Radioguy7268

Somewhere, someone's looking at the top 30 ft. of that tower & thinking... yeah, I can re-use that.

Asterisk (which serves as the backbone to the All*Star based Internet linking) was originally set up as a phone system, so it wants to use dial strings to set up links and direct traffic. I have gone down this path a little before, and I did not desire to have a bunch of radios running around with DTMF keypads to control the network links. It makes much more sense for me to have a setup where Channel 1 is my local repeater, Channel 2 links my local to a distant repeater for a specific user group, and then Channel 3 to link a distant repeater to an "All Call" type of wide area group. That way any user can simply switch channels to operate the system as needed. If I understand Taco's OP - that's what he's trying to achieve via PL tones. On the high end - you can go with a commercial system like the JPS ACU Z-1 - which is very flexible, programmable, and expensive. Their system is a card based design, so you can interface different formats (ethernet/private LAN, Internet, Leased Lines, Local, microwave E&M, etc.) as needed. On the lower end, Trident Microsystems (out of business since Motorola swallowed them up) used to make an LTR controller called the Marauder which would allow for automated "dial up" Linking of sites via tones or user groups. You can find those being sold online for less than $100 most days. The similar and more plentiful Raider panel doesn't have the dial up function. You could interface that with a very cheap and simple VoIP system like Ooma or Magic Jack to allow session based linking. It would not be fast or flexible, but it would be dirt cheap. Definitely not Public Safety grade, but it might be good enough for non-critical business use. There's also some RoIP devices made by JPS and Orion Systems that would allow you to interface subscriber devices (end-user radios, not Repeaters) and as long as you were willing to dedicate some radios to the cause, you could achieve user group linking (Multiple user groups and multiple repeater sites would involve ever-increasing numbers of dedicated radios with internet links.) I've seen a few instances of that - but never built one out myself. The cheapest and easiest is to run All-Star. The limitations are known, but you're not re-inventing the wheel for a one-off.

2 things I can think of. The cables rarely go bad - unless it's physical (bent/broken pins, cut cable). Do you have any other programs open that could have taken up a port? Sounds like a port conflict. Have you tried closing out other programs & restarting the PC with only the Kenwood program open?

If you're going to point out a problem, proper etiquette says you should also provide a solution. My solution is to suggest that you make the app.

It appears that the DB413 is listed as having 'either' 14 or 24 MHz bandwidth - and the DB413B is what would cover 450 to 470. Do you have the ability to sweep the antennas for response? Either model number is a good choice, the better choice IMHO is the one that sweeps the best (assuming they're both used). The dB difference between them will be seen more on talk out than talk back - and the receive side is where most Repeater systems fall short.

I sent you a PM with software info

I've got an inexpensive Hirose to SMA adapter, but I had to turn down the one I got on a lathe just so that it would slip all the way into the chassis hole/cutout & reach all the way down to the board mounted bypass. Even then, you've still got to hold it in tight and press down with one hand while testing/tuning, not an ideal setup for trying to drive around town while working your HT. If you've seen the $300 Motorola "test fixture", it's basically a big clamp with a setup to hold the adapter in place. It works, but I still don't consider it to be practical.

I specifically sent the EVX-S24 because it has the Rodina chip with an ability to hook up an external connector. It's 'just' 2 watts on Analog, but I think in the real world it's going to perform pretty well with a Repeater. With the XPR 2nd generation variants, there's just no good/cheap/simple way to hook up an external antenna. It will still be interesting to see how the XPR7350 (yeah, no display or keypad) runs vs. some of the CCR's. The VX-261 is a conventional Superhet double conversion receiver, but with more front end filtering than you'll find on any CCR under $100. Most of the VX series radios I own, I purchased used for less than $25. I have a rental fleet with 30+ in both VHF and UHF versions. Cheap enough to rent out, reliable enough that they come back ready to just charge up for the next rental.

The wording I have seen from the FCC doesn't prohibit business use - but it does say something about "Coordinating Licensee's activities". I've seen plenty of Family Farms using GMRS. A Mall that's using a non-identified Repeater on GMRS frequencies is probably NOT a "grandfathered" activity. From what I recall, those entities that received GMRS authorizations back in the day were things like AAA traffic assistance, REACT groups, and Town Watch organizations. Have you done a search of the FCC's website in your local area for that Frequency? If they're legit, you should find a license on the frequency, even if it's held in some other entity's name (Like an operating company for the Mall). In your particular scenario, I'd be tempted to put one of my repeaters on the 462.xxx output frequency and match their PL/DPL. Then I'd start ID'ing with Morse Code every 15 minutes (with PL!) If they're a legit user, you should get a phone call pretty quickly. If they're not legit, they'll go away soon enough. Hopefully they would get a real License on an IG business band frequency.... but there's probably a reason they didn't do that to start with.

The R1225 UHF repeater came in 2 versions. A Low Power model starting with model # M04GRC***** and a Higher power version model starting with M44GRC***** The lower power version will do 1-10 watts - and do it with nearly a 100% duty cycle. Those units have a smaller heat sink on the back of the transceiver, and rarely had problems with burning up, even with heavy use. Many people used those for on-site use with Portable radios, or for driving a power amplifier to achieve higher wattage power outputs with a higher degree of reliability in high duty cycle applications. The high power versions were rated as being 50% duty cycle at 40 watts, and 100% duty cycle at "mid power" settings of 20-25 watts. Those units commonly burned up - especially if someone tried to run them at 40 watts with anything approaching 5 minute conversation times. The higher power models did have a much more substantial heat sink on them, but you still needed to have good airflow if you wanted to run them at even 25 watts for any period of time. I've seen those units burned up even when run at the lower power levels that were advertised as 100%. Motorola should never have sold the higher power version at any level above 25 watts, and they should have said even then that it was a 50% duty cycle IMHO. I would be VERY careful buying a GR1225 off Ebay if I didn't know the seller or the source of the unit. Make sure it works and transmits with advertised power! Make sure the seller accepts a return if it doesn't. The amplifiers can be repaired, but its done wrong as often as it's done right. The cost to repair a burned up unit at the local radio shop would probably equal or exceed what you paid for it.

Some operators would choose to ID every 15 minutes with no breaks as a way to advertise their "presence" on a channel. If you were trying to locate a repeater to use in your area, picking the ID off of the one you hear the best could serve as a way to put you in touch with the owner of the machine. Not everyone posts their info on MyGMRS. Also, if you're going to invest the time and money to put up a genuine high elevation repeater with good coverage area, having a constant ID would serve as a way to Mark your Territory, letting others know that you're already on that channel. Also, having a unit throwing out an ID constantly can serve a "heartbeat function", letting the owner know that there's power to the site and the transmitter is still able to transmit. Those are just 3 of the reasons I can think of, there's probably more.

In fairness, I'm going to be base-lining the units to meet advertised factory specs. I don't want these to be some type of "Super" units that have been tweaked beyond what the typical buyer would find in a used unit online. They'll be tested to perform to spec, and guaranteed to be fine examples of what's available out there in the Part 90 world of used radios. They will all have up to date Firmware, and I'll be using standard CPS software with 25 kHz Wideband entitlements. I hope to finish things up this weekend, and I'll ship them out to mbrun early next week.

Any good discussion on radio grounding and surge protection should point you to the Motorola R56 guide as required reading. I believe the latest version is over 700 pages. Copies of previous versions are available online with a quick Google search.

Where did you read that DMR was allowed on MURS? I've been of the understanding that MURS is analog only. Is this part of the Part 95 "short digital bursts" for GPS location data like what was allowed in GMRS ? I could be wrong - so feel free to enlighten me. I never sit up at night reading the FCC rules anymore. I've been under the impression that MURS still allowed some analog Wideband on just 2 channels - but not DMR. Also - is the Anytone D-578UV a Part 95 Certified radio? Is it Part 90?

I'd be willing to send you 2 of my Vertex VX-261 radios to try out. They're available online used all the time for under $100 (often under $50). I've always considered them to be a much better value than the Baofeng's. I'd be curious how they'd hold up side by side against the Wouxun. PM me with your details. There's a good chance I'd have another set of higher end units to try out if you're willing to do some extra testing.

How is the radio grounded? I'm thinking there's some flex in the vehicle as it goes into gear, and you've got a weak ground connection. Sheet metal screws through the carpet doesn't seem to be the typical mount any longer. Plastic consoles and such, combined with a magnetic mount (or similar isolated non-roof mount) antenna can cause those types of problems.

Zetron doesn't want to talk much if you're not a dealer, but I'm pretty sure they're not making the Model 37 Repeaterman anymore. Best outlet I've got for pre-made Zetron cables is MRE1032 on eBay. He will do custom cables if you can provide a pinout. If you want to do your own try taking a look here: http://www.repeater-builder.com/zetron/pdfs/zetron-37-manual.pdf

I'll grant you that I haven't actually seen one of the KG-1000G mobiles come across my bench yet. I also haven't seen a technical manual showing the circuitry. I've heard a few claims online that it has a Super Het front end - but color me suspicious. When the receiver is covering nearly all bands from DC to daylight - you can be pretty sure it's not a selective front end.

I don't really care much where a product is made. As has been said here before - CCR has simply become a shorthand for any "Radio on a Chip" design that uses the RDA1846 or a similar chip. Those radios claim to do some spectacular things, and in a way, they do. However, they don't do it very well in the Real world. The one we all live in. One where there are other radio transmitters on nearby channels. I'd much rather start with a radio that has good front end filtering and effective sensitivity combined with selectivity - than to have an FM broadcast receiver, or a flashlight. Especially if I'm building a Repeater. As for buying stuff of Ebay - yes, you do need to be more careful. However, if I bought something off Ebay that wasn't working - I'd send it back & get a refund. Ebay makes that pretty easy. Just because someone calls out a radio for being well marketed garbage doesn't mean they're a Snob, or anti-Asian. It doesn't mean they're stuck in the Stone Age or admiring the glow from vacuum tubes. It just means they've seen this movie before, and they know how it ends. Take my advice, or don't. BuyTwoWayRadios.com is marketing something. I'm giving some free advice.

Given the poor receiver selectivity of most of the CCR import radios -- I'd be really hesitant to use a Wouxun as a Repeater radio. Especially since you could buy two quality used mobile radios and do the same thing - at probably half the cost. Simply put - there's a lot of better options available to anyone who wants to run a repeater.

... and Tone would be referring to the PL (Private Line) Tone - usually expressed in Hertz (Hz).

I would NOT buy a CDM radio off eBay unless I totally trusted the seller - and/or knew exactly what I was getting. The CDM mobiles came in a few different models (Lo Band, VHF/UHF 220 Mhz) - one of which was the "LS" UHF LTR Trunking version - which was later updated into the "LS+". I believe that the LS+ was even capable of operating on Passport Networked LTR Trunking systems. There's been lots of people who have flashed the LS and LS+ models over to conventional firmware - and screwed things up. Other people have done it successfully. Which one are you dealing with? Best site I've found for in-depth CDM reference online has been the Waris page of W9CR - https://wiki.w9cr.net/index.php/Waris You can also get an education by looking over at Repeater-Builder.com or at Batlabs.

I'd be looking at the equipment used also - on both sides, in addition to a full Preventive Maintenance check as suggested above - on both systems. PL tones that are "drifting" (not holding steady to the actual tone frequency) can cause what you're describing. There's alignment that needs to take place between the transmitters and the receivers - ie: a transmitter that isn't steady is going to have trouble with talking into a repeater receiver that is too "tight" and doesn't allow for any leeway to either side of the desired tone. A receiver that is too loose is going to have the trouble you're describing - it's going to open up even when the actual PL is outside the normal "window" of desired operation. If you want to get deep into the Tone PL theory - Repeater-builder has a bunch of good write-ups on PL and DPL/DCS : http://www.repeater-builder.com/tech-info/ctcss/ctcss-overview.html The good news is, most of this was all worked out 40+ years ago, and if you're using quality equipment, it's mostly built-in. Zetron has a pretty good write up of all the details for "tuning" for proper PL decoding in the back of their Model 38 manual - copies of that manual are available online. The only times I ever spent time tuning for PL was when I was using an External Tone Panel to decode user tones.

Kenwood's dealer site has a pretty good set of training videos under "Kenwood University", but if you're not able to access that, I'm not aware of any other training type videos. Even the official training videos are more of a high level overview, rather than drilling into specifics of particular setups. I've always been a Learn by Doing type of person - but it does help me get up to speed quicker when I've got a working template to go off of. Perhaps someone with NXDN experience could share a working codeplug for one of their systems as an example?

I'd agree that trying to set up the software and program a CDM radio can be a daunting task for someone new to radios. Heck, I remember getting a call from a guy with 40+ years radio experience because he couldn't figure out the "Personality assignment to zone" feature Motorola tossed in at the bottom of the CDM programming tree (it's not a bug - it's a FEATURE!). I'm glad you found your way to used-radios.com The stuff they sell is pretty decent at prices comparable to what you might see on Ebay - but as you found out, they'll also do the programming, which can save you some money and some hassles if you really just wanted to buy a radio you can count on right away. Older Kenwood software can have some of the same issues running on newer Operating systems, but in general the Kenwood stuff is easier to acquire and use. If there is a plus, the CDM has some pretty good audio quality - and their reliability is also good. Most of the times I've seen a CDM with problems, it was because somebody was hacking around with the software. You probably won't regret your purchase once you're using the radio and making clear contacts.