What is a Repeater?

A radio repeater is a piece of equipment that is used to acquire radio coverage in a certain area where normal radio-to-radio transmissions will not cover. More technically, it’s is a combination of a radio receiver and a radio transmitter that acts as a booster (or middleman), receiving a weak or low-level signal (+/- 5mhz) from a radio and retransmitting it at a higher level or higher frequency (45-50 max watts), so your signal can cover longer distances without degradation. Normally with a standard out-of-the-box radio-to-radio usage is a basic simplex frequency and your range is limited to what that radio can output (no more than 4 watts per FCC). But, adding a repeaters broadens your simple radio-to-radio coverage by about 10 times. Typically, the repeater is placed in the middle of a determined coverage area and simply acts as a booster to raise radio coverage in that area.

There are several different types of radio repeaters out there, from low-level on-the-go repeaters to high-level professional repeaters. The range of a repeater depends on many things, but mainly, type of building, antenna and typography. As long as a radio can reach an antenna you will have enough coverage for your company.

If your company has a large building that radios alone can’t push out enough frequency to cover the area, a repeater is the perfect solution to this dilemma. Placing a repeater in the middle of your work zone can help everyone receive transmissions effectively.

A good example of how a repeater would help a business is, if you have two 4-watt Hytera radios working at a large warehouse and both are on opposite sides of the warehouse. If one employee keys up on a simplex channel, that 4-watts is not enough to reach that other radio at the far end of the warehouse.

However, if a repeater is placed in the middle of that warehouse, the 4-watt radio will transmit to that area no problem because that repeater rebroadcasts the signal out of the repeater at 50-watts. That 50-watt output ensures that anyone in the entire area on that channel will hear it.

Rule of thumb, the radio will always be able to receive (or hear) at a farther away distance from the repeater then it can transmit back. For example, if you are 20 miles away from the repeater you may still be able to hear the radio traffic coming across, but there is no way the 4-watt radio will transmit back 20 miles.

If you are interested in buying a repeater or need more information, please contact sales at paul@edgetechinc.com or call 615-763-3630.