You must be from the city... <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Yes, there is a LOT of the U.S. that isn't covered by repeaters. Just here in Oregon there are large expanses where you cannot hit a 2m repeater. Keep in mind that even if you are within the range of a repeater, intervening obstacles (hills, mountains) can make it impossible to reach. VHF is "line of sight" (LOS).

If you have 440mhz capability, you increase the number of available repeaters by something like 75%, but there are still lots of places you can't hit one - and it too is LOS.

If you can get to a commanding hilltop, you increase the chances of hitting a distant repeater dramatically. Of course, if all you have is a mobile rig this may not be possible. Even with a portable, it may not be feasible.

Is there a way to get coverage of every square yard of an area? Actually, there is - if you get your General license for access to the HF bands, and study up on NVIS theory and practice, you can literally cover everything within (roughly) a 500km radius.

When I'm out in the woods, I take along an HF mobile rig and/or a portable HF transceiver for just this reason.

-=[ Grant ]=-