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Your radio - mxt105, isn't repeater capable. You can monitor the frequency the repeater is broadcasting it's id on with Morse code; that's what your hearing but you can't talk or bring up the repeater because the radio you have doesn't transmit the alternate frequency required to key the repeater and make it rebroadcast your transmission on the same frequency you hear. Two different frequencies 1. broadcast and 2. transmit. There are lots of radios that are repeater capable. If you're coming from cb radio you have been talking on what called simplex - one frequency (channel). When you start getting into repeaters to extend your range you use two frequencies - transmit and receive. Be cautious how you spend your $ on radios it can really put a drain on your wallet but not necessary give you what you want. I would suggest you look into getting a ham radio license if you like radio talk especially in Maine, you can easily talk for 100s of miles over the network of repeaters. Most amateur radio operators are welcoming to new hams, we even have nets(group talking sections on the air -like meeting up on the repeater to chat) that help newbies learn. Last night the Portland repeater - 147.090 group had the newbies roundtable net at 7p.m. to talk about grounding your station. It had about 10 check ins. The technicians(beginners license) is pretty easy to pass with a little study and opens up a world of bands and fun. Check it out - lots of clubs and activities for amateur radio or send me a pm if you want more information on getting licensed.

I use a 50 ft run of RG-213 (with a 2.2db loss at GMRS freqs.) but I'm cheap. I know I will pay twice when I upgrade to maybe LMR400 and a better antenna, but I will appreciate the performance difference and can always use the 213 for MURS, 2 meters or some other project later on. Bear in mind that 213 is more flexible than LMR 400 and true mil spec 213 is very weather hardy. This may or may not matter depending on the cable routing requirements. As others have mentioned, height is king and queen. Remember a discussion on another forum where someone said they spent $2k on a repeater system and if they had to do it all over, he'd spend 2k on a tower and go cheap on the radio.

We started with Times Microwave LMR400 We are now running LMR600. You can get 50feet of genuine tm LMR400 for less than a hundred bucks. Get it terminated with Type N connector and get an antenna with Type N connector, for the least hassle waterproof low loss connection. You may also like heat shrink tubing, some is adhesive lined for particular waterproof applications.

Absolutely not. GMRS like any other radio requires 50 ohm impedance, the which RG6 is not. The three most important requirements for any system are: 1. height 2. antenna 3. feedline (coax, 50 ohms)

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