[arm-allstar] Bargain basement HT's, notch duplexer, etc., for AllStar experiments!

[David McGough]

Hi Everyone,

I just found these UHF HT's on ebay. They appear to be a Baofeng BF-888S,
except branded as a "Retevis H-777". They've got identical CMIIT ID
numbers to the Baofengs, etc. I've ordered a 10-pack from a US source to
evaluate.

At $13 each for the 10-pack (US source, including shipping), these radios
are ideal for AllStar experimentation (like building an experimental home
UHF repeater)!

See: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Retevis+H-777


Also, since I've gotten several e-mails with questions, I'll mention that
I've already purchased a couple of new, Chinese notch duplexers. They ship
quickly (I got them in 5 business days) from China and are pre-tuned as per
your frequency specs. The units I've gotten are functionally similar to
equivalent "name brand" notch duplexers, their performance being as
advertised. Granted, this isn't a solution for a busy tower site. But, for 
a compact home/portable repeater, they're great!

See: http://www.ebay.com/itm/181461818482


For coupling the HT's and antenna to the duplexer, I'm using these coax
jumpers.  They're not 100% shielded, but seem adequate for this
application. This vendor combines shipping if you order multiple items.

See: http://www.ebay.com/itm/271800812426


For powering the radios, I'm using individual DC-DC converters.  They have
adjustable output voltage and are set to approximately 3.8VDC. As above, 
this vendor combines shipping.

See: http://www.ebay.com/itm/400571751111


I'll follow up with links to photos, etc. It's pretty neat to be able to
assemble an entire, very functional repeater, with good audio, for under
$200 using all new parts!


73, David KB4FXC