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Hey folks, I know many people dislike the idea of linking repeaters, seemingly (imho) due to some folks not understanding the FCC rules and the purpose of GMRS radio. That said, the Retevis RT97L is FCC type approved radio, providing RF linking of repeaters, allowing owners to create point-to-point repeater networks. I am hoping this thread doesn't devolve into yet another debate about linking, but rather just helping me with some quick feedback on the RT97L. I have a question for those of you you owned an operated a Retevis RT97L. After reading about it in another thread, I figured I would look into it as an affordable portable solution. While reading about it, I noticed that the repeater has two channels that allow simultaneous transmit and receive for RF linking (they refer to as daisy chaining). Has anyone here RF-linked 2 or more of them together? If so, what is your opinion about the efficacy of the solution? Is it a solid solution with good audio quality? I am really interesting in this idea, both for GMRS and for Amateur Radio emergency operations. I worked an event this weekend where our two repeater links were not available, causing a huge hole in our coverage. It would have been great if I could have driven to a high spot in the area needing coverage, dropped a portable repeater and RF linked it to our primary repeater. Normally, RF linking repeaters nearly doubles the cost of each station. Given that Retevis sells the OTC GMRS version, and will custom configure a unit with requested frequencies for amateur radio, at about $700 each for the bundle, these seem like a really nice alternative to spending $8k-$10k on 2 repeaters and RF linking gear.

24 watts compared to 5 watts will get you a a better signal at greater distance than the 5 watts. The difference between 24 watts and 50 watts will be less noticeable. Yes, more power goes through foliage and walls better. But the real secret to getting farther range is to put a very good antenna up as high as you can.

Sooo...jumping after reading. I understand that more Watts doesn't necessarily ,equate to more fars. I realize from here that my repeater pushing 24 Watts will work almost as well as 50 Watts. My question is about Watts vs fars and obstacles. Is Watts vs fars linear, geometric, exponential? For example: 5W output on the repeater vs. 24W output more drastic improvement than 24W to 50W. Second part is: does more Watts afford more 'muscle' to propagate through foliage? (understanding that height and antenna is king here. I can not get above canopy but can get to about 70')

Thank you Gang. I am aware that RG58 is not a good choice. That was what was on hand at the time to play here in the shack. I have and am using RG213 and KMR400 for testing and radio play.

We use a Retevis 97S for woods and neighborhood communications. Incredibly easy to set up. I use an Ecoflow power bank and a j-pole antenna on a painters stick.

I’m also using a DB-20 with the midland ghost. It is the second one though. The first got extremely hot so I sent it back. The second one is working very well.

By no means is this scientific, but with a UV-5r on one watt and HYS 8" antenna, I can open and converse on a 2m repeater 20 miles away, although the report is quite a bit of static. From inside the house, I can't even open the repeater with that antenna. When I switch to the HYS 15" antenna, I can converse from inside the house with reports of "some" static. Clearly, the antenna does make a difference, and in my experience, a longer antenna usually works better. The trade-off, of course, is that it is less convenient than a shorter antenna. YMMV

Just an FYI, It's possible that one of the other radios chirp file will work with it but chirp isn't listing for the Abbree specifically at this time.

I had the same experience with the 2x4SR. SWR was (IIRC) ~1.5:1 on 1.25 meters and lower on all the others. Unfortunately, the local 1.25 meter repeater is as dead as disco. I can trigger it and get its automatic ID, but I never get a response from a live person, so I don't know if the antenna actually works well in that band. I'm studying for my General license mostly so I can use and become familiar with HF modes of communication before any sort of disaster occurs. Repeaters are good, but after Hurricane Helene, only one or maybe two (IIRC) repeaters were functioning in the affected area. It's not hard to imagine a scenario where all the repeaters within range of me are rendered inoperative for some period of time. Before that happens, I want to have HF equipment and know how to use it. I'd like to be able to get a signal out at least a few hundred miles. I probably won't get much excitement out of just "making contacts" but I could be wrong.

Gotcha. But I believe they're all on CHIRP now, so that should take care of that issue.

Yes the Retevis RA25, and now Abbree also has one on Amazon. And it's $10 cheaper than the others.

I think the issue he's pointing out is that the Radioddity and Anytone seem to be fully compatible (IE: running the same software and can read / write with each other's CPS) but the Retevis didn't seem to play nice with AT / RO software. And once he used the Retevis software, it worked. Small issue, but it sounds like there's some small difference. If you use a Retevis radio with Retevis CPS, you probably won't have any real issues.

I haven't had any issues. I think once you figure out the CPS, it's actually pretty easy.

Yup, I was able to save one of the default repeater channels into 39, but 31-38 aren't an option through the radio menu. Talk about extra handicapped...

And you can usually do the MARS Mod to these types of radios with will open up MURS, GMRS and CB bands. Not that I would condone using a non Part 95 certified radio on GMRS or a radio that puts out way more than 4 watts on 11m/CB or more than 2 watts on MURS

Was gonna reccomend the 778uv, which i own 2 of, or finding a good deal on a used anytone 5888uv, which i also own... great radios for the price....

Fun fact.... dummy loads can still get out there if you are close enough.... was testing radios in my buddies backyard one drunken evening, about 3 miles from the local repeater, and were able to hold a conversation on said repeater thru the swr/power meter and dummy load configuration, on a radio which showed just over 7 watts..... recieving side said audio was a bit muffled, but clear enough to be understood

Hello Group! Here is a quick repeater system update! 9/7/25 SGA-575 is ON the air! New updated repeater is in and being readied to be installed in the near future. Also antenna crew is being scheduled to replace the existing antenna with one that has higher gain. SGA-600 is ON the air! Intermittent noise issues....Replacement duplexers have been received and tuned. Scheduling date to install them during last quarter 2025. SGA-650 is NOT on the air! Down due to hurricane Helene tower being destroyed. New site has been located and equipment is being ordered. Tower crew to be scheduled for work. Still no ETA at this time. Hopefully during winter 26-26 SGA-700 is NOT on the air! The tower site is being reconfigured. The repeater will be off for a few months while work is being completed. Thanks, Scott Haner - SYSOP WRFS362

Congrats on the tech.......EMCOMMs are ok....most of the CERT members I knew only used the radios for local nets. There is a lot more to this hobby as I'm sure you will find out. The other tests are not that hard either compared to the 'old' days.

Looks like in my absence, you got some positive suggestions to solve your problem. If you are still running into trouble let me know some specifics and I will re-lock my radio and work them out for you!

I posted that comment hoping I would get some feedback from a Retells Ra-25 owner. I have never laid my eyes on the Retevis, but I once helped someone online debug their codeplug. The problem I had was I could not open their Retevis codeplug in either my Radioddity CPS software (preferable) or even my older Anytone CPS software. So I had to download the Retevis software to open it, modify it and save it back to send it to the user. I notice that @wayoverthere just mentioned a similar anomaly above: Hence my reluctance to recommend someone purchasing the Retevis over a choice of either the Radioddity unit or the Anytone unit.

I'm running MX-Linux 23.3 based on Debian. Ubuntu and Mint are both offshoots of Debian. I'm using WINE to run my CPS programs and they pretty much work without issue. You should be able to find WINE, WINE Tricks and Play on Linux in the Repos of your Distro. Once you get that installed it's just a matter of making the .exe file executable in the permissions then you can open with WINE and either run it or install it.

That radio has SMA Male in the radio so you'll need SMA Female to BNC Female for it. Then which ever antennas you'd want to use. I have the stubby on my work radio but can quickly change to the 771 length antenna when I need more range and I don't have to ware out the threads in the radio. Like I said, I wish I'd have done this from the start, it really makes antenna changes a breeze.

Ok thanks. I was looking at some of those, and wasn't sure if I needed both the different ones. I have TD H3's.