The story of our FCC Amateur Radio License

We, at LRRA,  are a fun organization of knowledgeable amateur radio “ham enthusiasts” who love to meet, talk, and play radio.

Our organization, Lakes Region Repeater Association, serves the Lakes Region of New Hampshire and Southwestern Maine.

We also own and manage a two-way radio system that takes weaker radio signals and re-transmits them at a higher power so that the radio signal can cover longer distances with out degradation.

We are also part of ARES and provide back-up for emergency communication needs in the event of commercial power failure.

The following is a brief recap of the history of Lakes Region Repeater Association and how we got our FCC amateur radio license.

Lakes Region Repeater Association started in the late 1950’s. A group of people from the lakes region held regular round table transmissions daily using 2 meter AM transmission. There were no repeaters at that time so folks who had 2 meters used some form of beam antenna.

For the first time in the 1970s, Ham FM repeaters were introduced to the Lakes Region area.  Since Lakes Region Association Repeaters were not in existence at that time, most people used the Concord Repeater for their 2 meter FM equipment.

Eventually, Lakes Region hams organized the Lakes Region Repeater Association, set up a membership and dues schedule. It eventually grew to over twenty members. The first host site and tower was constructed on Cotton Mountain that overlooked Lake Winnepesaukee. Two antennas were used, one for receiving and one for transmitting. It was said that the coverage was satisfactory.

A repeater license was issued in the name of Lakes Region Repeater Association and the next step was to build a repeater. A 2-meter kit that came with a transmitter and receiver was built and later a GAM antenna was donated. That evening, Lakes Region Repeater Association got on the air with very little desensitizing. Before the evening was over, twenty people had signed on.

The LRRA repeater was the first in the nation to incorporate the courtesy tones.

Our repeaters and repeater shack are now located on Bennett Hill in Ossipee, NH.