Update:  This event has concluded and the RATS repeaters have been returned to normal operation.

Please be aware of the following upcoming activities:

• Wednesday, November 8 (7p) - The weekly RATS net will QSY to our 442.55 repeater for a one-week performance test.  WIRES-X network services will be disabled on the repeater from 6:45 PM to 8:00 PM Wednesday.
  
  
• Thursday, November 9 (4p-7p) and Friday, November 10 (4p-8p) - Communications volunteers for the Richmond Marathon will be picking up their supplies in advance of Saturday's event.  There will be occasional talk-in traffic on the 146.88 and 145.43 repeaters.  These repeaters should remain available for regular use, but please keep transmissions short and leave some extra space to allow talk-in traffic to reach Net Control.

Several local repeaters will be carrying moderate to heavy traffic supporting the Sports Backers Richmond Marathon on Saturday, November 11.  Repeater users not participating in this event should take note of the following information and plan to use other local systems during this event.

• The RATS 442.55 repeater is a primary channel for the marathon.  This repeater is closed to non-event traffic on Saturday.  The WIRES-X system will be disabled to prevent conflicting digital traffic, and all C4FM input will come out as analog FM (like the 146.88 repeater).
  
  
• The DMR "Richmond Metro" talkgroup (27500) is a primary channel for the marathon.  Users of the RATS DMR repeater and the directly-linked Petersburg DMR repeater are asked to limit use of timeslot 1 talkgroups to ensure the timeslot remains available for marathon traffic.  Virginia Statewide (3151 on timeslot 2) is a recommended alternative for short QSO's.  Richmond Metro traffic is carried on the Richmond, Beaverdam, Petersburg, Powhatan, and New Kent DMR repeaters.  Users of all five repeaters will notice increased activity on timeslot 1 due to traffic on Richmond Metro.

• The MRA 145.43 repeater is also a primary channel for the marathon.  Stations not involved in the event should plan to keep clear of this repeater.
  
  
• The RATS 146.88 repeater is a backup repeater.  It may handle occasional overflow traffic if the other three systems are too busy, and it would serve as a backup if one of the primary repeaters were to go off the air.  The 146.88 repeater will remain open for regular traffic unless needed for backup service.  All users are asked to keep transmissions short, leave extended pauses (5 seconds) between transmissions, and immediately yield to marathon radio traffic.