Getting 50 watts actually out of repeater

[TerriKennedy]

10 hours ago, GreggInFL said:

The Ns are that much better?

They're watertight and are much better at UHF frequencies. I use them exclusively at work (on LMR600) for cellular frequencies and have the cable stock (Times Microwave), tooling and connectors (Pasternack) to build cables of the correct length. It isn't that "cost is no object" there, it's that going out and re-doing something if it fails would be incredibly expensive. You wouldn't believe the stuff I see (from companies that should know better) up there - like slathering silicone sealant all over stuff.

259/239 connectors are use for some (IMHO) wildly inappropriate stuff. I've seen fixed (as opposed to mobile) NMO stick antennas (don't get me started on the deficiencies of NMO) with SO-239 bases, where the water runs down the stick and pools in the connector body. I don't see the point of the weather gasket on an NMO base if the other end of the base is an SO-239.

Also, "everything N" means that I don't need to stock a case of adapters to deal with wacky combinations.

That's for work and for my personal permanent setups. On my bench I have bins of inexpensive adapters, because I can get 2 dozen assorted adapters for the price of a single adapter from Pasternack. But my temporary bench setups also get an SWR meter if there's any transmission involved, so I can see if there's a problem.

[TerriKennedy]

9 hours ago, LeoG said:

All the places I looked on line said ask for a quote.  That's always scary.  I found one with a price of 2300.  The XLT he has goes for 249 currently with a tune.

It's what I was able to find online, your mileage may vary

For example, https://www.ebay.com/itm/257105853217

However, this is definitely a case of "know the product, know your seller"*. There are some other ones on eBay that have ben completely trashed - cavities missing, a mishmash of inappropriate cable types, "untested - as is", etc. I buy from a tech who is authorized to set up Motorola UHF equipment and has a side business testing, tuning and selling used duplexers. He has the test equipment needed to properly configure these and provides actual SWR plots showing the tune with each unit. 

* I have not dealt with the seller of this eBay listing. It just looks to be in decent shape, has all parts present, etc.

[TerriKennedy]

8 hours ago, GreggInFL said:

I'm looking at a new antenna with an "N" connector, but I have some LMR-400 with PL259s on both ends. I know adapters are not good, but how bad would one be for this application?

A good-quality adapter will likely perform better than any of your first few attempts to put a new connector on your existing cable. Something like an Amphenol 242155 - https://web.archive.org/web/20250814035314/https://www.amphenolrf.com/242155.html (archive.org link as the Amphenol web site is broken at the moment)

Since the SO-239/PL-259 fit isn't waterproof, you may want to get some weatherproof heat shrink tubing (commonly used to protect underground electrical splices) to put over it. An installer's trick is to wrap the mated connectors with high-grade electrical tape (Scotch Super 88, for example) since the heat shrink tubing will have heat-activated glue on the inside. This makes taking things apart easier if you ever need to do it - slit the heat shrink tubing and remove, then unwrap the electrical tape. Without the electrical tape, the glue will get onto the connectors and make it very hard to disassemble.

HOWEVER: Since your existing PL-259 on the LMR400 isn't waterproof, if it has been in use outdoors, you may have water intrusion into the LMR400. If that is a concern (and you have sufficient slack in the cable) you might be better off cutting it back a bit and installing a new connector.