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The Smiley rubber duck antenna is a 5/8 wave.

I have the RT97S and it's easy enough to program them to receive and transmit on different frequencies. But the reverse setup of receiving on low and transmitting on high would need a differently tuned duplexer. I guess you could just reverse the cables on the low and high sides on one of the repeaters.

I was asking myself the same question and have been reading the rules and so far I don’t see a problem. It’s not simplex, it’s through repeaters. I could see a situation where HT One is hearing both from HT Two through both repeaters and from say a third HT only going through the first repeater. I don’t think I’d want to do this but I’m with you on the thought exercise. Mc Escher drawing only with radios?

Yes, I know, but GMRS operates by somewhat different rules and serves a different purpose. I didn't see it mentioned anywhere, but I could have missed it. I'd be surprised if GMRS radios would even let you program it in, although ham radios on GMRS channels could probably do it.

Not at all. In amateur radio it’s not terribly unusual to work split like that.

So, here's a silly question, just because this got me thinking... It's technically possible to transmit on one "primary" frequency and receive on another. For example, you transmit on 462.55000 and receive on 462.57500 while your friend's radio is setup the "reverse" way. Is there anything in the rules which prohibits it? If there is, I didn't see it. TBH, I can't think of a reason why I'd want to; it's just a thought exercise.

… and yeah, this is a new idea to me at least. Very interesting.

Since it looks like Retevis has to set this up before shipping and is irreversible I bet a major YouTube guy like yourself could get them to send you a pair.

I doubt you could do it with two off-the-shelf RT97Ls since they can only listen on one frequency at a time. If I understand the setup, each one has to monitor two frequencies simultaneously. It's a pretty cool setup, though.

If the SWR is acceptable, it may work well enough for what you want. It won't be ideal, but hams use all kinds of weird crap for antennas and get a signal out. I saw a guy on YouTube use a bridge railing -- still on the bridge. If you put it on a 20' mast, you'd probably get 3 miles. It will never work as well as an antenna tuned for the GMRS band, but it may do what you want. "Good enough" is a valid concept.

I had a smiley on my 935 and UV9G. They seem to work better than the stock ones. Just my thoughts from the peanut gallery.

Marc ▪︎ Roger. Sounds like the snubnose 19-inch rack is going to be fastened down for greater installation hardening. That'll truly add an even mkre customized appearance with the added benefit of fastening everything down. I supposed you could consider some short heavy duty springs between the brackets and 19-inch rack to arrest resonance and vibration ... especially during trail events. Peter

That's awesome to hear! Once all the brackets are made and the cosmetics are done, I have to get some fresh images out!

Bummer... hopefully the next one will work out. I am trying to do them at least once a quarter... sometimes more.

Bummer. I can't make it due to another commitment.

Marc, Much appreciate the thorough answers to my questions plus the additional info and background as to how/why this all came about. This PW County site seems to be well situated and for a good cause. The heat map predicted reliable coverage is excellent and whenever I install a base station omni at our DC residence [to replace the current configuration comprised of unity gain "rubber duck" antenna sitting on a pizza pan], I expect to be able to hit the new repeater. Glad to hear that the subject GMRS station will be open during other than emergency operations periods. "See" you on the airwaves and [hopefully] at the next meetup whenever and whereever it'll be. [P.S. I must've shown the photo of your Jeep's rear-seat-mounted multiband repeater to a dozen telecom friends. Awesome and unique integration work]. Regards | Peter | WSIC582

I don't believe it!

Okay. Didn't think it would, but just a shot in the dark. However, I believe if I fire up my PRC 77, I'll get traffic.....

So I tuned it to that frequency. Haven't heard anything, nothing, bupkis! That's how it worked out!

Me too... I HAD two brand new RT97L's that I could have used to test this.. but I gave them both away.. Now i'm kicking myself and I wish I was not so kind, unselfish and loving toward my fellow-man... Never again!

Thanks, that’s very helpful. So each repeater is capable of receiving on two different frequencies and repeating on one. Interesting. I learned something new today. I’d like to hear from someone who actually has tried it.

Only quick way to find out is test it with an SWR meter. Some of these multi band antennas show oscillation in the SWR across a range of frequencies. You might get lucky where the GMRS frequencies falls into one of the low SWR valley. The link below is a test I did of a favorite wide band mobile antenna. Usable. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/268-ca-2x4sr/?context=new And this link is for a test on a Ham dual band mobile antenna to see if it was usable. Doesn't look good. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/283-sg7500a-swr-scans-2jpg/

Here is the image they provide on the product page showing the channel pairs used. They basically suggest using both the 600 and 725 repeater pairs as a means of setting this up, repeating to and from 600 and 725.

The only way to know for sure is to put a meter or portable antenna analyzer on it and test it.. But, like the @mb523 said, its not going to work very well.