LeoG

I set up my work truck with solar and an inverter setup. Not exactly a big power source but it works well. I have a 105Ah AGM battery that I've been running for about 8 years now and I've swapped over from four 30 watt panels and a 10A SolarEpic controller to two 100 watt BiFacial panels and a 15 amp Victron controller which does so much better. My original controller had a bug in it that the manufacturer refused to acknowledge even though I sent them a video of it with the active problem. My battery never really charged fully for years. It still worked and I had power on my tailgate. I swapped over to the Victron controller and within a week or so my battery was revived and working much better. Plus it has a bluetooth management system with a 30 day recording of what is going on with the controller. So if I have my truck I have a somewhat unlimited source of power withing the confines of my battery and panel output. This is the original setup with the SolarEpic charge controller and panel. That was swapped out for the Victron controller. Black box to the right is a shore power charger in case I go through the battery during the day and have to charge it up overnight for the next days activities. That doesn't happen very often in the new setup. If I run the inverter and the sun is beaming well it can keep the battery fully charged with the 2 amp draw from the inverter. Then the occasional use of a chopsaw or belt sander when needed and usually it works all day. I've run my house on it several times in the winter keeping the fridge, freezer and oil burner chugging along without incidence.

The solar option is probably the best other than a crank right on the radio.

I find they let it ring once, hang up and call back quick so the phone goes to VM because the line is busy. It's possible it rings on their end but not yours. I've noticed when I use my cell phone and call my landline it rings on the cell phone earpiece once or twice before it rings on the landline. Some kind of delay between technologies. But I get those calls at my work phone and my cell phone.

Or something like this that can attach to a battery from a car/truck or solar

No repeaters on CB.

Right at the beginning of a comms down situation the govt is going to be worthless. They will be figuring out how to communicate between themselves and starting up the plan for rescue etc. It's in the beginning in the immediate need of communications between people, neighbors, family members and local businesses that going to be important to the people. That's where the local radio communications are going to be important. After 10s of hours, maybe days, that's when the govts will start to come back into play.

Well, the 7-11 in his neighborhood shut down. You know, large scale emergency I would suspect multi state.

Good chance that when you are transmitting on your radio your repeater goes deaf and vice versa. That's a lot of rejection needed.

Similar to the Retevis RT97s https://midlandusa.com/collections/mxr10-midland-repeater/products/midland-mxr10-repeater

Yes, the eff sea seas is shutting down illegally linked GMRS repeater systems and now there is no more GMRS. Step me through that logic please...

Well you can use a gasoline generator to power the pumps at the gas station.... Just saying. For me in a communication down situation I just want it so I can contact the family. I run a small repeater and they know where it is. If you can't reach it there are other bigger repeaters they might be able to get through, but I suspect they'll be quite busy. But contact through the repeater til you are in simplex range so the family can gather to define our situation. No real expected use to contact emergency personnel or anything like that.

I sent an email to BTech to ask questions about the repeater. Figured I'd put the questions and then answers (below) up for everyone to see since it might be something someone would like to know. Hello, I have several questions I was wondering if you could answer about the RPT50 repeater. I've gone through the user manual that I downloaded from your website and I find some conflicting information between what the website says about the repeater and what the manual says. Also have some general questions about the repeater. 1.Is there a squelch for the receiver? I saw no mention of it in the manual. If there is no adjustable squelch what level is the squelch set at? Or is it only squelched by PL tones? 2.I assume it has full CTCSS and DCS tones for receive and transmit. Can it do split tones? ie: different tones for receive and transmit. Does the CW ID signal with tones or no tones, is it switchable? 3. What should the approx wattage output be using the duplexer (RX/TX Socket), most likely will be using 462.600MHz +5MHz? 4. The manual states DC power can be 13.8vdc +/-15% which is what I would consider a normal power supply. On the website it says 12 vdc +/-0.5v which is an odd voltage since any battery system is going to be 12.8v-13.2v nominal. Can the DC power input be used as a battery backup that switches over automatically during a power outage? Or is it just an alternate power supply to the internal 120 volt driven supply? 5. In the manual it says the handheld microphone is functional as a PTT microphone along with keypad for programming. One of the updates says this is only for programming. Is there an optional microphone that can be used for transmitting? Or is there no way to transmit from the repeater without using another radio to interact with it? 6. The manual says the unit has a volume control. Does this have a listenable receiver and a built in speaker to listen to incoming transmissions? 7. Does the repeater come with the latest updates installed? I only have a Win7 computer and I've heard the program only runs on a Win11 OS. Does that mean I won't be able to update or use the software to program the repeater? 8. On the CW ID system is it only a single set time to ID? Or can it be set to ID after 15 minutes of repeater activity and stay silent when there is no repeater activity. Does the ID have a busy function so it doesn't interfere with people talking and waits for a time when the repeater isn't busy? 9. Are the TX and RX sockets active which could be used with separate antennas with proper configuration if you don't want to use the internal duplexer? 10. Are there any plans to activate the 3 separate ports on the rear of the repeater? If so which ones and when might that happen? And then I got a response from Katy the next morning: Hey Leo, Thanks for reaching out with your detailed questions about the RPT-50 repeater! I’ll go through each one to clear up any confusion. 1. Squelch for the Receiver The RPT-50 repeater doesn’t have an adjustable squelch level in the traditional sense. It’s primarily squelched by CTCSS or DCS tones. This means it will only open the squelch when the correct tones are received. 2. CTCSS/DCS Tones and Split Tones Yes, the RPT-50 supports both CTCSS and DCS tones for transmit and receive. You can also set split tones, meaning you can have different tones for receive and transmit. The CW ID can be configured to transmit with or without tones, depending on your preference. 3. Approximate Wattage Output After the duplexer, you can expect an approximate output of around 45W. This is typical when using frequencies like 462.600 MHz with a +5 MHz offset. Make sure your power supply is stable and within the recommended voltage range to avoid any power-related issues. 4. DC Power Requirements and Battery Backup The manual indicates the power supply should be 13.8VDC ±15%, which is standard for many radios and repeaters. However, the website mentions a stricter 12VDC ±0.5V requirement. To clarify, we recommend using a power supply providing 13V to 13.5V, as this will ensure optimal performance without stressing the internal components. While the repeater can handle higher voltages for short periods, consistently using a higher voltage could potentially harm the duplexer. The DC power input can serve as a battery backup that switches automatically during a power outage, but it’s not designed as a primary power supply. 5. Handheld Microphone Functionality The handheld microphone that comes with the RPT-50 is primarily for programming purposes. It does not function as a PTT microphone for transmitting voice. Unfortunately, there isn’t an optional microphone available that can be used directly with the repeater to transmit. To transmit through the repeater, you must use another radio. 6. Volume Control and Built-In Speaker Yes, the RPT-50 repeater has a built-in speaker and a volume knob for received transmissions. You can listen to incoming transmissions directly from the repeater. 7. Firmware Updates and Software Requirements The repeater does not come with the latest updates installed, but to make any further updates or to program the repeater, you will need a Windows 10 or later computer. The software does not support Windows 7, so you might need to find a Windows 10 or 11 machine for future updates or programming tasks. 8. CW ID System Configuration The CW ID system on the RPT-50 is quite flexible. You can configure it to transmit an ID after a set period, like 15 minutes, following repeater activity, and you can set it to remain silent when there’s no activity. It also has a busy function that waits until the repeater is idle before transmitting the ID, so it won’t interrupt ongoing conversations. 9. TX and RX Sockets for Separate Antennas The TX and RX sockets are not active only the TX/RX antenna jack is used. 10. Activation of Rear Ports Currently, there are no confirmed plans or timelines for activating the three separate ports on the rear of the repeater. If there are future updates or plans, they will be announced through our official website or product manuals.

I was wondering when I said something that could possibly get a cherry picked repeater. Now I understand. No biggee Steve. Stuff like that happens all the time.

Cept that first quote isn't me.

How would buying another random unit be cherry picking? If you were to buy 10 of them and review them all and then pick the best one that certainly would be cherry picking. Sometimes luck of the draw sucks. Customer service seemed excellent until they didn't want to swap out for a new unit. If that was me most likely I would have got the refund and bought another to get around their stupidity of not swapping a defective unit for a working one. But that's just me. So I'm guessing that's the final word and I'll have to accept that Thanks for the initial review Randy.

It's boggling that there are so few mentions of this repeater on the internet. Just wondering if your review killed it off Only a couple reviews on the website itself and those people seem to be pleased enough with the operation of it. Most complaints are because the ports on the rear aren't active.

Considering the prices of other repeaters in the 50 watt range the monies seem pretty reasonable. I've seen repeaters for $1500 with only 10 watts out and most of the 40+ watt repeaters seem to go for another additional 2-3000 bux without the duplexer being included. What might you recommend?

Any chance you'll try again since when you got it, it had just come out? Buying Gen 1 equipment is always taking a chance. Looks like they've had a few software updates and probably tweaked a few things by now from user comments and issues.

Not a lot of research I guess. GMRS is a family radio service for close communications with the ability to access a repeater to help out range. The linked repeater thing has been going on now for months and months and repeater owners have been disconnecting there linked systems to avoid FCC reprisal. If this post was a year old then that would be one thing, now most of us know the FCC has reiterated that linked repeaters aren't allowed. Still better than no communications during SHTF times. I'm sure the $35 didn't hurt that much.

Whatever happened with this? Did you get up and running to a satisfactory result?

Has anyone been able to figure this out with the Tidradio TD-H3 radio. I can't change the ANI ID from the keyboard on the radio and the ODmaster program doesn't even have an option to access the ANI ID. I have a Win7 computer so I can't use the new version of CHIRP and the legacy version doesn't have access to the TD H3 files.

Give him the chance to make it right before you sic the dogs of war on him. Idiots make mistakes too. The eff sea seas is likely going to give him a warning 1st anyway, why let it get to that point when the object of desire is to free up those 3 channels. Pretty likely you'll end up notifying the eff sea seas anyway because idiots will be idiots.

I am trying to be nice. Let the guy know what he is doing. That he is taking up the 3 radio frequencies that are public domain and using them for govt. And he should be worried about someone letting the eff sea seas about his operation.

Sounds like time for an anonymous letter to said individual about him misusing his license. Just a friendly heads up.

Sometimes I don't agree with the rating the net controller gives to the sound quality of some of the members. We have a guy on the outskirts and sometimes he's an R3, other times an R7 but that's rare. We have a couple who can touch the repeater but can't really stay connected who get R1s. Most are R9 because they are pretty close to the repeater and the antenna is close to a 1000 feet off the ground. And even then we have a woman who has a great signal but her modulation is very low. I'd give an R7 but she always gets an R9. Forgot to mention we give our location too. Most are close but there are a few that are pretty far out. I'm 21 miles out and one guy is 42 miles out but still shows R9 into the repeater. Must be up on a hill himself.