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I will be following closely myself, as I know my next expense will be new Superflex and antenna for my new Bridgecom repeater. There's no point at all in putting used tires on a new car!

Yesterday I ordered a shiny new spectrum analyzer with tracking generator. It sure is a lot nicer than my old "Cushman Service Monitor" from the old GESS I used to own! Now I'll be able to tune things properly again. No more 'Armstrong Method' more miss than hit. Rigol DSA815-TG Tracking Generator Spectrum Analyzer http://www.ebay.com/itm/361461963474 http://cdn3.volusion.com/gxyha.zuzhq/v/vspfiles/photos/DSA815-TG-3.jpg

Use the PM system to converse then!

No, this one is strictly analog. The only bands I'm licensed for is in the amateur bands where digital would be legal are already well covered by existing repeaters in Gary, Crown Point, Valparaiso, La Porte, and Chicago. The analog mode is oversaturated with 2m and 70cm repeaters, that are going largely unused. This is why I decided to try setting up a GMRS repeater as a place to experiment and have a bit of fun. If it doesn't work out well, I'm sure it could be used for something else.

Having grown tired of fumbling around with my attempts to homebrew my own repeater, I've just ordered a shiny new Bridgecom BCR-40U (400-470 MHz) UHF Repeater, complete with a properly tuned duplexer and the programming kit. It should be here within a week or less. I had my handy man out today taking advantage of the warmer weather and low winds to do some maintenance on my roof mounted antennas. One dual-band antenna's top section was lost several years ago (the VHF part), so I had him swap the coax over to another dual band that I'd put up some years ago as a backup. Hopefully all I'll need for the spring is to buy some 1/4" Superflex heliax and a better antenna for the repeater. I also made contact with another ham in the area who's kindly offered to (re)tune my existing duplexer.

I've seen several really nice wood 4u cases, both straight and sloped. I'm actually going to make my own using 8u rails and base legs. I can easily cut sides and a top for it and give it a nice finish. This will be for my desktop eventually, so I have less of a clutter here. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemVersion&item=401058404903&view=all&tid=519033038027 CS800 (DMR) TYT TH-7800 (dual band 2m/70cm) HP1 (scanner) BDD436HP (scanner) Diamond SX-600 (Watt Meter/SWR) Kenwood 840 Kenwood 880

I ordered the smaller shelf from here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/161798724686 for $15. I went to my local Menards (like Home Depot) and bought four six inch threaded screws, lock washers and nuts. I drilled matching holes for the four long screws and used the lock washers and nuts to secure the tray. Both the duplexer and power supply are mounted with large strips of Velcro. The power supply came from here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/30-Amp-12-Volt-DC-13-8V-Regulated-Power-Supply-for-Ham-Radio-CB-US-SELLER-/121880601988? for $34.99 + shipping. Not seen in the photos is a vented 2u front panel that will both hide and protect the duplexer and power supply from curious fingers... I had emailed the gentleman from whom I bought the custom tray and front panel and inquired about a vented panel and tray, but he said it would cost nearly as much as the custom one I'd already bought. I figured I could do it myself a lot cheaper! The reason for choosing a "Gator Box" is that this is intended to be a "portable repeater" for off-the-grid use mostly. For that reason both radios have all eight GMRS frequencies programmed. It's a shame that the PL tone is not changeable without resorting to the CSS, but then for where it's going to be used that probably won't be much of a problem. The "Gator Box" has ample room to accommodate one or two LiFEPRO4 batteries, a charging circuit, and a fifty feet of coax and antenna, with a weighted rope that can be used to pull the antenna and coax up into a handy tree branch.

I finally (after nineteen years of procrastination) decided to join the Lake County Amateur Radio Club last night. After the meeting I spoke with a member who had presented the evening's program on "Texas Eggbeater" satellite antennas and he indicated his willingness to help me tune up the duplexer properly. In the meantime I'm going to ship both my Ritron RRX450 repeaters down to Carmel, Indiana so the factory can repair and/or tune them up properly. I'll probably then put the "Gator Box Portable Repeater" up for sale once the duplexer is tuned and I've got it completely assembled.

Yes it should. I will get to this after awhile when I can set aside some time.

I have two Ritron Patriot RRX450 repeaters here; one with duplexer. I need to send both of them to Carmel, Indiana for repair and/or tuning. Hopefully they won't charge too much!

SWR checks out at 1.1:1 to the antenna. Both radios direct to the antenna show a solid 25 watts. I'll put my meter between the transmitter and duplexer after awhile to check SWR. I suspect that the so-called "free tuning to my frequency" offered by the seller was not done properly (or at all for that matter). I've checked with my fellow hams here in the area and no one knows of anyone with a spectrum analyzer to check and tune it properly. When I sold South Texas Radio (GESS) twenty-five years ago, all my test gear was part of the sale. Another test I can do is to use two antennas and by-pass the duplexer. I have two antennas around 40' apart on the roof of my house.

Oh my! I may as well be trying to use a dummy load for an antenna. Yesterday a quick test demonstrated that I currently have slightly less than a 1 block radius of coverage...

Well, I'm located at the southern tip of Lake Michigan, and there are darn few hills anywhere near me. I expect terrific coverage of southern Lake Michigan! Anywhere around the steel mills however, not so much... Most certainly my weakest link at the moment is the antenna and feed line. Those will be the first items on the Spring Agenda.

Eventually, perhaps. An adequate LiFEPO4 battery is around $130 though. Since this is at home, for the time being I'll plug the repeater into one of my spare UPS units. This has a 13.86vdc 30amp power supply, so I'd be surprised if the PS is responsible for the power droop. Here is a picture of it on my desk while making sure everything is wired correctly! http://imageshack.com/a/img921/3180/nKO3H1.jpg Here is a picture of its final home. I haven't installed the vented front panel yet.

Well I finally have managed to bring the "Hammond675" repeater online, at least on an experimental basis. The repeater consists of two Motorola CDM1550 LS radios, a simple controller, duplexer, 50' RG213/U coax and a simple UHF antenna mounted around 42' on the peak of my home's roof. I don't expect great coverage with only 10 watts, but that's the best I can afford at the moment. When spring comes around again, I'll have a friend who's still able to climb around install a better antenna and 1/4" Superflex Heliax cable. I'll also replace the jumpers to the duplexer with 1/4" Superflex Heliax at the same time. Now if I can just figure out why the transmitter starts at 12 watts, droops to about 5 watts, then within one second ramps back up to a steady 10 watts! Having looked around carefully, I've modified my original plan to use 467.725 and have set the system to use 467.675 PL xxx.x since no one within 70 direct miles from me is using that frequency.

Oh my, those were the days! Grill a ham and cheese sandwich, bologna sandwich, etc. Good story sir!

Although I still don't have it on the air yet Cory, there would be no point to me putting it up at all unless I allow any licensed GMRS user to use it... I may be old (67) but I'm not yet to the point of talking to myself, and even if I were I'd still not need a repeater to do that!

Don't forget the "Roger beep!"

Tubes? Why back in my day real radio operators used spark-gap!

That is indeed CHIRP.

I see nothing at all wrong with your programming. You might wish to disable the tone for receive though until you sort out any other issues.

Chris, the quickest and easiest way to put up a repeater is to buy one from places such as eBay where there are quite often completely assembled repeaters available. However, a repeater is the least of the expenses involved. Without a properly installed antenna system, the repeater is just another useless doorstop... A good commercial quality antenna mounted as high* as possible, along with at least 1/4" super-flex heliax is the minimum I would recommend. You can accomplish more with such an antenna system and 5 watts input power than you can with a crappy antenna system and 50 watts input power. I would budget $1500 as a minimum starting expense. BTW, is this your GMRS license or your dad's? I see it was issued 11/28/2012 and expires 11/28/2017. *NOTE: 50' is what I consider minimum effective height. Keep in mind that UHF frequencies are LOS (line of sight).

I probably still won't be able to hit it from North Hammond, IN. I can hit the Joliet repeater though full quieting.

I printed mine out, framed it, and hung it next to my ham license...

As few people who're using this set of forums currently, it seems a bit pointless IMHO...