Two Repeaters, 10 miles apart, will this work?

[WRPL657]

Can two repeaters with same input and output frequencies but with different transmit and receive tones for each repeater work without creating a feedback loop or some other problem? Our situation is we have two repeaters, one is in operation now. It does not cover a critical location in a mountainous area. We have a second repeater set-up that is identical in frequency and tones. If the second repeater's tones were changed to be different from the first repeater could they operate in close proximity (10 miles) with out creating a problem? Anyone out there with similar experience?

[marcspaz]

If the tones are the same, both repeaters would come up and 'repeat' your transmission at the same time.  No loop could be created.

If you set it to different tones, then the only issue to watch for is mistakenly causing interference.  The users of each repeater would probably need to just transmitting a tone, but not using tone squelch.  This way they can tell if the frequency is in use.  Either that or they would need to 'monitor before transmit' if they have a monitor button on their radio.

[WRXL702]

5 minutes ago, WRPL657 said:

Can two repeaters with same input and output frequencies but with different transmit and receive tones for each repeater work without creating a feedback loop or some other problem? Our situation is we have two repeaters, one is in operation now. It does not cover a critical location in a mountainous area. We have a second repeater set-up that is identical in frequency and tones. If the second repeater's tones were changed to be different from the first repeater could they operate in close proximity (10 miles) with out creating a problem? Anyone out there with similar experience?

Depends on the coverage area of both repeaters. If they overlap, you will have interference when both are transmitting at the same time.

Having different squelch tones is not the same thing as having different frequencies.

My suggestion - Set the second repeater at a different frequency to avoid potential problems.

[BoxCar]

3 hours ago, marcspaz said:

If the tones are the same, both repeaters would come up and 'repeat' your transmission at the same time.  No loop could be created.

You will still get some interference from the other repeater in overlap areas due to the phasing of the signals. Overall, it will work with the same frequency/tones.

[marcspaz]

14 minutes ago, BoxCar said:

You will still get some interference from the other repeater in overlap areas due to the phasing of the signals. Overall, it will work with the same frequency/tones.

 

Yeah, we have had that happen around here a few times when a new machine was stood up.  It sounds weird when its understandable. 

[gortex2]

I have done similar with our SAR repeaters. We use a different input PL on the repeaters but common transmit PL. That way ou can hear folks on both repeaters regardless which channel I have selected. In the old days this was considered poor man voting but worked well for many public safety agencies. 

 

[WRTC928]

I'm curious about why you want to do this.