The $100 Lunchbox Repeater 

I am pretty sure that RU-vid was made for cat videos and anti-Trump propaganda...

I'll be doing a follow-up video soon once I'm confident I can keep it charged for a week unattended, and get the callsign working.

Especially how those batteries are doing

@@AZREDFERN I have a similar setup for GMRS backpack repeater. I used goal zero batteries and added their 10w solar panel to the setup.

Please dont, look for other videos on how to do it

Bro, love the vibe here, very uplifting.

If you insist on using a pair of UV5R? put one on 145 and the other on 440MHz then put a couple of 5Meter long 2.5mm and a 3.5mm stereo extention leads on the repeater box get the UV5R in two boxes as far and vertically separate as possible

The FCC says any station owned by a license control operator may be a repeater, and also says that repeaters may be under automatic control. Automatic control is defined as a control station that can operate within compliance without the control operator present. With these mobile repeaters, you’re pretty much safe operating without a callsign on the repeater, since you’re using your callsign from your end every 10 minutes while it is transmitting. As long as it’s being used personally. However, I’m currently working on a way to inject a small MP3 player into the radio. But, I’m still having audio sensitivity issues, and my best solution right now is just a third radio that plays the Morse code audio file on repeat every 10 minutes. I also have some voice callouts mixed in, and I can use it as a signal quality beacon. On a side note if you’re worried about malfunctions such as a stuck open key, a station is permitted to malfunction up to 3 minutes before it’s in violation.

​@@AZREDFERNyou could probably hook up a microcontroller into the mic on the transmit radio, and if it interferes with how the receiver connects to the transmitter... maybe you can use a diode? or something? Also if you used battery eliminators you could hook both radios up to a single 12 volt battery or something, maybe a LiFePO4 battery with a bms to prevent overdischarge? and then the batteries won't turn off on you by surprise and also you won't have any issues from one battery running out before the other like i imagine you might have with two separate batteries connected to different radios that do different jobs.

The other concern is the ability to remotely or locally turn the repeater off is required by the FCC as part of the "control" bit.

​@@EthosAtheos ESP32 + Meshtastic to control a relay that'll cut power to both radios perhaps?

@@JacobZigenis A LORA ESP32 device could do it without metastatic. But metastatic does have some other useful features. You could use it to track the box if it wandered off. Range might be an issue with 900mhz. As this is a Ham setup, I was thinking maybe a relay controlled by APRS. Like a RP message to trigger a relay maybe...It might take some coding and a sound card to make it work I'm not 100% sure.

Pofung radios are not clones, it's the same brand. Over in China the legal system isn't very strong (especially with enforcement on companies), so lots of companies don't bother playing by the rules. Because of this, brand names in China are kind of worthless. Most places will have multiple different names they're registered under. Baofeng/Pofung/BTech has managed some name recognition, so they have been sticking with the Baofeng name but they're the same no-matter what brand you see them under. I believe that they were trying to switch to the Pofung branding for a while because they thought it would be easier to say properly in English, but they stopped for the most part when they noticed that they had no reputation under that name.

Check quansheng UV5R Plus

That was my original plan, but I wanted the option of setting it on a table, or on top of a vehicle in camp. Realistically, it probably would be best doing top and bottom antennas, different Rx/Tx antenna types, and pull it up in to a tree.

@@AZREDFERN from the sad ham section LoL. That is the preferred setup .

Or maybe have them 90º to each other, so you get somewhere around 20dB attenuation from opposite polarization?

time for some cavity filters! :)

Wow! I didn’t think they existed at that price point. Maybe I’ll make a second one some day. A single unit would be more reliable and less complex. Ultimately, you best bet would just having a mobile unit in your vehicle, like a Wouxun 800H or 1000G and leave that with a crossband repeater on. But it’s still fun to design and build all options.

The only downside to the TH-uv800D is I don’t think there’s a usb-c battery however there is a 12vdc “battery eliminator”

I have one and yes, it is a much simpler way to do this. I throw it in a box with a battery and I'm all set. Or I leave it hooked up in my truck and leave it on top of the hill.

Probably receive desensitization.

@@socohamradio4069 thanks yes I believe the k1 is good. After doing 4 minutes of research lmao. Why wouldn’t you get the desensitization on the 2m band, but on GMRS I would? Is it just the properties of the higher frequency wave?

This could work if you had access to the tallest point between your homes. Or you could go HF NVIS which carries a ton of advantages but requires general icense and equipment. But I’d super reliable and fun

Buildings are kind of a bane to radios. For all your handhelds, you have VHF (6M, 2M, MURS, 1.25 meter) and UHF (70cm, GMRS). UHF does better within the city, and VHF does better over distance. Both modes work best with line of sight, meaning no obstacles or earth in the way. The real problem is 2 equal height people can only “see” each other for 6 miles over the curvature of the earth at ground level. I’ve hit repeaters from 40 miles away, but I was on one mountain side, and the repeater was on a mountain top. A 5 watt handheld “can” reach 50+ miles in perfect conditions. In your situation, you’ll both need to be on top of buildings, or near the top and next to a window facing each other (RF isn’t bothered by glass). An even safer bet is to slowly learn about all the repeaters in your area, and test them when the power is out. For radios, you’ll be fine with GMRS radios. One $35 permit covers all immediate family members for 10 years, and you can practice it regularly. You “can” use a ham radio without a license to prevent the loss of life and limb, but power outages normally are not that kind of situation, and you won’t be able to practice on a regular basis. All handheld radios have similar output performance, but receiving performance is what sets radios apart. Wouxun, like the KG-805G, has the best receivers when it comes to the cheap Chinese radios. Anything cheaper than $80 is basically going to be the same radio. They still work great, but have problems with the squelch. I would recommend the “UV-5G Plus” as a great budget to function radio. Don’t fret over the wattage output of handhelds, it’s all the same. What’s most important is the antenna. If you want maximum performance, the ABBREE 42.5” Tactical GMRS antenna will make the distance. But it’s heavy and a lot to handle. Everyone’s favorite middle ground antenna is the Nagoya 771G, and I’ve tested that one to 40 miles. To connect to repeaters, use the Repeater Book app on your phone to see all local GMRS repeaters. Down the road, you may want to learn how to use CHiRP on your computer to program presets into your radio. As far as power goes, the Chinese radios are all moving towards USB-C. Unfortunately it’s only a 5 watt charge standard. But that means you only need a 5-10 watt folding solar panel, and it’ll take 4 hours to charge. GMRS is moderately easy to learn, and “Not A Rubicon” has plenty of great videos, especially when it comes to Baofengs and the new UV-5G Plus. On one final side note, there is no privacy on public radio. But if you want to send texts to each other that the average person can’t understand, get Rattlegram on your phones. Basically turn your phone volume all the way up with VOX on the radio right next to your phone, and you’re ready to text. It does cut your reliable distance in half, and anyone else can open up Rattlegram and intercept your conversation. That’s what keeps it legal. BUT…. If it really matters, you can cypher your texts. But that’s illegal for both all public radio services, unless you’re controlling a satellite.

thank you for your time on this. i wonder if i got a couple tall antenna to go on the roof, if that would work. or, come up with some other solution.@@AZREDFERN

@@chrisc0276 the thing with radio is, you can make anything happen if you know what you’re doing. Anything can become an antenna. Any antenna will work with a handheld with the right adapters from amazon, and a cheap MFJ antenna tuner. You can turn a mobile (vehicle) radio into a base (desktop) station with a 13.8v power supply. You can make a lot of Ham equipment work for GMRS. Only the transmitter needs to be GMRS specific. A lot of apartment hams just run a “random wire antenna” out of their window and down the wall, and some antenna tuners come ready to hook up random wire antennas. Like I said earlier, the antenna is the most important part. Finally, it’s a little harder to find for GMRS, but a “Yagi” antenna can be used with handhelds, and are VERY directional. Strong enough to talk to the ISS 150km away. That would be your best bet to make a GMRS handheld reach wherever you can see without obstruction. You just need to know where to point it, and either mount it on a roof, or hold it the entire time. Arrow makes some nice lightweight Yagi handhelds that can break down, out of archery arrows.

Great information Thank you again!!

Just 2 miles and 2 ridges away. But the volume was left all the way down, so I was only getting a Rodger beep. I still need to do a week long test, hiding it on a peak and testing it until I go back up for my next hike. That’ll be a good 15 mile test.

Did you ever figure out how to get this to work for GMRS?

@@rallymadness8105 I returned them, desensitization due to antennas being too close. I wanted to have them in the box with antennas mounted on there, so I gave up.

No. I ran out…

@@AZREDFERN

I’m the AZ variant of Redferns.

@@AZREDFERN Crazy. you're the only person I Hvae seen with the same spelling as mine

I was interested in comms in high school and did sattelite comms in the Army but now making a leap into it. I live in a hilly area and building this to extend range. I have learned a lot just from RU-vid and looking forward to getting my license and doing more

Experiment, experiment, experiment! That’s what it’s all about. Plenty of us have fried some circuitry a time or two with experiments. But this is how you learn. Hands on, get in there and build, tinker and be creative. That’s what the ham radio hobby is all about… Well, and making contacts and talking to other people 😊

I’ve kinda been having fun with it. It’s eye catching at first, and then gets worse the more you look at it.

@@AZREDFERN Yeah definitely, I thought it was a really good and distinctive thumbnail but you look closer and it's clear an AI has made it 😂

Thanks for looking out for us, Karen.

Box cones from harbor freight. They are cheap. Less the 50$

I break down the required parts to make a $100, weatherproof, repeater. You do have to keep an eye on sales to get it to exactly $100. The batteries are optional, and you don’t need the chokes at all.

Ahhh yes. The modern Ham here to save us. Tell me you didn't watch the video without watching the video. You're a clown

Well why don't you take the time to make a video and show us the correct way for under $100

@@jamiedumanski2508 there are already hundreds of repeater videos on YT

​@@jamiedumanski2508this repeater is under $100. But it can't work very far due to a lack of a duplexer filter and very close TX and RX frequency and antenna. So it's a very ineffective design and that it can't be very practical.

​@@nine7295 If he adds a Duplex splitter for like $50, he will only need to run 1 antenna. Or just a simplex repeater would work for what he wants it.

Some of us are on a budget and still want to experiment with radios, is that really a problem? Don’t be a Sad Ham, encourage others to experiment, I thought that was what amateur radio was about!

@@Taco_Syndicate Not a sad ham, just wont work, the UV5R's without serious filtering will simply block. Go cross band repeater 145MHz and 440MHz will save you a lot of problems alone, and use superhet on the RX, like a HYT TC700, used less than 50bucks and windows programable, and if you can also get a UHF one for the TX you are good to go

@@phillipsmiley5930 it’s funny how Sad Hams only talk about the first iteration of UV-5Rs and their spurious emissions. They do work, I’ve seen it first hand. Gotta love those who repeat Sad Ham lore. You should report this video to the FCCs pronto, as this guy clearly needs a $25,000 fine and 10 years in a cell to think about his mistake (joking). I agree there are much better ways to make a repeater with HTs, I just don’t feel the need to correct someone who tries things out for himself. In the video he talks about using cross band frequencies as well. This is a neat little project, but not something I’d do myself. Heck, I let my friend do it first back in 2017, and learned from his experiment. Have a great day!

@@Taco_Syndicate Are you calling me a sad ham? I'm an RF tech thats worked on LMR radios for the last 40 years, ive seen SDR arrive and replace superhet not because its better but because its much cheaper

@@phillipsmiley5930 I would never call, You, a Sad Ham. But I do find it funny those boxes are being checked in short order. I'm guessing the might and power of the FCCs won't be touched since I joked about it, but man you guys are all the same. I'm not trying be rude, it's just hard to not notice patterns once you see them. Then again, I could be the idiot chatting with a bot... Have a great day! I'm off to play on HF radio.