The Vertex is a good commercial repeater but be careful. There were two versions & differ mainly in the PA section.
The older version had a bipolar xsistor PA while the newer has a rf hybrid module. Neither of those repeaters is 100% duty cycle unless you cut the power in half & even then I'd be wary of HD use. The older Vertex would overheat the collector lead & unsolder itself while burning the pcb. Much the same as the GR300s/Maxtracs & 1225's. The newer Vertex is still a bit tender when presented with a poor swr & heat. It has a fairly sensitive receiver which can be tuned a little better in software. If it'll go to the ham band is unknown to me. Haven't tried. I will put one on the bench in the afternoon and see if it will. I don't have anything to say about the Kenwood 851 because I haven't put one in service. --- In Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com, "John Transue" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I see several Vertex Standard VXR-7000 repeaters and one or two Kenwood TKR-851 repeaters for sale on eBay. Are these good repeaters for a ham repeater? Do they have known weaknesses or defects? > John Transue >
