My Experience With The BTech GMRS-RPT50 / Overview and Review Of BTech's New 50-Watt GMRS Repeater

[@PANICFPV]

Right off the bat calling your viewers dumb...

[@TheNotaRubicon]

Only the dumb ones.. You can tell which ones those are because they leave dumb comments complaining about being called dumb.

[@ordyy89]

@@TheNotaRubiconlove your channel Randy. You would be an awesome neighbor for a variety of reasons.

[@NomadGringo]

🫵🤪🫏

[@TrevHolland]

I are verie dum!

[@jefflowe2377]

As it should be stated

[@keneng3682]

Federal Amplitude Governance Service LMAO!

[@Sonny_V]

😂👍👍

[@Lancedsanders]

Made me LOL.😂

[@EZippy]

I’m old enough to remember them. They had Spandex uniforms.

[@sal.m2A]

I spit my whiskey on my desk

[@gerfmon1]

I just got it, ok, I'm a little slow. 😂

[@Willysaholic]

Thanks for washing my car. Looks great!! 😂

[@mikeingeorgia1]

😂

[@bendeleted9155]

The ending really got me a little choked up. Poor roger beepless, jiggly-knobed little thing never stood a chance in this world I guess.

[@daviddemand6856]

Being a pillar of my community by repeater installation is on my list of to-do’s. I’m not going to wash my wife’s boyfriend’s vehicle to do it though. I’ve got standards.

[@bhi7165]

This is still my favorite channel. I luv digesting it

[@grigorirasputin5020]

Sounds about like what I would expect from a B-Tech product. Thank you Randy, for this informative video!

[@london19657]

You are very entertaining. Also funny. Thanks for making videos. Love you man.

[@TheNotaRubicon]

Love YOU man! 😭

[@gregiep]

Honestly a solid review. No punches pulled, no egos stroked, but giving credit where it is due.

[@philc6670]

This video sums up my experience with BTECH. Purchased three radios from them so far this year and returned two of them within days due to out-of-box failures. One hardware related, the other a firmware issue. The third radio has not been used much, so I am suspicious of it. But every time I contacted them they responded immediately and provided options, included for simple programming questions. Outstanding customer service. If only they could get their quality straightened out I might go back to them, but have decided to avoid them until I hear about things improving.

[@donalddodson7365]

I wonder if the Chi#n$×es factory is sabotaging the BTECH line, as it cuts in to their main production of Booufang and Oshinwooshun name plates? 🤔

[@641northwestgeorgia]

Same here, except I've only purchased one of their radios to this point. Thanks to Randy's review, I'll probably give the Radioddity DB40-G a chance to replace my now non-functional and not quite three year old BTECH 50X1.

[@dunerinaz]

6:20 Nobody talking about the video files on Randy's computer 🤣🤣

[@RustyOpel]

I've seen an obscure porn site (that I use) on his screen before! He does usually have some "interesting" things on his screen or other open tabs. 😉

[@pesco7]

Went back and had me literally LOL'ing, I can't say that often.

[@pesco7]

...or the browser tabs at 6:23!

[@citizensurvivalplan]

Did anyone notice at 6:19 the strange "private" movies this guys got saved on his computer. This has got to be done on purpose lol.

[@kyle-ne4mf]

"Fat Asian men"

[@jdscoco]

My repeater is a dual KG-1000 Plus with an external duplexer and I was excited to see a real dedicated GMRS only packaged repeater. Sad that it is garbage, but they have nice and responsive garbage disposal team to clean up the mess.

[@pesco7]

How is your setup working 3 months later? I am trying to decide between that setup and this setup. Also, what do you use for an antenna?

[@autonomous_collective]

Randy, Have a 30 day update? Really interested in this repeater.

[@TheNotaRubicon]

30 Day Update: As explained in the video, it was returned 30 days ago and my credit-card has been credited.

[@Bob5mith]

I still want one. Maybe the price will drop a little as they get the kinks worked out.

[@Gruuvin1]

I ordered a 50W BTech ham mobile, and it was missing a cable, so I emailed support. In my experience, BTech support is excellent. They sent out my cable immediately. I also like the radio. However this repeater seems like junk. Not worth $1500. Hopefully they will improve it.

[@4x4le]

So bummed. I have been searching youtube since this video came out hoping anyone else can show a working unit. I have received bad radios and it is very frustrating. A tdh3 was the most recent, but my replacement has been good as well as 2 other tdh3s owned by other people. This repeater is exactly what i need (on paper) but i really want to see a working unit work before i pull the trigger.

[@micheloneill7069]

i got one so far after firmware update been running fine one week into it

[@TheNotaRubicon]

How do your knobs feel?

[@micheloneill7069]

same not the best ​@TheNotaRubicon

[@bendeleted9155]

If it was Mil Spec, it would have a 101% duty cycle for leap year.

[@nandrews8412]

Naw, Mil Spec only means the cheapest bidder for the Government contract.

[@icebrakernh]

This is great news now if it actually squirts out 50 watt rf laxer beams for max fars is yet to be revealed by Randy. Crossing fingers

[@dereknoll]

Great review. I been waiting on someone to review this repeater. It sucks it was a dud out of the box. Quality is demanded in a repeater. It was nice to hear that even after the duplexer power output was supposed to be 45-50 watts and not reduced to 50% like most repeater duplexers. For $1,000 I don't know if I would want to trust a BTECH repeater.

[@rubehickscube]

I also sharted myself over the price and still paid for one with my moneys out of my own shit-filled pocket dollars. It's been getting 100% duty cycles for local communications. Just wish the networking wasn't behind DLC. But waiting for that firmware update!

[@rubehickscube]

For my experience, it's been up and running for about 2 weeks now, no issues, about 46W full time with an Ed Fong antenna. I also use CTCSS tones so I didn't have the DCS issues, but really I haven't had a single issue. I just wish the software and user manual wasn't as Chinese as it is. I also am a BTECH nerd and have a 50v2, UV5G+s (I know it's baofeng but it's the same stuff) and GMRS pros. I haven't had ANY issues with any of my stuff.

[@TheNotaRubicon]

Does yours have loose knobs?

[@rubehickscube]

@@TheNotaRubicon Mine wiggle and jiggle just as much as my mechanical keyboard being used to type this message, so... yes? But not as bad as in your video. I can tap on them without them even moving. Seeing as they don't get wiggled as much as my handheld knobs on the daily, and are supposed to be abandoned in a shed after one use, it was an acceptable item to save on cost.

[@angeloritz2483]

Willing to pay the money as soon as all glitches fixed

[@jbcowherder6210]

$1499 monies is gonna cut into my onlyfans budget...... decisions and sacrifices must be made.

[@TheRealRenn]

Don’t worry, Laqruishuh won’t miss you if you take a couple months off

[@vitogriffin8902]

Dem tiddies doe...

[@rickylee2477]

Probably more value with your of. I bought and returned.

[@92mtbkr14]

..."THE END" hahahahaha that was the best ending I've ever seen on a youtube video🤣🤣🤣🤣 Not sure why, it just made me laugh so hard. That's great🤣

[@oliverw.douglas285]

Sounds like the Quality & Support Folks at Btech, while responsive, need to step-up their game on 'proofing their product', before it ships. Just the same, it's nice to see more product like this specifically geared for GMRS. Nice review Randy.

[@Rusty-Williams]

Have to scratch that one off my wish list. Good job Randy!

[@BigSlick40]

6:19 LMAO.

[@london19657]

Hey, I was born in 1962,.. scary shit, Randy

[@london19657]

Just liked myself, to save time.

[@BurninWires]

@@london19657 hahahahahaha

[@TheRealRenn]

Kids…

[@MikeBeauchamp]

Federal Amplitude Governance Service hahahahaha

[@Francois_Dupont]

lol, his private folder with Ryan Renolds video.

[@66ECHO]

Ik it’s an older video, however, I wanted to comment on “B-tech” - being new to radio dork world - I’ve only dipped my toes into radios. B-tech has been one of the best customer service companies I’ve ever had to work with. I’ve been asking many questions about communication needs for our church’s security team and they’ve gone beyond what I’ve expected. Well done B-tech.

[@K1NGA-EM74]

“Full GMRS repeaters have been around for years” I’m just here for the snarky replies 🤣❤️👍🏽

[@LuckyClovers]

This channel is lit!

[@Bones469]

Great story... and they all lived happily ever after....

[@hhawg1]

Love the shirt...

[@nobodytoyou4887]

Shame it looks like this one isn't ready for prime time yet, but hopefully given a few months they can work out the kinks and and it will be ready for round 2, kinda sad to hear the WiFi and IP ports are basically for show though , would have been awesome if those could have been used for a web GUI configuration or even better being able to link multiple of these in an area so they all function as one to blanket an area (or connect to different states/cites).

[@localsnyc]

I purchased a TYT TH-9800 plus 50 watt radio + repeater booster , turned into a lunchbox repeater for only 500ish dollars. I am very happy. It goes inside a Pelican waterproof case with an optional 12V 100AH LiFePO4 Lithium Battery build in and support multiple antennas based on what I need, covering miles based on my location.

[@GadgetReviewVideos]

Dang, sounds like they have to bugs to work out. Now in searching for a repeater I have to figure out if the FCC’s would be against me running a HAM repeater at GMRS power limits if the HAM’s hardware has licensing approval for and from the FCC’s for those “Channels”.

[@micheloneill7069]

still working as its states so far so good no issues

[@Unb3arablePain]

Seems like an unfinished product unfortunately. Like I bet once they work out the kinks the number of GMRS repeaters around the country will go up by scores, but otherwise I wonder how well made thst Duplexer is.

[@gunningopher]

EDIT - I listened again and heard that it has a 100% duty cycle. I'm a little bit skeptical on that, LOL. END Edit Kind of a bummer that you can't use the mic but I didn't hear that a speaker can be connected, so it sort of makes sense. Not a big deal to just use a HT, but I'd rather not. What sort of duty cycle is it rated for? Your Motorola is probably good for heavy use but at this price I wouldn't expect the BTECH to be. When you first described the problem I thought that maybe it was overheated. I've also had great customer experience with B Tech, but as you know they do pretty much just re-badge Chinese stuff and provide better documentation/support. Good price for a repeater that outputs approximately 50w out of the duplexer, if it works and lasts...

[@Will-W]

Oh lord, I'm still working on getting my caffine levels up to normal and it took a minute to parse Federal Amplitude Governance Service. I'm not proud of the noises my mouth hole just made as they were more along that of a donkey's bray than a laugh of an adult male human. Never let your online persona go Randy. It's simply fabulous to behold for those of us with a bit of dry and dark humor in our souls.

[@henriquemiranda5748]

In another words, it’s a POS 🤣

[@donalddodson7365]

Thank you! Happy to help get you some new pencils ... 😅 ... Good job introducing this repeater.

[@TheNotaRubicon]

Thank YOU!

[@Barracuda48082]

Repeater on a chip ? Lol

[@grigorirasputin5020]

Probably! I wonder if the receiver is dual conversion or direct conversion.

[@Biblicalprofessor]

Consider waiting a year, or until Bt Warrants all units are professionally Tested for min 3hours continuous Output greater than 47 watts. Bt tunes these for power using software, If its new but they do Not test, or supply software which Allows end user to adjust to specs Then they (BT) need to compensate Repeater buyers For Btech neglance

[@AcmePhoto]

If there's ever a next time, try some heat applied to the screws. (via a soldering iron or gun) If they used (Chinese) loctite, a little heat might help break the screws free.

[@joekirklin]

I was hoping for better, but expecting worse. I think it's fair to give B-TECH a little time to sort this out. New products are seldom perfect, and at this price point I think it deserves some patience. Trump portrait hanging up behind you... the only thing more disappointing than the repeater.

[@fredm8788]

Similar to my BTech experience, inferior products that failed quickly!

[@jamesreid3336]

I had a feeling the internal duplexer would be an issue. I wish you could have had them just fix the TX amplifier and return it so you could test it using an external duplexer

[@phantomscaler]

Great vid as always Randy, A few of us gmrs users here in our town want to set up a repeater system, this helps us with more info on what not to just rush out and get, but like most electronics, first versions sold, like say game consoles, radios etc, are usually and unfortunately plagued with some type of problem. like a software / firmware glitch, overheating and causing a hardware failure, cold solder joints ( seen way to many brand new cb radios over the years where a factory solder joint was the issue ) .or just something that was not clearly checked with qc dept, before being released for sale, and needs either a firmware update, or sent back to fix said hardware failure, like in your case the duplexer failed. my guess and just a guess. is the duplexer transistors got overheated and failed due lack of a proper cooling design in the unit. since the repeater is alway on either in standby listening for a signal to relay, and or transmitting said signal out

[@halledwardb]

Time for Wouxan to step up to the plate.

[@shockburn]

Here for the knowledge. Stay for the video file lists on the PC 😂

[@jkg6211]

🤣

[@rongibbs1778]

Why did you change from the woxcun repeaters to the vertex 7000

[@Freebird_67]

This is typical. Buy new items from China and Immediately you have to fix it.

[@66skybluepony]

I have this recurring bad dream of getting to work and discovering my knob is loose…

[@Barracuda48082]

Shat !

[@sondrayork6317]

Is it cross breed or is it an in band system.

[@TheNotaRubicon]

I have no idea what that even means.

[@rob69270]

Any chance I could get a copy of the RR Deep Fake Sexy movie?

[@nickkatchmar5408]

Awesome review. Can’t wait for a follow up review and field test.

[@flocksbyknight]

Excellent video Thank you for your realness

[@HOTRODMONZA]

DADDY IS ON THE SCREEN

[@sk8crk]

that's methed up!

[@MikePeace]

This review put me off the BTech. Can anyone recommend an alternative 50w GMRS repeater that is more reliable? I'm hoping I can find a repeater that has watchdog that will reboot / restart if it locks up.

[@TheNotaRubicon]

There are no other 50W "GMRS" repeaters on the market. You would have to use a ham/LMR/UHF repeater and manually configure everything.

[@RisingTidesAC]

To those guys on "THAT" GMRS channel that were so very excited about this repeater, all I can say is....I TOLD YOU SO!

[@jeffmccleskey]

Can't go wrong with the Don in the background

[@smoothoscillator1]

F don

[@hatesbots2731]

Thank you! Always great to hear a real review.

[@Alchemist39]

Wow 😲 and then bummer 😕

[@parkerd619]

I had a feeling that this repeater would not perform well. It's a new product so it's expected to have bugs and problems upon initial release. So we'll see how they manage problems.

[@Sonicgott]

Man, a lot of things just are sub par when it came to this product. Great technical support, sure, but what good is it when the product itself has so many issues? If anything, this video is a caveat emptor.

[@marcspaz]

While disappointing, not unexpected. I think they are experiencing growing pains, but hopefully will sort it out soon.

[@redsengineering]

Hey Randy, check out the SRPT-02 repeater. If you're interested, I'll send you one.

[@sg6970-lg9td]

Hi Randy, this is Shane from Michigan. I have Far's questions for you today. Not sure how to word this though. Does a 50watt GMRS radio have a maximum distance limit of how far the signal can be thrown to its first repeater tower? or is this question more about the line of sight and or how tall a GMRS radio tower is no matter the distance apart? Used in an example: A Base station 50watt radio with an 80-foot antenna and the closest repeater tower is 100 miles away or 250 miles away? Both are in line of sight of each other. Or maybe my question should be how far can repeater towers be away from each before they won't communicate to each other? Probably a stupid questions, eh? but one I'm not privy to. I'm working on getting my own base station going and I want to set up this free emergency repeater for all to use. I've heard vague discussion with some groups on setting up emergency communications at great distances between repeaters and we are quite lacking that here in Michigan. Thanks for your help. Shane

[@MattCoversTech]

Welp, so that's that for now. Hopefully they get the issues worked out on it and it turns into a solid device. Glad to know their support is excellent though.

[@RandellReeder]

I made it first

[@Big_d_garage]

So basically what you’re saying is that BTECH sells rebranded Chinese radios but has better customer service than most retail giants. Luckily I’ve had 0 issues with my BTECH radio but I’m glad they will stand behind their products.

[@Michael-pe4cr]

The end

[@Kimzag]

The repeater that I received was only transmitting at 10-15 watts. I emailed BTech, and they responded that some of them had bad duplexers, and that I could send it back so that their techs could replace the duplexer, or that they could ship me a new duplexer and I could replace it myself. I had them send the duplexer. I did have a problem with one of the screws, but there were the 4 screws that held the top of the case on. Once I took the top off, there were 4 screws that held the duplexer in place, and three cables with N connectors that connected to the duplexer. It took maybe 5 to 10 minutes to get the duplexer replaced, and up and running. Afterwards, I was showing 45 watts output. I did notice that even though I had entered my call sign in the software, it didn't show up in the menu on the repeater. And, the timer setting for the ID on the menu didn't show 15 minutes as an option, but it did in the software. In the timer setting for the ID, the header showed as "Hang Time". They did do a firmware upgrade that corrected the 15 minutes, allowed CTCSS/DTS for the ID, and added the confirmation tone.

[@ke8mattj]

No roger beep? Lame.

[@oldgringo66]

This was like watching Geraldo Rivera opening Al Capone’s vault. Where the hell is the climax? That’s a phrase I learned from my wife. Oh well, at least Donald looks interested.

[@nomadicconquistador7-5-39]

Random comment, but I love your Donald Trump picture frame in the background.. ❤

[@vitogriffin8902]

No way you should have had to pay for it... They should have given you two of them so you could join them to make the world's first quadplex repeater. Do they even know who you are?

[@Freebird_67]

Good thing I came here. I was seriously considering buying this Repeater. I had a Btech 50w mobile that lasted about 4 months and she blew up unexpectedly.

[@vicrod74]

You forgot your say “Boof Wang” repeater. It’s made by the same company. 😂😂😂😂

[@DanHORVATH-yi6cu]

Glad you got your money back, instead of waiting for repairs. I'd imagine, it would have been successive problems after that. Maybe in a couple of years they will get the bugs out of it and be reliable.

[@scramick]

3:10 LOL

[@numbersix7193]

I have used Icom, Yeasu, and Btech customer service. Btech has been the best, most responsive service in the amateur radio industry. Sorry you were not able to get a working unit.

[@the1spyderryder]

YOU ARE A COMEDIAN HA! HA! HA!

[@palehorse7377]

sounds about like everything Ive bought from Btech.

[@Francois_Dupont]

happy that you got your monies back, but sad that you lost a friend.

[@Dj_Latinman]

first

[@jhill4874]

Having been involved with setting up ham repeaters, that price is actually quite reasonable. And being a single unit, set up is probably quite reasonable as well.

[@jamesbonnell4597]

Are you certain that it wasn’t the ‘Commission for Radio Aerial Propagation’?

[@Andyswolftraxx]

‘Nough said. It’s so saddening to get a new device and have it fail so soon. But, good customer support makes me feel so much better.

[@patriciastauffer3278]

Since there is no roger beep on this repeater, then that means I have to trust the roger beep on my UV-5R or do I have to beep twice. I ask merely for information.

[@MattDukes-oi9hx]

1st like

[@robbomber984]

Didn't see the wife's boyfreinds car wash coming perfect comedic timing too funny.

[@rongibbs1778]

Thanks to you i have it

[@almirria6753]

And art $1500.00, it is out of my price range even though I really would like to have one, but I am not an yt superstar either