Repeater for a Good Cause

[3Focus1]

We have an FCC license for up to a 50 watt repeater. I've been using Centerfire's Omni directional antennas for our base stations and building the base stations out of MAXON SM-2450 taxi-cab radios (on the a 3 watt setting) and old AT computer cabinets, with a 13.8 volt regulated power supply and salvaged 5 ohm telephone intercom announcement horns built into the AT computer cabinet. It works well, because we can shove it beneath a desk, using a desk mic, and get plenty of volume without re-wiring the office. Everything is second hand or donated. We managed to find some old radios originally used at a television station up in New York for our hand-helds. All narrowband compliant. We're also using those Chinese Baofeng 888s radios. If anybody has a line on a good used narrowband capable repeater, that could fit in with all of our other our old relics? It doesn't have to be free, and we certainly will pay shipping and all that.

 

[Rt169Radio]

What do you use the repeater for?

 

[rapidcharger]

The repeater itself is the cheap part. The site, the antenna, the duplexer, the coax, the tower, the tower climber... this is what costs.

 

[3Focus1]

Repeater Reasoning

What do you use the repeater for?

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Lots of reasons, but mainly, because we have an old Campus with lots of cinderblock, I-BEAMS and corrugated steel. We can take cheap second hand radio transmissions, strengthen them, then send them out across the campus. -Yes, we have reviewed the cell-phone idea, but that is not appropriate for our guests or our application. Also, I believe we have a 30 kilometer operating area so at some point we may apply to raise our repeater antenna to cover an area more congruent with our license, perhaps even our other adult-home/ children's home campus which is only a few miles away. Radios have value to us, and having a strong spine/ infrastructure is important. Hope this answers your question. -Ask them, Lord help me, it'll make me sharper too.

 

[3Focus1]

Someone has recommended we build our own, and I'm thinking it may be a good idea. I've already got a large AT computer case which will likely act as a great chasis for both power supplies, duplexer, radios, etc
Here's the site he recommended:
The Repeater Builder's Technical Information Page™