MOguy
Explorer
Can it be as simple as you put your radio on channel 22, I put my radio on 22 and we put the repeater on 22?
New GMRS Handheld Two-Way Radios Now Available
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camp4x4
Adventurer
That is actually one mode of operation - simplex repeaters. But they're uncommon... basically the repeater records your transmission, then retransmits it, which introduces a significant delay in conversation...
BTW... just to put it out there... here's the map of MO amateur radio repeaters... pretty much all open for public use....
Oh, and this is just 1 of the 2 common frequencies
...
dreadlocks
Well-known member
Nope, you need full duplex.. repeater has to transmit at the same time it receives.. everything has to be duplex mode to use repeaters..
they do make simplex repeaters but they are stupid, its just plugging a recorder into another radio.. it listens, records, and then replays it after.. so everyone hears the same message twice unless they are too far away from the sender.. its terrible, everyone has to be trained on how to use it.. I'd advise against it.
MOguy
Explorer
That's the map I saw. I live south and west of Rolla in the green are with no repeaters. We do much of our camping, fishing, exploring (overlanding) straight south of Rolla in the big empty repeaterless area.
dreadlocks
Well-known member
HAM Repeater network is ************ and can get you EmComs in most of NA if your proficient broadcaster, but everyone has to be license holders.. sharing is really only kosher when directly supervised by a license holder, like when grandpa lets his grandson fire up the ham.. they love that stuff.. but if grandson fires up the ham when grandpa aint there and starts breaking rules oooh hell the'll fox hunt the lil brat down just for fun heh.. My local Ham Shop wont even sell you a radio without a valid callsign that matches the name.
The problem with a private party is, everyone has to hold a license and many repeaters etiquette is you dont rag chew or take it over for personal comms as its more of a public service and lots of people are just tuned in in case of emergencies so them hearing you and your buddies talking about fish might catch some flack.
This is what GMRS is supposed to kinda fill the gap on, no tests.. your family can use your license even if they have no F's to give about HAM stuff and its much more relaxed without a bunch of rules or much enforcement of those that exist.
The problem with a private party is, everyone has to hold a license and many repeaters etiquette is you dont rag chew or take it over for personal comms as its more of a public service and lots of people are just tuned in in case of emergencies so them hearing you and your buddies talking about fish might catch some flack.
This is what GMRS is supposed to kinda fill the gap on, no tests.. your family can use your license even if they have no F's to give about HAM stuff and its much more relaxed without a bunch of rules or much enforcement of those that exist.
dreadlocks
Well-known member
Compare to the GMRS Repeater Map its pathetic: https://mygmrs.com/map/
And almost all those guys are breaking some rule somewhere to run this, because getting properly licensed gear that does duplex is hunting unicorns.. 12 years ago when I built my repeater, I was using old 90's cop radios and the likes because they had duplex gear that could be modified to operate in GMRS (think 5lb nickel batteries), it was cheap tho because they were going narrowband then digital.. thankfully china started making cheap lil lithium radios but those are even worse from a compliance standpoint because china dont give a crap about FCC.. my handhelds came pre-programed to talk right in the middle of 70cm HAM bands that you must have a license for, and has a community of license enforcers on those bands.. amazon said nothing about any license requirements, totally not ************** cool.. this situation sucks and has been for decades now :|
And almost all those guys are breaking some rule somewhere to run this, because getting properly licensed gear that does duplex is hunting unicorns.. 12 years ago when I built my repeater, I was using old 90's cop radios and the likes because they had duplex gear that could be modified to operate in GMRS (think 5lb nickel batteries), it was cheap tho because they were going narrowband then digital.. thankfully china started making cheap lil lithium radios but those are even worse from a compliance standpoint because china dont give a crap about FCC.. my handhelds came pre-programed to talk right in the middle of 70cm HAM bands that you must have a license for, and has a community of license enforcers on those bands.. amazon said nothing about any license requirements, totally not ************** cool.. this situation sucks and has been for decades now :|
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camp4x4
Adventurer
Oh man... was just browsing that area and noticed Fort Leonard Wood is around there. I did basic there... long time ago... bringing back memories...
You may be surprised what you can hit repeater-wise... That one northwest of Salem says it has a 27 mile range... obviously depending on terrain. And Rolla is only 20miles from Salem, so if you're between those two... seems possible.
Anyway.. you're right, it is somewhat slim pickin's in that specific part of the state...
dreadlocks
Well-known member
HAM Repeaters are not portable rigs like a basecamp GMRS deployment, we put em at strategic locations at high elevations so the horizon is much much further out.. you can key up those with handhelds at impressive range, let alone mobile high powered rigs.. the locals here key up our mountain top repeaters with 5w handhelds from a couple dozen miles, (or more if they use directional antennas).. mobile rigs can basically go to the horizon, on a +2000ft mountain a repeater is like 55 miles or better depending on terrain.. my house sits several thousand feet above average ground level, my APRS igate made from a mobile VHF radio picks up packets from 90 miles away consistently and I can reach repeaters for as far as I can see mountains in each direction.. which is hundreds of miles combined.
With a portable rig that horizon is much closer, on flat ground im only ~5m w/my 13ft trailer top antenna.. but its 2x that of the 2.5m horizon from my sons POV, I suppose potentially ~7m range on flat ground if you add em together.. my repeater's not gonna work miracles but I can strategically place my base camp at an altitude a few hundred feet higher than the valley and now my limit is basically the handhelds ability to get a signal to my receiver.. luckily it has a better receiver and antenna than the handhelds so it can pickup handhelds within my range much more reliably than other handhelds can.. and in reverse, its transmitting from a nice perspective with several times the power so the handhelds receive its transmissions much more reliably than they do each other.
I was meaning to get a more powerful handheld, like 10W with a nice directional antenna and take it with me on hikes to see if I can key it up from various vantage points.. but honestly these lil radios work consistently enough now within a few miles of base camp I've not had much desire, mebe next backpacking trip a few days out from base.. now I'm trying to think of how I want to mount a radio w/bluetooth to my dirt bike and how best to construct a crash proof antenna.. or mebe I should just sell it and get an ATV for now... ah fuckit
With a portable rig that horizon is much closer, on flat ground im only ~5m w/my 13ft trailer top antenna.. but its 2x that of the 2.5m horizon from my sons POV, I suppose potentially ~7m range on flat ground if you add em together.. my repeater's not gonna work miracles but I can strategically place my base camp at an altitude a few hundred feet higher than the valley and now my limit is basically the handhelds ability to get a signal to my receiver.. luckily it has a better receiver and antenna than the handhelds so it can pickup handhelds within my range much more reliably than other handhelds can.. and in reverse, its transmitting from a nice perspective with several times the power so the handhelds receive its transmissions much more reliably than they do each other.
I was meaning to get a more powerful handheld, like 10W with a nice directional antenna and take it with me on hikes to see if I can key it up from various vantage points.. but honestly these lil radios work consistently enough now within a few miles of base camp I've not had much desire, mebe next backpacking trip a few days out from base.. now I'm trying to think of how I want to mount a radio w/bluetooth to my dirt bike and how best to construct a crash proof antenna.. or mebe I should just sell it and get an ATV for now... ah fuckit
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MOguy
Explorer
I got out of the Army is 2008 at Fort Leonard Wood, I still work there as a civilian.Oh man... was just browsing that area and noticed Fort Leonard Wood is around there. I did basic there... long time ago... bringing back memories...
You may be surprised what you can hit repeater-wise... That one northwest of Salem says it has a 27 mile range... obviously depending on terrain. And Rolla is only 20miles from Salem, so if you're between those two... seems possible.
Anyway.. you're right, it is somewhat slim pickin's in that specific part of the state...
dreadlocks
Well-known member
I got my paper in the mail after a few weeks, but you can check online and see if its already gone through or not here: https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/searchLicense.jsp
DaveInDenver
Middle Income Semi-Redneck
Obviously the school (not surprisingly being what it is) has a student amateur radio club, so they will have repeaters. But 9 repeaters come up within 25 miles of Rolla. There's even a DMR repeater and a Yaesu Fusion repeater, which is pretty cool to us geeky ham types.
Repeater Book link
BigDaveZJ
Adventurer
Yup, it just shows "Submitted."
MOguy
Explorer
Unfortunately those are all populated areas well cell phones would work.
DaveInDenver
Middle Income Semi-Redneck
So use a cell phone. Didn't realize it was a question of substitution.
Anyway, just an example of the propagation for the W0GS repeater in Dixon. A 25 watt transceiver with a 5 dB gain antenna at 120 feet AGL is going to cover a lot of area. You just said south and west of Rolla and that you worked at Ft Leonard Wood, so I assumed you probably lived in Waynesville or St. Robert and this repeater will cover there well.
I just don't get it, why ask about repeaters if you don't actually want to learn anything about them?
Also looks like there's a couple of repeaters in Osage Beach, which you could probably raise from near Waynesville, too.
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