The 435 Machine

Live audio of the KE6RRI 147.435MHz repeater
Los Angeles, California USA
Contains adult language and adult themes
(Press play button to listen)

I was looking through the online scanner feeds available on RadioReference.com and found a list of the Top 50 Audio Feeds. Most of the large police departments can have quite a few listeners at one time, sometimes approaching a couple hundred listeners.

The single Amateur Radio repeater on the list caught my eye: the KE6RRI 147.435MHz repeater located near Los Angeles. The feed had 120 listeners which is pretty amazing for a ham repeater (for comparison, Chicago Fire Dept. had 40 and Las Vegas PD had 39 at the time). There was obviously something going on here that was attracting attention. So, of course, I tuned in.

Well, it’s quite the experience. Let’s just say that the conversations are colorful.

I remember as a newly licensed teenager that I was super-paranoid about following the rules. I’d stay well clear of the band edges for fear my signal might bleed over due to some malfunction. If the FCC said that I had to identify every ten minutes, I’d make sure to do it every five. Like Christian Slater’s character in the pirate radio movie Pump Up The Volume — I imagined those yellow vans conspicuously marked “F.C.C.” circling the neighborhood just waiting for the most minor of infractions as their signal to move in. Apparently, after spending a little time listening to the 435 repeater online, the folks on this machine don’t seem to worry too much about that.

There are two interesting interview segments worth listening to on The RAIN Report where Hap Holly, KC9RP, interviews Christina Holzschuh, KE6RRI, the current owner of the repeater: Part 1 Part 1 (14 min.) Part 2 Part 2 (14 min.)

Matt Thomas, W1MST, is the managing editor of AmateurRadio.com. Contact him at [email protected].

10 Responses to “The 435 Machine”

  • Tim - K6ACF:

    I live in the Los Angeles area and first heard these folks on the repeater as a scanner enthusiast a few years ago. I was thinking of getting my ham license, but thought that if this is how ham radio had degenerated, I didn’t want to be a part of it.

    Fortunately, I did hear lots of examples of good hams on other frequencies and decided to get my ticket. But, I wonder if other folks are put off by the terrible examples heard on this repeater.

    For the life of me, I don’t understand why the FCC has not shut these guys down.

  • Todd Mitchell, NIØL:

    Utterly reprehensible, shameful, and disgusting. What a blot upon ham radio.

    Has anybody tried to petition the FCC to shut this down?

  • Andrew:

    The feed above is live, right? So the f-bombs I heard when listening was another incident?

    This is a stain on amateur radio. Those on there should be ashamed and be fined and have their licenses revoked.

  • Charlie AI4RI:

    i’ve heard of this repeater before…

    from what i’d read on other places, they dont bother to identify, they feel they can say what they want, and i agree with you todd. something should be done, but i wouldnt know where to start.

  • Phil - N4LNE:

    I have never ever heard anything like this on a repeater. Why does the FCC not shut down the repeater? Why does the repeater owner allow it? Why do other hams in the area not demand the FCC to shut it down. All operators that are taking part in this garbage on the air should have their license cancelled for cause. This is a simple problem to cure with a little bit of enforcement by the FCC and a lot of peer pressure from area hams.
    I can assure you that this type of behavior would not be allowed in the Atlanta area.
    We do not need these people in our ham radio community!!

    73’s

  • K4TOJ - Tom:

    This puts a black eye on Amateur Radio. It’s beyond me why the FCC will knowingly allow this behavior to continue. It’s recorded even, so they have plenty of evidence. The owner/trustee of the repeater knows how her repeater is being used, so she should lose her license as well. No where can the FCC enforce any of the many rules broken on this repeater. AND they are expanding the “network” geographically. If we are to be self policing we must band together and do something about this.

  • Goody K3NG:

    Much like some amateur radio websites that have enabled (and profited from) the race to the bottom, I’m not sure who to blame the most…. those flinging the crap, those providing the forum for the crap flinging, or those standing by day after day who do and say nothing while the crap gets flung….

  • Jason, KE7TDY:

    Hey all~
    Wow am I ever disgusted at that. I played it for all of 2 minutes and counted no less then 5 different rule violations. (As did my brother who’s NOT licensed)

    They should be stopped …. long ago. They don’t even belong on cb … they give ham’s a bad name … they don’t show goodwill and for some reason, I don’t really see them as jumping to help someone in need!

    Let me tell you a true story. I know of a certain ham (who will remain nameless) who flouted the rules on a local repeater. It almost cost someone their life when he ‘refused’ to yield the frequency for an emergency situation (in this specific case, someone had been trampled by a horse). Then to make it worse, he went on a triad about how it’s a stupid rule. He got kicked off that repeater the next day!

    Then he went to a linked system. He kept up his antics. Swearing, being rude, talking in extensive detail of sexual exploits and more …. he hogged the frequency, caused willful and repeatedly deliberate interference and then bragged about it.

    Finally someone notified an official observer … who recorded some of the antics and turned the man in to the FCC. Now all of the sudden, shortly after being reported, the guy is no longer to be heard anywhere AND the repeater system that allowed his antics to go on, started not only cracking down on rule violators BUT also KILLED the link the man was using.

    So see, IF hams, and scanner listeners alike, contact the proper people, and make enough of a fuss about it, something WILL be done …

    Let’s not stand for the bad reputation these bozo’s are trying to give us … let’s tell em to grow up or get lost!
    73 all
    ~J (ke7tdy in WA State)

  • Danny KJ6FYX:

    I am a user on this repeater, and I have been hosting this audio feed since I have been licensed (March 2010). This repeater has been on the air for over 35 years and has always been the same. Check out http://www.435.org/435_history/435_history.html for a little history on this repeater.

  • Wildman kc9ikk:

    where the hell is everybody

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