Please review the information below carefully. The website should have a standard look and feel across all areas with minimal style inserted by the local admin. Below are the proper conventions for inserting data into the database.
Spelling is very important. Admins should avoid the use of ALL CAPS and endeavor to use correct punctuation.
Remember your audience and the vision of the site.
The site will be most helpful to amateurs who are visiting an area for the first time or are newly licensed. Hams that have been around a while tend to already know the repeaters, or at least the ones they intend to use. However, old-timers may still like to have a reference of the repeaters in the area.
Try to imagine yourself as a visitor to the area the repeater covers. What information would you like to know? Now imagine yourself as a newly licensed Ham. If you are not familiar with the many different types of queries and exports available on the site, try them out. The way the information is placed into the database directly affects how it looks on the output.
The output needs to be clean, orderly and predictable. The way something is displayed in Oregon should be consistent with the way it is displayed in Alberta. Confusing is not good. Simple is best.
There is some terminology that you need to be familiar with. The site is powered by a MySQL database and displayed using a combination of PHP and HTML. PHP provides the access to the database including the query functions. HTML is static, but injecting PHP into the code allows the site to be displayed based on variables, which makes each page dynamic, but within a standardized template. The use of the database permits a tremendous amount of flexibility and custom outputs.
This is the output frequency of the repeater. The database can handle numbers as big as 12345.1234 and expects four numbers after the decimal. If it does not receive it, it will automatically add it. 145.1 will be automatically converted to 145.1000. Do not place commas in the frequency fields or any other characters other than a number. Do not add the offset designator to the rear of the number.
This is the input frequency of the repeater. It is regularly used in the non-North American countries. It should only be used in the US for repeaters with a non-standard split and repeaters on 10-meters, 6-meters, and 33-cm. The same rules apply as described in the FREQUENCY field above.
The offset of the repeater, or shift. This is only used in North America. If it is a nonstandard input, use a 's' (split) and enter the input frequency in the 'input' field. Use 'x' (simplex) to indicate a simplex repeater. This field is always displayed immediately adjacent to the frequency whenever the frequency is displayed. This is a REQUIRED field.
CTCSS tone or DCS tone. Tone Decode (in) is the tone the remote station must input for the repeater to operate. The Encode (out) tone is the tone the repeater transmits for users who wish to use tone squelch. If there is more than one tone, only note one tone here and note the other one in the COMMENTS field, if desired. Some repeaters have multiple repeaters on independent tones. These tones should also be noted in the 'comments' field.
If the repeater is within a city limit or close, enter it here. If it is on a nearby landmark, such as a mountain top, enter the nearest city to the landmark. This field is searchable and a misspelled word will cause the entry to be missed. Additional location details can be listed in the COMMENTS field.
This is the geographical landmark the repeater is located at, whether within a city or not. It could be a water tower, radio tower, mountain peak, high rise building, hospital, etc. If the repeater is located at a private residence, note it as 'QTH'. Do not enter micros like 'the corner of 5th and Main'. If the landmark is not known, omit it. Additional location details can be listed in the COMMENTS field.
Counties are only noted for US repeaters. Some other countries, like Japan and Australian, are utilizing regions, which act much like counties. Alaskan boroughs and other similar terms are considered synonymous. This is a REQUIRED field for the US only. Not entering it in will prevent the repeater from displaying in county searches and can break the export interfaces for several different services.
These are the coordinates of the repeater in decimal format (eg, 45.123 -123.123). Be sure to lead with –' if required. Do not use direction indicators (ie, N or W) as they are not needed in decimal format. There is a link for coordinate conversions if you have the coordinates in another format and need to convert them. If you have a location and do not know the coordinates, you have two options. First, you can use the 'Search' link to look it up. Or, you can leave the coordinates blank and let Google try to locate it. Google will search on both the nearest city and landmark names, return some coordinates, and the site will automatically enter them with the repeater. It will always enter coordinates, but it is not always correct. If using the latter method, please view the repeater and make sure the location it chose makes some sense. This field is critical to mapping and proximity searches. It is also used within the app. ALL REPEATERS MUST HAVE COORDINATES ENTERED, either by you or the automatic feature of the site. Click the 'exact' box if the coordinates are exactly known and correct. All other coordinates are assumed to be approximate.
Only enter in the call sign itself. Do not add /r or similar designators. The entry should be in all caps.
Is the system OPEN (to all stations), CLOSED (limited to use by groups or stations given prior permission), or PRIVATE (subscription based repeater or where stations are given access by a governing body)? If unsure if the repeater is 'closed' or 'private', 'closed' is a good default.
'On-air' means the repeater is up and running. 'Off-air' means the repeater is not working. 'Testing' means the repeater may or may not be on the air as it is in a testing mode. 'Testing' usually pertains to being in the construction and testing phase or undergoing maintenance issues. 'Archive' is for a repeater that no longer exists and assists admins with preventing deleted repeaters from sneaking back into the database. These repeaters remain in the database but are not searchable by regular users. 'Assigned' means that the repeater has been coordinated, but not built. This is like a placeholder. Like 'Archived', it does not appear in searches.
An affiliated group that uses the repeater. Usually, these are clubs and organizations that utilize the repeater but do not own or sponsor it. The sponsor and affiliate of the repeater will never be the same entity. The same rules as 'sponsor' for the data conventions apply.
North America only. If a repeater is used for ARES, RACES, SKYWARN, or CANWARN activities, then check the appropriate box. Do not add these terms to other fields unless it is associated with a specific club or net.
The owner or monetary supporter of the repeater. It may be a licensee or club/group. Enter the call sign of the individual or group or the name of the sponsoring club/group. You can use HTML to create a link to the sponsor's website. Example: <a href=“https://www.repeaterbook.com”>Repeaterbook</a>
User available features: autopatch, e-power, remote base, LiTZ, etc. It is preferred that these be listed in alphabetical order and separated by commas. Some of the searches look at this field for a specific pattern to find the feature, so care should be used on how the entry is made. Here is an example:
=== VOIP: AllStar/EchoLink/IRLP/WIRES These are VOIP modes. Do not enter these as features in the FEATURES field unless the node number is not known. If you fill these fields in properly, the site will make a myriad of inputs to display the repeater is a very different way with many bells and whistles. Some automatic queries and displays are created based on the values in these fields.
If a repeater is equipped with one of these modes, please select it. The name of the mode should not be repeated in another field. Be sure to enter as many parameters as possible as these are critical to accessing the repeater.
Some digital modes, like P-25 and System Fusion, can accommodate digital and analog transmissions. If a repeater is digital and can also handle analog, please check this box. For System Fusion repeaters, this box is automatically checked on the backend depending on the mode selected.
User-available commands and control codes for the repeater's features. If a web link is available that provides an expanded list of codes, hyperlink the feature to it. Example: IRLP node the field may look like this: IRLP: Connect- [node nbr] / Disconnect- 73.
A bit of HTML coding can be done here to format the commands, like a table (without borders).
The repeater's coverage areas. Counties, towns, major highways, etc. Please note if the repeater is 'wide area' coverage as this is a search term. An example of a listing with wide area coverage:
Wide area: Portland to the north, Eugene to the south, Lincoln City to the west, and Hood River to the East.
Highway coverage can be added after the repeater is added and is viewed for editing. If the repeater is recommended for travelers along these highways, please use the ROUTE module to add them so that they are searchable.
This is an enhancement to the coverage field above. If you know the coverage radius of the repeater, you can enter it in here. On the repeater's page, the map of the repeater will draw the coverage circle to give visitors a visual cue of the repeater's coverage area. US repeaters should be noted in miles. KM is available for metric-based countries. The 'publish' option is whether or not the coverage area should be displayed in the coverage field automatically by the site or not. The circle will only appear on the map if the repeater is listed as 'on-air' in the operational status field.
This is the catchall field that allows you to enter information that just not fit in any other field. You can enter elevation and power output here.
Day of week, time, and description of the net(s) conducted on the repeater. Do not use the word 'net' in the description as it is implied. Each net is displayed on a new line. Times are military and days are abbreviated to 3 letters. A description after the time is optional. Just keep it to one line on the details page. Example:
Club: Mon at 19:00. Except club meeting nights, members only please.<br> Tech: Wed at 21:00. Answers questions about the tech side of radio.<br> ARES: Fri at 20:00.<br>
The repeater's Website or any other place on the Web that contains information about the sponsor, affiliates, or the repeater. If the sponsor or affiliate fields already contain the link, it is your choice if you want to enter. The full link mus be added.
E-mail of a contact person for questions regarding the repeater. This is displayed on the repeater's details page.
Always track where the info came from and when it was received.
Note the source of the data. You do not have to enter anything here if you use the CREDIT field as this entry could be redundant.
Adding credit here publishes the credit on the repeater's details page, documents the source of the data, and sends a confirmation email to the submitter that the data was successfully entered.
The accuracy of the information is vital to a database-driven website, and a repeater database is no exception. If you have questions about the presentation of the data, please ask!
If there are subscribers to the website and the change is significant enough, be sure to notify them. This is included when a new rating or comment has been added. Be conservative about the subscriber notifications and only notify once per day and only for important updates.