Steve

if anyone is looking to get one, there is a nice GR1225 repeater on ebay now, and is selling for a fair price, starting bid $260 +$40 shipping with 24 hours left, with duplexer, but you'd have to re program and re tune it for GMRS.

that is an awesome idea..... i wonder if the unit can do that with the standard controler and not the after market tone generator, decoder, etc. The guy is programming it this week, i should have it next week. i asked him to have ch1 on the radio as my GMRS frequency (575 in this case) low power, and then ch2 on the radio, the same settings but high power. for tones, i asked for PL on the in and a different PL on the out for extra privacy. i will ID when i use it, at this point, its gonna run at home, so i'll be the only one using it. i'll get a programming cable and dig for the software and then later i can enable the ID and other options.

thank you, good to know.... i am currently looking out for a comet antenna now. did you notice any difference in noise levels at half mile to 1 mile? currently the noise is so loud that you can barly hear the voice. that might just be my terrein and poor coax.

i figured it out... the GP series is Europe's version of the 500 and 600 ex series..... the ex560 is water proof to 1 meter for 30 min in freshwater but no dtmf keypad, so that's a deal breaker. i'm going to return my 1250 and get the EX600XLS! I'll post a review when I can. i'm not sure if anyone here cares about my review of the HT1250 becuase i had a bad experience with the seller on ebay, firmeware was versoin 05.00.00 which i understand is like 10 years old or more, and after seraching forthe model number online, i found out it was a limited keyboard unit, they refurbed to a full keyboard and yellow body which is cool except when they put the extra dtmf board on they must have replaced some parts in the front that were not connected correctly so i ended up this this bad buzzing sound that woul go away if i squeeze the radio or blow air into it. after it went away, it would come back again just from holding the radio. i hope the seller takes it back, he will let me know tomororw. here's a video of the issue i'm having.... so its useless because on tx, the buzz is always there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lprTT68pqwA now i have a used EX600XLS on order, from a local dealer and not ebay. warrenty, and all that.

that's exactly what I was thinking.

The gp328 plus and gp338 plus look like nice small versions of the HT1250. then there is the EX560-XLS which looks like a tiny 1250 that is water proof to 3 feet, and submersable. There is something to be said for the smaller form factor if you're hiking, biking, etc. Is there a big difference in performance or other features I wonder.

im gonna have to look that up... what about LMR600? I am trying to figure out what to use for my next antenna. I think my RG8x at 65 ft is very noisy and lossy. on a side note, does the antenna change the noise floor more than cable, say in my case? I have the $40 ed fong antenna, I was thinking about the Comet CA-712EFC - and how it might have less noise at long distance (or maybe a pre amp would help).... so much to play around with and see. back to the topic: at this point, I'm going to have to spend the spring time looking for a possible place to put a repeater. There is litterally no one using GMRS in my town. I did a search a FCC and only 6 people have GMRS active in my town. Me, and the guy who let me use his repeater, and then like 4 other people... if that. So maybe there is "room" for a GMRS system. Only thing is we have two other repeaters, the one i have permission to use and one other one. I am in contact with the guys who own it, and they said both systems have trouble and need service in the spring. One is out of service, and one sounds very quiet and is very noisy and has a problem where after you key up, it just keeps curchuncking itself for 10 to 30 min. What i'm trying to say is there is no good useable GMRS system in town right now. Maybe the guys who run the two "sick" systems will let me help them get it back up and running again because they have a great spot for it. That's my best bet at this point. I really dont want to put expensive of gear in a tree / in the woods up on a hill top and hope no one messes with it. Its too populated here.

I got the radio bug big time! The controler is ordered, duplexer ordered, cables arrived, metal project box arrived, extra connectors and cables, heatshrink for custom cable, etc... I even ordered a Motorola HT1250 to test and compare to my Baofang UV5-R. I can tell you that my Baofeng 888s has very low sounding audio. The voice is very low in the noise floor. ... i only paid $15 for that radio, maybe that's why. then i find this killer deal on a GR1225 that I can't pass up.... here's the thread on that unit, and my post in there: https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/195-motorola-gr1225-uhf-repeater/page-2?do=findComment&comment=3280 I plan to continue my DIY repeater becuase I have learned so much by it. Once its done, I will either keep it as my base or sell it. This is getting really expsnsive.

I know this thread is a little old but I just wanted to say that I just purchased on of these repeaters. (some of you have been following my repeater build with my two kenwood radios, I am still going to build that as a learning experience and then decide what to do with everything later, i just could not pass up what I believed to be a great deal for this repeater, at home, low usage, low RF area (my roof) and possiblly portable for camping trips which I've always wanted to be able to do.) The guy I am buying from is programming and tuning the duplexer it for me, his brother is a M tech, so that's pretty good news. It comes with the standard controler with roger beep and hang time and CWID. Okay, so what I'm trying to find out is does anyone know more about the basic controler, if the roger beeps are programmable to something custom, it would be annoying to hear "beep!" every time (I prefer the soft sounding "boop" at the end and a few seconds of hang time). So I was thinking, as a next step, I would look into 3rd party controlers for this unit. That's what I'm trying to find out more about. (the manual is no where to be found online) So i'm trying to find out, what are the features of the basic controler, such as what options for beep, hang time, ID intervel, can i set the ID to only ID during active use and then shut up and be quiet while the repeater is not being used, etc. Then what controlers will work with it? Any? Can i just use my exsisting elektra 2000 controler if i just make a custom cable and tell the software that its using an external controler? To be specific in my question, is it limited to ONLY a speical kind of controler(s) or can it be any controler. If i can some day intergrate (with a custom cable) my elektra 2000, I can then have the Voice ID and custom tones and beeps that I like. The main points I have understood from this thread and other threads is to run it low power (I dont think i need more than 10w) and watch out for cold soder joints on the Power Amp. Also the power supply might go bad some day. ...and this is great for low duty. ....and if i ever want to put it up somewhere with other radio gear, i'll have to get a better notch filter / duplexer and maybe run it low into a seperate PA. I dont see that happening anytime soon but its what I understand. Over the summer, I might want to look at running it off 12v battery as DIY. I know there is a kit from M that will allow the unit to kick over to DC when the AC is gone, but I'm not looking for that. I will run it AC at home, or DC in the field on batteries and solar, by passing the AC power supply. However that's like 3 or 4 steps ahead of where i'm at if you know what i mean. i'm just shareing my thouhgts for the future use. At this point, I just want to get it set up and start testing the coverage area around my home.

zap, are you saying that if the repeater does the ID then the callers dont have to? I can just talk to someone in my family, using the same ID, and just let the repeater do the ID? More specifically, does that mean that I dont have to force the kids to ID every 15 minutes, i can just say it once or maybe not at all if the repeater does the IDing?

i'd like to mess around with linking a repeter some day. it wold be great if there was a box you could build that you litterally bring anywhere, turn on, it connects over wifi or ethernet from whereever it is, and then has a built in radio that becomes the 2nd remote repeater site. This way, if you wanted to provide radio coverage in an area that has none during an event, you could just roll this preconfigured box up, and plug in and power up, then you're linked to home base. of course, the internet or network has to be up and running for this.

that's a good idea. i think i found the perfect peak that is right in the middle, aprox 1 mile from everywhere, home, school, park, friends house, all between half mile and 1.5 miles. this is better than any water tower around me.... line of sight as well.... except its at the top of a large hilltop covered in about a square mile of forrest in all directions. maybe i can build a cheap repeater with a couple of HTs and a battery and solar pannel and just leave it there. What are the legal requirements / rules about that? its the middle of nowhere on the hilltop.... the problem is always theft.

awesome.. can you assign a tag or name to the id? So when ID: 12345 keys up, it says "James" or whatever you assign that ID. i assume that's how the 1250 will work, i have not tried it yet.

ordered: mobile duplexer w tuning from china cables and connectors to build the control wires inner connects from the dupler, radios and antenna. metal project box to fit conroler and wires. I'll have one gang of wires coming out which will connect to the radios, and power with exta ones for fan out if i want to add that later. power connectors are all anderson pole connectors. everyhign will be quick release and fused where needed. for the controler: I decied on the Elektra 2000 / VZ with voice - i'll order that once the funds fill up again.... got to sell off a few more things on ebay... i'm going to hold off on the pre amp and intelligen squelch, too much for now.... once i get it all in, i'll start putting the cables together and testing everything. i have all the tools for that, heat shrink, using old serial cables and 9 pin connector to connect everything. Also i have the TK whatever cables for the back of the kenwood radios, and i'm building everything else custom to fit right into that... so everything will litterally just plug together. i like this so i can swap out parts later as i need to. For everything will be connected to the antenna on the roof at home and it will live on the shelf for a while as a test... if it stays there, i'm only going to get a mile out of this, maybe 2 depending on the area. down the road i'll figure out a portable case to put everything in... and then start testing batteries, solar pannel, etc. So everything i'm doing is considering how i can save space.

yeah, i did look at topo maps, there are hills everywhere... i'm really in a bad spot. i am litterally thinking about making friends with the neighbor at the top of the hill, right in the middle of where i want coverage. these antennas look like they are close to $500-$1000 - are you sure these are the ones you have? i'm looking for more of a $75-$150 range http://www.neobits.com/commscope_andrew_db408_b_450_470_mhz_6_6_7_8db_p2764316.html?atc=gbp&gclid=Cj0KEQiAgMKmBRDMjo_F9OfUubABEiQAp8Ky12nHxyaPs7Xn5a1pyvOyQrrrgxK98RID6N_vk29Q74kaAoxh8P8HAQ

yeah, field programmable is def something to consider. the only prob with the F4021 is it doesn't apear to have a alpha numberic display for linking MDC ids to names so when say james keys up, i will "James" on the screen (after i program that name to that MDC)

true.... i guess its all about the terrain.

I have no idea other than what i read online about them.. just a closed and priveate group of guys who call themselfves bluecom, the group has been togehter since the late 90s.... some are on the poice fire ems, rescue, etc, and they use GMRS to talk with each other whie at work and at home. i guess the idea is they have their own network to inner comunicate if needed, etc. I'm sure they have access to some great towers and repeater locations. just from listening it sounds like they have many repeaters in the area and are able to reach very very far. also i assume they want to be private becuase they dont use names, only numbers. its really made me stop and wonder becuase the signal was so strong, full quieting, and they are taling about bing in the next state over, so natually i was like "how is that possible?" ... i still dont know how, but i guess if they are high enough and powerful enough, it would reach me down in NJ... its technically possible to pick up a repeater from 75 miles away... its just really clear, like full quieting.

i'm looking for an HT that has an alpha numeric display that i can use to see what repeaters or stations i'm connected to, this one has that. I also like the MDC1200 signaling, it seems from the feature list, that i can set up a way to "Ring" someone else with this radio. i'm guessing i can set it up like a page, and have the radio stay quiet until it gets a call from the other one that you program, then it willl open up and allow voice through. these seem to be going for around $100 or so on ebay. It might be a nice upgrade to my UV5-R in terms of features and ruggedness. Also, is this "type accepted" by FCC for GMRS?

Hi Glen.... great idea about the local HAM club. I will reah out. to answer you question, yes, i'm using HT 4watt, and in moving vehicle most of the time, i'm using the Nagoya 701 with it. When i talk 2 meter with the local HAMs they say i sound perfect and i'm about the same distance, from their repeater but that's also on top of a hill top. The furthest i was able to test to home was the top of a hill at the local park about 1.7 miles (point to point measured on google maps) and i was just able to make out the signal. my biggest problem is noise, its just really noisy, just a lot of hiss coming though and the signal is very weak sounding. I was using an HT and a voice recorder on the kenwood receive at home. i'm SURE the kenwood tx would reach the park... i dont have the repeater functioning yet... i've just been doing some range testing with it. I had my dad help me test the TX of the kenwood and it was able to hit my HT full quieting from the 1 mile mark in the vally, but back to the base was very spotty. prob better coax (currently using RG8X i think) and better antenna, oh and shorter coax. currently 65 ft. i am really in what i thinik is a bad spot, lots of hills around me in the direction i want to go with the radio... if i go in the direction i want to reach with the radio, the hill would be about the height of maybe 10 houses. in the winter, people can't make it up the hill in their car, that's the hill i'm trying to get past. but again, the HAM repeater is also over that hill, but its on a tower and hill top 1 mile away, so that is why it works there. i can't go any higher, i'm already 10 ft over my roof line. tower is overkill. i'm better off finding a friendly neighbor who will let me put up an antenna in their back yard at the top of this hill, and run it off solar pannels.

Just thinking about how my house is down in the vally which is small, about half mile with forrest on one side, and a hill on the other covered with houses, so i'm only getting about a half mile range from my roof mounted Ed Fung ebay GMRS antenna and kenwood TK-880. How does it work if i wanted to find someone willing to let me install my open repeater somewhere in town? maybe ask the school, or some random neighbor who lives at the top of the hill, etc. I see a few water towers near me, all within 1 or 2 miles. Who do i call to find out about putting a repeater on there? has anyone else gone down this path? What is the general consensis? I assume unless you know someone or someone owes you a favor, you're out of luck, unless you pay for a commericial site. I'm looking for other ideas. Do most people just build a clandestine box and hide it in the woods on a hill top?

They are Bluecom.... case closed. they sound like they are based in up state NY but their signal is so strong, i get it here in north jersey... really clear inside on my HT about 40 miles from NY border., and they keep saying "down in jersey" ...sounds like they are just expanding their network of repeaters. well, i can't use ch3 anymore.... their signal is almost full quieting to my house and they talke every day on it now. this just started a week ago. well, am still trying to pick a frequency for my repeater project... i still have ch 1 and 2 with no activity on it.

yeah, the location is key! i'm stuck in the vally, so if it works in the vally and the hill ridges around me then that's good enough for what i need now. Would have good coverage range of about 50 miles or more if i had it on a hill top {:>) and I would quit trying to get this thing on a tower at my house.

okay, cables and other misc parts still on their way, getting ready to make the inner connectors but still need to decide on a controller. while i'm debating over that, (price vs features) i'm looking at getting the order in soon for a duplexer. I found a nice one one ebay for a fair price but the more i think about it, the more i think i want to focus more on portability and not on super high performance. i think that's two different projects. I mean, if i make something super high end and expensive, i wont want to move it, and i'll keep it at home and maybe extend the range by a mile or less (lots of hills around me, and my antenna is down in the valley) i think if i knew i had a great location or home for the system, such as a hill top or tower, i would def put more into tweaking it and squeezing out the best performance. thoughts on duplexer: so that leads me to the ~$100 small duplexers. i'm wondering about making a commitment to a channel... has anyone tuned it to ch 5 (in the middle) and then had the ability to change to a different channel without losing any performance? there is some room but i'm not sure how much. Another question is should i get the longer sized one like 8 or 9 inches long, or go for the really small one (easier to put in a box later) since i'm not looking for the best performance for this build. thoughts on controller: Then I figured a cheap controller or no controller would save a little money, BUT i find value in having a full featured controller because i want to play with and learn the system. Even if i'm only covering 1 to 2 miles, (1.7 miles is the farthest i could test and that was hiking up a mountain to reach home antenna in the valley) I think the features of a better controller will benefit me. For example, just putting it in simplex repeater mode would help me do some range testing around the neighborhood without someone at the other end. another example, if i want to move this repeater somewhere, i like the ability to shut it down remotely if I’m not there. one controler i'm looking at is: http://hamtronix.com...p?id_product=60 i really like this squelch controller would be helpful... during some of my testing, the squelch does cut out a lot during the reception of the HTs and it would be easier to understand if it would just hold open for a bit longer when the signal is weak. http://hamtronix.com...p?id_product=82 another one i'm looking at is: http://www.nhrc.net/nhrc-3.1/ and the: http://www.arcomcont...210/rc210-board other thoughts: do i need a pre amp? if i get a preamp only and put it between the duplexer and receiver radio, would that help? Should i pay 3 times the price for one that will switch off during transmit and put one between the duplexer and antenna and allow transmission through it? I know that if my feed line is long, you'd want the pre amp as close to the antenna as possible. I'm currently using 65 ft of RG8x cable from roof to shack. my thought is if i can help pick up the 4w HT better, i can then reach the HT with no problem because I’m blasting out at 10w or 25w. as i connect everything , i want to make sure i pay attention to the audio levels of everything. on one of the controllers, the Elektra 2000, it has the ability to eq the audio a bit to make it sound more full (using a small cap across c10 or c11). I'm also going to pay attention to emphasis on the ins and outs to make sure that i can get as close to "full volume" on the other end as i can without too much distortion. I did notice that my uv5-r radio sounds louder than the 888s radios, all things equal... i have to talk loud into the 888s to get the volume to match on the receiver. So i'd like to try and get the best signal to noise ratio on these... does anyone use an audio compressor or any kind of volume management on these? finally, shielding...i need to make sure that the controller card is inside a metal box, or at least wrapped with some tin foil. everywhere i read says this is necessary. (except less of an issue on the NHRC 3.1 style because it "doesn't use a bus" and is less prone to electrical noise". as for the antenna, i'm going to use what i have for now, and then after the repeater is running i can swap it out for a better one. i think i need to put the money into a duplexer and controller to get this thing going first.

it happens.