosso Shiawassee | 145.240 TX 144.640 RX | 18.1 mi (29.2 km) | 275.0° (W) | DStar D*/Voice R S WX www.w8shi.net | |
Durand Shiawassee | 145.290 TX 144.690 RX | 8.6 mi (13.9 km) | 245.1° (SW) | In/Out 100.0 Hz NAC 0x293 ($293) | FM/Wide R S WX www.w8cmn.net |
Howell Livingston | 145.320 TX 144.720 RX | 19.3 mi (31.1 km) | 185.0° (S) | DStar D*/Voice R S | |
Waterford Oakland | 145.430 TX 144.830 RX | 28.6 mi (46.0 km) | 157.6° (SSE) | In 100.0 | FM/Wide |
Waterford Clinton | 145.440 TX 144.840 RX | 28.6 mi (46.0 km) | 157.6° (SSE) | DStar D*/Voice R S WX | |
White Lake Oakland | 145.490 TX 144.890 RX | 27.8 mi (44.8 km) | 165.9° (SSE) | In 67.0 | FM/Wide R S |
Lapeer Lapeer | 146.620 TX 146.020 RX | 25.9 mi (41.8 km) | 82.5° (ENE) | In 100.0 | R S WX www.w8lap.com |
Howell Livingston | 146.680 TX 146.080 RX | 19.3 mi (31.1 km) | 185.0° (S) | In 162.2 RAN/80 | WWW.w8lrkorg R S WX |
Southfield Oakland | 146.760 TX 146.160 RX | 30.0 mi (48.2 km) | 161.1° (SSE) | In 100.0 Out 100.0 | FM/Wide |
Fenton Genesee | 146.780 TX 146.180 RX | 12.2 mi (19.7 km) | 169.4° (SSE) | In 151.4 Out 151.4 | A/28234 FM/Wide R S WX www.w8cmn.net |
Clarkston Oakland | 146.840 TX 146.240 RX | 25.9 mi (41.7 km) | 144.3° (SE) | In 100.0 Out 100.0 | E/801228 FM/Wide R S WX |
Pontiac Oakland | 146.900 TX 146.300 RX | 30.0 mi (48.2 km) | 161.1° (SSE) | In 100.0 Out 100.0 | FM/Wide R S WX www.arpsc.com |
Pontiac Lake | 146.900 TX 146.300 RX | 30.0 mi (48.2 km) | 161.1° (SSE) | In 94.8 Out 94.8 | FM/Wide R WX |
Owosso Shiawassee | 147.020 TX 147.620 RX | 18.1 mi (29.2 km) | 275.0° (W) | In 100.0 Out 100.0 | Fusion |
Flint Genesee | 147.100 TX 147.700 RX | 9.1 mi (14.7 km) | 68.8° (ENE) | In 100.0 Out 100.0 | D*/Does Not Apply FM/Wide R S WX www.mscginc.org |
Flint Genesee | 147.260 TX 147.860 RX | 9.1 mi (14.7 km) | 68.8° (ENE) | In 100.0 Out 100.0 | E/119335 L/147.100 FM/Wide R S WX www.mscginc.org |
Flint Genesee | 147.340 TX 147.940 RX | 9.1 mi (14.7 km) | 68.8° (ENE) | In 100.0 | FM/Wide www.w8acw.org |
Flint Genesee | 147.380 TX 147.980 RX | 9.1 mi (14.7 km) | 68.8° (ENE) | In 88.5 | FM/Wide |
System Access (in Ac Column)
- O - Open (usually carrier-operated)
- C - Closed system
- Repeater Emissions (in Features Column)
- FM – (FM/Wide or FM/Narrow)
- Digital Mobile Radio
- DStar
- FUSION
- NXDN Mixed
- NXDN Digital
- APCO25 P1
- APCO25 P2
- Multi-Mode (three or more of the modes above)
- Amateur TV Analog
- Amateur TV Digital
- Shared Non-Protected Pair(SNPR)
- Access Tone or Code Requirements (in PL Column)
- CC/## - DMR Color Code
- In ###.# - Input CTCSS encode tone (specified) required for access
- DCS/### - Digital Coded Squelch code required for access
- NAC/#### - P25 Network Access Code
- RAN/### - NDXN Radio Access Number
- DTMF/#### - Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency access code
- Other Features (in Features Column)
- FM/Wide - Wide Bandwidth
- FM/Narrow - Narrow Bandwidth
- D*/Voice - DStar Voice
- D*/Data - DStar Data
- E/####### - Echolink node
- I/####### - IRLP node
- A/####### - AllStar node
- L/#####.#### - Link Frequency
- R - RACES affiliated
- S - ARES affiliated
- WX - Weather net or weather
- WWW.url.org Club or Organization URL