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What does the local terrain look like around the site? Another point to consider is very high gain vertical antennas have a narrow radiation pattern perpendicular to the antenna. General reciprocity antenna theory says the RX and TX patterns should be similar. Anyone close in will have a hard time getting into a repeater like this since the antenna is deaf if you're not in the RX pattern. Commercial broadcasters and some repeater installations use antennas designed so that the narrow radiation pattern is not perpendicular to the antenna but has a small "down tilt" angle of several degrees to compensate some what for this condition. A lower gain antenna has a wider RX and TX pattern perpendicular to the antenna. The gain fall off is less severe. That's why you read about people claiming that a simple 1/4 wave on UHF gave them better results in hilly terrain verses using a high gain antenna where other stations are at different elevations relative to each other.

Connectors, no matter the type will always degrade as they represent a break in the electrical path and a mechanical restoration of the circuit. The mechanical pieces will ALWAYS introduce less than perfect electrical properties and a less than perfect mating of the parts, The only connection I am aware of that does not result in a break in the electrical path is a fused connection where two conductors are fused together. That doesn't imply there is no loss or impedance introduced due to impurities or misalignment in the fusion process.

I laughed pretty hard when I read this line. Mostly because the same guys I heard say that, are sitting on one HF frequency, talking to the same 3 guys all day, for 20 years. AND, they only ID maybe once every 2 hours and God forbid someone is on the air, tying up "their frequency" when they what to get online and BS for 5 hours.