MTR3000 Repeater

[zerodayjames]

It's possible, but I'd almost guarantee that if they were tuned before shipping, they no longer are.

Only way to know is to put them on a analyzer.

Do they rattle?

They weren’t tuned. Was just concerned if it might have unseen damage. They don’t rattle though. I’ll have to scoundrel up the gear to test and tune before my return window is up but honestly looks like it’s in good shape.

 

[mmckenna]

They weren’t tuned. Was just concerned if it might have unseen damage. They don’t rattle though. I’ll have to scoundrel up the gear to test and tune before my return window is up but honestly looks like it’s in good shape.

They probably are.

We had one that got hit by a sudden roof leak. The cans had inches of water sitting in them. Drained them out and sent them back to Sinclair for check and got the same ones back. While they are delicate, they are strictly a mechanical device.

 

[kayn1n32008]

They weren’t tuned. Was just concerned if it might have unseen damage. They don’t rattle though. I’ll have to scoundrel up the gear to test and tune before my return window is up but honestly looks like it’s in good shape.

They will be fine. Get them tuned by a skilled tech and he will absolutely get better isolation than Sinclairs spec. If they are not the proper band split, get it reharnesed for the operating frequency you are assigned.

 

[WA0CBW]

Now the fun begins!

They will be tuned to some frequency typically the middle of the band they were designed for. What frequency(s) will you be using?

Bill

 

[kayn1n32008]

They weren’t tuned. Was just concerned if it might have unseen damage. They don’t rattle though. I’ll have to scoundrel up the gear to test and tune before my return window is up but honestly looks like it’s in good shape.

You did get the -4(I think) that covers the ham band correct?

 

[zerodayjames]

Now the fun begins!

They will be tuned to some frequency typically the middle of the band they were designed for. What frequency(s) will you be using?

Bill

Still going to have to monitor some pairs before landing on something official. But looking forward to the fun part 😁

 

[zerodayjames]

You did get the -4(I think) that covers the ham band correct?

Correct, this is the -4 ham band model. I will be tuning it myself once I get my hands on a Rigol and some other gear. Unless I can find a tech that will come on site I would have to haul this thing to a shop and back and risk it losing its tune. I’m sure I could find a guy but it sounds pricey and I want to learn regardless.

 

[kayn1n32008]

Correct, this is the -4 ham band model. I will be tuning it myself once I get my hands on a Rigol and some other gear. Unless I can find a tech that will come on site I would have to haul this thing to a shop and back and risk it losing its tune. I’m sure I could find a guy but it sounds pricey and I want to learn regardless.

Put it upright in the back seat and seabelt it in. It will be fine.

 

[zerodayjames]

Put it upright in the back seat and seabelt it in. It will be fine.

I like that idea. It's proving to be far more difficult to find tuning shops in my area than I anticipated. Might just get on some local repeaters and start asking the hams.

 

[zerodayjames]

Any recommendations on a heliax connector tool kit? Or should I save my money and find a local shop to make those terminations.

Also, final opinions before I pull the trigger on this antenna. Do you guys think this is sufficient for my setup with the MTR3000, Sinclair Duplexer, and hardline? Or do am I going to have to go into the $1k+ antennas.

HUSTLER G6-440

440 MHz Collinear One-Piece Base Station Antenna - 6 dB Gain - 87 Inches Tall - N Female - Plus Frt

www.hamradio.com

Or for example:

HUSTLER HD6-43050

440 MHz Heavy Duty Base Station / Repeater Antenna - 6 dBd Gain - 162 Inches Tall - Plus Truck Frt

www.hamradio.com

HUSTLER HX10-43050

430 - 450 MHz Extreme Duty Base Station / Repeater Antenna - 10 dBd Gain - 132 Inches Tall - + Frt

www.hamradio.com

 

[prcguy]

Any recommendations on a heliax connector tool kit? Or should I save my money and find a local shop to make those terminations.

Also, final opinions before I pull the trigger on this antenna. Do you guys think this is sufficient for my setup with the MTR3000, Sinclair Duplexer, and hardline? Or do am I going to have to go into the $1k+ antennas.

HUSTLER G6-440

440 MHz Collinear One-Piece Base Station Antenna - 6 dB Gain - 87 Inches Tall - N Female - Plus Frt

www.hamradio.com

Or for example:

HUSTLER HD6-43050

440 MHz Heavy Duty Base Station / Repeater Antenna - 6 dBd Gain - 162 Inches Tall - Plus Truck Frt

www.hamradio.com

HUSTLER HX10-43050

430 - 450 MHz Extreme Duty Base Station / Repeater Antenna - 10 dBd Gain - 132 Inches Tall - + Frt

www.hamradio.com

Hacksaw, box knife......

 

[kayn1n32008]

Any recommendations on a heliax connector tool kit? Or should I save my money and find a local shop to make those terminations.

Also, final opinions before I pull the trigger on this antenna. Do you guys think this is sufficient for my setup with the MTR3000, Sinclair Duplexer, and hardline? Or do am I going to have to go into the $1k+ antennas.

HUSTLER G6-440

440 MHz Collinear One-Piece Base Station Antenna - 6 dB Gain - 87 Inches Tall - N Female - Plus Frt

www.hamradio.com

Or for example:

HUSTLER HD6-43050

440 MHz Heavy Duty Base Station / Repeater Antenna - 6 dBd Gain - 162 Inches Tall - Plus Truck Frt

www.hamradio.com

HUSTLER HX10-43050

430 - 450 MHz Extreme Duty Base Station / Repeater Antenna - 10 dBd Gain - 132 Inches Tall - + Frt

www.hamradio.com

So you have bought a quality repeater, quality duplexer and quality feed lines, and you want to top it off with a hammy garbage antenna?

What kind of an antenna budget do you have? If you have a healthy budget, Sinclair SRL310-C4 or Comprod 4 bay folded dipole array.

Less than healthy budget? Commscope 4 bay folded dipole array.

Hustler, Tram, Browning, MFJ, Comet and Diamond are all low end antennas you will be repeplacing far before you want to. They will also get noisy as they flex in the wind over time.

 

[prcguy]

Any recommendations on a heliax connector tool kit? Or should I save my money and find a local shop to make those terminations.

Also, final opinions before I pull the trigger on this antenna. Do you guys think this is sufficient for my setup with the MTR3000, Sinclair Duplexer, and hardline? Or do am I going to have to go into the $1k+ antennas.

HUSTLER G6-440

440 MHz Collinear One-Piece Base Station Antenna - 6 dB Gain - 87 Inches Tall - N Female - Plus Frt

www.hamradio.com

Or for example:

HUSTLER HD6-43050

440 MHz Heavy Duty Base Station / Repeater Antenna - 6 dBd Gain - 162 Inches Tall - Plus Truck Frt

www.hamradio.com

HUSTLER HX10-43050

430 - 450 MHz Extreme Duty Base Station / Repeater Antenna - 10 dBd Gain - 132 Inches Tall - + Frt

www.hamradio.com

The HX10-43050 looks interesting, otherwise I've owned a number of Hustler G6, G7, etc, and they don't appear to meet advertised gain and they corroded into white dust and I would never consider one for anything beyond a short lived hammy project.

 

[zerodayjames]

So you have bought a quality repeater, quality duplexer and quality feed lines, and you want to top it off with a hammy garbage antenna?

What kind of an antenna budget do you have? If you have a healthy budget, Sinclair SRL310-C4 or Comprod 4 bay folded dipole array.

Less than healthy budget? Commscope 4 bay folded dipole array.

Hustler, Tram, Browning, MFJ, Comet and Diamond are all low end antennas you will be repeplacing far before you want to. They will also get noisy as they flex in the wind over time.

I don't have any experience or knowledge on antennas so I'm trying to reach out here before making multiple purchase mistakes. My original project had some cheap Trams on it and while it was an invaluable learning experience on setting that system up, I'd prefer not to do it this time around.

I was looking into the Sinclair but couldn't find any of the SLR models. Are they the same idea as these?

https://www.neobits.com/sinclair_sd314hf1p4snmd00_370_460_mhz_4_dipole__p14831335.html

https://www.neobits.com/sinclair_sd314_hf2p2ldfd00_406_470_mhz_7db_low__p17288461.html

https://www.neobits.com/sinclair_sd314hf2p2snmd00_406_512mhz_4_dipole_10_15dbi_p8876822.html

 

[zerodayjames]

The HX10-43050 looks interesting, otherwise I've owned a number of Hustler G6, G7, etc, and they don't appear to meet advertised gain and they corroded into white dust and I would never consider one for anything beyond a short lived hammy project.

The hope is to have this thing up and running more than a short lived hammy project so I'll take ya'lls word for it on Hustler

 

[jeepsandradios]

I'd just grab a DB408 and use that. As said previously to spend alot of money on real gear and skimp on antenna is kinda crazy.

 

[bill4long]

And for the connections from the repeater to the duplexer? Will 3 ft. runs of RG400 suffice?

You could use RG-214. Easy to deal with and the conductor and shield are matching metal (which is what you should use for repeaters as mmckenna addressed.)

​

 

[kayn1n32008]

So you have bought a quality repeater, quality duplexer and quality feed lines, and you want to top it off with a hammy garbage antenna?

What kind of an antenna budget do you have? If you have a healthy budget, Sinclair SRL310-C4 or Comprod 4 bay folded dipole array.

Less than healthy budget? Commscope 4 bay folded dipole array.

Hustler, Tram, Browning, MFJ, Comet and Diamond are all low end antennas you will be repeplacing far before you want to. They will also get noisy as they flex in the wind over time.

I don't have any experience or knowledge on antennas so I'm trying to reach out here before making multiple purchase mistakes. My original project had some cheap Trams on it and while it was an invaluable learning experience on setting that system up, I'd prefer not to do it this time around.

I was looking into the Sinclair but couldn't find any of the SLR models. Are they the same idea as these?

https://www.neobits.com/sinclair_sd314hf1p4snmd00_370_460_mhz_4_dipole__p14831335.html

https://www.neobits.com/sinclair_sd314_hf2p2ldfd00_406_470_mhz_7db_low__p17288461.html

https://www.neobits.com/sinclair_sd314hf2p2snmd00_406_512mhz_4_dipole_10_15dbi_p8876822.html

Yes. Exactly those.

 

[zerodayjames]

I'm looking into the specs of that Sinclair antenna and that thing is massive. It's 23 lbs and the diameter of the pipe is 2.38 inches. My mast is only a 1.5 inch diameter. Might have to reconsider the mast or a different antenna. I really like the Commscope omnidirectional folded dipoles but they don't make any for the 70 cm band. Omni would be ideal. I am up against a mountain range so one side doesn't matter but I would like to hit the other three ways.

 

[prcguy]

I'm looking into the specs of that Sinclair antenna and that thing is massive. It's 23 lbs and the diameter of the pipe is 2.38 inches. My mast is only a 1.5 inch diameter. Might have to reconsider the mast or a different antenna. I really like the Commscope omnidirectional folded dipoles but they don't make any for the 70 cm band. Omni would be ideal. I am up against a mountain range so one side doesn't matter but I would like to hit the other three ways.

I have an amateur band DB408 so they used to make them.