[Noob attempting to hit repeater]

with a control box and a mobile duplexor, you should be able to use a hand held as the RX radio and use only one of the more expensive mobile radios as the TX for it's TX power. could save another 75 to 100, used mobile duplexors can be found on fleabay, around $100. watch out for Cheap Chinese Duplexors. If you are also a Ham, you may be able to get it tuned by another Ham for free, and maybe learn how he does it at the same time.

 

Hey now thats a slick idea. I hadnt thought about it but you really only need the power on the hot side. If you have the time, Im sure you have explained this before, but could you elaborate on what "tuning a repeater" entails?  

[Noob attempting to hit repeater]

I agree. I think GMRS is a great service and generally suits my needs as well. Some users such as myself just need general communication and most cases, GMRS covers that range. When simplex on GMRS is out of range, a GMRS repeater could be enough within town, even a bit further based on some aspects. Also with the rules allowing a callsign to cover family members, something amateur licensing doesn't do. And there's many elderly or disabled family that has no will or interest into studying for an amateur license to be legal even if the other party did they're part. I feel that the GMRS could become a more used service or progress if some users contributed. A service can't expand if no one contributes to allow it to. I may have to plan on a repeater for my town.

 

I would love to do this as well, but it seems really daunting at this stage. Finding info on wiring two mobiles together (because off the shelf seems crazy expensive) has proved very difficult. I would be ecstatic to find a way to wire two mxt400s together.

[Noob attempting to hit repeater]

Yeah, I am a little surprised by the lack of interest. It seems to fit my needs which is car to car, hunting, and camping. There probably is a better solution for what I am trying to do, I'm just unaware of it. 

[Noob attempting to hit repeater]

Guys, thank you so much for responding. I will put all your suggestions in action this evening and see what I end up with.

 

I am currently researching how to manually enter both freqs on the Baofeng, but my MXT I dont think allows for customs offsets.

 

I'm wondering too, if I am being a little too optimistic about the repeater range, or the range of my equipment. Looking at the coverage circle I'm well within the boundary, and roughly 2.5 to 3 miles from the repeater at the absolute most. Im using a 6db gain antenna on the MXT400, at full power. Seems like it would be more than enough, but if I knew what I was talking about I wouldn't need as much hand holding. 

 

Thanks so much for the help and patience. 

[Noob attempting to hit repeater]

Hey guys, Im new, and off to a bit of a rough start. I got my callsign and permission to use my local repeater, but I am unable to make contact with the repeater, and I think my settings may be the issue.

 

Gear:

Motoraola MS350R

Midland MXT400

Baofeng BF-F8HP

 

Repeater settings:

Output: 462.675 141.3hz

Input:  467.675   141.3hz

 

 I have a Midland MXT400 with the Radio tuned to GMRS20 Repeater, with the tone set to 141.3. I have my Baofeng set to 462.675, + 005.000 for offset, with both the RX and TX tones set to 141.3. With these settings I can TX to the Midland from the Baofeng, but not the other way round. Have I made a setup error? Thanks in advance for the help.