Repeater Issues

Repeater nodes using VHF have several drawbacks:

1. Their associated towers must be built and will be easily detected by undesirables; accept in the case where one is close to the mountains where short towers would work just fine.
2. The repeater equipment must be maintained, thus necessitating trips from the settlement to the repeater site - another opportunity for running into undesirables.
3. The repeater must be powered by some means. Of course, it will run directly from batteries; but there must also be some means for recharging the batteries. That means either another wind generator, hydroelectric generator, or photovoltaic arrangement, if there is enough light energy.

For VHF communications, it may be much better to set up a very good antenna system that can be rotated to point to the desired receiving settlement, and transceivers at the settlements so that direct settlement to settlement communications would take place. Add to that a message relay protocol (manual) and longer distance communications could be effected. No matter how you look at it though, any settlement is limited to radio communications with other relatively closely located settlements. At this point, in my mind, only moon bounce still holds out something of a promise for really long range (and short range) communications.

Offered by Ron.
WB5KAN - General Class