In theory, this will work, BUT: Having the transmitting antenna that close (both in frequency and in distance) to the receiver, it will de-sensitize the receiver and it will essentially be "deaf." If you want to do this on the same band, you will need to either separate the antennae by several meters, or use a duplexer. Alternately, you can make it cross-band, example have it receive on 2m and transmit on 70cm, and the input de-sensitization will be greatly reduced.
@@estasfamily This book explains ther cross band bit m.media-amazon.com/images/I/613Ya26bZqL._SY466_.jpg I have just followed this video and am going to set it up as shown but I'll try the cross nband later.
I would put panel mount connectors and then screw the antennas on when deploying the box. The units inside could have a cable going from the panel mount connector to each radio. Antennas: TX mounted on bottom, RX on top (for better reception)
Ignore the fools that think they know enough to discredit your idea, which does work reasonably well. After an EMP these kinds of repeaters may be all that's left. I have one suggestion, if you mount each radio vertically on the same pole (like a PVC pipe) so they have vertical separation the performance will improve dramatically. It takes some serious test equipment to measure desense, but it only takes some experience to deploy a known solution. And for ideas to try, I'd put the RX in the top position and the TX in the lower position. The RX could be connected to a 1/4 wave ground plane on the top of the pipe made from an So-239. To test for desense (when not cross-banding) you can vary the TX power while in QSO with a remote station and see if there is any change in the received signal. A small solar panel and your repeater could become a very good emergency asset if it was located in a high spot. Back in the day when we were making the first repeaters, they often contained remote receivers that we linked cross-band using 1w transmitters. These solutions worked well, and they are stealthy. We operated 1 of them for 3 years before the state found it. Cross-band repeaters are generally immune from desense. And now I think I might build one for the EMP box myself. 73, W7CCE.
Is the issue of relative position with the radios or the antennas? Can both radios be in the same box, if the transmit antenna is sufficiently remote? If the antennas, what is your thought on vertical distance? Does the OP's use of a crossover cable make sense to you? Thanks !
That looks really cool... thank you for the video, I just don't understand why someone would comment on your idea if they have nothing to add apart from some senseless remarks about legality. I don't understand such people, they must be very unhappy in life... Take care and you should make a video showing how your little box works and how it has increased the connection between the radios... Warm regards.
@@winstonsmiths2449That's because of properly setup repeater is supposed to transmit its call sign every 10 minutes. This little toy repeater is good for small temporary uses though. Toss that in a tree on hill and you and a bunch of other radio pirates can use it. Maybe a 20 mile radio circle at best with stock antennas.
@@highonahill Yeah, we do not give af about license, base stations, real repeaters or none of that bullsht. We want our own repeaters so we don''t have to call out numbers and speak to you and your nerd friends. We want to use the dirtiest radios on all the wrong channels as well. Get over yourself. Just a question? Since you learned so damn much getting your license then why the fk are you even on this video? LOL! No reason to comment. We already know!
Here's an idea: breach a rooftop of a decent height building, connect your cheap Baofengs with a charger to 220V line, and run a coax to inconspicuous omni gain antenna and sha-beng! you got your pirate 5w repeater.
I had this setup, just not with the offset. At close range it worked but at over 100meters it canceled the signal out. Thanks for the cable advice. I'm going to test this out.
@@nikossurvival Not much really to show. Just set them up as a crossband repeater (one on VHF and one on UHF) loads of info online. current setup in video will work ok close to the repeater but the transmit will overload/desensitise the receive radio and at longer ranges will cause issues as they are so close in frequency. A crossband repeater reduces this as the frequency gap is much larger. Theres radios out there that have crossband repeater built in so you only need one radio and antenna.
I am a radio NOOB, but definitely know my engineering, since I am one. :) here are my comments. 1) The antennae are way too close to each other and will interfere with each other (off frequency signal bleed or splash I think are the terms) . for antenna, I would suggest getting magnet roof mount antenna and sticking them to pie tins to provide a counterpoise. This then gives you the cable needed to exit the box from the side. (You will need a little adaptor between the antenna and the radio). Or you could read up on how to build a dipole antenna if you can string it up in a tree. 2) Avoid top entry into the enclosure at all costs. You want side entry. Make sure the enclosure is rated NEMA 4X. Once inside the enclosure, the wires should be run uphill a few inches to prevent water ingress, if any, from following the wire to the radio(s). There is a thing called a conduit seal. 3) That solar panel is way too small. would suggest a deep cycle marine battery at minimum and a panel that can handle the load. if those are 4 watt transmit radios, 1 is receiving all the time, and the other will transmit when it breaks the VOX squelch on the voice signal, which is electronically simulated with the crossover cable. Hmm, so maybe 50% of the 4 watts, plus standby power draw and a radio efficiency term. Somebody else can figure the power draw more accurately, but I would want a solar panel to deliver on average 10 watts. I think you must derate a panel to account for night time, sun angle, clouds, etc. So putting a 100 watt panel with a charge controller is probably closer to what is needed. That tiny panel would be grossly undersized. (You might get away with a 50 watt panel). 4) The labels on the radios in the enclosure have the frequencies backwards. 5) the explaination of the crossover cable could be better. The cable simply uses the audio from the recieve radio, converts it to an electrical signal as if it was going to play in your earpiece, instead this is then fed to the mic input jack of the other radio. The other radio is listening in the VOX mode, so any signal on that wire that breaks the squelch will activate the transmit circuit. (The volume knob must be turned up enough on the receive radio, so the other radio, listening with VOX enabled can "hear" it. 6) I would suggest picking a set of frequencies that are not already in common use. Sounds like you picked a super busy frequency. This device is for YOU to talk on, so you should find a frequency that is clear except when you or your group are using it. This way, you are not competing with others to use YOUR repeater.
I had thought about doing something like this, so I am incredibly impressed with this proof of concept! It’s an affordable repeater setup! I bought a Kenwood TH78A simply because it has this feature built into the radio. You didn’t talk about the repeater antenna. What did you do for it, and have you tested the range of your repeater?
Having the Tx & Rx antennas of the repeater that close together is going to kill the range of the Rx radio. It may even blow the front end of the Rx radio out. Vertical separation is better than horizontal separation.
Another idea would find a larger water proof box big enough to put each radio into its own shielded enclosure. You definitely need to add a power supply to operate the radios from a larger battery, maybe 4 pair 18650 batteries for maybe 23600 ma that will take 8 18650s or 4 pair, each pair in series then in parallel or a 12V supply run through a regulator either a buck regulator or analog. A precaution for buck or switching regulators, be aware of the switching frequency because they can badly desensitize the Rx radio as do most all of the baofeng chargers and battery chargers and battery eliminators do.
@@williammccaw928 No, it stands for stagnant Ham since I have never talked over the Ham freqs even though I have an extra class ham license. I spent 40 yrs as a radio repair tech and got the Ham license just because I could. Not because I was going to use it. I have a GMRS repeater and a basement full of radios and repeaters. I commented because I know you can't have a good repeater without good vertical separation or better yet, a duplexer and use 1 antenna.
@@lb6073 Big bucks. Not to mention the size of them. Thats why I use UHF myself. Now if you use 3 Mhz spread on VHF, you can use a small $250 duplexer. There is also the issue of the antenna. I tried to use a mobile antenna on a ground plane kit on UHF before and it caused alot of desense so a Base antenna had to be used. I have gotten an ASP-705 that gives 10 Db+ gain annd added a GaAs FET preamp and get great range off of a 45 ft tower using 1/2 in heliax. Braided coax will cause desense after it ages a few years. There is a special braided coax for the tower top pigtail between the heliax and antenna. I don't remember if it is RG223 or RG213. It always came with the big antennas like the ASP-705. I didn't do much with VHF because that was mainly for law enforcement repeaters. Later the 3Mhz split came out for the farmers and business accounts. I only set up a half dozen or so of them. Just found a pigtail in my junk coax box and it is RG213/U
Or maybe add a coupling cap between the commons on the speaker and mike. You can not tie these togeather because that would keep the radios keyed but if you put a proper value cap between then it should couple the audio though and make the audio better ... may be a cap of between 1 and 10 mfd.
Instead of having antennas directly connected to your radios and sticking out of the box. Why don't you add extension cables? So that if something hits the antenna or the box falls. It doesn't break the connections inside of the radios.
This repeaters sytem is very easy to set up, but it will be much better if you would do a demonstration in range test .You will also need a duplexer also witch is very important for then transmission . If you don't want to bother with people commenting about lisense , try a GMRS frequency witch is very simple to get. Also the range will depend on your location of that repeater and its antennas and your location where you be operating
@@notsure7874 oh yes you r correct I forgot about these been not for gmrs , well as long as u don't mention it he should be alright. Noone is goin to look I side that box and he can just said thei r some other radios but again he is breaking the fcc law
So I just want to check but I think you have the notes on the repeater ht’s backwards. You have it set right on the radios the rx should be 147.120 and tx should be 146.520.
Yeah, I wouId probabIy test this on a free simpIex channeI instead. AIso, in Canada I wouId need to get my advanced Iicense to retransmit on a different frequency in the same band, so it wouId be super heIpfuI to get a demo of a simiIar Baofeng setup in simpIex "store and forward", or "cross-band" mode...
Now, when camping, hoist the makeshift repeater into a tree and your walkie talkies will quadruple their range! This video makes me want to get my amateur radio license. Unfortunately, my conversational abilities are severely lacking. This has kept me from getting my license a long time.
Can you confirm on the cable that you built, does the each of the two connectors both 2.5 & 3.5 mm how many segments does each of the pins have\use ? Is it a 2 or 3 segment pin. In your video specifically you mentioned that you only use red and black and they are reversed (creating a cross over cable) instead of a straight cable.
3:40 Queue the chicken! Perfect timing. Excellent home made repeater. Great job. You got me thinking about making one myself. Have you had any performance hit from the 2 antennas being a bit close to each other? I would imaging there may be a bit of reflection off of the RX ant onto the TX ant.
you need a duplexer, a way to get the antenna high, and feedline like rg214 with silver plated shield, and silver plated connectors. Even good feedline for a simplex antenna isn't going to perform all that great under duplex operation where a tx and rx signal are both happening at the same time.
@@ruralhomesteaders6567 Actually, you don't need a duplexer, as you are using two antennas. But I was wondering if having the two antennas right next to each other would cause interference?? Has that been an issue?
Or… separate one of the antennas from the other. One way would be by adding a cable and making one of the antennas “remote.” Another could be, drill a hole in the bottom and poke one antenna out that way.
@@rootcanal7188 Actually ... you do need a duplexer. Unless you're going to run those 2 antennas vertically separated by something like 30 - 40 feet in that band if I remember correctly. Or the transmitter will overload the receiver. Your range will be reduced to the point of "why bother". But if you're just going to sit the antennas close to the ground and use HT's as a repeater - why bother either way? Thing is with a dual antenna setup, instead of having to get 30 feet up, you have to get 60 - 70 feet up to get the benefit of an antenna that's 30 feet up, because the lower one is the range limiting factor. So yes, realistically a 2 antenna setup doesn't work. Ground level repeaters don't work. Low power "tactical" repeaters don't really gain you any benefit over simplex to wright home about. Believe me, I really really wanted to be able to do something like this, but there are limits of physics involved.
For connecting the two radios in the transmitter instead of the cable can you use a handheld PTT with a headphone connection on the RX and connect the PTT with the TX radio via the headphone slot? If so you can also transmit on the PTT (of the repeater) and the RX audio comes out on the TX radio
I thought one would put each radio on the same Frequency to use the "Dual wire" which would sort it out? ( Two-Way Relay Walkie Talkie Repeater Box RX/TX for Baofeng UV-5R) & im not sure what to do since you used a plug only, further research on my part is necessary I found the cut over cable on lime a bit cheaper cleaner $8.00 AKA (Two-Way Relay Walkie Talkie Repeater for Baofeng UV-5R Radios, i can use CHIP TO PROGRAM A CHANNEL CORRECT BUT WILL THE VOX
can you tell me a rough milage range a repeater setup like this will get? we live in a river valley area and have some nice mountains above us i am wanting to try and build one to see if i can talk to my father 20 miles away and curious if something like this would work for that style of range
The one issue I'm running into is when I set this up as a test, before installing it all in a box, the repeater works, but when I turn on the ROGER BEEP, for the repeater confirmation tone, it beeps repeatedly, sometimes for a good bit before letting go!
OK guys, I found a pre made cable that works better than the one I built. Here is the link to it; www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07TN24387?ref=ppx_pt2_mob_b_prod_image
I had a setup similar to that before I got my GR1225 - I had I think a Surecom controller, but I was looking at the ID-O-Matic 4. It's got some controller features that the older versions didn't have (it started as an auto-id unit, not a full controller). It'll give you a lot of features you want and need that you can't get from the cable. Also try to hunt down a GR1225 - they can be had for pretty cheap. By the time you really get that HT system working well, you'll have spent a ton of time and money getting to the same point. It's best if it comes with the duplexer, but you can get a flatpack for about 70 bucks so it's not earth shattering. I see them for 300 bucks pretty frequently. I got mine from a friend for 150 without a duplexer ( I already had the duplexer). If you talk a lot on it at a time - and need 100% duty cycle - don't run them on high power TX though, you'll burn the finals out.
Forgot to mention the downsides ... The programming hardware / software isn't the most friendly and straight forward. It's also not quite as portable / weatherproof - but a plastic tub could fix that. They're also 120VAC powered - but I THINK the actual radios are 12V, I'd have to open it up and look. I know some of the repeaters have a way to hook up a 12v battery and the 120V keeps the battery charged, and it runs off the battery if you lose power too. I'm pretty sure you could rig it up to run off a battery but you'd need a bigger battery. Other downside is that you're not field programming it from the faceplate so it might not be ideal for an "on the go" setup.
This is two years old and 242 comments deep, but probably has been said.... There's no way in hell this repeater worked better than simplex range.I think this video was posted as a joke for anyone with radio and/or solar knowledge to take exception to... so you win, here's my though.
Don't you have troubles because of the closeness of the antennas? I got a prebuilt connector for 2 radios, and when the repeater radios are close or the radios for the chat are close, is hard to have communication. Looks like interference
I have a question I’m new to anything outside of a two way in a semi will this repeater only help if it’s between you and you buddy? Or will it help if you both on the same side of the repeater also?
At what volumes are you setting the RX?TX? FYI: if using the repeater box relay, the cables can not be coiled, they need to be stretched out or the system will stay in TX mode and the reception will be terrible.
Hi guys. I need some help. I have done the setup on the UHF frequency. The problem I have is that I can send perfectly over a long distance, but the person responding the channel opens but nothing comes through. What could that be?
You might want to think about that. Wouldn't you want a very good receive antenna to help the guy that's trying so hard to get the repeater to open for him?
Interesting question. I have 2 uv-5r radios. One is old and transmitted in the GMRS freqs without issue. The new one “was” fcc compliant and would not. Then I found the hack to broaden the Tx freq range to include the GMRS. At the moment, I can’t remember how I did it, except that it was simply a button press and hold sequence when turning on the radio. No disassembly required.
Wow struggling with this. Plugging in the cable sets it to the lower channel and it just stops working. i even got the repeater cable. Any suggestions?
I have done this, here is my question, can you show the pinout for each wire? I have three wires red, white, black. I have tried all configurations and the only one I can get to work is: white to Red, Black to white, and Red to white. It works, but I get a lot of buzzing. So, I was just curious about the pinout since my colors don't match yours.
@@michaelhale867 The OP uses a mono plug cable that apparently has continuity tip to ground for both wires (crossover he says). Does that make sense to you?
No because when you TX on one freq the radio in the box is RX it on that frequence and then sends it to the other radio operating on the -600 feq to TX it to the other hand held RX. Essentially what your hand held does is uses two feq instead of using two walkies to talk but the repeater helps the two handhelds talk to each other. I hope that helps.
Question: On your video, 10:16, I notice that on the repeater radios, on the label it says RX 146.520, but on the radio it is 147.120. Additional question, the set up on the repeater radios should be the same on the portable radios?
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In theory, this will work, BUT: Having the transmitting antenna that close (both in frequency and in distance) to the receiver, it will de-sensitize the receiver and it will essentially be "deaf." If you want to do this on the same band, you will need to either separate the antennae by several meters, or use a duplexer.
Alternately, you can make it cross-band, example have it receive on 2m and transmit on 70cm, and the input de-sensitization will be greatly reduced.
Thanks. Was running into this exact problem.
@@estasfamily This book explains ther cross band bit m.media-amazon.com/images/I/613Ya26bZqL._SY466_.jpg I have just followed this video and am going to set it up as shown but I'll try the cross nband later.
I would put panel mount connectors and then screw the antennas on when deploying the box. The units inside could have a cable going from the panel mount connector to each radio.
Antennas: TX mounted on bottom, RX on top (for better reception)
Is that why I can only get a couple hundred yards distance on mine?
@@MrTaylorfenoglio Probably.
Ignore the fools that think they know enough to discredit your idea, which does work reasonably well. After an EMP these kinds of repeaters may be all that's left. I have one suggestion, if you mount each radio vertically on the same pole (like a PVC pipe) so they have vertical separation the performance will improve dramatically. It takes some serious test equipment to measure desense, but it only takes some experience to deploy a known solution. And for ideas to try, I'd put the RX in the top position and the TX in the lower position. The RX could be connected to a 1/4 wave ground plane on the top of the pipe made from an So-239. To test for desense (when not cross-banding) you can vary the TX power while in QSO with a remote station and see if there is any change in the received signal. A small solar panel and your repeater could become a very good emergency asset if it was located in a high spot. Back in the day when we were making the first repeaters, they often contained remote receivers that we linked cross-band using 1w transmitters. These solutions worked well, and they are stealthy. We operated 1 of them for 3 years before the state found it. Cross-band repeaters are generally immune from desense. And now I think I might build one for the EMP box myself. 73, W7CCE.
Hey OG ,,,,funny finding you here I guess great minds think alike..... I like this video I also like your channel OG
what was the state's concern? hey who put this here? rather than, hey this is illegal right?
Is the issue of relative position with the radios or the antennas? Can both radios be in the same box, if the transmit antenna is sufficiently remote? If the antennas, what is your thought on vertical distance? Does the OP's use of a crossover cable make sense to you? Thanks !
That looks really cool... thank you for the video, I just don't understand why someone would comment on your idea if they have nothing to add apart from some senseless remarks about legality. I don't understand such people, they must be very unhappy in life...
Take care and you should make a video showing how your little box works and how it has increased the connection between the radios...
Warm regards.
Agree
To make your comms a little more secure, you can use directional antennas if you know where the repeater is.
That is a good idea. You could use low tx power as well then with repeater at higher elevation
Great barn yard effect. It sounded so real.
WOW, this is the BEST EXPLANATION of the HAM radio repeater concept that I've EVER SEEN! I understand the concept now so much better! THANK YOU! :)
I assume you don't have your license then because you would have learned this had you studied for the basic ham radio license
@@highonahill Hmm. ..I am studying for HAM license but have NEVER seen two HTs mentioned as a repeater.
@@winstonsmiths2449That's because of properly setup repeater is supposed to transmit its call sign every 10 minutes. This little toy repeater is good for small temporary uses though. Toss that in a tree on hill and you and a bunch of other radio pirates can use it. Maybe a 20 mile radio circle at best with stock antennas.
@@highonahill So it would be good for use when they shut down repeaters? Not looking for elegant, but useful for specific needs and circumstances.
@@highonahill Yeah, we do not give af about license, base stations, real repeaters or none of that bullsht. We want our own repeaters so we don''t have to call out numbers and speak to you and your nerd friends. We want to use the dirtiest radios on all the wrong channels as well. Get over yourself. Just a question? Since you learned so damn much getting your license then why the fk are you even on this video? LOL! No reason to comment. We already know!
Here's an idea: breach a rooftop of a decent height building, connect your cheap Baofengs with a charger to 220V line, and run a coax to inconspicuous omni gain antenna and sha-beng! you got your pirate 5w repeater.
Wow an actual “some people” comment.
@@strangepeopleare3046 what
@@strangepeopleare3046 bwahahaha, Randy would be proud of you
Test it on the 4th of July!
I had this setup, just not with the offset. At close range it worked but at over 100meters it canceled the signal out.
Thanks for the cable advice.
I'm going to test this out.
Did it work?
Good video. Clear instructions and examples. Thanks.
The frequencies for the repeater you had written on the cards was backwards. Repeaters are reverse from the handheld units.
Make RX VHF and TX UHF. Crossband repeater you won't need a duplexer.
@@nikossurvival Not much really to show. Just set them up as a crossband repeater (one on VHF and one on UHF) loads of info online. current setup in video will work ok close to the repeater but the transmit will overload/desensitise the receive radio and at longer ranges will cause issues as they are so close in frequency. A crossband repeater reduces this as the frequency gap is much larger. Theres radios out there that have crossband repeater built in so you only need one radio and antenna.
Thanks for sharing
You did good in making your rep like a radio box backpack
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I would highly recommend finding a different set of frequencies to have a repeater on as 146.520 is the 2m calling frequency.
😔 🐖
@@Bootyhunter1971 haha.
@@Bootyhunter1971 lol they're everywhere.
@@richardrobinson9534 LOL
@clonemeatbag2833
No one cares about you sad hams and your incessant needs to lick the boots of the FCC
I am a radio NOOB, but definitely know my engineering, since I am one. :) here are my comments.
1) The antennae are way too close to each other and will interfere with each other (off frequency signal bleed or splash I think are the terms) . for antenna, I would suggest getting magnet roof mount antenna and sticking them to pie tins to provide a counterpoise. This then gives you the cable needed to exit the box from the side. (You will need a little adaptor between the antenna and the radio). Or you could read up on how to build a dipole antenna if you can string it up in a tree.
2) Avoid top entry into the enclosure at all costs. You want side entry. Make sure the enclosure is rated NEMA 4X. Once inside the enclosure, the wires should be run uphill a few inches to prevent water ingress, if any, from following the wire to the radio(s). There is a thing called a conduit seal.
3) That solar panel is way too small. would suggest a deep cycle marine battery at minimum and a panel that can handle the load. if those are 4 watt transmit radios, 1 is receiving all the time, and the other will transmit when it breaks the VOX squelch on the voice signal, which is electronically simulated with the crossover cable. Hmm, so maybe 50% of the 4 watts, plus standby power draw and a radio efficiency term. Somebody else can figure the power draw more accurately, but I would want a solar panel to deliver on average 10 watts. I think you must derate a panel to account for night time, sun angle, clouds, etc. So putting a 100 watt panel with a charge controller is probably closer to what is needed. That tiny panel would be grossly undersized. (You might get away with a 50 watt panel).
4) The labels on the radios in the enclosure have the frequencies backwards.
5) the explaination of the crossover cable could be better. The cable simply uses the audio from the recieve radio, converts it to an electrical signal as if it was going to play in your earpiece, instead this is then fed to the mic input jack of the other radio. The other radio is listening in the VOX mode, so any signal on that wire that breaks the squelch will activate the transmit circuit. (The volume knob must be turned up enough on the receive radio, so the other radio, listening with VOX enabled can "hear" it.
6) I would suggest picking a set of frequencies that are not already in common use. Sounds like you picked a super busy frequency. This device is for YOU to talk on, so you should find a frequency that is clear except when you or your group are using it. This way, you are not competing with others to use YOUR repeater.
I had thought about doing something like this, so I am incredibly impressed with this proof of concept!
It’s an affordable repeater setup!
I bought a Kenwood TH78A simply because it has this feature built into the radio.
You didn’t talk about the repeater antenna. What did you do for it, and have you tested the range of your repeater?
Thanks Bro
Doing this setup, we need it when we off-roading as we often get weak signal. Subscribed!
Thank you. Very easy to set up. Excited to test range
Very impressed
Thank you so much for sharing your skills
Best wishes for you from the uk 🇬🇧
Having the Tx & Rx antennas of the repeater that close together is going to kill the range of the Rx radio. It may even blow the front end of the Rx radio out. Vertical separation is better than horizontal separation.
Another idea would find a larger water proof box big enough to put each radio into its own shielded enclosure. You definitely need to add a power supply to operate the radios from a larger battery, maybe 4 pair 18650 batteries for maybe 23600 ma that will take 8 18650s or 4 pair, each pair in series then in parallel or a 12V supply run through a regulator either a buck regulator or analog. A precaution for buck or switching regulators, be aware of the switching frequency because they can badly desensitize the Rx radio as do most all of the baofeng chargers and battery chargers and battery eliminators do.
Steve does that S stand for sad ham?
@@williammccaw928 No, it stands for stagnant Ham since I have never talked over the Ham freqs even though I have an extra class ham license. I spent 40 yrs as a radio repair tech and got the Ham license just because I could. Not because I was going to use it. I have a GMRS repeater and a basement full of radios and repeaters. I commented because I know you can't have a good repeater without good vertical separation or better yet, a duplexer and use 1 antenna.
@@sjr53a And how much are you going to spend for the duplexer with 600 kHz separation?
@@lb6073 Big bucks. Not to mention the size of them. Thats why I use UHF myself. Now if you use 3 Mhz spread on VHF, you can use a small $250 duplexer. There is also the issue of the antenna. I tried to use a mobile antenna on a ground plane kit on UHF before and it caused alot of desense so a Base antenna had to be used. I have gotten an ASP-705 that gives 10 Db+ gain annd added a GaAs FET preamp and get great range off of a 45 ft tower using 1/2 in heliax. Braided coax will cause desense after it ages a few years. There is a special braided coax for the tower top pigtail between the heliax and antenna. I don't remember if it is RG223 or RG213. It always came with the big antennas like the ASP-705. I didn't do much with VHF because that was mainly for law enforcement repeaters. Later the 3Mhz split came out for the farmers and business accounts. I only set up a half dozen or so of them. Just found a pigtail in my junk coax box and it is RG213/U
Well done... perfect to follow video in which you put much work in it. Appreciated.
The roster in the background makes me chuckle
Make sure you turn the volume all the way up on the devices inside the box or you will not hear them on your handheld Ham radios.
You should only have to do that on the RX side. The TX side mic gain isn't effected by the volume knob.
Or maybe add a coupling cap between the commons on the speaker and mike. You can not tie these togeather because that would keep the radios keyed but if you put a proper value cap between then it should couple the audio though and make the audio better ... may be a cap of between 1 and 10 mfd.
Instead of having antennas directly connected to your radios and sticking out of the box. Why don't you add extension cables? So that if something hits the antenna or the box falls. It doesn't break the connections inside of the radios.
Superlative presentation! :-)
Hi nice vid…so the cross over cable should be a mono jack.not stereo ?
This repeaters sytem is very easy to set up, but it will be much better if you would do a demonstration in range test .You will also need a duplexer also witch is very important for then transmission . If you don't want to bother with people commenting about lisense , try a GMRS frequency witch is very simple to get. Also the range will depend on your location of that repeater and its antennas and your location where you be operating
If he set it up on GMRS, somebody would be talking about them not being part 95 radios ... you can't win.
@@notsure7874 oh yes you r correct I forgot about these been not for gmrs , well as long as u don't mention it he should be alright. Noone is goin to look I side that box and he can just said thei r some other radios but again he is breaking the fcc law
"Which" not "Witch".... geez
A duplexer is not needed if each radio has its own separate antenna. A duplexer is needed when both radios are using the same antenna
Licenses will be a moot point soon. Government will be full rogue soon. If they do not force shutdown of repeaters, jamming can be used.
So I just want to check but I think you have the notes on the repeater ht’s backwards. You have it set right on the radios the rx should be 147.120 and tx should be 146.520.
Thanks, I was going to make the same comment, but was starting to doubt my sanity because I read so many comments and nobody mentioned it.
No duplexer? How's that working out for you with the repeater's transmit radio desensing the receiver?
Might be a good idea to leave some dessicant packs inside the case to beat the moisture
Isn't 146.520 the national calling frequency. Wouldn't you have traffic all the time if people are using it.
Yeah, I wouId probabIy test this on a free simpIex channeI instead. AIso, in Canada I wouId need to get my advanced Iicense to retransmit on a different frequency in the same band, so it wouId be super heIpfuI to get a demo of a simiIar Baofeng setup in simpIex "store and forward", or "cross-band" mode...
Great video. Though, I'd like to know if I can have multiple of these to build an extended network. Thank you in advance
Just make sure to disable the remote calling feature or someone could play a tone and have it shut itself down untill they play the wakeup tone.
Elaborate, wake and sleep tone??? Is that pl tone or something else
😂😂 i was thinking the same.
why do you have it set on 2m call frequency?
Now, when camping, hoist the makeshift repeater into a tree and your walkie talkies will quadruple their range! This video makes me want to get my amateur radio license. Unfortunately, my conversational abilities are severely lacking. This has kept me from getting my license a long time.
Which number of Pelican case are you using? 1150?
Can you confirm on the cable that you built, does the each of the two connectors both 2.5 & 3.5 mm how many segments does each of the pins have\use ? Is it a 2 or 3 segment pin. In your video specifically you mentioned that you only use red and black and they are reversed (creating a cross over cable) instead of a straight cable.
For repeater works well with VHF or UHF which is perfect for.
Beautiful setup!! Did you ever figure out how to do full duplex?
3:40 Queue the chicken! Perfect timing. Excellent home made repeater. Great job. You got me thinking about making one myself.
Have you had any performance hit from the 2 antennas being a bit close to each other? I would imaging there may be a bit of reflection off of the RX ant onto the TX ant.
you need a duplexer, a way to get the antenna high, and feedline like rg214 with silver plated shield, and silver plated connectors. Even good feedline for a simplex antenna isn't going to perform all that great under duplex operation where a tx and rx signal are both happening at the same time.
Thanks for the tips!
@@ruralhomesteaders6567 Actually, you don't need a duplexer, as you are using two antennas. But I was wondering if having the two antennas right next to each other would cause interference?? Has that been an issue?
Or… separate one of the antennas from the other. One way would be by adding a cable and making one of the antennas “remote.” Another could be, drill a hole in the bottom and poke one antenna out that way.
@@rootcanal7188 Actually ... you do need a duplexer. Unless you're going to run those 2 antennas vertically separated by something like 30 - 40 feet in that band if I remember correctly. Or the transmitter will overload the receiver. Your range will be reduced to the point of "why bother". But if you're just going to sit the antennas close to the ground and use HT's as a repeater - why bother either way? Thing is with a dual antenna setup, instead of having to get 30 feet up, you have to get 60 - 70 feet up to get the benefit of an antenna that's 30 feet up, because the lower one is the range limiting factor.
So yes, realistically a 2 antenna setup doesn't work. Ground level repeaters don't work. Low power "tactical" repeaters don't really gain you any benefit over simplex to wright home about.
Believe me, I really really wanted to be able to do something like this, but there are limits of physics involved.
So the cable from one radio to the other is what makes the radio key up and transmit ? If so whats the reason for the vox
For connecting the two radios in the transmitter instead of the cable can you use a handheld PTT with a headphone connection on the RX and connect the PTT with the TX radio via the headphone slot? If so you can also transmit on the PTT (of the repeater) and the RX audio comes out on the TX radio
I thought one would put each radio on the same Frequency to use the "Dual wire" which would sort it out? ( Two-Way Relay Walkie Talkie Repeater Box RX/TX for Baofeng UV-5R) & im not sure what to do since you used a plug only, further research on my part is necessary I found the cut over cable on lime a bit cheaper cleaner $8.00 AKA (Two-Way Relay Walkie Talkie Repeater for Baofeng UV-5R Radios, i can use CHIP TO PROGRAM A CHANNEL CORRECT BUT WILL THE VOX
can you tell me a rough milage range a repeater setup like this will get? we live in a river valley area and have some nice mountains above us i am wanting to try and build one to see if i can talk to my father 20 miles away and curious if something like this would work for that style of range
'They are talking to the other line, which is 147.120.."
😅😂
Great information. I took notes.
Great video thank you for sharing!
The one issue I'm running into is when I set this up as a test, before installing it all in a box, the repeater works, but when I turn on the ROGER BEEP, for the repeater confirmation tone, it beeps repeatedly, sometimes for a good bit before letting go!
Thank you for sharing this information of setting up a basic repeater. tnx.
Very cool setup. I would suggest a duplexer and a good high gain antenna on your repeater setup..
In a repeater system on VHF the duplexer is always the most expensive single component i definitely would not bother on a 5 watt repeater!
$55 on Amazon for a small one
OK guys, I found a pre made cable that works better than the one I built. Here is the link to it; www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07TN24387?ref=ppx_pt2_mob_b_prod_image
I had a setup similar to that before I got my GR1225 - I had I think a Surecom controller, but I was looking at the ID-O-Matic 4. It's got some controller features that the older versions didn't have (it started as an auto-id unit, not a full controller). It'll give you a lot of features you want and need that you can't get from the cable.
Also try to hunt down a GR1225 - they can be had for pretty cheap. By the time you really get that HT system working well, you'll have spent a ton of time and money getting to the same point. It's best if it comes with the duplexer, but you can get a flatpack for about 70 bucks so it's not earth shattering. I see them for 300 bucks pretty frequently. I got mine from a friend for 150 without a duplexer ( I already had the duplexer).
If you talk a lot on it at a time - and need 100% duty cycle - don't run them on high power TX though, you'll burn the finals out.
Forgot to mention the downsides ... The programming hardware / software isn't the most friendly and straight forward. It's also not quite as portable / weatherproof - but a plastic tub could fix that. They're also 120VAC powered - but I THINK the actual radios are 12V, I'd have to open it up and look. I know some of the repeaters have a way to hook up a 12v battery and the 120V keeps the battery charged, and it runs off the battery if you lose power too. I'm pretty sure you could rig it up to run off a battery but you'd need a bigger battery. Other downside is that you're not field programming it from the faceplate so it might not be ideal for an "on the go" setup.
This is two years old and 242 comments deep, but probably has been said.... There's no way in hell this repeater worked better than simplex range.I think this video was posted as a joke for anyone with radio and/or solar knowledge to take exception to... so you win, here's my though.
Can you link where you got the solar charger olease
Don't you have troubles because of the closeness of the antennas?
I got a prebuilt connector for 2 radios, and when the repeater radios are close or the radios for the chat are close, is hard to have communication. Looks like interference
Does that solar panel keep up with the discharge?
@DanOfTheWild
Oh no !! Looks like I have been done again!
Damn you Mr. Sun ! 🌞
Well, is this setup works when the transmitting radio is several hundred yards from the repeater? I have never seen a test like that...
Hi can provide the name of that antenna.Thanks
Search for "Abree" whip or tactical antenna.
what is the vox functinon for?
Hello how to make own frequency, and can you scan randomly in the air? Thank you.
It's not problem 2 antena on the same high nearby without duplexer
Can a crossover cable network any two HTs to make a portable repeater?
Good job 👍 thank you for sharing.
What kind of solar charger are you using?
You might be better off with cross band then you can still keep it simple . Great thinking and stay at it .
Thank you very much for your work.
can make a short video to make a cross over cable ?¿ thx , or link to more doc o diagram very thx
That’s super cool
Amazing!
I have a question I’m new to anything outside of a two way in a semi will this repeater only help if it’s between you and you buddy? Or will it help if you both on the same side of the repeater also?
Does the repeater station within the box produce sound? Is it at least muffled from the foam and case? Wondering if it would be easy to find by others
So where would one get the cross over cable?
Have you tested as to the type of broadcast range you're getting?
Nice, portable set up. Thanks for sharing
At what volumes are you setting the RX?TX?
FYI: if using the repeater box relay, the cables can not be coiled, they need to be stretched out or the system will stay in TX mode and the reception will be terrible.
He stated in the video
what is the offset for?
Could this be used as a GMRS repeater?
Hi guys. I need some help. I have done the setup on the UHF frequency. The problem I have is that I can send perfectly over a long distance, but the person responding the channel opens but nothing comes through. What could that be?
Have you tested how far you can be away from them?
You might want to think about that. Wouldn't you want a very good receive antenna to help the guy that's trying so hard to get the repeater to open for him?
I can’t seem to get the Tx to stop transmitting. I don’t know what to do. It keeps overheating and everything
This a very cool idea. Will this work for gmrs also? Thanks for the video on how to do this.
How do you hear what is being said on the radio . I never hear anything but the static . Why
why would the TX / RX radios constantly have the "red" light on as if they're busy? Have everything else set.
I believe the selected frequency is a very common nationwide use
Can you use GMRS frequencies?
Interesting question. I have 2 uv-5r radios. One is old and transmitted in the GMRS freqs without issue. The new one “was” fcc compliant and would not. Then I found the hack to broaden the Tx freq range to include the GMRS. At the moment, I can’t remember how I did it, except that it was simply a button press and hold sequence when turning on the radio. No disassembly required.
Not legally...
Why do you crossover red to black?
Wow struggling with this. Plugging in the cable sets it to the lower channel and it just stops working. i even got the repeater cable. Any suggestions?
What would be the range of something like that ?
The limit is the horizon. But if you can get it higher up to top hills you can get more range.
Parts list for cabling with links would be very helpful. Good video otherwise.
I have done this, here is my question, can you show the pinout for each wire? I have three wires red, white, black. I have tried all configurations and the only one I can get to work is: white to Red, Black to white, and Red to white. It works, but I get a lot of buzzing. So, I was just curious about the pinout since my colors don't match yours.
Use a volt meter to figure out which wire connects to the tip vs the ring
@@michaelhale867 The OP uses a mono plug cable that apparently has continuity tip to ground for both wires (crossover he says). Does that make sense to you?
Question for you the radios inside the box do they need to be program with the -600 as well. Thanks
No because when you TX on one freq the radio in the box is RX it on that frequence and then sends it to the other radio operating on the -600 feq to TX it to the other hand held RX. Essentially what your hand held does is uses two feq instead of using two walkies to talk but the repeater helps the two handhelds talk to each other. I hope that helps.
Thanks for the video
Great set up. Especially in a SHTF scenario or just out camping or off-roading.
Will remember this one.
Pretty nice, but I prefer 2 mobile radios or simplex.
hi i have a question is the cable mono or stereo? I mean the plug
Question: On your video, 10:16, I notice that on the repeater radios, on the label it says RX 146.520, but on the radio it is 147.120. Additional question, the set up on the repeater radios should be the same on the portable radios?
Over heating?
Good job thank you
do you have a complete parts list I can use to do my shopping
Great video! Thank you :-)
did this work?
How far can you Transmit and Recieve using in this repeater system?
Which cross over do I get mono or stereo ?
I know this is an old video, but will this work with GMRS radios? Thanks