Repeater chain

[liahju]

1. A chain of 4 repeaters on the same frequency, solely for testing and learning purposes, how do you think we should configure it, with the same input tones and different output tones, or vice versa?

[HHD1]

3 minutes ago, liahju said:

1. A chain of 4 repeaters on the same frequency, solely for testing and learning purposes, how do you think we should configure it, with the same input tones and different output tones, or vice versa?

Are you talking about linking repeaters?

[liahju]

NO. 

[liahju]

I'm not talking about linking repeaters, except in analog mode.

[HHD1]

1 minute ago, liahju said:

I'm not talking about linking repeaters, except in analog mode.

so, the output frequency of one is the input of the next.  And so on?  I think as long as the tone settings line up between the repeaters, it shouldn't matter if you match tones in and out on the same repeater or not.  Just as long as your output matches the input on the next repeater on the chain.  And you don't reuse the same frequency sets on any of the repeaters so as not to cause a loop or interference.

As for the FCC rules regarding doing this...  I'm not one to say. 

[liahju]

The idea was to use the same pair of frequencies, but we believe they should have different input tones and the same output tone.

[liahju]

We just wanted to confirm that yes, the test has been carried out and has been a complete success. The four repeaters located in different parts of the city are working as planned. We used the same pair of frequencies, different input tones, and the same output tones for the four mini repeaters. By the way, they were four Retevis RT97s. Note: we will use channel 17. 462.6000 - 467.6000

[SteveShannon]

43 minutes ago, liahju said:

We just wanted to confirm that yes, the test has been carried out and has been a complete success. The four repeaters located in different parts of the city are working as planned. We used the same pair of frequencies, different input tones, and the same output tones for the four mini repeaters. By the way, they were four Retevis RT97s. Note: we will use channel 17. 462.6000 - 467.6000

If a person is in range of two or more of the repeaters they might experience some interference. Are you trying to accomplish a voting scheme or just extending coverage?

[HHD1]

We are BORG

[gortex2]

Poor man voting. We do this in SAR. All our repeaters transmit and receive on same frequency pair with different PL tones across the network on the inbound. Basically allowsa  unit to hear all the outputs without changing channels. If we say Unit xxx on the air on XYZ Mountain and I'm on ABC mountain I still hear them and know to talk to them I need to change to that repeater input. My GMRS sites are similar. For those with a base or scanner its only one channel to monitor. 

[liahju]

36 minutes ago, gortex2 said:

Poor man voting. We do this in SAR. All our repeaters transmit and receive on same frequency pair with different PL tones across the network on the inbound. Basically allowsa  unit to hear all the outputs without changing channels. If we say Unit xxx on the air on XYZ Mountain and I'm on ABC mountain I still hear them and know to talk to them I need to change to that repeater input. My GMRS sites are similar. For those with a base or scanner its only one channel to monitor. 

It was precisely in that novice experiment that we discovered that it is much better this way, more reliable, and we don't interfere with anyone else. 

[liahju]

12 minutes ago, liahju said:

Fue precisamente en ese experimento inicial donde descubrimos que así es mucho mejor, más fiable, y no interferimos con nadie más. 

We are going to do something different with the tones next week. I will keep you posted on the experiment.

[WRUE951]

16 hours ago, liahju said:

1. A chain of 4 repeaters on the same frequency, solely for testing and learning purposes, how do you think we should configure it, with the same input tones and different output tones, or vice versa?

You Rebel. 

[liahju]

46 minutes ago, WRUE951 said:

You Rebel. 

Jajaja. 

[HHD1]

19 hours ago, SteveShannon said:

Are you trying to accomplish a voting scheme

I had no idea this was a radio term. So, I took it the wrong way, and it made me laugh. 

[HHD1]

6 hours ago, gortex2 said:

Poor man voting. We do this in SAR. All our repeaters transmit and receive on same frequency pair with different PL tones across the network on the inbound. Basically allowsa  unit to hear all the outputs without changing channels. If we say Unit xxx on the air on XYZ Mountain and I'm on ABC mountain I still hear them and know to talk to them I need to change to that repeater input. My GMRS sites are similar. For those with a base or scanner its only one channel to monitor. 

Wouldn't this be more of a "Web" than a "Chain" ?

[WRTC928]

On 11/13/2025 at 7:02 AM, gortex2 said:

Poor man voting. We do this in SAR. All our repeaters transmit and receive on same frequency pair with different PL tones across the network on the inbound. Basically allowsa  unit to hear all the outputs without changing channels. If we say Unit xxx on the air on XYZ Mountain and I'm on ABC mountain I still hear them and know to talk to them I need to change to that repeater input. My GMRS sites are similar. For those with a base or scanner its only one channel to monitor. 

Interesting. I never had occasion to need something like this, so I never considered it as a possibility. I'll file it away for reference in case it proves useful in the future. Thanks!

[Northcutt114]

20 hours ago, HHD1 said:

I had no idea this was a radio term. So, I took it the wrong way, and it made me laugh. 

Wait...what? "voting scheme" is a radio term? I couldn't figure out what he was talking about either.

 

[SteveShannon]

42 minutes ago, Northcutt114 said:

Wait...what? "voting scheme" is a radio term? I couldn't figure out what he was talking about either.

 

Do you understand the term and concept now or have you educated yourself?

[WSDE760]

1 hour ago, SteveShannon said:

have you educated yourself?

I apparently haven't....

2 hours ago, WRTC928 said:

If we say Unit xxx on the air on XYZ Mountain and I'm on ABC mountain I still hear them and know to talk to them I need to change to that repeater input. My GMRS sites are similar. For those with a base or scanner its only one channel to monitor. 

So if everyone can hear all the outputs why do you need to change to a specific input tone?

[HHD1]

1 hour ago, SteveShannon said:

Do you understand the term and concept now or have you educated yourself?

I have not looked it up yet, so I don't quite understand.

[HHD1]

So it's like a trunking system?

[SteveShannon]

42 minutes ago, WSDE760 said:

I apparently haven't....

 

5 minutes ago, HHD1 said:

I have not looked it up yet, so I don't quite understand.

Others can certainly explain it better than I can but in a true voting system an organization will have multiple repeaters at strategic locations. They’re all connected together and the controller will then use the input of the receiver with the highest strength signal. That receiver wins the vote. All of the repeaters retransmit that best quality signal. 
I’m counting on others here to correct me. 
 

[amaff]

I'm no ham. Hell, I didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. But this I think breaks it down fairly understandably.

https://www.taitradioacademy.com/topic/voting-and-simulcast-networks-1/

[Davichko5650]

26 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:

 

I’m counting on others here to correct me. 
 

No need, you're spot on here.  I've used a repeater hereabouts with 6 receive sites and have had this explained to me back my lowly no code tech days in 1992.

[WRUU653]

20 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:

 

Others can certainly explain it better than I can but in a true voting system an organization will have multiple repeaters at strategic locations. They’re all connected together and the controller will then use the input of the receiver with the highest strength signal. That receiver wins the vote. All of the repeaters retransmit that best quality signal. 
I’m counting on others here to correct me. 

 

 

I think you nailed it. We have a countywide ham repeater system here that uses a voting system. All the input and output tones are the same, a half dozen or more repeaters and works great from most places.