Retevis RT97 UHF Portable Repeater

Well, the mystery box has been opened and the contents revealed. Today we’re going to take a look at the Retevis RT97 portable repeater. In fact, I’ll be doing a couple of videos on the RT97. This first one is an overview of the RT97, with a look at its features and...

Why are the Repeaters so Quiet?

This is a common question asked by hams, new and experienced alike: where is everybody. When you turn on the local 2 meter repeater, more often than not it’s nothing but crickets. I’m sure you can relay the stories about how the repeaters would be active 24/7- there...

Visiting the Mosinee Hill Repeater Site

When we use our handheld radios or the mobile in the car, we really don’t think about or rarely appreciate the hard work and effort is takes to keep a repeater system on the air. Many amateur radio repeater systems are highly engineered but also run on a shoestring....

How Repeaters Work

What’s the most popular band and operation mode in amateur radio? If you guessed 2 meter VHF FM, you would be correct. As new hams, our first radio is usually a small handheld model. This is a great way to get started in ham radio and connect with other local hams....

Cross-Band Repeater Operation

The cross-band repeat function; you’ve probably seen that feature listed in the operation manual as a function of your dual band mobile radio, or saw it as a feature in a VHF/UHF amateur radio advertisement. But what does cross-band repeat do, and how can you...