See comments threaded in below John Lock kf0m at arrl.net
-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]on Behalf Of Karan Bakshi Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2009 5:39 AM To: Repeater Builder Subject: [Repeater-Builder] Need Help - Setting up a New Repeater Station! Hi All Need help! I am new to this group, I am a Ham Radio Operator call sign VU2YEP, from New Delhi, INDIA. We are planning to open up a repeater club. Most likely it will be a VHF repeater. We use 144-146Mhz as our 2 meters band. We plan to put up a repeater which support 50 watts TX, we will install 6 cavity duplexer supporting .600khz and triple stack vertical antenna, power supply, battery and repeater controller etc... Currently need suggestions on the below mentioned two parts separately around the repeater selection - PART I - Q1. - Should we go with two separate base stations ( two VHF mobile radios from Icom, Kenwood or Yaesu) one for RX and one for TX with a repeater controller and a duplexer ? A) I would only use Amateur grade mobiles as a last resort. However, many people have had good success using two commercial grade mobiles one for tx and one for Rx such as Motorola or GE radios. main reason rx selectivity and Tx heat sinking. Q2. - Any specific models of VHF base mobiles, which are good from a repeater building perspective.. kinda tried and tested ones..having good selectivity and decent sensitivity too ? A) see previous answer to Q1 relative to ham grade radios. PART - II If, in case we go for a commercial repeater, then i.e from Kenwood, Yaesu or Icom, which one would this group would suggest from overall performance perspective ? A) Many people have successfully used all three brand of commercial repeaters. My personal observation is that I see fewer complaints and more complements about the Kenwood repeaters by list members than the other two brands. I am specifically looking for a feedback around the following models - Kenwood TKR -750, Yaesu VXR 7000 and Icom FRG 5000 repeater systems, which one is the best from durability ( overall maintenance, Signal quality, TX for long) and overall features perspective ? A) I have no direct experience with these to comment on. I mainly have used GE MastrII and ExecII radios. Waiting for your kind response from this group, all views are welcomes, so please be open to give your opinion! 73s Karan, VU2YEP
