wqpn591

Or just buy one of these https://www.bridgecomsystems.com/collections/amateur-radio-repeaters/products/bcr-40du
and  decent antenna and away you go.
 

I did the DIY with a pair of Wouxun KG1000G units. Was not happy with performance as the RF is pretty sloppy on those.
The Bridgecom unit works way better.
also upgraded a cheap antenna to this https://theantennafarm.com/shop-by-manufacturers/results,1-24?keyword=DB408-B&x=0&y=0&limitstart=0&option=com_virtuemart&view=category&virtuemart_category_id=0
also made world of difference.
 

I ordered a BCR-40U at end of December and received it on Feb 8th.
I've been very happy with it as a GMRS repeater. I did buy the programming cable and software with it and its fairly straight forward.
I order the 450-470Mhz instead of the 450-520Mhz version. Just in case I want to use it as a HAM UHF repeater or base one day.
Regarding customer service. They seem to run strictly on a ticketing based system. with about 2 day response.
I've tried calling to talk to tech support and can never get through. But during pre-sales I was able to talk to a sales guy. Dont remember his name. He was reasonably knowledgeable but did have to get some answers from some else for some of my questions.

I have spent some time today investigating the pinouts and behavior of the RJ45 connections on the radio for the purpose of integrating with other things. I have also messaged BTWR to ask for the official information. I will post the results here in the near future.

One think I discovered today is what I consider to be an error in the manual. The pin numbers used in the manual for the RJ45 (8P8C) connector are backwards from the standard. So if you make you own cable and reverse the conductors based on the standard pin numbers, the cable will be incorrect. If using the standard pin numbers, Pins 5 and 7 need to be reversed end to end, not 2 and 4 as indicated in the manual. However, if you follow the graphic in the manual you will be fine.

Michael
WRHS965
KE8PLM

Edit: Here are the current pinout findings.

I was thinking how I would join a GMRS network with my KG1000G based repeater.
The signals that go between the two KG1000G have all the signals (I believe) to create a network interface.
Today
Rx Radio -------------------------------------Tx Radio
 
Mod
Rx Radio--------------------Network Tap---------------------Tx Radio
                                                       |
                                                       |
                                         Repeater link(Pi)
https://shop.mygmrs.com/collections/repeaters-and-accessories/products/repeater-linking-bundle?variant=31428894785571
I would have to design the Network Tap. Would be a box with 3 RJ45 type connectors (what the radios use) and a bit of circuitry.
Thoughts?
 

Here is a tip/trick we discovered last week getting 2 KG9000G's setup as a repeater.    It was super simple to setup if you watched the video from BuyTwoWayRadios.com or NotARubicon.   However one thing we noticed was we did not have a repeater tail.   This is disturbing because when you put a call out there you don't know if the repeater is up or not.   We found a strange menu option in the advanced settings called Repeat Hold Timer.  Here is what the manual says:
We were skeptical but we ordered the RT Systems cable and software and put in 700 milliseconds for this value in the software on the transmitter radio and now we have a tail.    Very useful. 

 
@rayep
 

I traded out my XLT-50 duplexer for a Sinclair Technologies MR356-N-2. Ordered it tuned to the channel I wanted to use.
Ordered from the theantennafarm.com 
Works much better, and costs $500 instead of $150. But we get what we pay for.
I also send my XLT-50 to John at BuyTwoWayRadios.com and he is tuning it to my freq so I'll try it again when it comes back.