WSHC539

Two thumbs up! The Red Engineering (RE) Simplex Repeater (SRPT-03) has been discussed in another post. This review is about the new piece of equipment by Red Engineering. Thay have taken a SRPT-03 with all the connectors and placed it inside a polycarbonate waterproof case with a custom made precision-molded ABS insert and foam liner along with a waterproof SNA connector for connecting an external antenna. This is somewhat similar to what RE showed on their website with the original simplex repeater where they put everything inside a Pelican M40 Micro Case. It required that the end-user drill and install a bulkhead SMA fitting for the antenna and any foam insert they wanted. The primary issue with this setup was the size of the M40 case required that the Baofeng UV5 use the small 1,800 mAh battery which really can't go a full 2 day period. The FieldLink Edge uses an Evergreen 56 Waterproof Dry Box Protective Case which allows for the use of the twice as large 3,600 mAh battery with USB connector for charging. The reason for buying a premade case from RE is that the simplex audio and antenna connectors are sized perfectly for the case and both the radio and simplex repeater fit tight and snug into the insert. It even has a velcro strap to hold the radio to the insert. It comes with a right angle SMA connector for the outside antenna which mandates that the case be in the horizontal position. I simply replaced that with a male to male SMA connector so I can put the case up a tree in the vertical position. I'm also getting a male SMA to BNC connector to make the use of the outside antenna easier. Unlike the M40 case this one easily accepts a small carbineer and or small dia. rope to the case. You can also buy an additional mount so the case can be secured to a wall, antenna mount or whatever and be removable. The case is not really made to accept usb c power (not enough room). If that is your requirement then it might be better to get something like a Pelican 1150 and make all the connections yourself. This case is for someone who wants a well-made, ready to go waterproof case where all they bring is something like a Baofeng BF F8HP and hook it up to use over a two day period. Just remember to push the little micro switch next to the right of the USB-c connector to initiate the repeater.

Have a new GMRS Pro (fixed antenna) and it does have a working GPS chip in it that does not require connection to the cellphone through the app. I have not figured out how the GPS is programmed to interface with the radio as it takes about 5 minutes to acquire a GPS position when first turned on with no connection to the cellphone app. Yes, I'm aware of the need for GPS units to download the almanac but for most GPS units the updated almanac is stored and only needs refreshing if one travels over 500 miles from the last acquisition and/or over 6 months since the last time it was used. Here's another weird part. It will immediately show a GPS location when it is connected to the phone app even if that occurs within the first 5 minutes including startup. What I still need to determine is if it updates itself within the first 5 minutes of use. This was shown on the first Track I made on the maps page of the app. It showed the initial location (very accurate) and then didn't update for about 5 minutes. After that it updated itself reliably and the recorded Track was right on. It means you need to turn it on and wait for 5 minutes or so before using the GPS functions. Not sure if the app also sends the cellphone's GPS information to the radio as they would both give you similar results. BTech is obviously confused about how it works. The frequency of updating is variable, sometime every second and sometimes it takes 30 secs or so (all of this implies that it is not using the cellphone's GPS, kexcept possibly a first initial value). Not sure if it is looking for a certain amount of distance moved or what. If you want to see what is happening go to the GPS Status page and watch when the data changes and/or the time stamp for the Last Fix acquired. So, while the radio does have a working and accurate GPS chip, the software could definitely be improved.