Mobile Repeater

[ffsmith20]

I'm not radio expert, so figured I would ask here need some help boosting the signal from 4 watt protable radio to 100 watt. I am trying to find something to mount in a command vehicle for public safety use. Possibly a repeater I'm not sure though any help would be appreciated

 

[R8000]

I'm not radio expert

Please consult your radio vendor for advice. If improperly setup, these "VRS" style units can cause havoc on the radio system you want to talk on. There's also other factors like what band to use, frequency license and passing of the portable's PTT ID.

Using a local and trusted radio vendor is the only proper solution. And even then, that call should be made by your agency command staff.,

 

[mrsvensven]

You need to consult a radio vendor. Make sure you fully understand what you are buying and how it will be operated (from the end user's perspective). Even more important than the physical repeater is the training and SOP that ensure it is used correctly.

You need to consider things like who is responsible for turning the repeater on once they reach a scene, what happens if two repeaters are active at the same time, what happens if the truck with the repeater drives away (will another repeater turn itself on automatically?). These sound like simple questions, but it's rarely that simple. So many agencies buy cheaper low end repeaters and have nothing but problems due to these concerns. There are higher-end repeaters that handle all of the above automatically, but the cost is much greater.

 

[ffsmith20]

You need to consult a radio vendor. Make sure you fully understand what you are buying and how it will be operated (from the end user's perspective). Even more important than the physical repeater is the training and SOP that ensure it is used correctly.

You need to consider things like who is responsible for turning the repeater on once they reach a scene, what happens if two repeaters are active at the same time, what happens if the truck with the repeater drives away (will another repeater turn itself on automatically?). These sound like simple questions, but it's rarely that simple. So many agencies buy cheaper low end repeaters and have nothing but problems due to these concerns. There are higher-end repeaters that handle all of the above automatically, but the cost is much greater.

I understand what you saying but I am the one using the command vehicle so it won't be driving away...

 

[ffsmith20]

Basically I don't want to mount a radio on the vehicles dash want to use portable radio instead....issue is if we go to another county 4 watt radio isn't strong enough to hit our towers

 

[R8000]

Basically I don't want to mount a radio on the vehicles dash want to use portable radio instead....issue is if we go to another county 4 watt radio isn't strong enough to hit our towers

You will be disappointed with the performance with the idea you have. You are better off discussing this with a radio vendor for mobile radio options such as a hand held control head for example.
You idea sounds good to you now, but in the long run I think you'd find out it was a bad idea. VRS style mobile repeaters were not intended to work in this capacity.

 

[ffsmith20]

Ok that explains it better to me, thank you very much. Hand held control head any examples or links to those ?

 

[R8000]

Ok that explains it better to me, thank you very much. Hand held control head any examplesor links to those ?

I really can't say not knowing your local radios systems and what technology they are using. Motorola and Kenwood offer them, not sure about Harris L3. Also, remote control heads come in different sizes. Maybe one of the smaller control heads would work. That's why I suggested your vendor. They could show you what is available and what models will work on your local systems.

There's so many variables out there with P25 trunked systems that's a ton of options such as radio authentication, encryption, OTAR/OTAP requirements and such. Those options can add up and become pricey. It would suck for you to buy the wrong radio then find out later you need $1000 worth of options added to it to work. If your system is using DMR, LTR, Opensky, EDACS..etc, that will require totally different models of radios.
Talking to your local radio vendor can guide you to what you can use on your systems. Hope this helps!

 

[jeepsandradios]

If your in Jefferson county per the database you are UHF conventional. That will be hard to use a mobile repeater with unless you use a 800mhz channel to repeat via mobile. In NY I set up a few DVRS systems but normally caused more problems than it resolved. If your running command you should have a mobile radio anyway.

 

[Firebuff66]

I have done dozens of DVRS in fire trucks and they work great and will do exatly what you want, makes your portable like a remote mic to your radio.
Now that said I was working with the high-end Futurecom repeaters (DVR-LX) Coverage Solutions - Futurecom Systems Group and they can do amazing things if done correctly, they can do cross-band or in-band. But you pay for the repeater (12k+) and the radio it connects to.
The VRX-1000 is less and looks like it would work for you but it still has to connect to a radio that will support it.
They can be set up so they turn on a specific channel, you can run 20 of them on the scene with no issues and they will vote to the best signal from the portable and on and on, but again you pay big for something that will work that good

 

[mmckenna]

Basically I don't want to mount a radio on the vehicles dash want to use portable radio instead....issue is if we go to another county 4 watt radio isn't strong enough to hit our towers

A "command vehicle" that you don't want to mount a radio in? But installing a 100 watt repeater in said vehicle is OK?

Not sure I'm clear on the logic here.

The hand held control head is a good option. You can get them for Motorola, Kenwood and L3Harris radios.
You can add a mobile repeater to link from your portable radio back into the mobile radio to extend the reach.

You also need to look at licensing.
The license for the radio system you operate on will only cover a certain area, usually listed a distance in kilometers around a center point. You'd need to make sure the license covers you transmitting in the adjacent counties.
The license will also show how much power you can run from the mobiles. You'd need to make sure that whatever you install is compliant with that.

Another option, if all you need is a radio in the "command vehicle" is a vehicular adapter.
Motorola and L3Harris make docking stations for some of their higher tier portables that will hold the radio and connect it to the vehicle antenna, power, speaker and microphone. An RF amplifier can be connected to that to boost your range.

 

[ramal121]

So it sounds like you want a portable radio to be light on your feet at the scene and not chained to your vehicle.

Wireless mics and such work but you have to be careful of their range. Some work just OK and others have a very limited range (think tens of feet)

I have installed quite a few vehicle repeaters. Sometimes called an extender. If you understand their operation they work just fine. You would need a high power mobile installed, a portable radio, and then a "repeater" that will interface the mobile to the portable. The ones I mostly use can go up to 2 watts and are good for thousands of feet or get around the most demanding of obstacles.

To use, you set the mobile on the channel of your choice and then turn the portable to a special channel that only the repeater is on. Now you can walk around with the handheld and talk out the mobile.

With a little engineering the repeater can be on the same band as the mobile. That way you don't need another specific portable just to run this set up.

But as others have said, you really need to have a shop or tech to put this together and make sure it is installed correctly. It is definitely not a plug and play type of thing.

https://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/1281716/25901093/1422468089957/SVR+Brochure+2012.pdf?token=sMv3g8hMRPMx2S4TPCJWYkep1hQ%3D

 

[N4DES]

Basically I don't want to mount a radio on the vehicles dash want to use portable radio instead....issue is if we go to another county 4 watt radio isn't strong enough to hit our towers

There are possibly FCC regulatory issues, outside of the technical, that you will need to overcome.

If you are outside of your County there is a very good possibility that you are 1. exceeding your licensed service area and would be in violation of your licensed permissions and 2. exceeding the maximum mobile power output stated in your license with 100 watts, and both could cause interference to others.

 

[12dbsinad]

Try looking into something like this:

X10DR® - Digital Vehicular Repeater Systems (DVRS)

Wireless Pacific X10DR Digital Vehicular Repeater Systems (DVRS), Long range wireless remote speaker microphones, Motorola Harris Kenwood Tait

www.x10dr.com

Or better yet, put some funding into infrastructure instead because anything else is just a band-aid

 

[wwhitby]

OP, the best advice I could give is to find out the company that maintains your radio system and see what they can do for you. Don't tell them what you want, but tell them your problem and your requirements and ask how they can solve it for you.

 

[n5ims]

I totally agree with Warren. If you tell them what you want, that's what you'll get even if it's the most expensive option or not solve your problem (and they'll respond with "that's what you ordered and that's what we delivered"). If you tell them your problem and what you'd like to accomplish, they'll work on a solution that will fix that problem and most likely give you various solutions to pick from and explain the difference between them (and they'll be on the hook if their solution doesn't work).