Memorandum Of Understanding

Cooperative use agreement

For General Mobile Radio Repeaters

The purpose of this Memorandum is to clearly define roles and responsibilities of the users and the owner(s) of the General Mobile Radio System (GMRS) repeaters described below.

For the purposes of this particular Memorandum, the following definitions can be used:

· General Mobile Radio System is the personal radio service described in the Federal Communications Commission’s Rules (CFR 47, Part 95). The GMRS is a licensed radio service, and is different from the Family Radio Service, which requires no FCC license for operation although some frequencies are common to both services.

· GMRS Repeaters (Repeaters) are conventional UHF repeaters installed on GMRS channels, and operated by a GMRS Licensee. This Memorandum applies specifically to the following repeaters:

o 462/467.6750 Located on Blueberry Hill in Acton, Maine

o 462/467.7000 Located on Fort Ridge in Shapleigh, Maine

· Repeater Owner (owner) is the GMRS licensee who has undertaken the responsibility of maintaining the repeater equipment and making it available for use. This person is ultimately responsible for the proper operation of the repeater. This includes a good faith effort to insure that the repeater is available for licensed and permitted users, and not available to unlicensed users or others who abuse the privilege of access. The repeaters in this case are operated by:

o Ben Gore, WQBQ414, email: ads@hrdent.com

· Repeater User (user) is any GMRS licensed individual that accesses (with or without specific permission) the above listed GMRS repeaters. Use by any individual will automatically constitute agreement to the terms of this Memorandum.

ACCESS PERMISSION

1. The owner hereby grants free of charge permission for use of the repeaters listed in this document to any user meeting the following requirements:

a. The user holds a current and valid PERSONAL GMRS license;

b. The user abides by all GMRS rules, regulations, and guidelines in effect by both the FCC and the repeater owner, especially those about station identification and monitor-before-transmit.

c. The user is aware and considerate of the shared nature of the repeaters;

d. The user has not had access privileges revoked by the owner.

2. The user is expected to:

a. Maintain their GMRS license;

b. Purchase and properly maintain their own GMRS radio equipment;

c. Contact the repeater owner for routine access permission if they become a frequent user;

d. Follow all applicable rules and guidelines;

e. Be courteous, considerate and helpful to other users;

f. Report suspected repeater problems to the owner;

g. Participate in on-air repeater equipment testing if needed.

RELIABILITY

The owner will make an effort to keep the equipment operational. However, there is NO GUARANTEE that the GMRS repeater equipment will be available for use at any given time. In both cases, backup commercial and/or public safety antennas and/or cable have been used in the installations.

This gives the GMRS system the advantage of quality commercial-grade antenna systems without the burden of cost, and use by GMRS equipment allows constant surveillance of the performance of these spare antenna systems.

In the event of a failure of a primary commercial or public safety antenna system, the GMRS system will be removed from the spare antennas and will be off the air until repairs are made to the primary systems.

In addition, failure of the repeater equipment could possibly lead to extended downtimes, depending on the circumstances and any repair/replacement costs and availability of money to pay for them.

Repeaters may or may not be available during times of commercial power outages at the antenna sites. Sometimes during extended outages arrangements are made for backup power, but this is not always the case.

DO NOT RELY ON GMRS RADIO SYSTEMS FOR CRITICAL COMMUNICATIONS.

UPGRADES AND FUNDING

By FCC rule, the repeater owner cannot charge a fee or subscription for GMRS repeater use. It does take a considerable amount of money and time to install and maintain the systems properly. For example, just the duplexer, filtering, and isolation equipment in the 462.7000 repeater cost about $1,800. This does not include the receiver, transmitter, controller, power supply, receiver preamplifier, antenna system, cabinet, and 55+ hours of labor. Then there is the ongoing cost of electricity and routine maintenance…

There is no rule that prohibits donations towards the costs of equipment maintenance and upgrades. The repeater owner would appreciate any and all donations of any size to defray some of the costs of installing and maintaining the equipment. Anyone who makes a donation will be listed on the GMRS Repeater Fund page, which can be found at http://www.hrdent.com/gmrs/gmrs.html. All donations go DIRECTLY towards keeping the repeater systems running and, possibly adding new sites in the future

THANK YOU!

“Hear you on the air!”