WSGB619

This is a great hijack of a thread

That sounds really nice! Mine sounds more like I made it! lol

I picked up the RepeaterID Universal mainly out of curiosity. You can create the outgoing message using a couple of easy techniques to insure it is in the correct format; Have them create it for you Create your own and use an online system to convert it for you. I opted for this one. I assembled a temporary indoor test setup using a few CCRs as shown below. The YiniTone RC-108 I got from AliExpress provided the "repeater" functionality. I have type-accepted radios, but am considering setting up a real full-duty repeater with duplexer external antenna... this was just for a test. The apparently 3d printed case is nice, but a little surprised it is not metal to protect the board inside from RF overload which they note as possible in the instructions. Although they mention using the TOT in case it gets stuck in transmit mode, I found that using an external antenna a short distance away from the RepeaterID resolved the problem. As seen in the picture, using a dummy load does as well! The included transmit and receive patch cords are quite short. They are separate so connector spacing should not be an issue. Overall, I found the RepeaterID Universal simple to set up and deploy.

Fun! If you go with HTs, you'll likely need to coach him on how to orient the radio/antenna for maximum range. Perhaps even get a better antenna than stock and maybe need external antennas with some elevation unless using a repeater. I suggest you use this quandary to teach them the various considerations and why you chose whatever you try. That will be a fun learning experience!