WRFP399
-
Posts
188 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
3
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Gallery
Classifieds
Posts posted by WRFP399
-
-
I completed the job today.
Open up the radio as above (allen screws and small torx screws)
Unscrew fan and remove the rubber plug for the wires powering the cooling fan. Feed the 5 conductor 28 awg wire through the hole.
-
Yeah. Super happy with LetsGetReady.
Here is the link to the other post
https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/4693-tyt-th-8600-vs-rugged-abm-25gmr-25/#comment-45840
-
The Rugged GMR-25 is a TYT TH-8600 radio which can be had for $104 from letsgetready.com
They are a good seller and stand by their work. I found one of my TH-8600s would not decode PL tones. TYT wanted me to send the unit back to Chinda. LetsGetReady took the unit back and gave me another one.
The only difference between this and the Rugged Radio is the 5 pin mini XLR connector they add to the back so you can plug in a Rugged intercom kit. In a week or two I am going to add this exact same pigtail to my TH-8600. You can get 5 conductor wire and a mini XLR connector for about 10 bucks. Very minor solder skills and you have the exact radio for $114 instead of Rugged $250.
I have a post started somewhere on these forms and will update it soon.
If you are looking for a handheld to round out the setup, a matching TYT UV-88 is a good dual band radio.
-
I think first you need to register. When I did I just used my call sign as my username.
- wayoverthere and TOM47
-
1
-
1
-
I have a Comet CA-F72GF already. Works well on GMRS but a sweep using a NanoVNA shows it is horrid down in VHF. GMRS is the primary means of communication but I want the ability to at least use the other bands if need be. I realize that may be it at a diminished capacity. I am not looking for an antenna that has an SWR of 1:1 from 136mhz through 520 mhz. Thank you for the suggestions so far. I saw that a Tram 1477 might also be an option. Appears fairly wide banded and multiple reviews show it useable for both HAM bands and GMRS.
-
20 minutes ago, TOM47 said:
Something that would be more robust when it comes to ice, -30 degree temperatures and hurricane force winds. Alaska can be a bit tough on things.
-
19 hours ago, TOM47 said:
I do have some of these. I have several single band tuned to GMRS. One is running on an RT97 repeater. The others are used when backpacking.
I also have one dual band for GMRS/MURS but I was hoping for a more permanent solution.
-
Any recommendations for a single Omni directional antenna that will work with 2M, MURS, 70cm, and GMRS? Don't want a 17 foot tall antenna either. Something 3-5 feet would be fine.
I understand there will be some sacrafices.
-
I tried this exact thing...I even added a small duplexer...none of it worked well. I too like to tinker and learn but what I learned was the handhelds desence too much and I went with an RT97 which was far superior.
They are low powered, weather resistant and with height I have used it out to 31.2 miles.
- Sshannon and wayoverthere
-
2
-
If you really needed the RT97 to ID you can get the RT97S which can be connected to a Raspberry Pi and the ID can be done through that.
If you don't want to do that or can't do that at the repeater location just use another radio to send the ID over the input frequency from a remote location. Done.
But in all honesty the GMRS repeaters I have run across don't ID...as do the cast majority of simplex GMRS users (Bubble Pack Users)
-
I don't know about auto calculations for line of sight but OsmAnd is a powerful GPS app and has detailed topo map layers.
-
Dove in further. Found access to the back of the microphone port was easy to access.
Just waiting on the wire and mini XLR connector to arrive.
-
I have a TYT I am experimenting with. Does anyone have a Rugged ABM-25 or GMR-25 and would be willing to take the top 3mm Allen head bolts off to expose where that pigtail is attached into?
I attached an image of the TYT for reference.
I also attached the pinout of the Rugged Interface Cable and those are the connection I will be looking to make *IN* the radio.
-
2 hours ago, W4udx said:
I live in KY but have property in the mountains of north central PA in Potter County. The property is situated down in a valley below mountains on a four sides. I was just wondering...if I wanted to set up a low power mountain top repeater that's water proof and solar/battery powered, how expensive would that be? Also, it would be located on state owned forest land. How can I get permission to set one up? Setting up a repeater at my camp would be almost pointless as there are mountains in all directions....
Getting permission is a matter of contacting whoever watches over that land.
I use the Retevis RT97 for this purpose. It and a solar controller are strapped to the back of a solar panel. I have a small amount of coax going from the RT97 to the Antenna which is mounted just above it. The battery is a sealed lead acid battery that is at the base of the tree everything is mounted on. I get 25-30 miles of range on this set-up...but it is definitely not a commercial grade set-up. Given the same location if it was viable to put a "real" repeater up there it would blow the doors off the RT97. It has taken me about 2 years of trial and error to get this setup to work...winter is my worst problem (Alaska).
- gortex2, wayoverthere and Craws907
-
3
-
Yes this is normal. The repeaters output on Channels 15 through 22.
-
I tried doing a search a few different ways but found no results.
If I take a Nagoya NA-771G and have it "mounted" on a backpack with 2 feet of RG174 leading to it do I need a radial or "tiger tail" or does the outer braid of coax take care of that? When I am hiking this often the setup I use and I am just making sure I am not missing something.
-
-
I am going to throw some knockoff LMR400 (KMR400) I have laying around on my RT97. This will be an outdoors installation. Just to see what happens. There are all these posts saying not to use it for theoretical reasons but I have yet to find a post where one did use it and came back with real world results. I have been using RG400...and that has been fine but I wanna try the LMR for the heck of it.
-
On 9/6/2022 at 11:44 AM, WRTH801 said:
My Cross St.'s, E Chandler Hights and S Green Field and or Riggs and Higley. I have about 3:5 people new with GMRS in the area.
The communication is spotty at best but someone indicated a repeater (Private) but available for a small fee is in the area.
Does anyone know if this is true? How would I make contact with its owner?
Bruce WRTH801
What state are you in? This is a national forum.
-
-
Well....so here is where I got with this. Size and Weight constraints left me with a 60 watt, 24 volt panel. The system has been running for 4 months so far. The months of July and August have been basically nothing but rain and overcast. Today we had a sunny morning and a rainy afternoon. I hiked up and took some reading on the solar controller. Even with all the clouds it was still making more power than the RT97 was using.
I will try and get backup there just prior to the first snow and see how the readings are.
.thumb.png.9660f8327751a536c40d92298c04add4.png)
.thumb.png.0b191f7e8c62fd2397c56e25b3897cad.png)
-
I know this is kinda old but I wanted to add a bit of info. I have two RT97 repeaters. One of them I got first and the duplexer appears to be tuned for the 625 pair. The second I bought appears to be tuned for the 550 pair. I have had the 550 tuned unit running on 625 and 575. I noticed zero difference between the channels. Same went for the 625 tuned unit.
The furthest range I got out of these units was 31.2 miles between the repeater and a 5 watt handheld. The antenna on the unit was a simple j-pole from N9TAX thrown in a tree. The audio was clear. I was surprised honestly. The audio remained clear for the 48 hours or so I was out in that area.
-
-
On 8/9/2022 at 4:55 PM, jenksjr said:
WRFP399, Thanks for keeping your repeating up and running. I was wondering about your repeater. It seemed like it was performing better in the Anchorage area. Now I understand why - new antenna. What is the gain on that one? I have ideas about setting up an RT 97 in area of Birch and O'Malley. I'm hoping my daughter will allow me to set up the repeater in one of their out building. It's your system that has got me interested taking on the project.
Thinking ahead a bit, would you be interested in linking your repeater and mine, Or, is it even technically possible with the RT97's?
Thanks,
Jim WQCG563
The antenna is a Laird LG4603. The "0" gain version is FG4500. The "5" dbd gain version is FG4605.
You can link the RT97s together using the myGMRS network. The RT97S has a port (DB-9) on it to connect the myGMRS node to where at the original RT97 doesn't.
You can get the RT97S at myGMRS.com:
https://shop.mygmrs.com/collections/featured-products/products/retevis-rt97s-portable-gmrs-repeaterOr direct from Retevis:
https://www.retevis.com/rt97s-full-duplex-portable-gmrs-repeaterThe linking bundle is found here but is sold out due to the chip shortage.
https://shop.mygmrs.com/products/repeater-linking-bundle?variant=31585827848227
Obviously the myGMRS linking relied on the internet, so when the internet fail the links fail and it is a stand alone system at that point. If you have a building at the place where the repeater is and it has access to power, I would very much recommend going with a better repeater. Something like a Vertex would outperform the RT97.
The Anchorage 700 repeater is probably up on Flat-Top and part of the Anchorage Amateur Radio Club.
.png.0696e6f22caa9c90ed89171da3baab15.png)
.png.4dc1bb25d4c9906053240c5064c4864d.png)
TYT TH-8600 vs Rugged ABM-25/GMR-25
in Technical Discussion
Posted
Strip off the conduit, bring the white, yellow and red wires forward to the rear of the microphone port. The black and green wires will go to the speaker terminals at the rear of the circuit board.