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?

[WSDE760]

55 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:

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. 

That is not the same as what is being described as "poor man voting" is it?  If the "poor man" repeaters are not somehow networked (not permitted for GMRS) then how would everyone in the different areas be able to hear the more distant repeaters?

[SteveShannon]

28 minutes ago, WSDE760 said:

That is not the same as what is being described as "poor man voting" is it?  If the "poor man" repeaters are not somehow networked (not permitted for GMRS) then how would everyone in the different areas be able to hear the more distant repeaters?

I think you’re right but we’ve received few details. It appears they are just four repeaters sharing the same frequency pairs with an attempt at isolation via CTCSS input tones. As you pointed out this doesn’t really extend the coverage. 

[WSDE760]

I was just rereading what Gortex2 was saying about SAR use and the last sentence is apparently the point.

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

For those with a base or scanner its only one channel to monitor. 

So if, one had a centrally located base station with a nice high antenna that could both hear and Tx to the surrounding cluster of repeaters all sharing the same frequency pair, then you could coordinate communications.  The voting system is the base coordinator's ears.

The OP said their repeaters were only linked "except in analog mode", whatever that means. 

 

[WRTC928]

4 hours ago, WSDE760 said:

I apparently haven't....

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

So you don't key more than one repeater at once. That would create chaos.

[Northcutt114]

5 hours ago, SteveShannon said:

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

Well, I spent the better part of 30 minutes googling "voting scheme" with nothing at all related to radio. So then I googled "voting in radio" and my education began. @amaff's post was also very helpful. I now understand this thread.

 

[WSDE760]

11 minutes ago, WRTC928 said:

So you don't key more than one repeater at once. That would create chaos.

It was a rhetorical question, if everyone can hear all the outputs then it shouldn't matter which repeater you key up. 

Unless everyone cannot hear all the outputs, in which case you must open the repeater your intended recipient will hear.

[WSDE760]

11 minutes ago, Northcutt114 said:

@amaff's post was also very helpful. I now understand this thread.

Yes indeed helpful in explaining HAM radio voting systems in hardware linked repeaters.

I am trying to better understand this "poor mans" voting system, which I assume cannot rely on linked repeaters for GMRS applications.

[HHD1]

I don't think this idea will work without the use of a controller.  Any way I think of it so far leads to either zero transmission of signal or a cluster F of interference. 

[WRUE951]

2 minutes ago, HHD1 said:

I don't think this idea will work without the use of a controller.  Any way I think of it so far leads to either zero transmission of signal or a cluster F of interference. 

yup, it wold be a cluster F

[liahju]

On 12/11/2025 at 18:18, SteveShannon said:

Si una persona se encuentra dentro del alcance de dos o más repetidores, podría experimentar interferencias. ¿Está intentando implementar un sistema de votación o simplemente ampliar la cobertura?

 

On 11/12/2025 at 6:18 PM, SteveShannon said:

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?

we simply want to expand coverage.

[liahju]

On 11/14/2025 at 8:17 PM, WRUE951 said:

Sí, sería un desastre total.

The truth is that, in practice, the experiment was not the disaster that had been predicted. I don't know why, but for some reason it works. This weekend we will try again, but with the same input tones. Three more volunteers have joined us, so now there are nine of us, and we will be in different parts of the city, between buildings and distant locations. For reference, each repeater is approximately 8 to 11 miles away from each other, forming a grid. 

 

[gortex2]

The reason we use it in SAR is coverage. Portables cannot reach every repeater site. A mobile can reach the majority of the sites but 90% of our members rely on portables. With the same TX from the 4 repeatersi n the county there is a good chance they can hear the repeater but not talk back. Thats the reason its the same TX/RX with different input PL. The second reason is we are above line A and it takes forever to get a channel approved from the FCC. Our last frequency pair took almost 2 years to get a license. 

The state Forest Ranger uses a similar system to ours. They have 1 TX pair for the entire state and have 2-3 RX frequencies they use for each repeater site. For us in SAR we only need to monitor the FR Repeater output as we can hear the channel all over the state regardless of repeater site they are on. In the end even if you need to pick up the phone and call back to dispatch you still most likely heard them. 

The county to the north of us now has a true voted system. We have 3 simulcast transmitters (All TX same time via GPS) and 9 Receive sites. This of course is all conencted via microwave. Voter takes the best audible signal form a portable and retransmits it on the TX. All TX and all rx sites use same PL/CTCSS tone there. 

There are many ways to setup a repeater system. And the basic ideas from 40 years ago still works when needed. And at least in our area repeaters can't hear portables from 100 miles away like Im told about other areas of the country. In public safety its about reliabilty and not max performance. Yes I may be able to hit xyz repeater on a clear sunny day with no leaves on the tree but in reality the missing hunter is our in the winter in a blizzard at night.