Repeater Builder
Welcome to:
"Repeater Builder"
So, you want to build a repeater?
Repeater Builder is an informational help site by Kevin Custer W3KKC.
This is the largest repeater information site in the world!
Below is a Google ad (to help pay the bandwidth and hosting bill). No endorsement of
the products is implied.
Donations are appreciated for the continued availability and upkeep
of this site. We have over 11,000 publicly-accessible files occupying
over 12 GB of server space. About 50% are PDFs, about 36% are JPGs and
GIFs, and about 10% are HTML files. All of this is freely downloadable
information, and our server transfers (i.e. downloads) over 250 GB per
month! The repeater-builder web group that is associated with this web site has over 6,400 members worldwide and is a tremendous resource of technical knowledge on repeaters and repeater-building, be they amateur, commercial, GMRS, public safety, CAP, or ... The contents of the information pages at this web site are totally dependent on donations of information. If you have expertise on a particular piece of equipment, or detailed knowledge on a topic, please consider contributing an article or two to this web site. This web site is privately owned and operated; all financial support comes from donations from individuals. There is little advertising on this web site except for a few small amateur-owned companies that manufacture boards and parts of interest to the repeater community, and a few Google ads like the one above that help pay the hosting fees. |
We also accept donations using a credit or debit card via PayPal.
Thanks!
Remember seeing something you are interested in but can't remember where? | ||
Use the | Search Engine to find it! |
Type your search terms in the box above to search this site.
Due to the fact that we are using the free Google search there will be advertisements in
the Google search results.
Note that you can't use this if you're running IE8 or earlier. Thanks, Google!
- To educate: As an example, "What's a repeater?"
- To supply quality information relating to amateur, and commercial repeater stations.
- To make available technical people who may answer repeater related questions.
- This site deals mainly with various Motorola® and GE® Mobile modifications for duplex repeater operation.
- To provide availability to some conversion parts for Motorola®, GE® and Hamtronics® equipment.
- To supply information on construction projects and technical information relating to repeaters.
- To furnish links to modifications for Motorola®, GE®, Hamtronics® and other manufacturers equipment.
- To make available email and web groups for those seeking information about repeaters. Like this one.
- To provide links to Service and Equipment providers.
- Here is one example of the service provided by this site. Ray's first repeater.
- Consider the RFinder application for locating repeaters of interest.
The
Main Modification and Information Index
Everything here was donated by somebody in
the spirit of sharing.
What information do you have to contribute?
Want to see your name in print on this
web site?? Click here for our "wish-list" and a list of some articles we need !! Don't see an article on what you came here for?? See the last paragraph on the above link. |
Manufacturer: (If you don't see the brand you're looking for, see the "Other Manufacturers" listing at the end.)
- Advanced Computer Controls (ACC) Now out of business, support is available through other sources.
- Advanced Electronic Applications (AEA) We have a number of AEA equipment manuals here.
- Aerotron-Repco Now out of business, here's a collection of Aerotron-Repco manuals.
- Alinco Information on Alinco radios and equipment.
- Arcom Information on Arcom Repeater Controllers and related products.
- Astron Information and modifications for Astron linear and switching power supplies.
- Bendix-King Information on Bendix-King two-way radio equipment.
- CES Information on CES two-way radio accessories.
- Communications Specialists and Selectone Information on audible and sub-audible tone encoders and decoders.
- Computer Automation Technology (CAT) Now out of business, here's information on CAT repeater controllers.
- Connect Systems Inc. (CSI) Information on CSI communications products.
- Creative Control Products (CCP) Now out of business, here's some information on CCP equipment.
- Daniels Electronics Information on Daniels Electronics equipment.
- E. F. Johnson Information on E. F. Johnson two-way radio equipment.
- Ferritronics Information on Ferritronics Tone Squelch products.
- General Electric / Ericsson The "MASTR" Index of LBIs, conversion information and sites.
- GLB Electronics Now out of business, here are manuals and information on their products.
- Glenayre Electronics Now out of business, we have some information on Glenayre paging equipment.
- Granger Associates Now out of business, here's some information on Granger radio equipment.
- Hamtronics Now out of business, here are mods, info, and manuals on Hamtronics equipment.
- Henry Radio Information and modifications for Henry Radio amplifiers.
- Icom Information and modifications for Icom two-way radio equipment.
- ICS Controllers Information and modifications for ICS repeater controllers.
- Kendecom / ACS / MCS Now out of business, here are mods and info on Kendecom repeaters.
- Kenwood Information on Kenwood two-way radio equipment.
- Kyodo Information on Kyodo base and repeater stations.
- LDG Electronics Information on LDG Electronics voter products.
- Link Communications (Link-Comm) Information on the RLC series of repeater controllers.
- Maggiore "Hi-Pro" Repeaters Now out of business, information on Maggiore "Hi-Pro" repeater products.
- Masters Communications Quality return loss bridges, USB radio adapters, and other projects and kits.
- MFJ Information on MFJ equipment and accessories.
- Micro Computer Concepts (MCC) Information on MCC repeater controllers.
- Midland Information on Midland two-way radio equipment.
- Molotora Information on Dingbat products.
- Motorola Information on Batwing products.
- NHRC Repeater Controllers Information and modifications for NHRC controllers.
- Pacific Research Solutions Information on Pacific Research Solutions repeater controllers and related products.
- Pion and Simon Electronics Now out of business, here is information on Pion and Simon Electronics equipment.
- Pyramid Power Supplies Information on Pyramid regulated power supplies.
- Radio Shack Information on Radio Shack amateur transceivers, test equipment, and weather receivers.
- Ramsey No longer selling kits, here is information on Ramsey radio and test equipment products.
- RCA Information on RCA two-way radio equipment.
- Regency / RELM / Wilson Information on Regency, RELM, and Wilson equipment.
- Repeater Builder (the company) Custom Repeaters and Products for the repeater builder or owner.
- Ritron, Inc. Information on Ritron two-way radio equipment.
- Samlex America Information on Samlex Desktop Switching Power Supplies.
- S-Com Controllers Information on S-Com repeater controllers and accessories.
- Solid State Communications (SSC) Now out of business, information on Solid State Communications equipment.
- Spectrum Now out of business, information on the Spectrum repeaters.
- Standard Information on Standard two-way radios and repeaters.
- Tait Information on Tait two-way radio equipment.
- Uniden Information on Uniden and Bearcat two-way radios and scanners.
- VHF Engineering Now out of business, information on some VHF Engineering products.
- West Mountain Radio Products for DC Power, Amateur Radio, and R/C Hobbies.
- Yaesu, Yaesu / Vertex and Vertex / Standard Information on Yaesu, Yaesu/Vertex, and Vertex/Standard equipment.
- Zetron Information on Zetron controllers and tone panels.
- Other Manufacturers' Equipment Information, manuals and mods for equipment made by manufacturers not listed above. If you can't find it anywhere else, check here!
Other Pages on Various Repeater Related Topics:
- Antenna System Information The antenna system is made up of everything that connects to the repeater transmitter and receiver antenna jacks.
- Backup and Alternative Power Equipment modification and setup articles plus reference material.
- Construction Projects Repeater related construction projects.
- DMR and D-STAR Information on digital communications equipment and operation, including MOTOTRBO.
- Downloads Various downloads (software, powerpoint files, data files).
- IRLP The Internet Radio Linking Project is a worldwide community of radio/repeater systems. Here's an overview page with a lot of links.
- Repeater Equipment Suppliers Antennas, Controllers, Duplexers, Feedline, Repeaters, Voters, etc.
- Repeater Jamming and how to solve it / deal with it Information on catching a repeater jammer.
- Repeater Linking Information on linking repeaters together.
- Repeater-oriented articles, by Peter Policani, K7PP These articles were published on his own site that has since left the web. Peter gracioiusly gave Repeater-Builder permission to host certain relevant articles here.
- Repeater related groups Links to several groups and reflectors relating to repeaters.
- Radio Mobile is a free and powerful computer-aided tool witten by Roger Coudé VE2DBE. You can use the program by visiting the site and creating an account. It's free to amateur radio operators. It is used to plot antenna patterns and to predict the performance of radio systems from 20 MHz to 20 GHz. RM lacks easy to understand documentation. The best place for beginner info is the web site at http://www.g3tvu.co.uk/Radio_Mobile.htm or at http://www.pizon.org/radio-mobile-tutorial (both are offsite links).
- A Sample Set of Repeater Radio Site Rules Here's a sample of what to expect when you rent space at a commercial 2-way radio site. Here's another set from N9ZIA (offsite link).
- A customizable tower site lease agreement DOC file Here's a tower site lease agreement you can download and fill in with your specific information when you are looking to rent space at a commercial site. Lawyer-approved. Provided by Martin Flynn W2RWJ.
-
Amateur Radio Club Repeater Operation Rules Here are some
samples from various radio clubs: (all are offsite links except for the last one)
The Target System WB1GOF Repeater Rules of Conduct K5QHD Repeater Usage Rules and Guidelines Mount Diablo Amateur Radio Club Repeater Operation Rules The Great South Bay Amateur Radio Club of New York Interstate Repeater Society of New Hampshire Repeater Conduct Arlington Radio Public Service Club Condor Connection Guidelines from a open linked system that runs from Phoenix west to San Diego and north into Oregon Private system policies and rules from a now-defunct linked private system (this is here mostly as a set of ideas that others can borrow from). - Technical Information Various technical articles and reference material.
-
Test Equipment
Manuals (PDFs) from companies whose primary business is communications test
equipment, such as Aeroflex / IFR, Bird, Cushman, Helper, Motorola, and a few others.
There are also some articles on home-brew test equipment. - The Two-Way Directory Page (offsite link) This web site, run by Rik Rasmussen WA4BAN, is a directory of the Land Mobile (commercial 2-way radio) industry. Over 1600 links plus a interesting commentary page (scroll down to the "Two Way Radio Web Log").
- VoIP Information on VoIP controllers and linking practices.
Services:
- Custom-Built Repeaters Motorola and GE repeater conversions by Scott Zimmerman N3XCC.
- Custom Repeater Products Specialized repeater products by Scott Zimmerman N3XCC and Kevin Custer W3KKC.
- Where To Purchase Repeater Equipment Repeaters, Controllers, Duplexers, Antennas, Voters, etc.
- Repeater Elmers Personal repeater help via email from several Elmers.
The R-B Group / Reflector:
-
Don't forget the web group that is associated with this site:
https://groups.io/g/repeater-builder The largest (over 5,500 members) quality ad free technical repeater email reflector.
Click here for more information.
Miscellaneous stuff that doesn't seem to fit anywhere else:
- FCC Rules and Rule-Related Articles The current FCC rules Part 97 (amateur radio service), as well as other rule-related articles and resources.
- The vehicle manufacturer's comments on mobile radio installation: (all but Chrysler are offsite
links)
- Chrysler This is a scan of a Dayton Hamvention handout that was written expressly for hams, with a number of excellent mobile radio installation points.
- Ford (click on Downloadable Documents, then Mobile Radio Installation Guide) It covers Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Aston Martin, Volvo, Mazda, Jaguar, Lincoln and Land Rover. Here's a local copy.
- General Motors Radio Telephone / Mobile Radio Installation Guidelines local copy.
-
Text to
CW (offsite link)
Convert any text to a MCW audio stream, or an MP3 file (and you can create a WAV file from an MP3). - Repeaterisms Click to see what they are!
- The Two Way Radio Keys Page Need to know what key fits your radio set? By Mike Morris WA6ILQ.
- Other Offsite Links Other modifications and related information located at other web sites.
- The Repeater Builder's Check List A reference list when acquiring parts to build a repeater and some construction notes, by W7FDF and other contributors.
- A bit of ham radio / electronic humor!!
- Highest Repeater in the USA? Possibly!
Hungry Spam Bots! Dinner_Served Here!
Visit the Awards page. See the awards this site has received.
Legal and other important stuff......
GENERAL DISCLAIMER - - This site and its entire contents is for informational
purposes only!
If you chose to follow any link or procedure outlined herein, you do so
at your own risk.
Note that the repeater operational rules vary from country to country. What is legal in one place will in many cases get you in trouble elsewhere. The staff of this web site and authors of the articles assume no responsibility for anything YOU do.
Our authors are not looking over your shoulder as you do surgery on a radio. We and they cannot, nor will not, be responsible for any possible damage to radio equipment, to yours or anothers personal property, to yourself or to others caused by modifications that you or someone else may make to any equipment as a result of your reading of the contents of any web page at this web site, or any web site we link to.
The Repeater Builder's site does not evaluate the accuracy of materials created by persons beyond its control or supervision. Therefore, although this site links to many additional web sites, the Repeater Builder's site is not responsible for the availability of, completeness of, or the accuracy of any materials contained within those web sites.
The terms Repeater Builder®, Repeater-Builder®, Repeater Builders®, Repeater Builder Dot Com®, and Repeater Builder's Technical Information Page®, are registered trademarks of Kevin Custer and are registered in the United States under the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
All trademarks, trademark names, service mark names, trademark images and logos used on this web site are done so with an educational or informative intent. All trademarked names belong to the owner and no violation or infringement is intended.
Photographs, images, drawings, diagrams, PDF files, HTML files, articles, and notes were submitted to, or received by, Repeater Builder anonymously unless otherwise indicated. Copyright is retained by the original author or submitter, if known.
Click here for information on the "fair use" doctrine and U.S. copyright law
This site and its contents are protected under US copyright laws. You may reproduce the contents of this site (partial or full) for your own use, but you may not reproduce it in quantity or sell the contents (partial or full) for any profit without written consent of the originating author(s).
Links to this index page are allowed from other private web sites, but you are not allowed to link to this site (or any pages or files contained within) from public auction sites like eBay, or any other public web site without prior arrangements from the site owner and the article author. Besides, links to specific pages or files will break sooner or later when we move things around or rename them. So it's best to link to the index page and provide directions to get to a specific page.
This site and its contents are the intellectual property of Kevin Custer and the contributing authors. The information contained within it cannot be used for any form of personal gain by anyone outside of the originating authors or those given permission to do so (in writing) by Kevin Custer.
Note: The appearance of any email addresses, phone numbers or fax numbers on any web page that is a part of this web site is intended solely for the convenience of persons wishing to contact us regarding this Internet web site or the information contained here. Permission to use such information for the purpose of email, fax or telephone solicitation by others is absolutely and specifically denied.
This web site, and the information presented in and on its pages is © Copyrighted 1995 - current by Kevin Custer W3KKC and multiple originating authors.
Contact Information - Click Here
This page was initially created and copyrighted © 20
March 1995 by Brian L. Fritz and Kevin K. Custer.
This page was last updated on 24-Jan-2021