Retevis RT97L portable repeater -- first impressions

[WRTC928]

My RT97L arrived today, and I did some initial testing.

Setup was a breeze using the software downloaded from the Retevis website. There is no software included, but the download was no big deal. There aren't a whole lot of things to set or change, so it's hard to goof it up too much.

I didn't have a GMRS-specific antenna to test it with because my truck is loaned out, so I tried it with a few dual-band antennas. The Comet 2x4 had an SWR of 2.04, a couple of others had ~1.69, and once again, the much-maligned Nagoya UT-72 came out on top with an SWR of 1.23. I'll be interested to see what I get with an antenna that's tuned for GMRS.

Power output was good -- 21-24 watts with all the antennas except the Nagoya. For some reason, I consistently got a reading of 26-27 watts with the UT-72. I can't explain why a different antenna would make a significant difference in power, but that's what I got. All the antennas were tested on the same NMO mag mount except the Nagoya which is an integrated unit. As far as I know, a different antenna and/or coax shouldn't change the power reading at the meter, particularly because the reading is taken before the RF energy even enters the antenna's coax.  

I wasn't able to test range, but I did confirm that it does indeed perform as a repeater. It doesn't "kerchunk" which surprised me a little. Not that I really care, but it was unusual.

I hope to get this thing out to the field sometime soon, but my first impression is that it will be an excellent tool to have available for camping, hiking, or other outdoor activities.

[OffRoaderX]

There is a setting for the kerchunk.. "STE" i think?  I would double check for you but both of mine are boxed back up and ready to be given away to lucky viewers.

[WRTC928]

4 minutes ago, OffRoaderX said:

There is a setting for the kerchunk.. "STE" i think?  I would double check for you but both of mine are boxed back up and ready to be given away to lucky viewers.

Thanks. I'll look at it. I don't even know for sure that I want it to "kerchunk" but I'd like to know how to set it if I want to.

[OffRoaderX]

Just now, WRTC928 said:

I don't even know for sure that I want it to "kerchunk"

If you want the repeater to remain more stealthy, no kerchunk makes it sound like people chatting on simplex..

[WRTC928]

10 hours ago, OffRoaderX said:

If you want the repeater to remain more stealthy, no kerchunk makes it sound like people chatting on simplex..

I may actually leave it that way. I'd just never heard a repeater that didn't do it, so I was afraid maybe something was wrong with the repeater.  It tested out okay, though, so I figured it was just a quirk of the design. Stealthy actually has some advantages for a portable unit. I don't want every random yoyo in the park scanning for the tone and jumping on my repeater.

[WRTC928]

I did a little testing using a Nagoya UT-72G antenna on a pizza pan about 9 feet off the ground on my back deck. Using an HT, I was able to get about 3 miles to the east and 1-2 miles to the south and southwest. Not spectacular, but not bad for an unfavorable setup. To my surprise, there were a couple of places about a mile to the west where I could access the repeater. I was surprised because there's a tall hill to my west. I guess there are a couple of places where radio waves can sneak around it. I plan to use it with a better antenna on a 25' mast attached to my truck or RV, so I expect much better distance under those circumstances. I just couldn't resist testing it. TBH, for a lot of purposes, i.e. camping, 2-3 miles is plenty. Still, I should be able to better that considerably with a gain antenna and more height.

[Mrsig]

I should have my RT97L in about a week.