Re: Reality check on capabilities of GRMS repeater
Actually it applies in that case as well. Antenna gain woks the same way as mentioned.? He still will want to limit antenna gain and be aware of the antenna radiation pattern and not just stick the highest gain antenna available in the air and call it good.??
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Re: Reality check on capabilities of GRMS repeater
I'm not sure that you understand what he is wanting to do. He is staying 300 feet above the valley, but wanting to have coverage on the mountain up to 3,000 feet. Opposite of what it looks like you are thinking.
On the other hand, I am at 4,100 feet needing coverage down in to the valley, and that is why I have downtilt.
Mick - W7CAT
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----- Original Message ----- From: "Keith via groups.io" To: [email protected]Sent: Friday, March 07, 2025 03:17:45 PM Subject: Re: [repeater-builder] Reality check on capabilities of GRMS repeater Couple things to keep in mind with all this.? ?Running a high gain antenna with a high HAAT can cause coverage issues in the valley below. Gain in an antenna is accomplished by changing the radiation pattern from equal in all directions to a certain direction in the case of a Yagi or across a single horizontal plane with an onmidirectional.? When you pull the RF down from above it doesn't cause a problem for the most part. But when you pull the radiation from below then there is a hole directly under the antenna.
-- Untitled Document
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Re: Motorola R2600 VGA Output
shes a runner!
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just have to make up a ham proof cable!
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Re: Reality check on capabilities of GRMS repeater
Couple things to keep in mind with all this.? ?Running a high gain antenna with a high HAAT can cause coverage issues in the valley below. Gain in an antenna is accomplished by changing the radiation pattern from equal in all directions to a certain direction in the case of a Yagi or across a single horizontal plane with an onmidirectional.? When you pull the RF down from above it doesn't cause a problem for the most part. But when you pull the radiation from below then there is a hole directly under the antenna.?
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Re: Reality check on capabilities of GRMS repeater
An MMDVM *Modem* board, not a hotspot board.
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Re: Tait Equipment UPDATE: Good News-Bad News
Don't know how significant of update this is, but I did find out there are at least two pallets of equipment in storage. Most of it may be VHF TB8100s and some TB8500s, we think. We have 13 multi-cast repeater sites and converted three of our channels to P25 replacing the analog equipment.
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I'll be able to do a full inventory in August when I return from my TDY.
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Michael WA7SKG
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Thanks, Bert. I appreciate that. Chad Nelson WI9HF/WRPL979 Janesville Wisconsin 608-754-8671 Send from my spectrum iPhone 16.
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On Mar 7, 2025, at 11:20?AM, Burt K6OQK <biwa@...> wrote:
? Please be aware that the Magic Jack does not provide CPC, Caller Party Control.? So, if the incoming caller hangs up the Magic Jack does not disconnect.? However, when the incoming caller hangs up the Magic Jack goes to an instant fast busy signal.
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We use a Magic Jack for our home phone.? Our answering contraption made by Panasonic recognizes the fast busy signal and automatically disconnects after about the sixth "burst" of the fast busy signal.
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One other thing about the Magic Jack; it does not pass TouchTone for more than about a quarter second, then mutes the tones.
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You might want to consider using an OOMA.? I believe it provides CPC.
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Burt, K6OQK
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CHAD Wrote:
I suppose I could use Magic Jack, but would I need a router to connect to the Cellular network then hardwire into the controller?
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Thanks,
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Chad WI9HF
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Please be aware that the Magic Jack does not provide CPC, Caller Party Control.? So, if the incoming caller hangs up the Magic Jack does not disconnect.? However, when the incoming caller hangs up the Magic Jack goes to an instant fast busy signal.
?
We use a Magic Jack for our home phone.? Our answering contraption made by Panasonic recognizes the fast busy signal and automatically disconnects after about the sixth "burst" of the fast busy signal.
?
One other thing about the Magic Jack; it does not pass TouchTone for more than about a quarter second, then mutes the tones.
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You might want to consider using an OOMA.? I believe it provides CPC.
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Burt, K6OQK
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CHAD Wrote:
I suppose I could use Magic Jack, but would I need a router to connect to the Cellular network then hardwire into the controller?
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Thanks,
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Chad WI9HF
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Re: Reality check on capabilities of GRMS repeater
Hey there - it sounds like I'm a little further along than you in the repeater-installation-journey.
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I'm in a rural valley in Mendocino California, hilly and forested terrain. There are lots of ham operators in the area, and six local ham repeaters, but very few gmrs operators. I got a $2K grant from the county and I plan on installing two gmrs repeaters on ridges ~ 10 miles away from each other. I have checked mygmrs.com and there are no other gmrs repeaters in the area.
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After a few hours of research, I recently bought a Retevis 97 repeater, a Retevis MA09 outdoor antenna, a LiFePo battery, 50' of LMR400 cable, and an Opek LP350A Lightning Surge Protector. I'm going to set it up on my property and get it working and then find a local property owner that will let me install it at a higher elevation. I bought two 100 W Renogy 2PCS solar panels and I still need to get the solar panels connected to the battery, and guy wires for the antenna mast and a few other bits.
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Are there any gmrs nets or clubs in your area? Because of the history of wildfires in our region, there are well-established gmrs clubs and repeater networks in Sonoma county, Lake county, El Dorado county, and Santa Clara county and I've learned a lot from their websites and talking to a few folks that were generous with their time.
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Hope this helps.
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Ran Bush
WRFV637 / KK6MUX
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Re: Reality check on capabilities of GRMS repeater
I have a VHF and UHF repeater on a 27 ft tower. It works pretty good around the valley. Sorry Chris, the bottom of the tower is at 4,170 feet above the valley.
The ski area has their repeaters in a barn out in the valley. They have good hand held coverage all over the mountain, which is all they care about. I don't know what they are using for antennas since they are only interested in mountain coverage. It's one of those situations of getting coverage going up and not going down.
Mick - W7CAT
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----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Boone WB5ITT via groups.io" To: [email protected]Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2025 06:44:34 PM Subject: Re: [repeater-builder] Reality check on capabilities of GRMS repeater Man if I could put a repeater up on a 3000 ft mountain I'd be happy.. ?
I guess one on a 50 to 100 ft tower at your house would probably be better than what you've got right now.
Chris WB5ITT
WRXZ 789
On Thu, Mar 6, 2025, 3:47 PM wwbgilmore via groups.io > [email protected]> wrote:
I live across a valley from a ski mountain. My house is ~300' above
the valley floor on the edge of a steep hill. Top of the ski mountain is
~3000' above the valley floor. Cell phone coverage on the mountain is
poor. Using FRS or GRMS simplex to meet up with friends / family
works ok but not great. I haven't done extensive testing but I know I can
communicate from some areas of the mountain to my house using (2)
Radioddity GM-30s. If I had a repeater at my house, I'm hoping I
could get better communications on the mountain. Does this seem reasonable?
I've started the research journey on this a couple times before
becoming overwhelmed with opinions.
- I'm new to radio but I have experience in other electronics, machine
tools, etc. With guidance I'm confident I can execute this project
successfully.
- Snow and wind are certainties at this location.
- Initial temporary test would be from a balcony powered from an
outdoor outlet. Initial test would not self ID.
- Improvements could include: roof mounted antenna, self ID, outdoor
electronics enclosure (to reduce lightning risk to house), hardwire
or in use receptacle cover.
My understanding is I need:
- Antenna
- Hardline. Consensus seems to be on LDF4-50A
- Duplexer
- Repeater / radio pair.
I don't have access to radio specific tools but multimeter use,
soldering, desoldering, wiring, mounting, etc. are within my skill set. Thanks
for looking.
-- Untitled Document
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Re: Reality check on capabilities of GRMS repeater
That’s not a bad deal. Of course, the prices I gave were new. It is getting ridiculous what new equipment costs.
Tom
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On Mar 7, 2025, at 9:44?AM, Jonny Tomlinson KF6PHX via groups.io <jstlink@...> wrote:
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Hell...ill sell you a 25 watt gmrs repeater with a tuned duplexer and all double shielded(not lmr400) interconnect cables for $1000!.
I'll sell you a sinclair 4 bay antenna for $400.
I'll sell you 60' of 1/2" hardline with connectors for $200.
Boom!! $1600.....let's go!!
Shipping of course is extra and on you.
Kf6phx
Jonny_,_
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Re: Reality check on capabilities of GRMS repeater
Hell...ill sell you a 25 watt gmrs repeater with a tuned duplexer and all double shielded(not lmr400) interconnect cables for $1000!.
I'll sell you a sinclair 4 bay antenna for $400.
I'll sell you 60' of 1/2" hardline with connectors for $200.
Boom!! $1600.....let's go!!
Shipping of course is extra and on you.
Kf6phx
Jonny
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
Get
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What is your budget? I would recommend a good quality antenna(Sinclair or DB), and a Kenwood repeater. Of course, good duplexer and LDF450 feedline or equivalent. Stay away from any of the LMR cables. ?You are looking at $5,000+ . You can do it cheaper,
but depending on how much it is being used, going with a commercial grade repeater may be your best choice.?
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Re: Reality check on capabilities of GRMS repeater
What is your budget? I would recommend a good quality antenna(Sinclair or DB), and a Kenwood repeater. Of course, good duplexer and LDF450 feedline or equivalent. Stay away from any of the LMR cables. ?You are looking at $5,000+ . You can do it cheaper, but depending on how much it is being used, going with a commercial grade repeater may be your best choice.?
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Re: Reality check on capabilities of GRMS repeater
You'll also need a repeater controller but I think the mmdvm board and a raspberry pi will do an FM repeater.? Or get the USB version and a NUC.
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Height is might, so if the repeater is at the same height as an HT you might not see much improvement.
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Re: Repeater hang time/tail circuit
Thanks all for your responses. I'll try the first solution as it seems the most simple, however, increased complexity means increased the fun out of it!
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Javier, EA6ALW
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Re: Reality check on capabilities of GRMS repeater
Man if I could put a repeater up on a 3000 ft mountain I'd be happy.. ?? I guess one on a 50 to 100 ft tower at your house would probably be better than what you've got right now.?
Chris WB5ITT? WRXZ 789
I live across a valley from a ski mountain.? My house is ~300' above the valley floor on the edge of a steep hill.? Top of the ski mountain is ~3000' above the valley floor.? Cell phone coverage on the mountain is poor.? Using FRS or GRMS simplex to meet up with friends / family works ok but not great.? I haven't done extensive testing but I know I can communicate from some areas of the mountain to my house using (2) Radioddity GM-30s.? If I had a repeater at my house, I'm hoping I could get better communications on the mountain.? Does this seem reasonable?
?
I've started the research journey on this a couple times before becoming overwhelmed with opinions.
- I'm new to radio but I have experience in other electronics, machine tools, etc.? With guidance I'm confident I can execute this project successfully.
- Snow and wind are certainties at this location.
- Initial temporary test would be from a balcony powered from an outdoor outlet.? Initial test would not self ID.
- Improvements could include: roof mounted antenna, self ID, outdoor electronics enclosure (to reduce lightning risk to house), hardwire or in use receptacle cover.
My understanding is I need:
- Antenna
- Hardline.? Consensus seems to be on LDF4-50A
- Duplexer
- Repeater / radio pair.
I don't have access to radio specific tools but multimeter use, soldering, desoldering, wiring, mounting, etc. are within my skill set.? Thanks for looking.
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Re: Reality check on capabilities of GRMS repeater
I have a GMRS repeater at 200ft above a valley floor on the edge of a steep hill. There are mountains surrounding the valley a good 2,500ft higher than my repeater. My repeater saturates the valley to handhelds covering an area about 10mi long and the width of the valley and this is due to the large repeater antenna and 50 watts out of the repeater.?
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Reality check on capabilities of GRMS repeater
I live across a valley from a ski mountain.? My house is ~300' above the valley floor on the edge of a steep hill.? Top of the ski mountain is ~3000' above the valley floor.? Cell phone coverage on the mountain is poor.? Using FRS or GRMS simplex to meet up with friends / family works ok but not great.? I haven't done extensive testing but I know I can communicate from some areas of the mountain to my house using (2) Radioddity GM-30s.? If I had a repeater at my house, I'm hoping I could get better communications on the mountain.? Does this seem reasonable?
?
I've started the research journey on this a couple times before becoming overwhelmed with opinions.
- I'm new to radio but I have experience in other electronics, machine tools, etc.? With guidance I'm confident I can execute this project successfully.
- Snow and wind are certainties at this location.
- Initial temporary test would be from a balcony powered from an outdoor outlet.? Initial test would not self ID.
- Improvements could include: roof mounted antenna, self ID, outdoor electronics enclosure (to reduce lightning risk to house), hardwire or in use receptacle cover.
My understanding is I need:
- Antenna
- Hardline.? Consensus seems to be on LDF4-50A
- Duplexer
- Repeater / radio pair.
I don't have access to radio specific tools but multimeter use, soldering, desoldering, wiring, mounting, etc. are within my skill set.? Thanks for looking.
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Re: GE Delta/Rangr programming
On Fri, Jan 3, 2025 at 12:07 PM, Jeremy Hansen wrote:
NOS low band (40-50mhz) Rangr in its original box if you're interested.?
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Hey Jeremy, do you still have the Rangr? Is it ready to go on 50MHz FM ? We're trying to setup some local links for packet but I'd love to get a 50Mhz repeater online.?
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--
ae5tc
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Ye of little faith…….. ? ? Matt AL0R ?
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From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Chris Boone WB5ITT via groups.io
Sent: Thursday, March 6, 2025 07:59
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [repeater-builder] running autopatch ? Yeah I was thinking the same thing. That'd be a hell of a try to put a RJ11 connector on RG11! ?? ? > Just plug the RG11 from your autopatch into the box and can make phone calls.?
> 73, ron, n9ee
I think you meant RJ11...unless you live in some far away galaxy where the telco serves POTS on 75 ohm coax?? ?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? --- Jeff WN3A
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Keith
Michael WA7SKG
Burt K6OQK
Randolph Bush
OliverKrystal
Chris Boone WB5ITT