What repeater type could this be?

radio-link · Post by **radio-link** » Mon May 30, 2005 3:24 am

Hi!

Forgive me if the questions may look dumb, but here in germany this kind of repeater is absolutely rare. So what could this be?

http://dk5ras.dyndns.org/repeater.jpg (374KB)

I had to blacken out all the stickers from the device, the new owner does not want to see them published; but they have got absolutely no documentation for the device, so they asked me to search around a bit. No visible type label without disassembling the device (what was not allowed at the moment as the repeater is in heavy use).

What I already know: 2m, securenet (DES/DES-XL passes through).

What I want to know: What do the switches mean? I am especially interested in the "Pvt/Std", "Code/Off" and the one where the letters almost have gone, it could have been "DES/TR?".

Thank you very much for any input!

Why is it possible to keyload the repeater? For usage as repeater and base station at the same time? With the settings like on the picture it just passes securenet (with any key in the radios, without KVLing the repeater), no conventional clear FM.

nmfire10 · Post by **nmfire10** » Mon May 30, 2005 7:35 am

If I had to take a wild shot in the dark... The private switch turn PL decode on and off and the Code switch turns secure on and off maybe?

radio-link · Post by **radio-link** » Mon May 30, 2005 8:04 am

nmfire10 wrote:If I had to take a wild shot in the dark... The private switch turn PL decode on and off and the Code switch turns secure on and off maybe?

Pvt is turned "on", with no PL being active in the system, so maybe it has to do with securenet? But on the other hand, the repeater can not be keyed without securenet, perhaps this is suppressed by having configured a PL tone which never ever is used?

Post by **wavetar** » Mon May 30, 2005 9:05 am

Hard to tell from the picture, but almost guaranteed it's a couple of back-to-back portables interconnected to make the repeater. Possibly MX300's or similar. That is why the unit needs keyloading, it's not a 'transparent' repeater like the MSF or Quantar.

nmfire10 wrote:If I had to take a wild shot in the dark... The private switch turn PL decode on and off and the Code switch turns secure on and off maybe?

Close, it would seem to be switched around, with 'code' controlling PL & 'PVT' controlling secure.

Todd

radio-link · Post by **radio-link** » Mon May 30, 2005 9:20 am

wavetar wrote:Hard to tell from the picture, but almost guaranteed it's a couple of back-to-back portables interconnected to make the repeater. Possibly MX300's or similar. That is why the unit needs keyloading, it's not a 'transparent' repeater like the MSF or Quantar.

Todd

Whatever it is, it definetely passes DES and DES-XL with whatever key you want to use, and no degraded audio quality as it would be with decoding and coding the voice again.

Looking at the connectors and the over all design, the beast looks to me like 80ies technology :) When handhelds are used, there must be a PA, the output power is higer than what a handheld can produce, and they must be modified to pass digital data without caring about the key.

jnglmassiv · Post by **jnglmassiv** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 6:25 pm

Here's another with switch labeling intact:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... eName=WDVW

It's a little different from Radio-link's unit, though. That one switch is an oddball.

Post by **wavetar** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 3:44 am

Perhaps it is transparent, and you only need to keyload it if you want to actually listen to the receiver audio, or transmit with the unit, from the speaker/mic port. That would make sense to me.

Todd

radio-link · Post by **radio-link** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 4:11 am

wavetar wrote:Perhaps it is transparent, and you only need to keyload it if you want to actually listen to the receiver audio, or transmit with the unit, from the speaker/mic port. That would make sense to me.

Todd

Yes, that it is transparent is for sure (I tested it, passes DES and DES-XL with whatever key you load into the radios), and I have already mentioned earlier, that the keyloading of the repeater may be for local use. But still no one has an idea about the exact type of the beast? Well, maybe in a few weeks I may be able to take it out of service for some days and examine it on the bench :)

emcom · Post by **emcom** » Sat Jun 04, 2005 12:07 pm

Is this the Motorola "Suitcase" repeater? Our police dept supposedly had one in the back of a chevy celebrity unmarked car in the 1980's and early 1990's in case the repeaters went off the air. The idea was to position this car at the top of the mountain near the tower site and at least provide some limited 2 way coverage. I never knew what happened to it after the switch over to 800 Mhz.

kens · Post by **kens** » Sat Jun 04, 2005 1:59 pm

It looks like a P43SXS. If this is so, it has 2 MX chassis , mounted under the cover and may have a Mitrek type PA mounted to a plate in the bottom of the case itself. The one I saw had a cigarette lighter plug as well as a 110 cord. There was an empty bracket that seemed to be for a small battery for operating on low power. I did see a picture of one with a 1/4 wave antenna on the cover so the idea of placing it on a hilltop in a vehicle appears correct.