Following the announcement that we were again temporarily closing down GB3MP due to abuse, we are pleased to announce that GB3MP will be switched back on at approximately 12:00 local time tomorrow (13th February).
Please be aware of the following:
- If the abuse of the repeater, or of any group or individuals returns, the repeater will be switched off again for a month
- Abuse towards anyone involved with the repeater such as the NoV holder, site owner, UKFM Group (Western) committee members or other fellow repeater keepers will likely result in the permanent removal of GB3MP from its current site
Should you encounter someone abusing the repeater please keep the following guidance in mind:
- Do not engage with someone abusing the repeater
- Try to continue with your QSO without acknowledging the abuser
- You may need to increase your transmission power to be a stronger signal than the abuser (but do not exceed your maximum permitted transmission power)
- If you cannot continue your QSO, arrange to QSY or say 73 and vacate the repeater without acknowledging the abuse on the air
- It is against your license conditions to engage with an unidentified or pirate transmission
- It is against the license conditions of the NoV holder to repeat abusive transmissions (which is why the repeater has to be shut down when abuse is ongoing)
- Always remember that repeater abusers thrive on winding people up. The best way to avoid this is to follow this advice and not engage with or acknowledge them in any way. They will get bored and give up
I would also like to point out that we will always be accepting of constructive critisism. Please do not moan about the repeater being switched off if you cannot offer any suggestions on how this could be better handled (yes this has been happening a lot recently – it isn’t helpful).
Bear in mind that we are only volunteers, and that we don’t want to switch one of our best repeaters off due to abuse. We would much rather it be used and busy with lots of QSOs.
We can all do our part to keep GB3MP free of abuse and on the air. Remember – keep calm and do not rise to it.