GMRS Repeater questions

[Cashanova48]

Dear people of the Radio Reference threads,

I had a few questions for what GMRS repeater would be best for me. I live in an area that's relatively flat terrain, and I would like to cover our whole town which is about a mile to a mile and a half in any direction from my location. My needs for the repeater would be as follows: The repeater would have to be fairly cheap (under $1k for everything, including antenna, duplexer, etc). The repeater would need to have a curtesy tone, and automatic identification. I have been locking at the Retivis RT97, but fear that 5 watts wouldn't cut it. I have also been thinking about using two Retivis RA87s, a duplexer, and a phone or pc to control identification, as well as weather reports. Thank you for your time,
Cashanova

 

[AK4PY]

I highly suggest that you round up several local GMRS licensees and you all work on this together. A shoestring budget repeater like you are describing is going to perform like a shoestring budget repeater. On the other hand, if several people pull their resources together then suddenly you can build something decent for a budget friendly price. Honestly, you are best served looking at used commercial repeater equipment verses the entry priced stuff you are looking at. The used equipment does not cost much more in many cases, but is orders of magnitude better.

 

[prcguy]

I highly suggest that you round up several local GMRS licensees and you all work on this together. A shoestring budget repeater like you are describing is going to perform like a shoestring budget repeater. On the other hand, if several people pull their resources together then suddenly you can build something decent for a budget friendly price. Honestly, you are best served looking at used commercial repeater equipment verses the entry priced stuff you are looking at. The used equipment does not cost much more in many cases, but is orders of magnitude better.

I put together a Motorola Quantar with Celwave 526 series duplexer, DB408 antenna and short run of 1/2” Heliax for under $1k. That’s top notch equipment that would be hard to beat anywhere. A $1k budget is very doable. I actually have two Quantar systems running now and the second one with Celwave Stationmaster and Motorola 1500 series duplexer was cheaper.

 

[W8UU]

First choice would be a desktop Motorola GR-1225 repeater. They're available on eBay tuned, programmed, and with duplexer in the $550-$700 range. Second choice would be a reconditioned Kenwood TKR-820. The Kenwood is older and only offers 20 watts RF output but its a solid performer. If you're not comfortable with the technical end, PLEASE have a qualified service technician check the receive, transmit, duplexer, CW ID and courtesy tone programming, wide-band status, etc. before you put the machine on the air. Last tip is buy a really good antenna and feed line and ground everything. If you do it right, you'll have years of dependable service. Good luck!

 

[alcahuete]

1-1.5 miles can be done with a handheld radio in flat terrain, so you shouldn't need anything too crazy. It's the controller, antenna, feedline, and everything else that is going to add up.

 

[Cashanova48]

Thanks for all the replies, I'll be sure to look I to all of them. So 1 to 1.5 mile range might work on five to ten watts?

 

[prcguy]

Thanks for all the replies, I'll be sure to look I to all of them. So 1 to 1.5 mile range might work on five to ten watts?

Antenna and antenna height will mostly determine range. How high can you get the antenna?

 

[TroutBrooker]

I have a repeater in a tree using 2, 5 watt radios and can reach the camp 20 km away.

That was under 100 dollars without the solar charge system.

 

[alcahuete]

Thanks for all the replies, I'll be sure to look I to all of them. So 1 to 1.5 mile range might work on five to ten watts?

Absolutely! I can go out in my backyard with my handheld and talk to another handheld 1-1.5 miles away without any difficulty at all. That's in the open, flat land, etc. Going to be a lot different if there are a bunch of buildings in the way, people using handheld radios from within their houses, etc.

That said, getting a good antenna up as high as you can will help matters immensely. Also don't forget that the duplexer is going to eat up some of that power, depending on the loss, the feedline is going to eat up some of that power, etc. So a 5 watt repeater is never going to be delivering 5 watts to the antenna.

 

[DeeEx]

I have a repeater in a tree using 2, 5 watt radios and can reach the camp 20 km away.

That was under 100 dollars without the solar charge system.

I’m intrigued, not because I need one, but because I’m old and I’m curious what’s on the market that I’m not familiar with. What’s the setup?

 

[TroutBrooker]

I’m intrigued, not because I need one, but because I’m old and I’m curious what’s on the market that I’m not familiar with. What’s the setup?

It's just 2 baeofeng radios with a cheap chinese box between the two. One receives and the other transmits on another channel.
Easy to set-up in the bush when needed.

I have a solar pack to hook up if the old guys are back at the camps

Because of the location FRS radios can be used also.