Btech

[WSHJ646]

I'm new to GMRS. I bought 2 Cobra Trailblazer 450 hand held radios, repeater capable. They were a little over 2 watts. I could hear people coming off the repeater but I was unable to get anyone to hear me. I am assuming the Cobra hand helds were not strong enough to get a signal to the repeater. 

 

I am considering getting a BTech GMRS 50 watts. Do you have any advice on this? 50 watts should be able to reach the repeater wouldn't you think?

 

Thanks very much for any advice anyone has.

WSHJ646

Stanley

[SteveShannon]

3 minutes ago, WSHJ646 said:

I'm new to GMRS. I bought 2 Cobra Trailblazer 450 hand held radios, repeater capable. They were a little over 2 watts. I could hear people coming off the repeater but I was unable to get anyone to hear me. I am assuming the Cobra hand helds were not strong enough to get a signal to the repeater. 

 

I am considering getting a BTech GMRS 50 watts. Do you have any advice on this? 50 watts should be able to reach the repeater wouldn't you think?

 

Thanks very much for any advice anyone has.

WSHJ646

Stanley

Hi Stanley,

Before you buy another radio, make sure you exhaust the possible solutions. There are at least three different technical possibilities for why people using the repeater didn’t acknowledge you:

1. You might have been on the wrong channel. Channels 15-22 are for talking directly to other radio users. On the Trailblazer 450 the repeater channels are named 15RP - 22RP.  You can hear repeaters on either group of channels but you can only transmit to a repeater on the repeater channels. 
2. Nearly every repeater uses tones or digital signals to prevent accidental interruptions. The tones are called PL, or CTCSS, or something similar. Digital signals (codes) are called DCS or DPL. If you have no receive tones set you hear everything. If you have the wrong transmit tone or no transmit tone set, the repeater will automatically ignore you. Nobody will hear you in that case. 
3. Finally, you mentioned power output. It’s possible your radio isn’t reaching the repeater. Try getting closer. 
Welcome to the forum!
 

[WSFL951]

It kind of depends on your needs. I would say that a 10-watt radio will be sufficient for most situations, but if you're looking to cover greater distances, a 50-watt radio would be the best option. You don't necessarily need to spend a lot on a 50-watt radio; you can get a Baofeng GMRS version for around $20. It works well indoors or in a car, but using an outside antenna will improve its performance significantly.

[WSHJ646]

Thanks very much for the information guys. I may try to program them again and see if I get a better result. Glad you guys are out there and willing to share your knowledge!

WSHJ846

Stanley

[WSFL951]

3 hours ago, WSHJ646 said:

I'm new to GMRS. I bought 2 Cobra Trailblazer 450 hand held radios, repeater capable. They were a little over 2 watts. I could hear people coming off the repeater but I was unable to get anyone to hear me. I am assuming the Cobra hand helds were not strong enough to get a signal to the repeater. 

 

I am considering getting a BTech GMRS 50 watts. Do you have any advice on this? 50 watts should be able to reach the repeater wouldn't you think?

 

Thanks very much for any advice anyone has.

WSHJ646

Stanley

I would say that two watts is probably sufficient if you are using a good repeater that is mounted on a tower. However, if the repeater is on a roof or in a location that isn’t on a tower, two watts may not be ideal unless you are within 0.5 miles of that repeater.

[Socalgmrs]

Yes first things first for most repeaters you’re gonna need to put In the tones and be on the right pair of frequencies.   Then no matter how many watts you’re gonna need line of sight.  I’d say set up the radios first and drive as close as you need to to talk to the repeater.  Then see how well that works.  Then get into a cheap pair of hand held 5w radios they always come in handy. And then if needed get a good 20w with a goon antenna and coax up as high as possible.  Antenna and coax are were money should be spent.  A 5w ht hooked to a good antenna set up should get you 100miles line of sight.  Gmrs is very line of sight dependent.  Start with an ht hooked to good coax and antenna such as a comet 712efc mounted as high as possible.