Newbie looking for the best setup in SW Texas

[Guest Bart]

Hi All! 

I just purchased my GMRS license and waiting on my callsign to come through so I can join.  In the meantime, a little background for my question.  

I'm new to using a GMRS system but I spend a lot of time hunting and camping in the middle of nowhere in SW Texas near a small town called Dryden.  We lease a property of about 1500 acres with a permanent camping spot where we leave an old camper.  The ground is relatively flat except for minor valleys and hills. (We do have one high hill point on the property that sticks out but it's totally across the property from the camp spot).  You're lucky to get any cell service out there, which is nice except for when you need to communicate with the others out there with you.  

I was hoping I could do some sort of setup with an antenna and a repeater? Do you use or need a Duplexer? I've also seen some people use "mobile base stations".  Is that something worth using if we have ATV's?  Are there conventional "base stations" I should set up?  The last piece to my situation is I'd really prefer if I didn't have to leave a super high antenna out there while I'm gone.  We get quite a bit of wind and storms and wouldn't want it to get damaged.  I'm sure it's like anything else, you get what you pay for but what does a decent system setup cost?  $1-$5k?  

I apologize for all the questions and having no clue where to start but would love it if I could get some advice on making sure I can at least get a system good enough to keep my comm's up while out hunting.  

 

Thank!

[BoxCar]

Welcome to the zoo, Bart. You've asked the right questions to get started on your journey. As some answers, here's my take:

1. There are no "base station" radios available for GMRS. There are 3 types of units available, Hand Held, mobile, and repeater units. Hand helds are the Walkie Talkie units which have around 5 watts of power. Mobile units can have up to 50W of output power and these are intended for vehicle installation. Repeaters are a combination of a receive and transmit unit operating o two frequencies referred to as a pair. Repeaters are available with power outputs of 10 to 50W. Units used for base stations are mobile units with an AC power supply.

2. I will assume you do have electrical power at your site, either commercial power or from a generator/solar source. You'll need this to power/charge your radios.

3. A 10W repeater such as a Retevis unit will be all you need and they are less than $400. The antenna doesn't need to be an expensive base station type. A decent mobile antenna mounted either to the roof of your camper or on a pole should be adequate. Use good coax between your repeater and antenna. The coax should be Times Microwave LMR400 or equivalent. RG-8 coax used for CB's is a definite NO-NO. You can use a pole or stand to increase your antenna height and the pole should be easy to take down and stow inside if you are worried about storm damage. Your antenna should be at least 20 feet above the ground for maximum coverage of your area. The repeater won't reach all the valleys and could be shadowed by the hill, so you'll need to test to find the dead areas.

4. Hand held units should be all you need for your area, and they don't need to be more than $35 - 40 each. You can even use less expensive units as long as they are GMRS units capable of repeater operation. All total, you are looking about $700 for the repeater, cables, antenna and pole along with the power supply. Your power supply for the repeater can be something like a https://www.amazon.com/LRS-50-12-Switching-Supply-Single-Output/dp/B019GYODX0/ref=sr_1_16?crid=3NTVXK6LBBVIR&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.upFR096NaA19tx34bdpzI_C1r7w37pkURRyOxBW8B5CNiLXEUdfa9UCqu3m5bvDCk3obEmiIizxqoOdAdyRs6dus9j4LHpl6FZUxJPZglTwN6cwZjljZyeO2n5CGP8Fp3SvEerebxcX4_idXg87gANyP0uRkV4Z4O91kPdxU2R6uDZZOsMUTKyvLhbdV3-vWjJkiof6KIRFThSvBqyWgS7peNm0noT3FweDxoxdFy9F9LhjAq9phBdLeGuiju6Guwp8YFxGsBwESG1gL6sxsca9IR38eRfggVb3YXzAco-I.r1wiDCBPB46HUAdemAyyW8lQNMNYNK3OwiTpnea6LDQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=mean+well+12+volt+power+supply&qid=1718796722&s=electronics&sprefix=mean+well12+volt+power+supply%2Celectronics%2C117&sr=1-16 should be adequate for powering the repeater.

[Guest]

Id bet you’re over thinking this a little.  I hunt big areas and work and play in big areas with rolling hills. We run quads, horses, trucks  and work large propertys all the time. I can’t imagine needing a repeater for 1500 acres A$20 hand held in the wide open will do 30miles or so if you get a bigger antenna like a 771.    And if you get a good $100 20w base station at camp, with lmr400 coax and a good antenna up high and especially if you get truck radios going you really should be fine.  My 20w base does 200miles in the open and my 20w truck radios with cheap mag mounts do 60mile miles easily. A $20 hand held will transmit just as far as a $3000 Motorola hand held. I’d recommend you start out with some hand helds that have the features you want (different bands, water proof ect)  and practice in a similar local area before you commit to spending a bunch of money and complicating things.  

[Guest Thank You!]

13 hours ago, Guest Bart said:

Hi All! 

I just purchased my GMRS license and waiting on my callsign to come through so I can join.  In the meantime, a little background for my question.  

I'm new to using a GMRS system but I spend a lot of time hunting and camping in the middle of nowhere in SW Texas near a small town called Dryden.  We lease a property of about 1500 acres with a permanent camping spot where we leave an old camper.  The ground is relatively flat except for minor valleys and hills. (We do have one high hill point on the property that sticks out but it's totally across the property from the camp spot).  You're lucky to get any cell service out there, which is nice except for when you need to communicate with the others out there with you.  

I was hoping I could do some sort of setup with an antenna and a repeater? Do you use or need a Duplexer? I've also seen some people use "mobile base stations".  Is that something worth using if we have ATV's?  Are there conventional "base stations" I should set up?  The last piece to my situation is I'd really prefer if I didn't have to leave a super high antenna out there while I'm gone.  We get quite a bit of wind and storms and wouldn't want it to get damaged.  I'm sure it's like anything else, you get what you pay for but what does a decent system setup cost?  $1-$5k?  

I apologize for all the questions and having no clue where to start but would love it if I could get some advice on making sure I can at least get a system good enough to keep my comm's up while out hunting.  

 

Thank!

Thank You, Boxcar and WRXP.  I look forward to joining and learning.  I appreciate you both providing everything without hitting me hard for going a bit over board not knowing what I'm doing yet.  I'll start with your recommendations and going from there.  Have a great day!

[GreggInFL]

1,500AC(43,560SF/AC) = 65,340,000 SF. Assuming a relatively square property, your 1,500 acres is about 1.5 miles per side, or ~2 miles on the diagonal. That's nothing for a five watt hand held with a decent antenna.

Buy these, install the large antenna and see what happens.

How are you getting around? Side-by-side, truck, jeep? If the handhelds don't work due to terrain or vegetation a mobile unit with a mag mount antenna should.

[WRXB215]

10 minutes ago, GreggInFL said:

Buy these, install the large antenna and see what happens.

Keep in mind those aren't actually 8 watts like the add says. They are 5 watt radios but still good radios. I have a couple of them and sometimes charge them with these.

[GreggInFL]

Yeah, I have the original 5W GM-15s but couldn't find the link.

[MSnow]

6 hours ago, GreggInFL said:

1,500AC(43,560SF/AC) = 65,340,000 SF. Assuming a relatively square property, your 1,500 acres is about 1.5 miles per side, or ~2 miles on the diagonal. That's nothing for a five watt hand held with a decent antenna.

Buy these, install the large antenna and see what happens.

How are you getting around? Side-by-side, truck, jeep? If the handhelds don't work due to terrain or vegetation a mobile unit with a mag mount antenna should.

1500ac is more like 2 1/4 sq/miles.

On 6/18/2024 at 8:03 PM, Guest Bart said:

Hi All! 

I just purchased my GMRS license and waiting on my callsign to come through so I can join.  In the meantime, a little background for my question.  

I'm new to using a GMRS system but I spend a lot of time hunting and camping in the middle of nowhere in SW Texas near a small town called Dryden.  We lease a property of about 1500 acres with a permanent camping spot where we leave an old camper.  The ground is relatively flat except for minor valleys and hills. (We do have one high hill point on the property that sticks out but it's totally across the property from the camp spot).  You're lucky to get any cell service out there, which is nice except for when you need to communicate with the others out there with you.  

I was hoping I could do some sort of setup with an antenna and a repeater? Do you use or need a Duplexer? I've also seen some people use "mobile base stations".  Is that something worth using if we have ATV's?  Are there conventional "base stations" I should set up?  The last piece to my situation is I'd really prefer if I didn't have to leave a super high antenna out there while I'm gone.  We get quite a bit of wind and storms and wouldn't want it to get damaged.  I'm sure it's like anything else, you get what you pay for but what does a decent system setup cost?  $1-$5k?  

I apologize for all the questions and having no clue where to start but would love it if I could get some advice on making sure I can at least get a system good enough to keep my comm's up while out hunting.  

 

Thank!

Go to Retevis web site and grab one of the RT97s repeater bundles. https://www.retevis.com/retevis-rt97s-portable-repeater-and-2pcs-ailunce-ha1g-gmrs-radio-bundle-us Its basically made for what your doing, and its portable so you can put it up and take down easily. You can even get a package deal with radios from them, one lump deal its easy to setup and basically plug and play. You can get it with tuned antenna and coaxial cable and everything you need. I'm in Texas as well and Hunt 40Acres in Leon County off lake limestone and simplex is basically impossible so we use the RT97s. I use a flag pole on my camper to raise the antenna up 40ish feet in the air and viola problem solved. Plus with the repeater you can hear them talking when your talking, which is good when there are several people and you double. Just my opinion, but typically when I asked for the same help you asked for you'll get people telling you you need to spend $10k on all the commercial over kill crap you don't need. Also you can get a Midland setup that is very similar just more expensive. The draw back is the duty cycle these portable units will get hot if it stays keyed up a lot.

[GreggInFL]

10 hours ago, MSnow said:

1500ac is more like 2 1/4 sq/miles.

Which closely resembles 1.5^2.