WRAK968
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Posts posted by WRAK968
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So in theory yes it would work and I have done similar for SAR work. In actual use it didn't work well at all. Most simplex repeater modules receive the audio, record it then re-transmit the audio. The issue we ran into is that delay time. If in an area where others can't hear the input of one use they don't know you are talking and you don't know if they are due to delays. While it did work ok for general messages "CREWS REPORT TO COMMAND" it was almost useless for routine conversations and use. At the end of the day we built a small pelican case 5 watt repeater that does what we needed.
Guess it really depends on your needs. If you plan to have conversations I don't think its efficient. If its for a "i need help" scenario then its probably going to be OK. The other possible solution would be to put a small but efficient repeater at your future in laws house. Done right its not going to look bad and would work well.
I missed the part where he was using store and forward comms >.< though he does talk about using repeater input and output so its a little confusing. I still feel a semi-duplex system would be better (One RX radio and one TX radio) for what he wants.
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Hello all, I’ve been a ham since 2002 so I’m familiar with radio. My wife doesn’t really want her ham license so this is a good alternative to have some radio fun with my wife. I’ve recently discovered allstar and been having a blast with that and making nodes. As most of you know there is a gmrs version of allstar or similar that I’m going to try real soon. I work out of state so talking with my wife out of state via a couple nodes will be super fun. The only thing that I’m curious on is ID’ing. Since the node will Id for us do we still have to both say the call sign?
Thanks and look forward to learning
WREN812
Your best bet is to talk to Rich, the owner of the site. I believe he operates the server for the GMRS side. I know thats where my repeater is linked to. As for ID requirements, both of you would have to send the callsign out as you may still be talking over the airwaves. This ensures that users on both ends know you are licensed to be on the air and should there be a problem with equipment, can reach out to you with those concerns.
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I have built a repeater out of two TK880's. The solution is simple, but not as simple as plugging in an RJ45 jumper.
I used a surecom repeater controller with an adapter. They make them specifically for the TK880 series radio. The surcom plugs into the RX radios ext speaker port on the back, and plugs into the TX radios mic port on the front. No soldering needed, all plug and play. Personally I wouldn't use any radio thats hard wired to your POV as it could kill the battery if operated for too long. I bought a 130Ah deep cycle battery meant for trolling motors and that ran the repeater for 4 days of use. Of course you will need a duplexer that can do a majority of the 462/467 span. Those types of duplexers typically have de-sense with any power levels over 25 watts so youll want to use the standard 25W unit over the 40W "H" model. The nice thing about that is if you go to an area and there is heavy traffic on your channel, you can change the channel at the push of a couple buttons to any of the 8 repeater pairs. By using the "OST" option, you can have control over tone pairs, even using split tones if you wish.
Finally, Kenwood mobiles have a duty cycle of 20%. I believe this extends to about 40% on low power which I have set at 10W. If you wish I can send you pictures of the completed project and a list of parts I used. Message me your e-mail address and I'll send it over. -
Depending on the firmware, the KPG-49D should be what you need. There is a firmware that requires passport software. This can be determined by watching the screen as you turn on the radio. If you have firmware 1.5xxx chances are you have passport firmware. This is easily fixed by reflashing the newest firmware through Fpro which is included with the 49D software. As far as I am aware (And I may be wrong on this) the 880's are incompatible with CHiRP.
I think I got my 49D from hamfiles for free. If you have an account there you should be able to download the file there. If you need the firmware feel free to message me and I'll send it over. -
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So a few weeks ago I took my repeater offline due to transmitter issues. I run a RKR1225 (rack mount version of the GR1225) and of course this repeater is known for its issues with burned out finals in the PA. At the time the unit was putting out .1W of its 25W of power. I didn't have time to pull the unit from the rack and disassemble the shelf so for a bit, out of wanting to protect components, I just shut the repeater off.
Fearing a PA failure I was in no rush to dismantle anything until I knew I could get the parts or ship it out to a shop for repairs. When the time came earlier this week, I contacted a shop who said I needed to confirm the PA had not already been replaced as they couldn't repair an already repaired amp. So I pulled the shelf from the rack and began to dismantle it so I could remove the radio body, however when I removed the TX jumper from the radio, I found that the coax had failed, separating from the connector. From just looking at it you couldn't tell, but everything, the center pin and the shield, had come apart and simply slid out of the end of the connector and rest in my hand!!
Concerned the PA may have been damaged because of this, I found a crap jumper I had set aside when I was given the double shielded jumper. I ran it through the meter and into a dummy load and behold, TX power returned to 25W! A little more testing, including the duplexer showed everything was working fine. I figured I would test the coax separately with a test meter for coax and sure enough it showed high resistance and feedback in the little 1' jumper.In the end I purchased 2 jumpers, a bit longer than the one I was replacing as I believe the older one could have been pulled on during install. I replaced both the RX and TX jumpers with LMR240 coax and the result is that not only did the TX power come back, but the range extended a little bit as well.
This is just a reminder that even the simplest of things such as a jumper can mimic larger more costly problems. I believed it was going to be nearly $150 to repair the repeater and I even considered just replacing the unit with one that could run 50W on a 100% duty cycle. All I really needed was a $15 jumper to replace the one that failed. For those of us diagnosing issues for repairs we need to keep in mind that its not always the common problem causing the issue, and we need to make sure we always check the simple stuff we often overlook such as jumpers which are not a common failure point.
- rdunajewski, berkinet and RCM
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Sorry just popped in here and saw there was a reply,
"The E will go away when i add /delete from scan list."
This is just an indicator. I think older units used E or 3 to show it was in the scan list while newer units showed a triangle. Little confusing I understand but at least the problem was solved
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Welcome Mr New Guy
Not all radios will let you do split codes. I believe Midland radios fall into this where I dont believe you can run both codes at once.
There are radios you can use, for instance my Kenwood allows split tones through the programing software, however Im not sure the FPP would let me input split codes. -
My current repeater is actually two Kenwood TK-800s
I fallowed this for the RX radio and poped our an RJ-45 out the back of the radio.
http://n0keg.com/index.php/2017/10/02/kenwood-tk-880-as-a-receiving-radio-for-a-repeater/
The controller is just a Raspberry PI running open repeater, I forget what kind of pi I used as I had it laying around.
The TX radio is completely Unmodified, and has ran solid for over two years
Here’s some old pictures of it getting built and where it is now, the duplex is also different now then in the pictures
The only downside to this is that it looks like there is quite a bit of soldering to be done, both inside a radio and externally. The surecom is just plug and play and about the same price as all the components and the pi itself. Guess its a matter of ease of setup and what features you would like.
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I believe the KTC 19 was designed for external I/O triggers (Horn alert and computer hookup for text and data traffic)
However, I have just built a portable repeater using 2 TK880's so its an easy question to answer. I used a surecom 629 repeater controller which is lightweight and designed for portable repeater use. It even has an internal battery to power itself with if you don't have a way to power it directly. The real selling point for the surecom was that they make a plug and play kit for the 880 series radios. the RX end plugs into the speaker port, the TX plugs into the mic port of the TX radio. The entire set-up including a USB charger for the surecom and duplexer all fit into a box the size of an ammo can.Equipment used:
2 TK880 radios (one RX, one TX and note the TX radio should be run at low power to increase the PA's life during continuous operations)
1 surecom 629 repeater controller2 surecom 48-k1 cables (one for RX one for TX)
1 Celwave UHF duplexer (flat pack)
1 GDS tech USB charger 3A (For keeping the surecom powered during long term operations)
1 6 post fuse block from Autozone
1 Zjelen XHP20 2 pole power connector (to pass power into the box while keeping it waterproof)various jumpers and wires for running power and connecting the duplexer.
1 waterproof box from walmart about the size of an ammo canwireing up the unit is straight forward. I used the fuse block to supply +12V to each radio (each radio has its own fuse) and one post to power the USB charger. I mounted the celwave duplexer first, then using dual lock velcro (the heavy duty stuff) mounted each radio, then the surecom controller.
The cellwave used BNC inputs so I snipped off the SO259 ends from the TK880's and soldered on BNC males so the radios plug directly into the duplexer, less connectors and wire = less loss. I then ran a short length of low loss jumper wire to add in a bulkhead "N connector for the antenna. This allows me to operate the repeater with the box closed, thus keeping the unit waterproof. I just ran all the connections, did a little cable management, and I was set. I get about 9.5W out on low power, and about 23.8W out on high power (high power can be used but should be intermittent to prevent PA failure or overheat, remember these radios have a 20-80 duty cycle, thats 20% or 12 minutes TX and 80% or 48 minutes resting per hour on high.)
Outside of the build, you will need an antenna, coax, and a good deep cycle battery. I tried an 18Ah battery I use as a backup but I found I only got about 14 hours use if that. So I upgraded to a trolling motor battery which I think was 150Ah, I plan to test that out this week. NEVER USE YOUR CARS MAIN STARTING BATTERY!!! It'll drain it quick and you'll be stuck with a dead car.
I know its a lot of info but I hope this all helps.
**edit** For some reason MyGMRS says I do not have permission to post pictures here, not sure why. If you would like to see what the finished product looks like feel free to message me and Ill see if I can send em that way! -
The aux repeaters would have an input of 462.500 and output of 467.700 and just extend the main repeaters reception,
The main issue I see here is that you could inadvertently cause an unlicensed user using a bubble pack radio to transmit on a repeater without knowing it. Another way of doing it would be to use RoIP which would link two repeaters together over the internet. This is how my system is set up, or was, Just went down due to a PA failure
The nice thing is that users are still required to transmit on the 467.xxx frequencies which means the bubble pack radios won't become a nuisance on the repeaters themselves. -
Hello and Welcome to MyGMRS.
GMRS repeaters are typically duplex, thus you would transmit on 467.xxxx and receive on 462.xxxx.
NTT is 141.3 if I recall.
Not sure how you would set up your radio. I guess the easiest way to set it up is to program it by computer, (which you should be doing to keep compliance of part 95) Each radio, even within the same brand, can have very different programming steps.
You wont always hear the repeater when you key up unless you are listening with a second radio. Again, this varys by repeater model and the settings that were programmed. My repeater lets you hear a beep when you unkey, some have a tail, others just shut off as soon as you unkey -
Couple things to check in the software. First, under "scan information" make sure you check the box that says "off-hook scan" This allows the radio to scan despite your mic not having an off hook detector, or if your using a base, it'll scan even though the mic isn't in a clip. Also make sure "Revert Channel Display" is UNCHECKED.
In the "Channel Information" window, ensure the channels you wish to scan have "Scan add" set to Add. Note, the TK880 will only scan channels in the same group by default. If you wish to scan all channels regardless of the group, change the "Group scan" setting to multi (Found in scan information)
I think that'll clear the "E" and instead just say "Scan" Note this is for the 49D software, if your using other software you may have different procedures to do.
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Thank you for your service and Welcome to MyGMRS. When you get into ham radio you may be interested in getting your HF privileges, (180M-10M) This would also allow you access to join MARS which I think is still kicking around. While most ham gear cannot be used for commercial/FRS/MURS/GMRS use there are some commercial radios that can be tuned down to access both ham and part 95 bands.
One thing to do before you build your radio empire is to figure out what you want to do with it. I have a 2 repeaters, one of which is linked and can connect to other repeaters in the US. One is portable for use during camping and special events. I picked up several mobiles and portables, one for each person/car that uses the system. Everything, aside from the linked repeater, is Kenwood. I mostly use 880/380's as they were reasonably cheap at the time. Some radios have features that others don't. Just figure out what you want in a radio and go from there. Sometimes you wont even need to spend over $100 per radio. Aside from the repeater, all of my radios were under $55 and all of them work just as well as the newer models just without the bells and whistles like 2tone paging or trunking or encryption or digital modes. (the last three aren't even allowed on GMRS so why pay more if you cant use them?)
Look forward to your formally joining the MyGMRS family. Im sure you have some interesting radio stories to share with us here -
I dont know much about the MXT 400, I do know there are other reviews on the site, some good, some not so much. I can say the Kenwood 880 is a strong commercial and emergency service radio that was used for years. They were designed for abuse and can take it. I also found the kenwoods are a little less cost wise if you do your research correctly. I purchased all of the mobiles at about $40 per radio, one for each vehicle, one base camp radio, and 2 for a portable repeater project I am doing. The portables were about $55 each since I had to buy new batteries and antennas. Still less than the MXT400's price of $250.
Kenwood 880H (the 40 watt model) usually go for around 75-100, but even those you can get deals on.
The nice thing about the 880/380's is that there are extra features on them. One feature we use is the texting feature. I've programmed 14-15 status messages using fleetsync and we can use them to text one another or the entire group. Fleetsync also allowed for Radio ID, which allows me to see who's calling even if they don't talk on the radio.
One last thing, if I recall, the MXT does not allow you to store repeater information on the radio. You'll need to change the settings for each repeater you may use, or each time you change the channel. The Kenwood stores the frequencies into channels so you can have 5 different repeaters on one frequency using 5 different codes, and all you do is press up or down to change between them which is nice when your driving and cant watch the radio and the road at the same time. Im sure there are some pros to the MXT400 radio, but I couldnt tell ya any off the top of my head. -
Well, For one, neither of those radios are part 95 or 90 accepted if I recall. The issue is they could transmit on wider bandwidth than allowed and off frequency which, if a complaint is sent in could land you in hot water.
Personally I use Kenwood radios, (880 mobiles, 380 portables) and a RKR1225 repeater. The repeater is mostly to extend portable coverage as I havn't gotten permission to build a small tower. Currently the antenna is about 15' off the ground and I can get a range to the north of about 2 miles at 25W. To the south, I get about 8-10 miles range at the same power level.
Im sure your a bit confused about why this is happening. I know I was. Turns out to the north there is a slight hill, only about 20 feet higher than my house. But once I go past the hill, the signal slowly weakens. To the south is the bay, then some trees. It all sits lower than my house so the signal gets out much further.
Not really knowing your area, things like hills and such can have an affect on your signal. You also mentioned the antenna being on the second floor. If the antenna is inside you are cutting your signal in half at best. You may also have a ground plane issue as well if the antenna isn't mounted on something metal. (Funny thing about ground planes, even when manufacturers state a ground plane isn't needed, I find they still work better when connected to one.)
So there's your homework, Get the antenna outside and above the house and study the terrain. If you have small hills, getting the antenna on the roof may resolve all of your problems. If the hills are slightly taller, you can consider attaching a small TV antenna support structure to raise your antenna a little bit. Anything over 10 feet over the roof line and you may want to think about an actual tower. -
**Note, I've updated my comment, didnt notice the video didnt load, sorry about that
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There are a couple of linked groups out there. I know of a couple near Phoenix, A friend of mine is part of this group here, https://www.azgmrs.org/welcome.php?s=f8eaf7e057b0f6b6bdb36667186361b6
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Admittedly I know little about tuners other than they fix the impedance mismatch. It will NOT fix SWR due to antenna mismatch, and can still cause issues with equipment. This is why we must still roughly cut antennas to a particular band before using it. Easiest way to explain it is to watch an elmer talk about tuners. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibAIDNcPKh8
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Well, older equipment might be the way, or part 90 cheapo radios (Not sure if the Baofeng 777 is part 90 cert anymore)
I use Kenwood 380's. You can usually find them on Ebay. I think I got mine for around 30 per radio, (3 radios, 2 chargers) Software is available for free on hamfiles. Simple programming and strong radios. -
Not that I know of, Most motorola radios use propitiatory software and hardware for programing. The cost alone (if you could find the software/hardware for it) would negate any upgrades in power you would be able to do. I would think you would have more luck selling them on E-bay and purchasing a whole new set of radios. Would be much cheaper IMO.
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In any case, as soon as I can free up $400 I'm going to order one. If I have to put it on my bench and re-tune it with my service monitor, so be it...
IDK, for $400, to only get 10 watts, I rather put together my own repeater using a pair of TK880's or M1225's then I have options to run 10-25/25-40 watts and still have $ left for the feedline and antenna. -
Speaking of TK-880, Type 1 is 450-490 MHz and certified as Part 95 radio. https://criticalradio.com/Kenwood%20Spec%20Sheets/Data%20Sheets/TK780h_880h_ver2_k.pdf
I stand corrected, Type 1 is 450-490 Type 2 is 485-512 and type 3 is the 400-430 (not sure why they went in that order) Thus you would need a TK880 type 1 radio.
Thanks for the correction Axorlov, good catch
Any thoughts on ICOM gear?
in Equipment Reviews
Posted
I use Icom VHF radios at work all the time. Never had any issues with them and they are much older models. They outlasted the motorola radios by years.
As for the F6011, It likely has the same duty cycle as other heavy duty mobile radios, that being about 20% on high power. Icom does not outright come out and say this, but the cooling fins look to be about the same size as those on the Kenwood 8180's. One important note is that the Kenwoods are 30W radios and the icom is a 45W, which could reduce the duty cycle, but knowing Icom I would say 20% is reasonable to expect. Thats my input at least so you may wish to wait till a diehard Icom user or tech comes in.