Tech Net Notes April 8, 2009

Cross Band Repeat

What is cross-band repeat?

This is where a radio is set up to receive on a frequency on one band and then repeats what it hears on a frequency on another band. In most cases, when the cross-band feature is activated it works in duplex mode. That means that whatever it hears on one frequency, it repeats on the other. To be activated, it is necessary to program both frequencies into the radio and then activate the feature.

Application? For example, if you can't make it into a VHF repeater from your HT at home, if your home station has the capability, you can set it up to listen (and talk) to your HT on UHF, and to relay your transmissions onto the VHF repeater's frequency. With that activated you can walk around the house (or anywhere within range of your home station) and get into the VHF repeater through your HT.

In the above example, your home station has become your own personal repeating relay station. Of course, anyone transmitting on the same UHF frequency within range of your home station will be able to get in to the VHF repeater as well.

It should be noted here that you do not necessarily have to "repeat" into a repeater's frequencies. This can be done on simplex as well. For example, if you want to enjoy an evening of grilling on the patio at the same time your favorite Saturday Night Simplex Net is being run, you can now do that without moving your equipment outside. You can program in the Simplex frequency and the HT frequency into your home station, activate the feature, and from the comfort of your patio listen to and check in to the Simplex Net. Burgers never tasted sooo good!

If your mobile unit has the capability, it can act as a relay station as well. For example, you park your car on a hill where it can get into your favorite repeater and now you can talk through your HT to the repeater via your car's radio as you're hiking around the hills and valleys within HT range of your car.

If you operate the cross-band repeat station using a battery as a power source, realize that the radio will be transmitting anytime anything is heard on either frequency. If your power setting is at the highest level, and the frequencies are fairly active, you may run the risk of overheating your radio and/or running down the battery. For this reason it is recommended that you use the lowest power settings possible (especially on your HT).

ke5wsi, Ray, wanted to know if anyone knew how to set up his FT5100 for cross-band repeat. He doesn't have the manual for it anymore and needs help figuring it out. w5okl, Richie, mentioned that he has seen radios that will do cross-band repeat that don't have that feature documented in their manual.

ke5yoo, Mike, mentioned that he read that there are some ID requirements that may need to be met while in the cross-band repeat mode. ke5omv, Don, said that he had seen the same issue addressed in an article on the internet, and that it was suggested in the article that even if you are just "listening" while in cross-band repeat mode, it is necessary to identify every 10 minutes. The automatic code identifier can be annoying to other operators, so it's best to do it through voice transmissions.

ke5wga, Ray, asked if radios must be "dual receive" or said another way, have the ability to receive two separate frequencies at one time, in order to cross-band repeat. ke5lnn, Dave, replied that yes, radios must have the "dual receive" feature.

ke5lnn, Dave, added that he uses the cross band feature when he can't be in his shack for a net. He also cautioned that you need to make sure you turn the cross-band feature off when you're not using it. Sometimes it can get hung up, so you need to monitor it's use.

kc5uoq, Larry, said he's never used the cross-band feature, but a friend at work would use it inside the building where they worked to cross-band to the radio in his jeep. It worked great.

ke5ubr, Hank, said that he has been working with his cross-band repeat and that he had it disabled at this time because he did not want it hanging up the repeater. He has had that occur on occasion, and doesn't want to cause problems for the net. He sets his power to low on UHF and to high on VHF.

ke5mxh, Don, said that he had a visit from wb5mxo, Guy. Guy dropped by to show Don how to tune his amplifier. He added that on the Oklahoma City Tech Net, to reduce problems from doubling, they suggest to start your transmission with "This is..." then un-key, listen for others who may have keyed up, and then if clear, continue on with your transmission.

kc5qgq, Dan, suggested that when in cross-band repeat to set your squelch at minimum, then set your power at the minimum you need to get in, they adjust your squelch back up. Also, to reduce hanging up the transmitter, he suggested to the the transmission time ("tx time") to a shorter time, which would produce a shorter squelch tail.

ke5swu, James, asked if anyone had experience using Ham Radio Deluxe with a Yaesu FT-897. w5ydl, Dan, answered back that yes he has used it and that it works great. He added that you can completely control your radio with your computer.

kf5acd, John, asked what would be a good radio for cross band repeat. ke5omv, Don, suggested the Yaesu FT8800 and mentioned that Kenwood and Icom both have radios that cross-band repeat. kc5qgq, Dan, suggested the Yaesu FT-8900 quad-band radio and the Kenwood 733A as being radios he had good experience with. He added that the Kenwood's manual doesn't say anything about it, but he found out how to set it up from another ham and that it works.

ka5tro, Tony, said that the Alinco DR605T is an older radio, but that the cross-band feature in it worked very well.


Added Note: I ran across a website that explained the procedure that Ray would use to activate the Cross-Band Repeat on his Yaesu 5100. It is: http://www.radiomods.co.nz/yaesu/yaesuft5100.html