Who is a good HAM/Comms guy here?

[TheGerman]

I have a problem I am trying to solve in relation to transmitting on MURS/GMRS and utilizing a larger 'base station' unit that I can use as my own mobile repeater.

I have the MURS/GMRS license but going into equipment, I just get a deer in headlights stare as to what I need.

Basically I am looking for a 50W base station that can be mounted in a vehicle and can do 2 things:

- Have you use your existing personal handheld in conjunction with it as a sort of amplifier

- Have it used as a repeater for existing personal handheld within receiving distance of the vehicle mounted 'base station' radio

Right now we have the baofeng/yaesu type radios and would like something that can work with that, but am not against getting a better Kenwood or something to get it to work with whatever base station I would need to get; question is, what do I look at?

 

[Redmanss]

@Gunfighter14e2 was always the resident expert here, unfortunately he isn't around lately.

 

[Nik H]

Go to this site

https://brushbeater.wordpress.com/

He is one of the most knowledgeable resources on what you are trying to do. He responds to questions as well and there are others who frequent the site who have a lot of experience

 

[missed]

I am, I have a 50w 2m/70cm Yaesu FT8800 that is mounted in a pelican box. It can be moved from the house, truck, completely mobile. I have a 10ah battery that fits in the box also for complete standalone use.

The handheld radios can do quite a bit as long as the repeaters are up and running.

 

[ajwcotton]

Midland is putting a lot of money into gmrs right now and is selling 50 watt base stations. If you want to stay legal that's the easiest way. I have a kenwood tmd710ga that I did the mars cap mod to. It's a full on mobile ham radio that can now transmit on frs gmrs and murs in emergency situations. It has cross band repeat built in, but won't repeat on any non ham bands.
Hope this helps

 

[ajwcotton]

Here is a add on you can do to a midland gmrs radio for a mobile base station.

https://www.portableuniversalpower.com/our-products/operator-g1/

 

[...]

have you looked into upgrading the antennas on your radios first?

im able to get a solid 20 miles out of a HT with a well tuned car top antenna..

 

[...]

Here is a add on you can do to a midland gmrs radio for a mobile base station.

https://www.portableuniversalpower.com/our-products/operator-g1/

the hardened power stuff is top notch.......just be aware that they usually make stuff in batches.....so youll likely have to wait a while for it.

 

[hermosabeach]

I have a problem I am trying to solve in relation to transmitting on MURS/GMRS and utilizing a larger 'base station' unit that I can use as my own mobile repeater.

I have the MURS/GMRS license but going into equipment, I just get a deer in headlights stare as to what I need.

Basically I am looking for a 50W base station that can be mounted in a vehicle and can do 2 things:

- Have you use your existing personal handheld in conjunction with it as a sort of amplifier

- Have it used as a repeater for existing personal handheld within receiving distance of the vehicle mounted 'base station' radio

Right now we have the baofeng/yaesu type radios and would like something that can work with that, but am not against getting a better Kenwood or something to get it to work with whatever base station I would need to get; question is, what do I look at?

I am a novice with HAM... but I can hit repeaters across LA with 5 watts.... it's a 55 mile drive- I don't know how far in a straight line.

My question is along the line- Why do you want the truck to be a repeater for a hand held? Line of Sight is about Line of sight not power... Same reason why people can moon bounce with not much power...


If the truck was parked up on a ridge and you were in a ditch, then repeating off of the truck makes sense.

If the truck was in the ditch with you, then more power does not solve the line of sight issue...

I guess I don't fully understand the problem you are looking to solve with more power?


Trucks have large antenna and can reach to the office, but the handheld cannot- so you want a hand held to repeat off of the truck?

 

[Sean the Nailer]

Most definitely, Guns had a number of good threads here regarding comms. I missed the soap-opera that made him decide to delete everything. There was a LOT of good reference there, on many topics.

I'm just a newbie HAM that's still trying to set up. I've more questions than answers, so good luck.

 

[Dewey7271]

Hey, not trying to derail but I'm setting for my Technician, total newby.
Any suggestions on stuff to buy, sensible course of action etc.?

 

[TheGerman]

I am a novice with HAM... but I can hit repeaters across LA with 5 watts.... it's a 55 mile drive- I don't know how far in a straight line.

My question is along the line- Why do you want the truck to be a repeater for a hand held? Line of Sight is about Line of sight not power... Same reason why people can moon bounce with not much power...


If the truck was parked up on a ridge and you were in a ditch, then repeating off of the truck makes sense.

If the truck was in the ditch with you, then more power does not solve the line of sight issue...

I guess I don't fully understand the problem you are looking to solve with more power?


Trucks have large antenna and can reach to the office, but the handheld cannot- so you want a hand held to repeat off of the truck?

I know it isn't the smartest route to go, but there's a reason for it.

It's all going to be used for a tour in the desert and we are considering giving the passengers in the vehicle a comms setup on their helmets so they can communicate with each other/the team as the vehicle is loud as fuck. While the basic handhelds would work for this, I also need the guy(s) in the vehicle to be able to comm with a location further away where the handheld signal strength probably is going to be out of range; this is why I'm trying to figure out something where we aern't having to use 2+ different setups, as well as not being on the HAM repeater because there's no way I'm going to attempt to have one time guests go through the whole HAM callsign thing and whatever, each time they want to say something - its not viable.

All of the handhelds for the team are worn in chest rigs or somehow on their person. I have already improved the antenna on the Baofengs as best as I could with getting the taller Japanese brand (forgot the name) whip antenna that I've routed through my H harness to increase the LOS/height as much as it can go.

Basically what I need is a solid setup that can do this:

- 1 'base camp' setup that is static at the FOB; has the ability to be used as a repeater for those at the FOB to transmit further than the handhelds would go in case someone is not sitting right in front of the radio at the time

- 1 mobile setup per vehicle; has the ability to be used as a repeater and/or amplifier for the team in the vehicle to transmit further (i.e. to the FOB thats 7-8 miles away). Would be nice if it could be setup where the comms guy in the vehicle can plug into it directly as I do not need the guests transmitting on the vehicle radio as they will only need to communicate among themselves; however I'd like the vehicle unit to also be able to be a repeater like the FOB radio is, for when we'd all be outside and away from the vehicle. Also on the vehicle you have the ability to mount whatever antenna would work well for this application.

Does this make more sense? Given these parameters, how should I do this?

 

[W54/XM-388]

Hey, not trying to derail but I'm setting for my Technician, total newby.
Any suggestions on stuff to buy, sensible course of action etc.?

Good dual / triple band handheld, with an extended antenna for carrying around, and then a roof mount magnetic antenna for your car.
Also get the separate mic option & the car power adapter.

That will give you a really good start.
Then start out by doing lots of listening.

If you are in a city where there is a branch of Ham Radio Outlet, go pay them a visit and talk with the older guys.
They can give you a quick list of their favourite local repeaters & also help you setup the radio.
Normally they are cheaper in store than most stuff online.

 

[Sean the Nailer]

Does this make more sense? Given these parameters, how should I do this?

Oh German, you know you opened yourself up to this. Go old school.

Lots of strings, lots of tin-cans.

 

[Dewey7271]

Good dual / triple band handheld, with an extended antenna for carrying around, and then a roof mount magnetic antenna for your car.
Also get the separate mic option & the car power adapter.

That will give you a really good start.
Then start out by doing lots of listening.

If you are in a city where there is a branch of Ham Radio Outlet, go pay them a visit and talk with the older guys.
They can give you a quick list of their favourite local repeaters & also help you setup the radio.
Normally they are cheaper in store than most stuff online.

Thank you!

 

[...]

If you don’t need triple band...I would recommend sticking with dual band....mainly because of the antennas

The more bands you have to design an antenna for, the less optimized for any one band they become.

 

[hermosabeach]

To thread jack - Baofengs are know to ship with a spyware filled Dvd/cd. Don’t run the disk that comes with the Baofeng radio.

 

[hermosabeach]

You have a curious set up...

For loud environments, flying with a friend in his cesna, the in cabin headsets are awesome. The Pilot can speak with the tower. The passengers can chat with each other and the headsets are comfy.

They are not cheap but you can find used versions of the cesna and firefighter headsets on eBay.

Example
https://www.sportys.com/pilotshop/aviation-headsets.html

Motorcycles have a helmet system called Chatterbox or something like that.

Radios work line of sight so a long whip antenna helps to get you more range. Desert canyons are next to impossible to get a signal in or out.
If I recall correctly, true repeaters need FCC permission. Are there club owned repeaters in your desert area? Can you reach out to them and get permission to be on their frequency for a week?

 

[hermosabeach]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-As...403052?hash=item1a019fda6c:g:cR8AAOSwpDdVgDeZ

 

[...]

Radios work line of sight so a long whip antenna helps to get you more range. Desert canyons are next to impossible to get a signal in or out.
If I recall correctly, true repeaters need FCC permission. Are there club owned repeaters in your desert area? Can you reach out to them and get permission to be on their frequency for a week?

so long as you are licensed to broadcast on the frequencies your repeater is operating on, no permission is needed from the FCC.

also all repeaters are free to use..you dont need to ask permission....as no one can block you from a channel you are allowed to be on.

it doesnt hurt to ask as a courtesy......but they cant deny your request.

ususally what they do if they want their repeater to remain "private" is theyll set a PL tone and not publish it.....but even then if you happen to find it they cant stop you from using it.