Putting a bow on the final installation by performing a sensitivity test with antenna vs a load and measuring any desense is very important. It doesn’t matter how well the repeater system works on a bench, you need the equipment and knowledge on how to perform final testing as duplexers can detune during shipment. Otherwise the installed repeater can be operating at many dB below what you think or saw on a test bench. If you don’t have access to a service monitor it can get very expensive hiring someone to perform testing and touch up tuning on site.
“All the rest of the tasks of building a repeater out of mobiles still exist: Duplexer tuning, Radio programming, Radio interconnect cabling, etc. and those are the more complicated tasks.”
