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SWCRS Extended Access Program

What Is It?

Members of the SWRCS Extended Access Program (“XAP”) are granted access to high profile repeaters covering densely populated areas, along with access to control codes to precisely manipulate their local repeater, and other resources. XAP Membership is an informal user class only and is the end result of a vetting process; there are no dues, fees, votes involved, nor social staturing needed to join. This vetting process verifies an individual requesting access to our higher coverage and more capable infrastructure has the following:

  1. A valid GMRS license issued by the FCC.
  2. An understanding of the SWCRS operating guidelines and policies.
  3. A basic understanding of radio operation and how to get on the air.
  4. A basic understanding of how to manipulate SWCRS systems as needed for contact.
  5. Has been set up with someone to get a hold of in case they have questions regarding the system or radios in general, and has someone to talk to to get guidance on the first three items above should it be needed.

The following repeaters are part of the SWCRS Extended Access Program:

  1. Lemmon 650, Mt. Lemmon, Arizona
  2. Pinal 675, Pinal Peak, Arizona
  3. Sandia 675, Sandia Crest, New Mexico
  4. East Mountain Canyon 700, Tijeras, New Mexico

The above steps have proven necessary for maintaining a functional system and orderly user traffic on the higher profile repeaters covering major metropolitan areas only, along with us turning over the keys for the extended functionality built into the system. As such, we require a couple extra steps to get on a few of our repeaters to make sure their users aligned and prepared to use these repeater sites. Repeaters in other areas (see Open Repeaters) remain open with their tones listed on myGMRS, the predominant repeater database in the GMRS community. myGMRS only verifies adequate FCC licensure to access repeater listings. You don’t need XAP membership to use these.

Informal Membership

XAP Membership carries no voting rights with the SWCRS nor the Tucson GMRS Association; it’s a user class alone, not a management or ownership class. As such; XAP membership means:

  1. Enrolled members are qualified to be entrusted with additional resources and high coverage repeaters developed, provided, and maintained by the SWRCS, including:
    • High profile repeaters covering major metropolitan areas: Albuquerque, Phoenix, and Tucson.
    • DTMF control codes for directly manipulating repeater links, pulling weather reports, calling for assistance, or reviewing system status directly from their radios.
    • Pre-configured radio code plugs simplifying programming.
    • Limited use of the N7GMR club callsign where XAP members are also amateur radio operators.
  2. The SWCRS’ missions, goals, and means to get there remain directed solely by its directors and officers: the SWCRS is committed to providing GMRS infrastructure as a public service. As the SWCRS is not held by its members, its members cannot elect to to act in the sole or primary interest of its membership base alone as we are required to ensure by certain regulations under which we operate. This structure ensures the SWCRS mission remains inclusive and aligned to serve the community at large.

Enrollment

XAP enrollment is open to any licensed GMRS users that have undergone the XAP enrollment process. There are no dues or fees to join, and enrollment is purely procedural. There are a number of ways to initiate enrollment:

  1. Get Another Member to Sponsor You:
    • Attend one of the happy hours, campouts, or other events and talk to people. Check our Facebook group for more information. Any XAP enrolled member can enroll you.
    • Ask to discuss with someone who is a registered user on the air. This can be done on any of the open repeaters. Any XAP enrolled member can enroll you.
  2. Amateur Radio Operators: Directly Enroll by Reciprocity
  3. By Qualification (Coming Soon): Enroll by quiz.
  4. Call Us: Leave a voice mail in the SWCRS mailbox at (520) 838-8109, and someone from the SWCRS administrative team will call you back to coordinate on next steps. We recommend adding this number to your contact list so you recognize the number when we call you back.

Please do not ask for endorsement via email or contact form as we do not have the resources to maintain continuous back and forth correspondence. Use one of the methods above; we just require that someone have a quick discussion with you to get on the same page and keep our workload minimal and focused on keeping things on the air.