OCRA Special Request – Reserved Repeater Use Process

OCRA has made it a practice to allow use of the club repeaters for other special events. This is a practice that we all support and would like to continue. However, to make this possible and be able to deliver the best outcomes for the requester and club members a new request / approval policy needs to be put in place. This new policy is really quite simple and not intended to put an unnecessary burden on the requester.

1. All OCRA repeater users must follow the OCRA Repeater Code of Conduct. If you are not familiar with it, it can be found here:

https://ncocra.org/WordPress_v1/ocra-board-of-directors-repeater-code-of-conduct-policy/

1. The requester should send the request to: ocra@ncocra.org   
2. The requester must list all repeaters, repeater locations, and frequencies they intend to use.
3. The requester must include the day, date, repeater use (primary / backup), expected duration of the use including start and stop times.
4. A minimum of a 2 week notice must be provided. This may sound extreme, but time is needed to properly communicate to Club Members when the repeater will not be available for general use.
5. VERY IMPORTANT: If the repeater is not in constant use, the requester needs to make occasional announcements, perhaps every 5 – 10 minutes. The announcement might be something like this: “This repeater is being used for the xxxxx event and we would appreciate a clear frequency”.
6. Once the request is approved by the OCRA Repeater Trustee, the requester has priority unless the specific repeater is needed for an emergency. For example, for disaster communications by AUXCOMM.

AFTER REQUEST IS RECEIVED

• • Trustee receives the request
  • Trustee reviews request and either approves or rejects
  • Trustee sends notification to the OCRA leadership team
  • President sends summary of the approved request to OCRA membership using Groups.io
  • If request is for Saturday, the Net Control for Sat Aux Net will announce the upcoming event, and if needed will move the net to the backup repeater