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Two thumbs up! The Red Engineering (RE) Simplex Repeater (SRPT-03) has been discussed in another post. This review is about the new piece of equipment by Red Engineering. Thay have taken a SRPT-03 with all the connectors and placed it inside a polycarbonate waterproof case with a custom made precision-molded ABS insert and foam liner along with a waterproof SNA connector for connecting an external antenna. This is somewhat similar to what RE showed on their website with the original simplex repeater where they put everything inside a Pelican M40 Micro Case. It required that the end-user drill and install a bulkhead SMA fitting for the antenna and any foam insert they wanted. The primary issue with this setup was the size of the M40 case required that the Baofeng UV5 use the small 1,800 maH battery which really can't go a full 2 day period. The FieldLink Edge uses an Evergreen 56 Waterproof Dry Box Protective Case which allows for the use of the twice as large 3,600 mAh battery with USB connector for charging. The reason for buying a premade case from RE is that the simplex audio and antenna connectors are sized perfectly for the case and both the radio and simplex repeater fit tight and snug into the insert. It even has a velcro strap to hold the radio to the insert. It comes with a right angle SMA connector for the outside antenna which mandates that the case be in the horizontal position. I simply replaced that with a male to male SMA connector so I can put the case up a tree in the vertical position. I'm also getting a male SMA to BNC connector to make the use of the outside antenna easier. Unlike the M40 case this one easily accepts a small carbineer and or small dia. rope to the case. You can also buy an additional mount so the case can be secured to a wall, antenna mount or whatever and be removable. The case is not really made to accept usb c power (not enough room). If that is your requirement then it might be better to get something like a Pelican 1150 and make all the connections yourself. This case is for someone who wants a well-made, ready to go waterproof case where all they bring is something like a Baofeng BF F8HP and hook it up to use over a two day period. Just remember to push the little micro switch next to the right of the USB-c connector to initiate the repeater.

for an all around basic and fair cost base antenna, It's gong to be hard to beat a Tram 1486. The trick is to tune them correctly.

Confirming: You hear them but they don't hear you, and you don't hear the kerchunk when you key up the repeater? How are you verifying they can't hear you? Is it by asking for a radio check while you know people are active? Or are you listening for the kerchunk on the radio you transmitted with? Or do you have two radios in close proximity, one to transmit and one to listen? Different troubleshooting tactics apply to each.

If you are in an urban area with a lot buildings between you and the repeater (or each trees), or indoors, and the repeater is not up pretty high.. yeah you could have trouble getting that far to it. A better antenna will for sure help, getting it up higher and in a clear area with line of sight will help. as mentioned above you mgiht be able to hide the antenna in an attic space (test it with a temporary setup first) ... and it would be good as mentioned above if you go physically closer to the repeater to a better location and just confirm that your radio is setup correctly to access it.

You all are giving me much to think about. Lots of good information. Thank you! I've been slowly trying to learn about DBI. It's a newer term, at least for me. I've always understood of DB of gain was compared to a dipole. But I guess DBI is a little different. Kinda sounds like antenna manufacturers are cooking the books to make their numbers look better. The comet CA-712efc is the antenna I'm currently looking at. It seems to have the best performance within my budget. I admit, the repeater is an inexpensive retevis. I was never impressed from day one, but come to find out the antenna that came with it was damaged from the factory. I've since repaired it and upgraded the coax. It's made a huge difference. I'm trying to squeeze as much performance out of it that I can. I'm upgrading here and there as the funds become available. I'm also learning what I can about antenna gain. I've come to understand more about the higher gain antennas having a flatter radiation pattern as others have mentioned here. I don't think I have enough height for that to be a problem. I'm in flat, flat kansas. I only have trees to contend with. I understand if it were a mountainous region, a lower gain antenna would help radiate upwards and downwards depending on the elevation of the antenna to the surrounding terrain. These are all things I've been piecing together in what little time I have to devote to the hobby, I'm sure you parents will understand. Again, thanks for all your advise.

I feel like I am crazy.. and I only have three radios. Thanks for making me feel better about myself.

Maybe some people don't like the UT-72 because it's not tuned for GMRS like the UT-72G. I use the UT-72G because it was cheap and it works better than an antenna inside my vehicle.

Yea you might just be too far for your set up. Have you driven closer to the repeaters to test? I’d stear very clear of j poles. Yuck. Do you have an attic? If not even a mag mount on a pizza sheet near a window will help a bunch. A base station would be best for more watts since you can’t get a really good antenna up high. some people will get upset about this next part but….a move to freedom out of the commie hoa might be a good choice as well.

Using KG-935G Plus on 5W repeater channels with correct tone and can't seem to reach two closest repeaters - one, 11-14 miles away, the second 18-21 miles away in Texas (flat but congested in N Dallas areas). I'm assuming my antenna (stock) is not helping and I need an extendable J-pole and antenna of some sort. Not wanting exterior antenna (HOA and wife forbids); something I can put up and take down in my home office easily. Advice? Thanks

The main reason I operate tones on the RX is noise. There is a lot of DMR and other digital noise in my area that is beyond annoying. It interferes with medium to strong signals by either degrading the voice or overriding it. Tones don't help when the interference is active while someone is talking. But I would be insane by now if I had to listen to all that crap.

I leave mine on all day and only have a 2 mile trip to and from work. The draw for receiving is pretty small and more so if you have your lighting on the radio extinguish after 30 seconds after activity. When it's the dead of winter and temps are way below freezing I'm more mindful of the battery. But in the warm periods I don't think twice about it.

keep trying, they'll get it back in stock

Staycation with Horace and Daniel?

@DeuceoneRadio great job on the research. I guess I have a little different philosophy on continuous power to the radio. I don't do it much, but sometimes I reach in the truck and turn on the radio briefly. I don't feel like pulling the keys out just for that. Maybe I'm just lazy.

Just a thought, but those who have intentionally given false addresses on the license application are guilty of a federal crime. Now the chances of being found and convicted are very slim but I imagine those disingenuous individuals would scream the loudest if caught. Plus it exhibits just plain low moral character.

Having someone else’s file unless they are programming the same repeaters will give you an idea of what things look like but won’t be exactly the same as what you need. It would certainly be more helpful if you gave some more info to the problem and shared a screen shot of your chirp file to help diagnose what’s happening. It could be quite a number of things.

Thank you!

The KG1000 radios defiantly has issues working as a repeater and they are difficult to implement a controller due to pin out access.. People wanting to go the route of making a repeater with two radios should consider a pair for Maxon 8402 radios. Like the KG1000's the Maxons are designed to pair with a simple jumper cable to make them work in repeater fashion. The Maxons are real commercial radios and will offer a more robust setup for the same dollars spent on the kg1009's. BTW, the Maxon Radios are the same used in the Brigecomm Repeaters.

Here is a working example for my RA87. I hope this helps you somehow. Best Regards! SILVERADO MOBILE 04182025 Ham .img

I don’t have an image file to share with you but I and others here are willing to look at your file to see if we can spot something wrong with it, but receiving more details from you would help us help you. There are a lot of smart folks here who have experience with common radio problems. Asking for an image file reduces the chances that someone will be able to help to the set of people who have RA-87 radios, whereas sharing your file opens it up to the set of people who can read.

are you willing to show your imagine file so people can help you with your specific problem.

I asked if someone was willing to share an image file with me, if you are not willing to that's fine. It's not just repeaters, regular channels are not working either.

It’s not a matter of trust. You haven’t explained what functionality isn’t working. An overly generalized statement of “it’s not working” doesn’t really describe the problem. Is your radio actually transmitting? If you get rid of all receive tones, do you hear other people? Seeing other people’s configuration files might not do much for you because they are operating in different locations with different repeaters, but you could provide details about the repeater you’re attempting to activate and post your file.

I’ll try to do