Base station Kg-1000+

[arn]

Looking to get other people's input on my plans. I currently use a kg-935g+ and it's great for short distances. I want something more powerful for talking to my buddies when we are not in HT range. I have a few ideas. First I was thinking of buying a Wouxun KG-1000G Plus and using it with an upgraded antenna for a while. Question one: should I instead just get a duplexer and turn the thing into a repeater? Question two: Duplexers have an ANT port as well as a high and low, if you only use one antenna I don't understand what gets plugged into the high and low ports. 

[SteveShannon]

10 minutes ago, arn said:

Looking to get other people's input on my plans. I currently use a kg-935g+ and it's great for short distances. I want something more powerful for talking to my buddies when we are not in HT range. I have a few ideas. First I was thinking of buying a Wouxun KG-1000G Plus and using it with an upgraded antenna for a while. Question one: should I instead just get a duplexer and turn the thing into a repeater? Question two: Duplexers have an ANT port as well as a high and low, if you only use one antenna I don't understand what gets plugged into the high and low ports. 

Q1. No. It doesn’t work like that. You would need two radios and a duplexer. 
Q2. Two radios plug into the high and low ports. For GMRS the receiver is plugged into the high port because it receives on the 467 MHz channel. The transmitter plugs into the low port because it transmits on the 462 MHz channel. 

[arn]

Q1. No. It doesn’t work like that. You would need two radios and a duplexer. 
Q2. Two radios plug into the high and low ports. For GMRS the receiver is plugged into the high port because it receives on the 467 MHz channel. The transmitter plugs into the low port because it transmits on the 462 MHz channel. 

I understand my confusion, thank you.

[WRYZ926]

Yes you can make a repeater using two radios. But you will be better off using an actual purpose built repeater. @OffRoaderX can tell you more about using two KG-1000G radios as a repeater. 

What I can tell you is that the KG-1000G makes a nice base station when used with a good antenna and good coax. My setup is a KG-1000G, Comet CA-712 antenna and LMR400 type coax. The antenna is 18 feet above the ground at its base. I can talk to others on simplex up to 25 miles away here in Mid Missouri. Geographical location and antenna height will make a difference.

[OffRoaderX]

47 minutes ago, WRYZ926 said:

you will be better off using an actual purpose built repeater.

I concur.. 
Putting together a repeater with two KG1000's is fun, but you will get better performance and can probably save some money with a "real" repeater.  You can find a good, used UHF repeater for a few hundred $$, and some can double as a base-station.

[COBrien]

I'm going to strongly encourage you to check out @OffRoaderX's YouTube channel (NotARubicon). From the basics of GMRS operation to real-world repeater information, he explains it in such a way that anyone can understand.

The bottom line is that you *can* connect a pair of KG-1000G radios to make a repeater, but from what I read the duty cycle (Tx time vs. cool-down time) is going to be relatively low. If you want to set up a repeater, I second the recommendation to purchase a dedicated repeater. You can purchase a Motorola GR-1225 setup -- with duplexer -- programmed and tuned to your chosen frequency pair for ~$700.

That's less than you'd have in the pair of KG-1000Gs, and you'd still need a duplexer and power supply for the Wouxun setup.

I've recently put a Motorola XPR8300 repeater on the air, with a Tram 1486 antenna about 30 feet above ground level. The usable range of this setup with the topography in my area is ~20 miles with a mobile radio (25-50W), and 10-15 with a handheld (5ishW).

 

[WRZK546]

I’ve been running a used icom fr4000-3 repeater and duplexer. I’ve had some luck finding them quite cheap and with a little bit of love and tune up they seem to work really well. Glad I went that route vs two kg1000g+, definitely a more robust and professional setup for less price too.