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All that being said the absolute high was 3.3 watts on digital mode. I'm looking at 3 other radios between $100 and $150 that claim 10 watts. even if they only output half of that it'll be better than the 3.3 watts I'm getting from this radio.

More like Phyllis Diller.

Remember DMR uses TDMA when working through a repeater in digital mode, Time Division Multiple Access, in other words the output is pulsing on and off approximately every 30 milliseconds. Your typical average responding power meter will likely read about 40 percent of a true FM radio output. So, a reading of 2.5 watts wouldn't be unusual. The 0.5 watt reading the meter might have caught the radio part way through a transmit pulse, which wouldn't surprise me with one of those electronic SWR/watt-meters types.

You CANNOT use a standard watt meter to verify power output on DMR (or any TDMA mode). It doesn't show up accurately because it pulses every 30ms for each timeslot. Also, if it's overloaded by surrounding RF, it will bonk. DMR (in a repeater scenario) sends a ping to the repeater, and if it doesn't "hear back" from the repeater after I think 3 attempts or so, it says out of range.

I just did a power output test on the radio. The DMR Repeater I have programmed was giving .5W to 2.5W jumping around and not consistent. I think that's the main issue, not enough "azz" to hit the nearby repeaters that my analog radios(even the little UV-5r) can easily hit from my backyard. It's getting returned and I'll use the funds along with the money from the DM-1701 to buy a better radio. Also, WINE works pretty good on my Linux install. Like I've mentioned before, I run all the other CPS programs along with CHIRP NEXT in WINE without issues.

I do not believe so.

I downloaded the Radtel RT-4D CPS DMR programming software so I could look at your analoge codeplug as well as the Miklor sample codeplug… SO UGLY! And thats in Windoze on my Mac; I can’t imagine it in Linux!! Good luck! Have you driven closer the the repeater to see if your RT-4D works in DMR?

Some posters do not understand the two types of people on these types of forums: 1) Those that cannot do or are unwilling to do internet research and hence prefer to be spoon fed; and 2) Those that get personal achievement and gratification from doing research for others! ”I want my Maypo!”

This worked for me for my Baofeng UV-5G Plus. Make sure you're on the correct COM port from the dropdown menu and select the Radioddity UV-5G Plus.

OK, Fight nice, children (everyone).

Those are hard to tune. Patience Grasshopper. Keep trying.

I have used the RT97 and the RT97L. Both perform well. If you have the money and are set on getting this type of repeater I would go with the RT97L for the reason the Queen of ALL GMRS mentioned. In this case more power helps mitigate line loss. They are not 100% duty cycle machines but are good for what they are. The portability is a great selling point. YMMV

But is is it five lines tall with a blue background?

That never stopped eBay from allowing this crap on their site. When it comes to CCTV equipment Hikvision was FCC banned and eBay was flooded with that garbage. I don't see any of this significantly changing for the better on eBay or Amazon.

When I use my HT for GMRS, I make sure I have an aluminum beer can in my other hand for counterpoise. Obviously, you have to empty it till you find that perfect resonance sweet spot. Sometimes it takes multiple tries to get it right.

For optimal performance I highly suggest using Bosch Platinum spark plugs with the gap at 0.038" for the HF bands. Spark gap transmitters can be fun. Brings back the good old days of radio.

I downloaded a codeplug from Miklor for the RT-4D and compared it to my codeplug. I made some adjustments to my codeplug and I still can't reach the repeater. When I keyed the HT next to my desktop computer I heard something like it WAS sending out a signal but I just don't think these little radios are powerful enough to make the 16 miles to the repeater in digital. In Analog yes, they reach it. I guess I need to do a power test on the radio and compare analog to digital and that would also confirm that a signal was getting out in digital mode.

I did find something else that looks like a mistake. In the Notes for the repeater it says the ID is 313402, but in the actual live data down below it says it is 310402 and that's a live link to RadioID that looks correct. I think the Notes section in RepeaterBook is incorrect where it says 313402. All of the AZ DMR IDs start with 3104... 313402 is a repeater in New Jersey if you look it up: https://radioid.net/database/view/dmr/repeater?id=313402 This is the one in AZ: https://radioid.net/database/view/dmr/repeater?id=310402 I've gotta go to bed before I turn into a pumpkin.

I think so. Of course this is a radio I haven't programmed before, so it's entirely possible I'm missing something, but for 3104 you have the correct Time Slot. For the repeater you have the correct Color Code and for the repeater you have the right frequency. I don't have the repeater DMR IDs programmed in any of my code plugs except maybe in a field in OpenGD77. In all of them I use the Talk Group ID. Like I said, it's counter-intuitive. You're connecting through the repeater, not to it. You’re telling the repeater which TG you want.

Ok, I'll give that a try. It does seem in the CPS that the repeater ID should go in that box but I'll try the talkgroup ID and see if it works. Did everything else look ok other than that.

You sir, are a true pillar of your community !

Okay, this might seem unintuitive, but on the Digital Channel information screen, where you have the DMR ID of the repeater: 310402, you need to have the Talk Group ID, so if you're trying to get into TG 3104 (AZ Statewide), that's the number there. Try that and let us know if that works better. But that Failure to Connect still has me worried. You might not be in range or maybe I am not seeing what's out of whack. The other thing is, put your radio into Promiscuous mode and just listen on the repeater channel, see if you can hear anything. In full Promiscuous mode everything transmitted by the repeater will come through your radio, regardless of color code or time slot. That's why I said that something sent to a Private TG can still be heard.

Thanks! I live in a GMRS vacuum near Fall Creek Falls state park in Tennessee and I have a difficult time hitting repeaters around me. I figured I would get the RT97L to help out the park and the community.

Yes, i've used all of them. They are all great portable repeaters. IMO the new RT97L gives the best bang for your monies because of the higher power which helps make up for loss in your coax compared to the low power ones. ..and unless things have changed, the Midland is much higher priced, but does not offer much more than the Retevis models.

I like to think of him as the Don Rickles of GMRS.