WSLD862 Posted January 22 Posted January 22 Area code 90630 in Cypress CA. I don't know if i am out of range or not setting up my hand held the right way. I have a baofeng uv-5g mini. If anyone is around here and can offer help it would be much appreciated. Thanks, ERIC Quote
1 amaff Posted January 23 Posted January 23 11 hours ago, tcp2525 said: You're using the wrong radio. You need a Radioditty DB20 and a 1/4 NMO whip. by all means, please don't elaborate further on the solution being "spend more money"... why wouldn't a handheld do what they're trying to accomplish? SteveShannon 1 Quote
1 WSIF574 Posted January 23 Posted January 23 Once you know you have your settings correct. If you still can’t hit a repeater, if possible try to get on your roof and try. The Leisure world repeater is most likely a roof top antenna at 15 -20 ft. Line of sight even at 3-4 miles could be the problem. For example if the antenna is at 15 ft at 4 miles it would appear to only be right at ground level on the horizon now add in every home and you need to get through all of them. I struggle here in Az due to every house and building having stucco backed with chicken wire. SteveShannon and WSLD862 2 Quote
1 PRadio Posted January 23 Posted January 23 17 hours ago, tcp2525 said: You're using the wrong radio. You need a Radioditty DB20 and a 1/4 NMO whip. So, you're saying that is the only radio that can ht a repeater? I shall run now and purchase every available unit so I can make millions. I will be the only supplier. Mwhahahahahaha! Or simply double check the current radio's settings before spending any money. After settings are confirmed, get up higher is possible, or get closer to the repeater to be sure it isn't the radio. Then and only then, investigate options for radios and an antenna. WSLD862, SteveShannon and WSIF574 3 Quote
1 WSIF574 Posted January 23 Posted January 23 16 minutes ago, tcp2525 said: Because it didn’t. If it did he wouldn't ask. Statistically speaking these problems are attributed to either using the wrong antenna combined with inadequate feedline, improperly designed and manufactured radio made in China, and/or improperly programming caused by poorly written software combined with incorrect user input. The above radio and antenna combination eliminates all those issues. Well the antenna that comes with the radio 99.9% of the time works fine. A higher gain antenna for handheld radios mainly improves the receive side. Feed line has no bearing on this as it’s a handheld and there is no mention of using it as a base station. The radioddity is made in china. You still need to program that radio for repeater use. amaff, PRadio and WSLD862 2 1 Quote
1 PRadio Posted January 23 Posted January 23 2 minutes ago, WSIF574 said: Well the antenna that comes with the radio 99.9% of the time works fine. A higher gain antenna for handheld radios mainly improves the receive side. Feed line has no bearing on this as it’s a handheld and there is no mention of using it as a base station. The radioddity is made in china. You still need to program that radio for repeater use. Exactly. I can hit a repeater in Pittsburgh from a valley outside of Pittsburgh using a Tera 505 HH and the stock antenna. I live in a suburb and we have plenty of trees and hills between my house and the repeater. Does it work well? No, but I can hit it. I don't get on any repeaters anymore, but I know the handheld can work. It just depends on the height of the repeater's antenna, distance, LOS, etc. WSLD862 1 Quote
1 amaff Posted January 24 Posted January 24 7 hours ago, tcp2525 said: Because it didn’t. If it did he wouldn't ask. Statistically speaking these problems are attributed to either using the wrong antenna combined with inadequate feedline, improperly designed and manufactured radio made in China, and/or improperly programming caused by poorly written software combined with incorrect user input. The above radio and antenna combination eliminates all those issues. Statistically speaking, it's almost always a configuration issue, and almost never hardware with some notable exceptions. Notable because of how rare they are. If it's not hitting the repeater because it's on the wrong channel, or using the wrong tones, or just has transmit inhibited or one of another dozen things that can be done wrong on a radio, you could throw several thousands of dollars of feed line, antennas and radios and he still wouldn't hit the repeater. PRadio, dosw and WRHS218 2 1 Quote
0 WSHT233 Posted January 23 Posted January 23 2 hours ago, WSLD862 said: Area code 90630 in Cypress CA. I don't know if i am out of range or not setting up my hand held the right way. I have a baofeng uv-5g mini. If anyone is around here and can offer help it would be much appreciated. Thanks, ERIC If you're using CHIRP for programming, can you screen grab your list of repeaters and settings? That's a good place to start, and an area map with your general location. If not, You'll probably need to type out your settings. I find this to be a useful tool to get a snapshot of LOS: https://www.scadacore.com/tools/rf-path/rf-line-of-sight/ Just put one pin on your location and the other on the repeater tower. Having a big hill in the way can be a deal breaker, especially on an HH. WSLD862 1 Quote
0 nokones Posted January 23 Posted January 23 What repeaters are you trying to hit from Cypress? You should be able to hit the repeater located in Limber Dick Acres, a.k.a Leisure World, from Cypress. The Westminster repeater may be iffy. WSLD862 1 Quote
0 nokones Posted January 25 Posted January 25 On 1/22/2026 at 3:02 PM, WSLD862 said: Area code 90630 in Cypress CA. I don't know if i am out of range or not setting up my hand held the right way. I have a baofeng uv-5g mini. If anyone is around here and can offer help it would be much appreciated. Thanks, ERIC Area code for Cypress is 714. Area codes are three digit numbers and zip codes are five digit numbers. 90630 is a zip code not an area code. I'm sure most of the people in Cypress don't even know that the city name back in the late 50s and early to mid 60s was Dairy City and La Palma was named Dairyland. Quote
-3 tcp2525 Posted January 23 Posted January 23 5 hours ago, amaff said: by all means, please don't elaborate further on the solution being "spend more money"... why wouldn't a handheld do what they're trying to accomplish? Because it didn’t. If it did he wouldn't ask. Statistically speaking these problems are attributed to either using the wrong antenna combined with inadequate feedline, improperly designed and manufactured radio made in China, and/or improperly programming caused by poorly written software combined with incorrect user input. The above radio and antenna combination eliminates all those issues. amaff 1 Quote
-6 tcp2525 Posted January 23 Posted January 23 3 hours ago, WSLD862 said: Area code 90630 in Cypress CA. I don't know if i am out of range or not setting up my hand held the right way. I have a baofeng uv-5g mini. If anyone is around here and can offer help it would be much appreciated. Thanks, ERIC You're using the wrong radio. You need a Radioditty DB20 and a 1/4 NMO whip. Quote
Question
WSLD862
Area code 90630 in Cypress CA. I don't know if i am out of range or not setting up my hand held the right way. I have a baofeng uv-5g mini.
If anyone is around here and can offer help it would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
ERIC
11 answers to this question
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