Repeaters ( Ham) locations and coverage maps

[The Local Ned]

I'll enter the debate here doing my usual.

As a late 70s early 80s CB'er I well remember the dreaded detector vans , word quickly went out if one was in the area.
I even remember having an older 49Mhz walkie-talkie and chatting away to people thinking that as it wasnt a CB I wouldn't get done....they really tried to crackdown then , but it was all keystone cops stuff.

Now - on the CB debate - the nationwide CB relay has been tried before and failed...no repeaters involved.
These days as the tech has improved it MUST be so much easier to create some form of CB repeater type network , but there's a twist - everyone and their dog will be able to use it....anyone with a CB that is.

HAMs keep their repeaters under close scrutiny as they believe they are the radio elite , IMHO they are the top enthusiasts , but it doesn't give them the right to lord it over anyone else.

Their argument stems from the fact that their are licences and money involved that gives them certain privileges over the rest of us so they are entitled to keep the repeaters that THEY fund and setup free of others - fair enough in my mind.

Now - if YOU want to fund a FEW well placed CB repeaters - that involves buying the tech equipment , building a cabinet to house it , erecting a mast with the obligatory antenna(s) etc - would YOU be cool about others maybe hogging the channels , perhaps even using the CB repeaters as a cheaper substitute for business radio, which would cost them licence fees again ?

CB DXing is fun - I know how far 27FM can reach just using a K40 magmount through a decent rig in an old sherpa van , but it isnt always possible , and that was part of the fun.

This is another direction entirely for the comms debate , one which I think isn't worth going down , not because of the time and effort needed to teach the tech involved , not because I dont know if 11Mtr repeaters are even viable - but because without major funding - it will go nowhere.

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...and of course there's the OPSEC factor to consider - moving a repeater mast and equipment isn't done very quickly , never mind the overall effect a small radio mast will have next to your location....like a big arrow pointing to you , a lot of those HAM guys will have generators ( remember -a lot of them are radio and electronic 'nerds' )- just so they can remain on air when the lights go off....so don't expect all of the vhf/uhf repeaters to go down.