Retevis RT97L 25W Repeater Duty Cycle

[RoadApple]

I watched the YT video on the Retevis RT97L 25W repeater ( Thank you @OffRoaderX ! ).  Unless I'm misunderstanding things, the video indicated that this repeater is intended for "lite use" and suggest that it may not have the duty cycle or capacity to serve as an open use general repeater.  The spec sheet says it has a "Transmitters Duty Cycle of 100%".

What does that really mean, and has anyone out there has done any serious real-world general use testing with this specific repeater?

[Mrsig]

Not sure but ours runs 24/7 for our ranch & firearms range since February with 4 to 20 radios on it with no problems. 

[WRXL702]

There are very few repeaters that have a true 100% duty cycle, & the RT97L is not one of them. Most operate on a 100% / 50% (50 watt / 25 watt) duty cycle, meaning it will transmit at 100% rated power until the internal temperature rises to a set point then cuts back to 50% transmit power, or more, but does not shut off the repeater & it still works. Other 25 watt repeaters like the RT97L operate on the similar principle & hopefully will power back as needed.

The Motorola MTR2000 & MTR3000 commercial grade repeaters for example, are true 100% duty cycle repeaters. They are designed to transmit continuously for 24hrs a day if necessary. They also have very large heat sinks on the chassis to help dissipate the heat during continuous transmitting. But even with the large heat sinks, they still will self preserve if internal temperature gets above a certain point due to ambient surrounding temperatures & will cut back on power output.

The Kenwood NXR-810, another commercial grade repeater is only rated at a 100% / 50% duty cycle. It is in their specs, & unlike other radio manufactures don't sugar coat it by using the verbiage "light duty" to mislead that it is a true 100% duty cycle repeater.

Ambient room temperature where the repeater is located also plays a huge roll on the internal temp monitoring system. That is why most all commercial radio sites have AC to compensate for the heat generated by several repeaters or transmitters.

Heat Is The Enemy Of Transmitters......