Leaderboard

Here is the situation... I have a N9TAX dual band antenna, 40ft above ground (20' above my roof) Fiberglass mast. 25' run of lmr400 and a pair of mix 31 and mix 61 snap on ferrites All UV and weather proofed. Access to adding an antenna is difficult. Swr is good on gmrs and murs. My brother has a fishing boat. I have an Icom marine radio, when I use the radio on the antenna, ship to shore channels, SWR is above 3. I recently picked up a winning bid (on line) for a MFJ-921 VHF 144-220 MHz. Antenna tuner- $50. There are a lot of opinions on forums, about, not using a tuner on upper vhf bands....most opinions are to just properly tune your antenna since mismatched feed lines and large antennas aren't an issue on that portion of the vhf band. But not really addressing any problems that might be incurred if actually tried..... The icom marine is only 25 watts and the swr isn't too high, but I still would prefer not to punish an expensive radio on high power... To my knowledge the tuner just matches the impedance at the end of the feed line within the radio's tolerance. Which is all I am looking for -protection. I know swr doesn't per se, effect performance. I believe the loss going through the tuner is around .5 db..... Any opinions on this idea? Before I get started with this experiment.... MFJ-921 is a manual tuner. Plus I am studying for my Ham ticket, so if this is an option, it might save me a dangerous climb to add/replace antennas. And I would like to keep my gmrs repeater for my family..... Please and thank you, in advance for any opinions, knowledge, expertise that you can give me in this endeavor. 301

Anyone using a Bridgecom Repeater (and duplexer) for GMRS? I have some resources coming and was considering putting up a repeater. (I have a good location for it. Not where I live, but family on hilltop overlooking the city.). I was thinking about going the amateur 1.25m (220) route at first, but now considering GMRS as it’ll likely get more use and would be open to some of the folks I have in mind (mainly family). I plan on having it completely open for public access. Bridgecom just caught my eye and was curious if anyone is using one of their repeater/duplexer products. I have a BCH-220 (1.25m) HT from Bridgecom and if that’s any indication, then their repeater/duplexer products should be good as well. Their customer support also seems to be very responsive. Thanks...

I own a barely used Bridgecom BCR-40U repeater with internal duplexer and full programming kit I'd like to sell. It was only on the air for about four months from my residence. Since I've never been able to locate an affordable tower, I have no real need for it any longer. It is currently tuned to the GMRS 462.675/467.675 repeater pair. The current price for this complete system from Bridgecom is $1430 + tax and shipping. Please PM me if you are interested, or email me n4gix at Comcast dot net. I'm asking $1000...

I have one of the new Bridgecom VHF repeaters, 2 of the older Bridgecom VHF repeaters, and 2 of the older UHF repeaters on the W0WWV Link System in Nebraska. It is a Ham system, but the repeaters are the same, and I have had good service from them for years. On the oldest ones, I did have to replace the power supply capacitors after about 5 years of 24/7 service. No, I don't have any financial interest in Bridgecom, but I do use them, and can recommend them. They aren't Motorola, but you're not paying for that name either. As near as I can tell, they use Maxon commercial internal components. The company does have outstanding service, and the techs answer their own phone calls when you have questions. I do not know who makes their duplexers. I use Sinclair, dB Systems, and Phelps-Dodge duplexers. -Bart