Leaderboard

Hopefully you've already read the thread on: "I just got my GMRS License and now I want my own repeater". Solar and high power repeaters don't play so well together if your budget is less than NASA. If you've got a high elevation site, you can talk to everywhere you can "see" at relatively low power. Higher power margins just help to overcome background noise and decrease fading. I'd tell you that 10 watts going into an actual 6 dB antenna is an ERP of 40 watts - and probably overkill if you're using 4 watt portables to talk back. If you really want to make a repeater work better - a better receiver is worth much more than transmit power. If you really do have the idea of "doing it once, and doing it right" you need to forget about Retevis for a mountaintop site, and you also need to forget about using tupperware. A NEMA style weatherized box can be placed outdoors, and will hold up well against the elements if you pay attention to properly sealing up any holes or bulkhead fittings. I've got outdoor sites that have held up for more than 15 years with a NEMA box on a pole - but I wasn't dealing with 8000+ ft elevations or extreme winds/icing. You can buy a high end used commercial repeater like an MTR2000 for about the same cost as a new Retevis RT97 - and you're getting 10 times the quality. Most reputable sellers will even program it for you - saving you the expense of cables and software.