Leaderboard

Yes, that’s an acceptable SWR range. Yes, that’s an acceptable power output.

Little update. The possible issue of looping coax isn't increased SWR. It's noise. Apparently depending on how and where the loops are it can be an issue. So, if you avoid loops, you avoid problems. By the way, someone mentioned that GMRS is so simple it should need a lot of explaining. Well, I've been involved in firearms for over 60 years (first .22 rifle on my 10th birthday). While I would never claim to "know it all", I do know a lot. So, to me it's all pretty simple stuff. But when a newbie shows up on a forum the last thing you want to do is prove how superior you are by saying things like "it's so simple even a caveman can do it" (yea, I have read that exact comment). People don't now what they don't know. The smart ones ask. The smartassed one's respond with distain. But fear not, I shall continue to ask "stupid" questions, even when I am no longer stupid.

I agree with what has been said, it's a desense issue. Even the Wouxun KG-100G radios suffer from this without either seperating the two radios and antennas or using a good quality and properly tuned duplexer. You can make a repeater with any two radios but you will need a good duplexer for the setup to work properly. We are running a Bridgecom repeater setup for GMRS and we did not trust the duplexer that comes installed with it. We went with a good quality four can duplexer that we properly tuned for the repeater channel we are using. Duplexers are like coax cable and antennas. Buy the best quality that you can afford.

Definitely check the duplexer, but desensing can occur simply because you have shielding on the two individual transceivers that isn’t up to service in a repeater. Those two radios were not necessarily designed to be operated immediately next to each other. Separating them and placing them into metal boxes will reveal if that’s the case.

first repeater i built had a similar problem.. Turned out the Duplexer was FU out of the box. BuyTwoWayRadios quickly replaced the duplexer.. Check each radio without duplexers in simplex if your getting good range on both radios then suspect duplexer. Also helps to do your power level checks from radio, patch cords, duplexer, antenna input. Process of elimination Good luck

2-3 watts is nothing to worry about. How did you check your RF power output? With a meter in-line with an Antenna connected or a Power Terminator connected? If you're using a Power Terminator make sure it measures out at 50 ohms for an accurate reading. Having an antenna connected is not the most accurate method because of the reflected power.

Swr below 2 is fine. Sorry to here about the midland but yes on most radios the actuall wattage is less buy 10% or more then advertised

While you might be controlling access to your servers, you will still be using other networks, either internet or phone, to connect to GMRS repeaters. Last time I checked a server still connects to the internet and accepts connections from the internet. Again you will still using other networks to connect to GMRS repeaters, which is not allowed.

Well....I'm sitting almost exactly 30 miles from the top of Mt Bachelor here in Central Oregon. I was setting up one of my mobile radios with a MTA 26 antenna and noted that I was hearing 'ski chatter'. We're getting some good snow today and there are folks up on the mountain making the most of it. You can actually see the mountain from my house (when it's clear), so no real surprise, but I can bet they are all using blister pack HT's! Turned on one of my CCR's (UV-5G Plus) and was still hearing it with that although a tad more crackly. So yeah! A little altitude and a clear line of sight does a 'lot' for communications. There's a HAM repeater on top of that pile of dust, but not a GMRS repeater. Not that I'm too worried as I am a licensed HAM, but even so. Would be useful to have both options!! Image below taken with one of my long lenses. you can see the chair lift to the peak.

yea you are correct. I'm not familiar with that RA87 radio.. Does it have a built in controller? My portable repeater is built with two Maxons in a FAT 50 ammo can.. I placed a section of sheet metal pop rivited to the can to separate the radios and the duplexer mounted outside of the can, never had defensing. Prior to the Maxons i used two KG1000's with no issues. One of my ham friends told me to separate the duplexer with a shield as well, didn't have room in the can so i mounted it outside of the can... I know members here have had issues with desensing with the KG1000 and moving the radios mere inches solved the problem.

Desense... There is more to a repeater than just duck-taping two radios together.

Yeah, the mention of a "node" is pretty much a dead giveaway...

The main thing is that it works for you and your situation. We strive for the lowest SWR but as long as you are 2.0 and below it will work. I definitely could use my Comet SBB-1 for 2m, 70cm and GMRS since the highest SWR on all three bands is 1.8. Its at 1.8 at 467 and 1.5 or below for 462 and the 2m and 70cm bands. But I like having a separate dual band radio and GMRS radio in my vehicle. The Tram 1174 needed to be cut/tuned for GMRS but it too works well. The SWR on the Tram is 1.4 at 467 MHz and 1.2 at 462 MHz. I would love to run the Comet 2x4SR on my Ford Escape but it is too tall to fit into my garage or any of the parking garages when I go to the VA.

I live in a port town. For my entire life I have driven past a marine electronics store. Not needing "marine" electronics (radar, sonar, gps and its predecessor LORAN, and of course radios). I never had a need to visit. But as it turns out the store carries all sorts of GMTS, FRS and HAM equipment. And not just for boats. i called yesterday and found out that not only do they have probably everything you find all your needs met in one place. Plus and more importantly, they are more than to share decades of knowledge and experience. Heading down tomorrow with a list of needfuls and more importantly a list of questions.

he is socially rheet-hard-ed and is not able to relate/to or emphasize with other humans. he is seriously defective.

I had one and it worked fine.. but unless it has some feature that you need that the Retevis RT97 does not have, you should consider it also.

What is Wrong with YOU ? Why do you have to act like an Ass, every time someone makes a normal statement ? BE NICE, it really Doesn't hurt.

The REAL fun will begin when the temps start rising and we get some Tropo Ducting happening, along with some solar flares ! then 100-200mile hops will become commonplace.

That didn't come up in my google search. Thanks Steve

By the way, here is a glossary from ARRL: https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Education/HRLM Online Glossary.pdf Unfortunately “desense” isn’t in the glossary but it is in Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desensitization_(telecommunications)

To some extent yes but you are less likely to do so if you are in the same area than across the continent, at least locally you can and are supposed to check for local traffic before keying up.

Generally, This forum has a lot of people willing to help and answer your questions. So no harm in asking. Another, and additional, resource to help you in learning is to enter the keyword you are interested in the search bar of this forum. Everyone comes here with different experience and their own knowledge base. So it's very likely someone already started a thread about a topic you may be interested in. And, great answers are already posted on the forum. However some topics have not been addressed and asking the question never hurts.

Hello everyone my name is Mark WRWN809 I thought i would start a introduction thread. I live in Kentwood and I am the owner of the Kentwood 462.675 repeater and founder of West Michigan GMRS. I am also Net control for the West Michigan GMRS Friday night net and Kent county Skywarn Liaison and Net control during severe weather on the WMTG Moline 462.600 repeater. Currently use a Wouxun KG1000G+ paired with a Comscope DB420.

Desense is short for “desensitization” which is what happens when the very sensitive receiver circuits are exposed to a very strong transmitter signal. Because a repeater must transmit at the same time as it receives the receiving circuitry is overwhelmed and deafened, just like forgetting to wear ear protection when shooting. In a professionally designed repeater the transmitter and receiver circuitry is isolated from each other to prevent desense.

I built a repeater out of (2) Retevis RA87 40W Mobile Radios, Duplexer, and GMRS Fiberglass Base Antenna on my house. I should be able to hit it with my HT or my 50W Mobile in the truck. For some reason it’s only picking up in less than 0.50 miles of the house. Ground elevation is 4870 Feet mount on roof maybe 17-20 feet above ground. What could my issue be?

Thanks, that was good information. Even the 18" Abbree didn't give up anything to the Nagoya 771. There aren't many other 42" or 47" HT antennas to compare them to, but they showed a major boost over the 15" Nagoya. He did note that if left folded, the antenna would eventually develop a memory and become floppy. The whole point is to have something I can leave folded in a box or bag to whip (See what I did there? ) out when I want it. I don't know if that's a deal-breaker; I'll have to consider it. If being "a little floppy" doesn't significantly impair its signal, I probably won't care. In the military (long, long ago) the "tape measure" whips we had on the PRC-77s flopped around like spaghetti but they seemed to work okay.

And not everyone lives in the wide open desert where it is flat. Our GMRS repeater antennas are at 400 feet above ground and our 70cm repeater antennas are at 900 feet above ground. We get around a 30-35 mile radius range on both. Again due to local terrain and lots of forested areas. In comparison, our 2m repeater antennas are on the same tower and also at 900 feet above ground. We get around 80-85 mile radius range on 2m. This clearly shows the difference between UHF and HVF. If it was a height issue then we would see better coverage with the 70cm repeater than the GMRS repeater. But both have the same coverage. We actually encourage that type of use on our repeater. Most families won't "rag chew" for hours on end so it's not an issue. Most of us get a big kick out of listening to one of our member's grandson when he gets on the repeater to talk to Grammy and Papa. The kid is only about 8 years old and does a great job with using proper etiquette on the repeater.

Because a 1/2 wave or 5/8 wave antenna will always perform better than a 1/4 wave antenna. And I do have a Comet 2x4SR that I use on the back of my SxS and it works great with my 20 watt GMRS and 20 watt dual band radios. The MXTA26 and any 1/2 or 5/8 wave antenna will do better than a shorter 1/4 wave antenna. I can tell a definite difference going from a Comet SBB-1 to the 2x4SR or the Tram 1174 to the 2x4SR

I ran a ut72g ontop of an excavator for half a year. Switched to an mxta26 and instantly thought "wow" I can hear airband a good bit better now, and I could hear the cheap frs radios the construction workers used with broken off antennas way better.... seemed to just have an overall better receive. I cant PROVE this, but this is my perceived experience with the ut72g.

If anyone other than a family member operating under the repeater owners license the repeater must self ID using the repeater’s owners call sign.

As mentioned, you need a GMRS license. And depending what type of repeater build out you want, about $800 to $2500 is nice to have laying around.

I did find that the Midland Ghost performed as well, or perhaps just a little better, but it's only useful on GMRS. I didn't compare the UT-72 head-to-head with the UT-72G, but my subjective sense is that there's not much difference in performance on GMRS. At least, I can't hit my local GMRS repeater any further away with one or the other and I get good signal reports with both. As far as getting something better for not much more money, that was kind of my point. I did spend more money on some other antennas. Heck, I bought a Larsen 2/70 and while it's spectacular on 2m and 70cm, its SWR on 467 is so high that I'm afraid to even key up, so for my purposes, it's not "better". The Comet SBB-2 is a good antenna but its SWR on 2m ran closer to 2:1 than 1.5:1, so perhaps almost as good, but also not better. Maybe under different conditions, I'd notice that its transmission characteristics were inferior to some others, but I haven't yet. I'm not touting it as "the greatest antenna ever" but it certainly has a place, IMO. As I said, I put the NMO-72 on my car and so far, it has done everything I've asked of it. "Good enough" is a valid concept.

Yeah, with a mag mount, you're pretty much stuck with what you have. Plus, I don't like having to route the antenna through the door or window. Range and coverage don't seem to be issues where I live -- I either get good signal or I don't, and the antenna doesn't matter much. Obviously, that will vary. The one point I will concede to the "cheap Chinese junk" crowd is that QC can be spotty. However, if I get one and it works, that's all I need.

Well heck,, let me try. Good afternoon passenger, welcome aboard flight GMRS 10-100 to Egypt. We are currently pushing back from gate 462/625 and should begin our taxi towards runway 467.625 momentarily. Please ensure that your seatbelts are fastened, your seat backs and tray tables are in their upright and locked positions, and your carry-on luggage is stowed securely under the seat in front of you or in the overhead bins. Please say Hi to our Guest WSHH504 in route to 10-98 in Bum F*ck our final destination. .

I have them in all our rigs coupled with 20w radios 60-100 miles happens every day of the year no issues what so ever. to answer your question, some want an nmo mount yes. And that’s fine but what I’ve found with gmrs, jeeps, 2a items and many other things in life the people with money love to spend it then tell other people their stuff is junk. It happens here all the time, it happens with jeep people and others ect…. ive got many hobbys that I spend every extra minute partaking of. I spend 2-3 thousand dollars a month on those hobbys gmrs isn’t one of them. Gmrs is a tool that I want to spend as little as possible and still have it work for me every day. I’ve figured out how to spend very little and get way more range than most people and the ut 72 is a big part of that.

Why? Just announce your call sign when using the repeater and make sure every one else does as well. No id o Matic needed. Then but the saved money into a better repeater.

Very nice job. I absolutely agree though, I would probably loose this radio and contribute to the unlicensed use of GMRS by woodland creatures

this is geared to de-regulate the big TV/telecom/internet industry and will have zero impact on GMRS.. So to the folks that think this is their gate to 'heaven' to loosen the rains on GMRS,, think again, the FCC will not waste a second reading letters that we need Linking, etc..

There can be more than one repeater on the same frequency. If they are near each other, with overlapping coverage areas, then they will usually each use different CTCSS tones to access them. If this is the case, then you would program your radio with the same frequencies on 2 different channels, but have your transmit set to use the correct tone frequency for each. If they do not use a tone on the output of the repeater, then, as mentioned in the above post, you will hear all traffic on either one. If they do use a tone on their output, then you would program than into your receive tone setting for each channel. That way you will only hear the traffic through the repeater on the channel you select.

As long as you use the Abbree brand, you'll see some performance improvements. Sent from my SM-S911U1 using Tapatalk

There’s nothing wrong with you talking to people using your GMRS radio. Have fun and welcome to the forum.

Hahaha yeh if you lived on a lake or the desert. You gmrs users who speak like this make all of us who live in the more wooded foothills scratch our heads. We are lucky to get 4 or 5 miles simplex on a good day.

You may want to check your spam filter.

This whole thread amazes me. I had zero trouble. It took like 10min total all on the first try. But I read instructions before I start something. An average adult witu basic skills should be able to use the fcc web site no problem. What is wrong with people.

We need to get FRS off of 15-22 for starters. Then we need dedicated repeater frequency pairs that are not shared with simplex. Then we need the fcc to enforce the rules that are already in place.