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I don't know how many will care about this but I built a box and thought I'd post it. For the woodworkers here, please ignore the joints. I used the miter corner "tape trick" instead of clamping and the thing blew up on me during glue up and I had to scramble for clamps. Didn't get my usual, clean corners. I was also too lazy to route the edges.

Yes, you're on the right track. Once you have the ctcss tone from the repeater owner, you'll have to check the mxt275 manual to see what ctcss code number that is in the radio (for example, the 141.3 hz 'travel tone' is #22). The repeater option just makes the channels with the right tx offsets available (tx 5mHz higher, vs tx/rx on the same frequency for the simplex channels).

Speaking of morse code, when my late father went to take his General Class ham exam, he utterly failed 13 word per minute (WPM) required. This by the way after having informed the FCC examiner that he'd spent his naval enlistment prior to and during WWII as a radio operator. The examiner asked him "How the hell did you fail to get clear copy?" My dad replied, "your machine is sending far too slow for me to copy. I don't hear letters, I hear words. Can you turn up the speed?" The examiner replied that their machine could only send a maximum of about 40 WPM. "I'm not really supposed to do this, but since you had to drive from Ft. Myers down here to the Miami Field Office to take the test, I am going to make an exception. My dad smiled and replied "Thank you very much. That's still only about half my usual speed, but I can probably copy that well enough to pass. Fortunately for my dad's already bruised ego, he passed with 100% clear copy.

With an apparent increase in interest in linking repeaters, and posts on that topic appearing in several different sections of this site, would it be a good idea to create a separate, possibly private, section devoted to Linking repeaters?

Looks awesome! Nice work.

I think that would be a great idea. I also believe that with MyGMRS selling node controllers that perhaps there could be a tutorial on the main site explaining some of the set-up steps and reminders of some of the codes and files that can be customized. I was thinking about contacting Rich and seeing if we could get that all going.

I have a Midland 275, and the repeater access thing is still confusing to me. So it appears that I need to select the correct channel for a given repeater - in this instance the frequency match is channel 21 - THEN I would need to program in the appropriate CTCSS code, which I'll have to look up or get from the repeater owner / manager. Correct? Apparently just turning the repeater feature to ON is not enough. [The repeater owner is local and extremely helpful - I just hate bugging him all the time. ]

That is a good point in favor of locating a repeater at the house, local access to use it as a base station in addition to its repeater function for other radios in the field. BTW, rather than dealing with Heliax, why not just use some good quality coax, like RG214, and, if even needed, just crank up the power a bit.

First I would get the GMRS license, send the FCC a check, you get the license. No exams... Here is what I would do: A couple of UHF Motorola Maxtracs, a repeater controller cable, a mobile UHF duplexer, mated to a 1/4 wave UHF antenna placed @ 30 foot AGL via some Heliax FSJ4-50B feedline. Set to 25W... Done. With that kind of base you won't need much of a portable, as you'll have range to spare.... in fact, the base will be so good that even 8 dollar Baofeng BF-888S will feel like a mlllion bucks... G.

This site will create a radio coverage map for any location, of your choosing. No guesswork. Radio Mobile online. G.

Two comments: As a GMRS group, it is, or should be, expected that we would also advise where GMRS was not the best solution. Expertise on a topic should not imply promotion of that same topic. It is far better to mention the alternatives now, early in @Guest_Kevin_'s project than to have him discover that GMRS was not the best solution after pouring money and time into it. +1 on the UHF handhelds. The standard VHF rubber ducky antenna will have somewhere around a -2dB to -4dB loss. So, the 2 watt MURS transmitter output will likely be down around 1 watt ERP (Effective Radiated Power).

Guy comes to myGMRS.com - asks about a GMRS solution, and the first 2 answers he gets suggest MURS & CB? C'mon folks. This is why people get frustrated with asking for advice online. YES! GMRS is a good solution for what you're looking to do. You might be able to get 1 mile or so out of UHF handheld portables - but a simple GMRS repeater at roof level will probably get you between 2 and 5 miles without even trying. Now - you're going to need to do some reading and educate yourself to a certain level if you want to do this on your own. Otherwise, open up your wallet & call the local two-way radio shop, and purchase their parts & experience. https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/1402-you-just-got-your-gmrs-license-now-you-want-your-own-repeater/