Hello,
I am an avid downhill skier and have skier friends who are HAM’s as well. We have enjoyed using our HT radios to stay connected on the mountain but find that the lack of power of using HT’s is sometimes an issue. So I am going to be setting up a cross band repeater using a mobile radio. This being said, I wanted to get some feedback from the community as to what frequency to use and how I should set this up.
Details below:
Mobile Radio: TYT TH-9800 Quad Band with cross band repeat function
Dual Band Mobile Antenna is cut for 145-165/430-467 MHz and is 18 inches in length from Powerwerx
HT: Dual Band TERA TR-505
Antenna: Stock Whip
Assumptions:
My mobile will be at the base of the hill in an open space (parking lot) with a clear view of the top of the mountain. Both HT would be anywhere on the mountain at any given moment, i.e. summit-base, base-summit, summit-summit, etc.
My questions are as follows:
1. Should I set up a channel on my HT to transmit DUPLEX on UHF or on VHF? Obviously, I would be receiving on the opposite band then the TX.
2. Should I set up my HT to also include a DUPLEX channel matching the Cross band repeater frequency split so that if I could not reach my Cross band repeater (no line of site), I could still communicate with my friend without him having to change channel? Would this not cause two signals to be transmitted at the same time being out of phase with each other?
3. Since I am outdoors, is it better to take advantage of the VHF signal strength with the lower power HT and use the higher power of the mobile to re-transmit at UHF to get better coverage on the mountain?
4. Finally, what VHF and UHF Frequency pair should I be using considering my antennas? I am located in Canada.
Your input in this would be greatly appreciated!
73's
I am an avid downhill skier and have skier friends who are HAM’s as well. We have enjoyed using our HT radios to stay connected on the mountain but find that the lack of power of using HT’s is sometimes an issue. So I am going to be setting up a cross band repeater using a mobile radio. This being said, I wanted to get some feedback from the community as to what frequency to use and how I should set this up.
Details below:
Mobile Radio: TYT TH-9800 Quad Band with cross band repeat function
Dual Band Mobile Antenna is cut for 145-165/430-467 MHz and is 18 inches in length from Powerwerx
HT: Dual Band TERA TR-505
Antenna: Stock Whip
Assumptions:
My mobile will be at the base of the hill in an open space (parking lot) with a clear view of the top of the mountain. Both HT would be anywhere on the mountain at any given moment, i.e. summit-base, base-summit, summit-summit, etc.
My questions are as follows:
1. Should I set up a channel on my HT to transmit DUPLEX on UHF or on VHF? Obviously, I would be receiving on the opposite band then the TX.
2. Should I set up my HT to also include a DUPLEX channel matching the Cross band repeater frequency split so that if I could not reach my Cross band repeater (no line of site), I could still communicate with my friend without him having to change channel? Would this not cause two signals to be transmitted at the same time being out of phase with each other?
3. Since I am outdoors, is it better to take advantage of the VHF signal strength with the lower power HT and use the higher power of the mobile to re-transmit at UHF to get better coverage on the mountain?
4. Finally, what VHF and UHF Frequency pair should I be using considering my antennas? I am located in Canada.
Your input in this would be greatly appreciated!
73's