JR, Don't knock the Kenwood just because "it's not a big Motorola box"... I used to run a Motorola MSR2000 and recently put a Kenwood TKR-820 on the air to replace it. (The MSR2000 was a "problem child" I inherited...) The Kenwood has been a very good "fit" for us and is operating flawlessly. It does take a bit of effort to get all the bugs worked out, but so does almost every other repeater project.
My county EMA also funds our operation - they provide all the primary equipment, site, and support (electrical, etc.) needs for the repeater; and the ham club (Plainfield Radio League) obtained the frequency coordination. It's great when the government and the ham community can work together, isn't it?? We are using a CAT-300 controller for our repeater. This gives us the ability to have voice ID, autopatch, remote control/administration, etc. (We are not using the autopatch though, simply because there is no telephone service to the site yet.) Cost was reasonable - this might be an option you'd want to consider. And it interfaces fairly easily to the Kenwood... Don't apologize for being a "repeater novice" - we all were novices at one time or another, and I still consider myself a novice. :-) Good luck in your endeavor, and if you're in the Joliet, IL area, try the WW9AE 444.550 (+ offset, PL 114.8) repeater. Mark - N9WYS Asst. Chief, Field Services Div. - Will County (IL) EMA Repeater Trustee - WW9AE/R -----Original Message----- From: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of jrinnebraska Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2005 9:51 AM To: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Repeater-Builder] New Repeater--Need Advice! I'm putting up a repeater in my local area--coordinated frequency is 146.895, going to tone it at 123.0. The repeater is a Kenwood 270--I know it's not a big Motorola box, etc., but the price was right--FREE! I've had it checked and reset for the new frequency and it works just fine--puts out 48 watts steadily. Local Emergency Management Agency will provide antenna, feedline and installation, we're closing in on a couple of site locations right now. My questions are these: 1. I need a duplexer for this system--what are your thoughts on cavities, etc. 2. Does anyone have a set of cavities we can find cheap? What's the best bet for cavities--size, number, etc. 3. What do you recommend for ID'ers--need to be compatible with the Kenwood. 4. What about remote controlling of the repeater? The sites we're looking at don't have phone lines available--will probably have to use some remote control--what do you suggest? I do have some Motorola Syntor UHF units that could perhaps be utilized...or should I be looking for some used 220 band stuff? 4. What else will be needed? I'm a novice in the repeater world... You can reply offline if you wish to me at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or through the board, I suppose! Thanks to all! Jim (JR) Reider, K0JWR Nebraska Region 15 ARES/RACES Emergency Coordinator Region 15 CERT Coordinator Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Repeater-Builder/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
