Batboard

Anyone have a suggestions for a vehicle repeater utilizing two XTL 5000s? Obviously one radio is the master so when I transmit I'd want the audio to go out there but I'd like both radios' RX traffic to go to the VRS simultaneously.

I'm currently using a Pyramid SVR-200 and am thinking of splicing two cables into one....

Why would you want that? That should be an invalid state. The first to receive causes the other to transmit. ie: not receive. So, there would not be a second receive to get simultaneously. It's not present.

I'm interested in your usage scenario too. It sounds like you might be better off using a portable interop gateway and three mobile radios.

I have a "Law" and a "Fire" radio in my truck. Portable reception in my county doesn't exist. I use the Pyramid when I'm out of my vehicle. I'd like to monitor both radios through the VRS but only be able to transmit on the Master radio.

I know the X10DR can do it but everyone I know that uses those have quite a bit of range issues.

Open up the harness to the radio that can't be heard, and add a spkr.

I would like to have this too. Pyramid makes a harness for the Kenwood NX-5000 mobiles allowing you to connect 3 mobiles to one VRS. Shame they don’t have it for the XTL.

motorola_otaku wrote:I'm interested in your usage scenario too. It sounds like you might be better off using a portable interop gateway and three mobile radios.

Cleanest way to go. Could do 2 XTL's and the SVR if it compatible with the gateway.

Down and dirty you could probably combine the RX audio (with caps in-line for safety) and get away with it but it would be nicer with a simple mixer to drive the TX. The COR from the XTL's can be diode or'ed together so either will trip the SVR's PTT.

If both radios are receiving at once you'll have garbage on your portable but I think you know that.

The use of an interop gateway is a possibility. But the keying of your link to a portable will only get the first radio with receive audio. When that first radio stops receiving, then the second radio will have the ability to key the link. Only one audio path will be active at any point in time.

If your looking to "and" the audio of both radios to allow them to both be active at the same time, you won't be able to use a normal interop gateway. They are not normally designed to do that.

A weird Idea maybe. Idea better if your a HAM too...

Use two VRS one on VHF one on UHF (revers of the radio connected). To receive them at teh same time. Use a HAM duel band, duel receive, HT (since there is no commercial radio's that do this) - Or use two commercial HT. This would require effort to keep the VHF and VHF VRS and UHF and UHF VRS out of each other. Keep antenna far as possible, use maximum frequency separation as well. If it had to work. Add notch bottles on the VRS antenna for the same band interfer (for example if the VHF radio was likely to transmit on 153.5, 155.0, 156.0, add notches for them (like a repeater has)).

tuckerm wrote:I have a "Law" and a "Fire" radio in my truck. Portable reception in my county doesn't exist. I use the Pyramid when I'm out of my vehicle. I'd like to monitor both radios through the VRS but only be able to transmit on the Master radio.

I know the X10DR can do it but everyone I know that uses those have quite a bit of range issues.

Gotcha. SOP in that case would be two VRSes and scan on the portable, with PTT and scan priority set to the "master" freq.

What you are trying to do could be homebrewed but you'd need something to mux the mobile to VRS audio (possibly something from http://www.rdlnet.com/series.php?series=13 ) as well as a way to combine COR to VRS PTT logic without damaging either radio's COR output.

I'm working with Pyramid with a "Frankenstein" cable. I think it'll work but I have to change out my Mid Power XTL to a High Power.

tuckerm wrote:I'm working with Pyramid with a "Frankenstein" cable. I think it'll work but I have to change out my Mid Power XTL to a High Power.

Not sure why you would have to go to a high powered XTL.. The mid power has the same connections on the accessory connector. It's just not a DB25 connector on a remote mount. The rear accessory connector may require you to set some software settings to obtain what control or signal or audio your looking for. These radios also have gain settings that might have to be set to obtain the needed audio levels.

I use to interface a software driven gateway to these radios all the time. Not even sure how many I did over the 10 years I worked for the company that made the gateways. But it was a good number of them.

I have a High powered XTL now with two High Powered cables. I don't have any mid power cables to experiment with.

tuckerm wrote:I have a High powered XTL now with two High Powered cables. I don't have any mid power cables to experiment with.

If you have the pins for the mid power accessory connector, you can make your own connections. The pins are available from Mouser, but I don't have the part numbers. They have been posted on this site a couple of times, so it should not take much searching here to find the information. A crimping tool for that style pins is also a help.

The Pyramid vehicle repeater is a decent choice. But it helps if you have the ability to make changes to it's operation and gain settings.

Jim

OK, my $0.02.


Try using 2 Pyramid repeaters, on different freq's. figure out the separation in distance or freq to allow both to work low power.... then have your portable set up scan the 2nd channel, without allowing it to talk back to the repeater. so it monitors ch 1, and scans ch 2.... but talk back is ch 1 only...


DFC2

Th eonly other option I can think of is to have a duel band radio (expensive) with a single pyramid... Ohio State patrol used a setup like this for years.

Just an update to this. Pyramid support pointed me in the right direction. I made a Y cable with appropriate items to prevent blowing the radios up and only one transmitting. Both radios audio will come out the VRS simultaneously and when I transmit Radio #1 keys up. It works out great.

Harris Orions and M7100s can put 2 radios together with one control head. Mating the Pyramid shouldnt be too difficult in that mode.
Glad you got it worked out for your XTLs

I am interested in how you built the cable..can you supply the schematic diagram and how you isolated audio,cor and ptt?

Thanks,

Bill

I wish I saved the email from Pyramid. I ended up getting a a few serial cables and making a Y cable that came off the Pyramid smart cables. Radio 1 I left the cabling as is and Radio 2 I only taped the RX Filter audio and the activity pins. Used Rectifier Diodes and Capacitors to prevent audio and voltage flowing back into the radios. This allowed transmit audio to go to one radio and not both and allowed RX audio to flow into the Pyramid and not into the radios.