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If the cellular network went down today, how would you communicate with people across your community?
That is the question I wanted to answer when I tested the Retevis RT97L portable GMRS repeater. I set up the repeater, took a Baofeng AR-152 Pro handheld radio with me, and drove through the surrounding area to see how far I could maintain communication.
I deliberately used a handheld radio instead of the 50 watt mobile radio installed in my vehicle. Most people in a family, neighborhood, church, or preparedness group will probably use handheld radios during an emergency. I wanted the test to reflect what an average person might experience with equipment they can carry.
The results showed that the RT97L can substantially extend the reach of a handheld radio. They also confirmed that terrain and obstructions can have a greater effect on your signal than the number of miles involved.
Five Miles in One Direction
In one area, I was able to communicate through the repeater from approximately five miles away using only the handheld radio.
That is useful coverage for a portable communications system. Five miles could allow you to communicate with family members, church members, neighbors, or other members of a preparedness group spread across a community.
However, I could not reach the same distance in another direction.
The difference was what stood between the handheld and the repeater. Buildings, hills, trees, terrain, and the body of the vehicle can all interfere with UHF radio signals. A repeater located on higher ground with a properly positioned antenna will normally provide better coverage than one placed low in a neighborhood or surrounded by obstacles.
This is why advertised range estimates should be treated cautiously. Five miles across relatively open terrain can be easier than communicating one or two miles through buildings or across a ridgeline.
Your actual coverage area will rarely form a perfect circle around the repeater. You may reach five miles in one direction and lose communication much sooner in another.
The only way to know is to test it.
Why I Used a Handheld Radio
I have a 50 watt radio installed in my vehicle, but I did not use it for this test.
A 50 watt mobile radio connected to an exterior antenna should outperform a handheld radio being used inside a vehicle. That would be a useful test, and I may conduct it separately, but it was not what I wanted to determine here.
I wanted to know whether a person with a portable radio could reach the repeater while moving through my local area.
The answer was yes, provided that terrain and obstructions did not block the signal.
That makes the RT97L a useful option for local emergency communications. It is compact enough to transport and can be deployed where it provides the best coverage. The antenna location will be one of the most important parts of that deployment.
Extending the Reach of Common Radios
One of the strongest benefits of a GMRS repeater is that everyone does not need an expensive or complicated communications system.
You can provide people with compatible GMRS handheld radios programmed with the correct repeater frequencies and access tones. During an emergency, those people can report what they are seeing in their areas and receive information from others.
Before using any radio on GMRS, verify that the exact model is FCC certified for GMRS operation. Being able to program a frequency into a radio does not necessarily make that radio legal for use on GMRS. Anyone transmitting should also operate under the appropriate GMRS license.
The radios should be programmed and tested before they are distributed. Each user needs to understand the basic controls, how to select the proper channel, and how to make a clear radio transmission.
You do not want people trying to program radios for the first time after the cellular system has already failed.
Local Information Can Affect Your Survival
Emergency communications are about more than checking whether everyone is safe. A local radio network can become an important source of intelligence.
People across your community could report:
Road closures and traffic problems
Fires, flooding, or storm damage
Power and water outages
Suspicious activity
Civil unrest
Fuel and food availability
Police, fire, and emergency medical activity
Areas that should be avoided
People who need assistance
One person cannot observe an entire community. A network of people reporting from different locations can provide a much better picture of what is happening.
That intelligence can affect your decisions. It can help you determine whether to remain at home, move to another location, avoid a particular route, conserve supplies, or prepare for a developing threat.
During a serious emergency, timely information from trusted people may be instrumental to your survival.
A Repeater Does Not Create a Communications Plan
Buying a repeater and several radios is only the beginning.
Your group should establish a primary channel, an alternate channel, and scheduled check-in times. Members should know who is responsible for monitoring the repeater and how urgent information will be passed to the rest of the group.
Radio transmissions should be short and clear. Users should identify themselves, state their location when appropriate, and report what they personally observed. Rumors and unverified information can create confusion during an already stressful situation.
You should also plan for electrical failure. The repeater and handheld radios will require a reliable source of power. Depending on your circumstances, that might include batteries, solar panels, a generator, or vehicle charging equipment.
Test those systems under realistic conditions. Determine how long the repeater can operate on backup power and how you will recharge the handheld radios during an extended outage.
Test Your Intended Coverage Area
My test showed that I could reach approximately five miles in one direction but not in another. That result does not mean everyone will get the same range.
Your results will depend on:
Repeater and antenna location
Antenna height
Surrounding terrain
Buildings and vegetation
Handheld radio power
Antenna quality
Whether the radio is being used inside a vehicle
Weather and local radio interference
Drive through the areas where your people actually live and work. Test the radios inside homes, vehicles, churches, and other likely operating locations. Mark any areas where the signal becomes weak or disappears.
You may find that moving the repeater antenna a relatively short distance or raising it higher dramatically changes your coverage.
Is the Retevis RT97L Worth Having?
Based on my test, the Retevis RT97L is worth considering if you can afford it and need to extend GMRS communications across your local area.
It will not provide unlimited range, and it cannot overcome every terrain obstacle. What it can do is give ordinary handheld radios a much better chance of reaching one another.
For a family, church, neighborhood, or preparedness team, that extended reach could keep people connected when phones and internet service are unavailable.
The equipment needs to be programmed, tested, and supported by a real communications plan. If you do that work now, a portable GMRS repeater can become a valuable part of your emergency communications system.
The ability to talk with people across your community is valuable. The information those people provide may be even more valuable.