WRAK968

To add onto Berkinet's post, you should also consider what you may wish to do in the future, plus how you plan to mount the system, as well as the region where the repeater will be used. Will the repeater be strictly in one spot, or will you need portability for camping and such? Do you plan to link your repeater to the internet?

No-matter what, do your research. Plan out everything and then reevaluate that plan a couple times so your ready when you finally make purchases.

 

 

Hi Don and great question.

Really it all depends on the type of repeater that is being accessed and is really only a problem directed at the Ham community. Normal repeaters with a link or node controller will simply continue doing its thing when it receives a signal, only it wont be able to transmit to other repeaters. Not crippling, as the system is still functional, however range will be greatly reduced to only that of the repeater in use. This is true for both normal analog and digital repeaters.

There is another form of repeater that has taken off in the amateur community and deals with digital communications. Many hams use a digital hotspot at their homes to communicate with other digital users and are essentially a very low power local repeater. These hotspots typically have little range, perhaps a block or two at best, and rely souly on an internet connection to relay any traffic it receives.
 
The good thing is that emergency communications groups in both radio community's have already planed for these sorts of events. Typically digital wont be used at all unless an area wide digital repeater has been set up. Likewise, when an incident arises it is expected that power and internet will be out and thus repeaters will be unable to link, even if they are running by back-up power.

Hope this answers your question
Mike
 

Ok, pulled two UHF ID's, Both have a GC of K44, The first is 431200 and the second is 431201. Both have certification for part 22, 74, and 90. While it is not part 95E certified, as long as you do not run digital or encryption and you keep the power levels within legal limits you should be fine to use this radio.

Welcome,

Good morning and welcome to GMRS and the MyGMRS group.

The main difference between the ham radio and GMRS linked groups (Aside from using different server groups to prevent unlicensed traffic in either direction) is that Mygmrs isn't quite set up for mobile linked repeaters. Many races currently use active ham radio groups or local emergency service radios for traffic relay. This is because these groups are set up for emergency remote radio operations and many times use VHF simplex to achieve their goals. in my years as an EDS operator, I can only think of one time where we set up a repeater, and that was because of a large forest fire in southern NJ where a NJFS tower was affected. Any other time, whether it be at an evac site, or during a race event, or even when we followed a group across the state for their march to DC, we always used VHF FM simplex for comms.

It could be useful for perhaps camping, where one group may wish to communicate back home to a base repeater, but thats really the only extent I can see a mobile linked GMRS repeater being used. Even then, there are other means of comms that could be used, such as Zello links, since lets face it, if your in a location without cell service, theres little to no chance your node would work either.


Now all that being said (and the boring stuff aside) The build you want is rather simple and the method I'll give is plug and play. You'll need 2 M1225 radios, flat pack duplexer, Rim-lite maxtrac repeater cable (note this is different from the standard rim-lite maxtrac cable as it should have two connectors), Pi and associated cables and parts, USB charger capable of 5+ amps continuous output, Slimjim antenna and coax, container to install everything in, and a really good battery to power everything for at least a couple days without recharge. You'll likely also need a mobile hotspot as well if you plan to be remote.

Start by programming the two M1225's. The TX radio should be set to low power (20W) This does three things, prevents de-sense in the duplexer, reduces the chances of burning out the finals on the radio due to extended transmit times, and extends battery life by reducing power draw. Once completed, attach your jumpers for the duplexer, and install the rim lite modules making sure not to reverse the connections. Attach the rim lite USB cable to the pi. wire in the radios, and the USB charger to the battery. Connect USB charger to the Pi, (This is how the Pi will get power to operate) Connect the RX/TX radio jumpers to the duplexer, attach coax to the duplexer and antenna to the coax.

Its a simple enough build with the only weak point being the battery as they are either overly expensive, or weigh so much that it makes the system much less portable. The battery I use for my portable repeater (Not linked) is meant for trolling motors on boats. It was about $250, and I was able to get about 2 days of use out of it before voltage dropped below 11VDC. The battery weighs about 25lbs.

Your better off using the KPG software, Check your PM's, I'll be messaging shortly.

Reading through the posts, I believe you are asking if you need to use a repeater output channel, or if you could use another channel in the GMRS line-up.

The answer is, if you know a channel is used by a repeater and you do not wish to use that channel, you can use another of the 22 GMRS channels for simplex (radio to radio) communications.

On my familys radio set, I have set up three quick reach channels preset with tones and such.
1: Repeater 462.675 (code) 467.675 (code)
2: Talk 1       462.675(code) 462.675 (code)
3: Talk 2       462.550(code) 462.550 (code)

It is important to note, the first 7 GMRS channels are limited to 5W max power, and channels 8-14 are limited to half a watt so if you program these channels be sure to use the proper TX power settings.

I had a simular incident in Stafford NJ with Monoc ambulance bleeding over onto Ch 21 if you were 5 miles or less from the hospital. At the time monoc was using 463xxxx (I dont remember the exact number) Two things can cause this issue. 1 would be the extra high 200W output from their repeater to cover the southern end of the county as well as Burlington and Atlantic county's. This overdrives the front end of a near by UHF radio using a frequency close to the one the transmitter is on. The other would be frequency deviation where the transmitter begins to transmit off frequency enough to bleed onto other frequency's.
 
Most likely its a GMRS repeater that users are not using their calls on. Without being able to hear the traffic and knowing the area and whats around, kinda hard to speculate who is using it.

Also note that this is theoretical. I have a repeater mounted about 30' up. Going north, it loses signal about 3 miles out due to a large hill in that direction. To the south I easily get 8-10 miles reliably, and I've had reports of people reaching the repeater nearly 45 miles away from me, though only in particular spots. 
 
Terrain isn't the only issue that reduces range. Large buildings, high voltage transmission lines, and high RF environments tend to further diminish signals unless professional grade stuff is used. One thing I will say is if you get a flat pack duplexer, be sure to upgrade that first before switching to larger antennas. I found that each repeater I set up that started with flat pack duplexers, even the high quality ones like Celwave, often saw a 20-40% increase in range. I also found that by using 25W instead of 40W that the repeater seems to get the same range while being able to detect weaker signals from portables at longer distances.
 
 

Look into a Band pass/band reject duplexer. I found that despite terrain, switching from the flatpacks to BP/BR duplexers usually increased range quite a ways.
 
 

As KB2ZTX mentioned the repeater alone will not get you into the net. You would also need one of these:
https://shop.mygmrs.com/collections/repeaters-and-accessories/products/repeater-linking-bundle
 
This unit connects your repeater to the internet and into the GMRS server, allowing you to operate on the network. Due to simplex (radio to radio) operations not needing a license, Rich does not want simplex nodes being set up everywhere that anyone can tie into which is why you would be required to have a repeater.
 
As for repeaters themselves, I prefer the Motorola GR1225/RKR1225 (Its the same unit however the RKR1225 is rack mountable) They go for about $300 used and seem to work well. 100% duty cycle on low power (25W.) The nice part is that the bundle kit above is plug and play, order the maxtrac cable, plug it into the back of the radio and your done.
 
If your somewhat serious about setting up a local repeater for friends or family, get a BP/BR duplexer(another $300ish plus tuning), good feedline($40-100 depending on length), and a fair 460-470 antenna($150), and mount it as high as you can. You should get some good coverage given the terrain you have, looks nearly flat farmland from google earth.
 
Setting up a repeater is an expense, however if there are no linked repeaters, and very few operating repeaters around, it is an option to do if you have the time and money to put into it.

MyGMRS requires a username and password to log in to see repeater information. To obtain a username and password you must submit your callsign and fill out the registration page. Your callsign will be confirmed through the FCC database (this may take a few days if you just received your callsign) and your account will become active.
 
This process was done to reduce the number of unlicensed operators as well as malicious operations upon repeaters that were listed. Note that your MyGMRS account is not the same as the MyGMRS forums (To my knowledge) so you will need to register on both sides to use both the forums and the main site.

I dont believe one exists here on the forum, however a google search of commonly used radio technical terms gave me this website which I think will give you more than what you were looking for. Its for ham radio, however most if not all of the terms are the same Enjoy

http://www.arrl.org/ham-radio-glossary

Anytime. The guys and girls on this site can answer almost any question. Many are Ham/Emergency Communications techs, and we all started out somewhere Any other questions you have feel free to research/ask them.

well, 30 miles may be a bit of a stretch without a 100' tower, however on a 3 story building 8-10 miles can be easily reached. Rule of thumb is that each time you double antenna height you double range, however at lower heights, being able to get over trees and buildings and hills can sometimes tripple or quadruple your range.
 
On a good day, my repeater can be hit (though unreliably) and heard from about 45 miles away by friends down in cape may and wildwood, however has dead spots the closer you get to the repeater till about 6 miles away. Thats with the antenna only being 25-30 feet up.

When working out an RF, more info is a lil better. The SW-33 will only tell you the SWR reading and TX power out. The SW-102 will give SWR, Power out, TX frequency (to make sure radio is on frequency) forward and reflected power. I've never used the SW-33 so I cannot speak on how the user interface works, the SW-102 has a fair interface. Press button and you get your reading, press and hold button and the unit shuts off. Big screen so easy to read and it will hold the last reading it took from the transmitter.

I use a surecom SW-102, nice little unit,

https://www.amazon.com/Mcbazel-Surecom-Digital-125-525Mhz-Antenna/dp/B01D86IKIQ/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=2JRVRL343HI8D&dchild=1&keywords=surecom+sw-102&qid=1611170816&s=electronics&sprefix=surecom+%2Celectronics%2C360&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1&smid=A263LSCPZJCHO0&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFQWUVGVVpLTjBDMUkmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA2NjE4OTgxNzlPM0M5UEg1WE1QJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA5Mzk4NjcyRk4wV1NUTjJNNVFEJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

As KB2ZTX mentioned the repeater alone will not get you into the net. You would also need one of these:
https://shop.mygmrs.com/collections/repeaters-and-accessories/products/repeater-linking-bundle
 
This unit connects your repeater to the internet and into the GMRS server, allowing you to operate on the network. Due to simplex (radio to radio) operations not needing a license, Rich does not want simplex nodes being set up everywhere that anyone can tie into which is why you would be required to have a repeater.
 
As for repeaters themselves, I prefer the Motorola GR1225/RKR1225 (Its the same unit however the RKR1225 is rack mountable) They go for about $300 used and seem to work well. 100% duty cycle on low power (25W.) The nice part is that the bundle kit above is plug and play, order the maxtrac cable, plug it into the back of the radio and your done.
 
If your somewhat serious about setting up a local repeater for friends or family, get a BP/BR duplexer(another $300ish plus tuning), good feedline($40-100 depending on length), and a fair 460-470 antenna($150), and mount it as high as you can. You should get some good coverage given the terrain you have, looks nearly flat farmland from google earth.
 
Setting up a repeater is an expense, however if there are no linked repeaters, and very few operating repeaters around, it is an option to do if you have the time and money to put into it.

Could be a few things. many newer vehicles use all sorts of sensors, including some that use RF. I would try an external battery and putting the vehicle in drive and see if you still get static. If you do, you have some form of RF interference, if not then the interference is electrical based. For electrical based interference a line filter (20-40 USD) will usually resolve the problem.

Hello Joe, Welcome to MyGMRS

The regional/national nets which take place every Sunday are only accessible two ways. The first is through a repeater that is networked through the MyGMRS network, the other through a Zello node (only one I know of is the Bronx zoo repeater.) If you are interested in setting up your own local repeater on the MyGMRS network there are kits you can buy from MyGMRS.com, or if you wish you can buy everything separate and build your own kit. 
 

Could be a few things. many newer vehicles use all sorts of sensors, including some that use RF. I would try an external battery and putting the vehicle in drive and see if you still get static. If you do, you have some form of RF interference, if not then the interference is electrical based. For electrical based interference a line filter (20-40 USD) will usually resolve the problem.

Likely do not have the correct frequency's in, or have them in the wrong order. There are also privacy codes (CTCSS/DCS) which could be in play. Without having the code plugs for the radios I couldnt tell you where the issue is.

Also, just a side note, the UV5R is NOT GMRS compliant and some users have said they had issues with those radios in the past when used outside the ham frequencies.

Your better off using the KPG software, Check your PM's, I'll be messaging shortly.

Hey Gary,

Checking https://mygmrs.com/nets (This identifies the locations and statuses of MyGMRS networked radios and hubs) there are NO linked repeaters identified on the map. The only node, 176, is actually used as a hub for running the regional portions of the net.

Setting up a node is simple, Especially if you have a motorola repeater (GR1225 or similar) as its all plug and play for the most part. You will need a repeater to hook to, Internet access, and to purchase a repeater linking bundle to match your radio.

If you purchase the bundle from MyGMRS, everything comes preset and I believe the only adjustments needed would be for audio volumes in and out.

They are great little radios though the accessorys are a lil pricy. Chirp will NOT program these radios, you will need Icoms CS-F2000 software and a cable. The software is usually $45-55 depending on if you get a dowloaded version, or a CD, or CD with programing cable. Work got the cable and software from here:

https://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/cs-f1000-2000-usb-7705

So if you need the cable and software, and everything to work on windows 10, I can say this will work for you.