WSBV579 Posted March 20 Report Share Posted March 20 I'll preface this with, I'm new to GMRS. I can communicate with others on a repeater, that's 28 miles away, during the day: loud and clear, maybe a bit of static but not bad at all. At night though, sometimes they can hear me but I CAN'T hear them...OR...they can't hear me but I CAN hear them. Does this have something to do with the time of day? I know the repeater is quite a distance away, but it seems odd that during the day everything works just fine, but then at night it does this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRYC373 Posted March 20 Report Share Posted March 20 Some theories some may be wrong: Street lamps/house lamps causing interference Tropospheric Ducting or Radiating Inversion causing far away signals to interfere Heavy night fogs. The repeater is solar powered only and the battery is on it's last legs. (If no one can talk to each other at night and it's not just you). Sshannon and WRUU653 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRXP381 Posted March 20 Report Share Posted March 20 28miles is on the edge for a hand held Should be fine for a base station. What radio are you using? If it’s not a solar power issue then I’d agree it’s something sciency. If you’re using a hand held can you upgrade the antenna? Mount a bigger one out side and run a cable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSBV579 Posted March 20 Author Report Share Posted March 20 18 minutes ago, WRYC373 said: Some theories some may be wrong: Street lamps/house lamps causing interference Tropospheric Ducting or Radiating Inversion causing far away signals to interfere Heavy night fogs. The repeater is solar powered only and the battery is on it's last legs. (If no one can talk to each other at night and it's not just you). Doubt it's street lamp. Not familiar enough with Tropospheric Ducting to be able to give an opinion there. Fog/Cloud cover...maybe. Not solar powered. Heard a conversation tonight from someone about as far away as I am. I could hear them...but they couldn't hear me. I did take my mobile 20watt out a half mile down the road and could get through though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSBV579 Posted March 20 Author Report Share Posted March 20 11 minutes ago, WRXP381 said: 28miles is on the edge for a hand held Should be fine for a base station. What radio are you using? If it’s not a solar power issue then I’d agree it’s something sciency. If you’re using a hand held can you upgrade the antenna? Mount a bigger one out side and run a cable? Yeah, my HT can't hit this repeater. My base is a Btech UV-25x2 with a Tram 1477 on a 20ft mast. My mobile is an Anysecu WP-9900 with a Nagoya UT-72. I tend to have the same issue with both radios in the evening hours... starting around 8pm. But, if I drive a bit up the road from my house, suddenly everything works fine on my mobile. And tested simplex tonight, just to be sure my radios aren't the issue, and my mobile to my base was clear out to 6 miles. I'm leaning toward it being "something sciency" between me and the repeater. Some atmospheric something or other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRXP381 Posted March 20 Report Share Posted March 20 I know 90% of the time I’m able to talk clear as day out 200miles but some days it just doesn’t happen especially at night. Dew? Fog? LED lights? Some ones huge TV? That’s pretty strange. What IS between you and the repeater? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRYC373 Posted March 20 Report Share Posted March 20 If you have line of sight to the repeater then you should be good. If you don't and when you moved down the road you do then that explains it. Look on google earth if you know where the repeater is and see if theres any industrial stuff between you and it. My guess now that you say moving away fixed it. Is that something is generating interference between you and the repeater. So id draw a line between you and the repeater and see what's there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSBV579 Posted March 20 Author Report Share Posted March 20 There's about 8 miles worth of city (homes, businesses, traffic lights, trees, hills, no buildings taller than 50ft)...than another 20-ish miles of farmland and rural country towns. Driving up the road from my house to use my mobile avoids A LOT of the city through direct line of sight...and it's probably another 25ft higher than my house and in an open area. I guess having more people at their homes in the evenings with LEDs and TVs on could be causing that interference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSBV579 Posted March 21 Author Report Share Posted March 21 I'm still learning all the sciency stuff about how weather and such effect radio waves...but last night it was an overcast evening and I was able to hit the repeater just fine. So, some cloud cover helps. Either way, I'm learning, and that's what matters most to me. WRXB215 and WRPG745 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRXB215 Posted March 21 Report Share Posted March 21 44 minutes ago, WSBV579 said: I'm learning, and that's what matters most to me. It has become apparent to me that I will be learning for the rest of my life. That's one of the things I really like about two-way-radio. WRPG745, WSBV579 and Sshannon 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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