The new membership system announced at the end of 2022 is now online. An email was sent out to the first batch of users invited to join, and these users are able to invite more users at their discretion. The member portal can be accessed via the “Member” menu item at the top of the website.
There are four repeaters that are now closed except for members, these are the Pinal 675, Lemmon 650, Sandia 675, and EMC 700. As we’ve had issues with abuse from individuals we can confirm were on the prior authorized user list, we can’t just invite everybody from the prior authorized user list en masse, SWCRS membership is by invitation from another member only. ANY established member can invite any other licensed GMRS user on the system via the membership portal. As always, there remain no dues or fees to join, hence we’re relying on other users to vet each other out rather than a monetary barrier.
All other repeaters on the network are open and can be found on myGMRS – no need to ask permission; follow the few basic rules posted, be respectful, and you’re good to go.
If you did not receive a membership invitation email from us (around January 4, 2023), you can try resetting your password using your call-sign as the username on the membership portal. If the portal does not recognize your call-sign, you most likely slipped under our radar for the initial list and will need to get someone to sponsor you.
A few things you can do to get sponsored for membership:
- Attend one of the happy hours or other events and talk to people! Check our Facebook group for more information.
- Ask to discuss membership with someone who is a member on the air, and see if they will invite you. This can be done on any of the open repeaters. If you still have programming information in your radio from prior access to the now closed repeaters, you are permitted to tailgate into a conversation once it’s awake (eg. you hear a courtesy tone or AWAKE announcement). For now, the repeaters operate normally for a short duration upon a key-up. This method will stay put for a few months until programming changes are made on-site.
- Leave a voice mail in the SWCRS mailbox at (520) 838-8109, one of us will call you back to coordinate and get the ball rolling. We recommend adding this number to your contact list so you know who it is.
Please do not ask for membership endorsement via email or contact form, use one of the methods above; there is no form or email to send to get the ball rolling, a member has to have a discussion with you as the first step. Unless you’re having technical difficulties with the process, endorsement requests sent via email or contact form will go unanswered.