Since my September 8, 2023 post above we've grown from 1 repeater in the Florida Keys to 5. And all of the gear for number 6 has been purchased.
Comet 712EFCs have remained our antenna of choice here in the Keys. We have one up the Key West (mile marker 0), Cudjoe Key (mile marker 23) and Marathon (mile marker 50) locations. We have a J-pole up at mile marker 68, but we're sticking with the Comet 712EFCs for our repeaters in Tavernier and then further north in Key Largo.
The "Grand Pooba" antennas of our repeater network are a couple of CommScopes up in Miami. Those cost 10 times as much new. We are regularly hitting Miami on RF from both the Marathon and Cudjoe Key QTHs. Occasionally, Key West will also hit them. SWRs are well within acceptable ranges on all of the Comet 712s.
Bottom line: the Comet 712EFC are lightweight, easy to set up, easy to take down and good talkers that deliver bang for the buck.