This Private Lo-Ra Mesh Long Range Repeater System Is Awesome!

[@new_fone_who_dis]

Complete with trumpet 😮

[@flapjack9495]

MULTIPLE trumpets! I assume there's one right behind each of those holes!

[@tettorotto]

I find it kind of funny that the way the controls are laid out on the repeater clearly shows that they're reusing the same circuit boards from the handsets

[@jameswyatt1304]

Think how much this improves repairability. Even if you can't get new boards, all organ donors work for handheld or repeater/gateway

[@robertthomason8905]

Caveman here. 2 Way

[@ianfinn2110]

First like. Love your work, boss. I’m new to the space, and your content was a primary source of inspiration.

[@RichMantaray]

u need to test this more :) wish they sold the radios on there own :( ul need to test the distance of just the 2 radios ,,,, then put the repeater in the middle see how much more distance u can get :) ,,,,, next test would be to have 4 radios and daisy chin them to see how far u can get,,,, but this would be perfect for car to car coms

[@briantheminer]

The radios are for sale separately though not sure if a network will set up without the base station repeater 🤔 I’ll let you know when my system arrives in a week or 2 😅

[@Boodieman72]

Sounds like a mesh network. Might be a good idea for festival workers, etc.

[@andykirby]

Nice rog! We need to test them soon 👀

[@wisteela]

Absolutely awesome. With the addition of a solar panel you've got your own infrastructure should anything bad happen. Very odd that the speaker is marked trumpets. 73 M7TUD

[@thomassecurename3152]

An! A return to Ringway Manchester jingle. Missed you.

[@fotografm]

Interesting stuff and a great new technology. The Amazon websites make no mention that an amateur radio license is required for this equipment. I can just see it springing up at building sites all over the place and causing interference to licensed users of this part of the spectrum, which is also shared with simple remote controls, tyre pressure gauges, remote weather stations etc. aswell as radio amateurs. The handhelds are also available separately (without the repeater) in pairs or in sets of 30 !

[@UKsystems]

One very important thing about use of the ISM bands is very strict and limits on erp I have seen so many people saying how some antennas boost performance so much but they are illegal and Ofcom are cracking down

[@jplacido9999]

You are right, sir....

[@superpieton]

Absolutely. ISM433 is limited to 10mW EIRP all over Europe. Exceeding this radiated power is illegal pretty everywhere in Europe.

[@gordslater]

Latest rumour is the Version-2 model has crumpets

[@new_fone_who_dis]

Always amazes me that they cannot get a proof reader to correct the chinglish. Surely even Google translate would be better 😅

[@tcpnetworks]

Noice.... Hopefully with Vegemite.

[@cdl0]

Crumpets would be in the UK version only, of course. The US version probably has blueberry muffins. 🙂

[@wisteela]

@@cdl0 I believe there is a limited addition Eggos one.

[@wisteela]

@@new_fone_who_dis It does surprise me for Retevis.

[@kapilangra]

Cool...nice find. I was wondering when we would see lora voice devices show up...and as you said its perfect for off grid coms. Would be cool to see radio companies like Icom and Yaesu incorporate lora/meshtastic into there devices...all in one jobbie !...or is that a stupid idea?

[@peterh9238]

I am amazed just how cheap stuff is getting. £265 for your own 5w UHF digital 'secure' ish repeater system with two handsets. I have no need for one, but it would be interesting to play with the repeater setup and see what other 'features' are available.

[@G0TT3RFUNK3N]

Hope they add ip/tcp data modes thru ethernet/bluetooth ability with mesh. Something which should have already been available in HTs years ago. So we could link our Atak with bluetooth to these radios and start seeing our green dots on the map and sending COTs and data. Even if just 1-16mbps would be really really great.

[@saxpert]

HI Lewis, interesting. The most important thing for me with Repeater is the delay time. Did you measure the delay between starting tx til beginning audio output at the receiver? Did it vary? Or do you have to complete a transmission before the Rx can start?

[@djmambito2]

As far as i can see it is 2 timeslots ...1 RX and 1 TX ... what comes in goes out immidiatly ... so the delay will be very little , in the mSec range or nomore then what is needed to convert ...it is not like the known analog-repeaters (parrot) ...there's no recording and then retransmit ... it goes in and out at practically the same moment.

[@RobCanada]

Andy, how many hops can these radios do, the website says 30 levels? Could you have two repeaters on two hills with handsets at each location and all talk together e.g Handset1 Repeater1< 10 miles >Repeater2 Handset2. At £50 per radio I can see everyone dumping Meshtastic and putting these up instead. :) Also are there any timing advance range issues? Or does this type of modulation not rely on timing? Thanks for posting :)

[@KarlHobson]

Just ordered....could become popular....if it works as it should...thanks for the heads up Lewis

[@jplacido9999]

Be carefull on the legal issues

[@KarlHobson]

@@jplacido9999 please clarify legal issues.....I don't believe if used on the correct or licensed frequency there will be any......but if you think otherwise please share 🙏

[@jplacido9999]

@@KarlHobson You are very carefull and that is great to avoid problems..👍 433-436 MHz is in the radioamateur band. Ham use is subjected to previus recognition of modulation methode by Gov rullers. The non ham use is out of question because of the same and also the stated power output (5W versus the 10 mW for voice comms on the LPD license free band. Please ask first to the Gov departement related to Comms for the general public...

[@JoshuaFawcett]

Launch key and trumpet are the best features lol.

[@Nick_G7IZR]

6:04 Ofcom define a gateway as "radio equipment for the purpose of connecting to another non-amateur network" (eg the internet) so not sure it's a gateway if its doing ham to ham via radio. Can it be programmed to work on Loran frequencies instead of ham? If the transmissions took place on 70cms, were sent over loran (863Mhz) then back out to 70cms, that would be an off-grid gateway. Or if it worked on 863 full stop, then it would be licence free for all to use.

[@212MPH]

What's the codec and bandwidth for the voice call ?

[@rjy8960]

I think the underlying thing is that you need to bear in mind is that you need to have an Amateur license to use them. Maximum output for license free (unlicensed) LPD 433MHz use is 10mW. If you do have a license and use them, just be careful not to spanner any repeaters that are in the area. Do you really need to take up almost 500kHz of bandwidth for what is effectively a narrow-band voice channel?

[@j.dietrich]

LoRa uses a comparatively wide bandwidth, but that also means that the spectral power density is extremely low - the transmit power is spread much more thinly than with a narrowband mode. It can maintain a reliable link with a signal that's tens of decibels below the noise floor. If you're listening with a narrowband receiver, you probably won't hear a LoRa station even if it's literally next door.

[@rjy8960]

@@j.dietrich It would be interesting to see how this will co-exist with narrow-band FM use - 5W output is quite a significant amount of power to use over a 500kHz channel and whilst spread spectrum is great at providing interference rejection from narrow-band and other spread spectrum systems, the impact of discrete carriers within a narrow-band channel can be problematic. As a case in point, G.hn / Powerline networking is spread spectrum and its launch power is nowhere near the 5W that these things use. I am sure you are aware of the significant issues that these systems cause to HF reception. I am skeptical and would like to be proven wrong by seeing the results.

[@djmambito2]

The specs say 125 Khz

[@mikerobertsn]

@@rjy8960these are UHF, not HF

[@janmo519]

Maybe its a kind of MMMT63 - Multi Massive MT63😂

[@MarcBirks]

Nice these look the business to be fair liking the design simplicity

[@greyshadow9498]

I assume this will only use it's own internal mesh? The ability to tap into some public LoRa networks like Helium would greatly increase it's range.

[@Bluelagoonstudios]

We (electronics nerds) are into this too, but with IoT small microprocessors, like ESP and Pi or Arduino with break out boards. And it works very well. I'm building a new PC and there will be a hub inside with this technology. And extern antenna's as well. And it travels far, for these low power things.

[@jplacido9999]

External antennas are illegal in most Countries

[@Bluelagoonstudios]

@@jplacido9999 Not if you have licenses, I have other antennas as well.

[@jplacido9999]

@@Bluelagoonstudios I meant the licence free units. The ERP is regulated and the simple fact of an external fixed antenna is there in place is generally regulated all over the world. I think you could not get a license if you state this equipament ....

[@Bluelagoonstudios]

@@jplacido9999 c'mon man, ERP is about 0.8w do you really think this makes a big difference? I'm not talking about 100w DAB+ multiplexers.

[@jplacido9999]

@@Bluelagoonstudios Most Countries don't care except if there is harmfull interference... So it is not a big deal with low power, and the range is nice (LOS)...👍

[@RichardGilmoreDronetech]

Can 2 or more Repeaters be used in the system so that they can pass Comms to extend range even further again with outdoor, highly positioned antennas??

[@ryanl4175]

That's my question as well

[@kurtstefans5738]

Another good vid. I wonder what the audio latency is from radio to radio with and without the gateway. Also if the latency get worse with a lot of interference.

[@KeystoneInvestigations]

Sounds great but can I use it to place my order with the Chinese takeaway?

[@kennethausten]

Been looking into meshtastic. This is another step forward. No use for it myself unless it could use the meshtastic , then the sky is the limit..

[@tcpnetworks]

After playing with LORAwan setups and finding them wanting (mainly because it was being used for asset tracking) this piece of kit could be useful in Australia.... Only if I can get a frequency shift....

[@FayeClegg]

Secret MI5 North headquarters. Pilsworth Way, Bury.

[@topsac3283]

Nice Lewis.... Thanks 👍👍👍👍👍

[@over-engineered]

I would think such a system would only useable in the UK on the 70cm ham band by licensed amateurs. Reason is it’s far too powerful for use on the ISM band and far too wide bandwidth for use on PMR frequencies.

[@ethanturner5164]

Why isn't it possible to use this for pmr 446

[@over-engineered]

@@ethanturner5164 PMR446 has 12.5KHz channel spacing, 2.5KHz modulation, is a specific spec. and limited to 1/2 watt. Although we don’t know, I suspect this uses a wider bandwidth to get the performance.

[@JakobBuis]

@@over-engineered website says it's 125kHz bandwidth, so about 10x yeah

[@over-engineered]

@@JakobBuis there you go, 125KHz, way too wide for any PMR channel

[@RT-qd8yl]

I think these are mainly for situations where band restrictions and comms laws would no longer be forefront in people's minds

[@myballwilson]

Thanks!

[@RingwayManchester]

Thank you so so much!

[@thexfile.]

In America, we have something similar the farmers use them on big farms.

[@rmetcalf89]

What's that?

[@retevisQA]

Hi friend, do you mean crossband repeater and HT?

[@tcpnetworks]

Funny - because we are looking at exactly the same thing in Australia - some of our properties here (a single farm) is as large as a state in the land-of-stupid. One farm is running three linked 477MHz repeaters to cover it - because the curvature of the earth interrupts LOS. Looking at this system - yep... Could be useful.

[@jplacido9999]

​​@@tcpnetworks It would be cheaper for you to became a flat earth enthusiast the LOS problem would go away....😂😂😂😂😂 Aside jokes, that 433 MHz is not legal for farms. Even for hams I'm shure it will require a special permit. Don't change, it wouldn't work anyway....

[@tcpnetworks]

@@jplacido9999 433 and 477 are leagal classes here in the land of Oz. I prefer 477, because it's got more in the way of OTS equipment.

[@johnsurdy]

How much delay is there per hop?

[@LilliSeahorse]

Do you know if you can network 2 of the repeaters together? For even greater range, especially in hilly country? And of course Amazon says it's currently unavailable.

[@Tony-iz8qn]

Its to bad these don't come in the license free frequency range most lora devices use.

[@kuyavenzinfovlog]

Can we join different brand of radio using same frequency of the lora radio box?

[@pederb82]

Big no go with this network, especially for iot is the limit on amount of calls on the network each day. It’s not a hight number at all so unusable for anything like an hourly or so update from some sensor. Is there no limit on usage on the voice part?

[@MPLS_Andy]

Damn your hair be lookin dope bro

[@tonyweavers4292]

Is this some kind of middle earth syntax?

[@Milcom34]

Thanks RM. Interesting Little Radio Set up****

[@jamesa2961]

Rad video as always

[@mikerobertsn]

Any idea what the sensitivity of these would be. Normal DMR is around -118dBm assume these would be somewhere down near -130dBm or lower.

[@taylor7668US]

Interesting setup I guess there will be people using this on 446 ! Not worth the risk of my ham license

[@Parax77]

is every handset considered a gateway?

[@daveh7720]

I wonder what a handset will do if you press the PTT button while it's relaying a signal from another radio. Does it give a "wait" tone?

[@RingwayManchester]

It does yes

[@radiosification]

Wow, now this is very interesting

[@IndaloMan]

Why are the repeater images upside down?? 🤔

[@fluxington]

Because the back plane is effectively the top of the unit. There are some images with it up the 'right way'.

[@tonyweavers4292]

That 12V Input looks like it was bodged on last minute. Aliexpress has these listed for £430! Too much for me!

[@ianharvey868]

I wonder what limits it to just 30 radios? Shame you can't buy the retevis rb24 separately

[@djmambito2]

you can buy a set of 2 radios without the repeater.

[@Bond2025]

Good idea, but not practical due to the channel utilisation. A couple of people doing a voice call would flatten the network. In the North West I can pick you up at times via repeaters/nodes, but if people start sending anything the channel is full.

[@djmambito2]

It's like a ham-radio-repeater , only to be used by licensed hams ...they have their own analog repeaters also and those channels are not full , they just wait untill it is available or use a repeater on a different channel .. so no such a thing as a "full" channel

[@radiotowers1159]

So you need a Radio Amateur License to operate ?

[@ianharvey868]

Yes, legally anyhow, as a system uses very wide bandwidth you can't operate it on any business licence as they only give you 12.5khz space, obviously it's too high power and too wide bandwidth for pmr446/gmrs etc... It's use is only suitable on the ham band as you can use wide bandwidth but if you have the idea of the 70cm ISM the problem there is that equipment can only legally do 10mw, these do 5w

[@jplacido9999]

​@@ianharvey868 And the modulation scheme must be approved by Ofcom or similar....even for hams

[@fotografm]

No further comments ? Has anyone ordered one yet ?

[@jhonsiders6077]

Are these a simplex or a duplex system ? And do they use a sub audible tone to keep just anyone from using it ?

[@ianharvey868]

It's not analogue so no, the "repeater" technically isn't what we call a repeater in the normal radio comms world so as it's not got 2 antenna socket or built-in duplexer it's not a duplex system, however LoRa does "interconnect" and pass messages through, this function works on the handsets too as far as I can see

[@fotografm]

"Trumpet" LOL

[@rachelslur8729]

good video, thank you

[@ek8710]

Trumpets

[@flapjack9495]

🎺🎺🎺

[@MONTY-YTNOM]

Trumpets ? They need better translation software.

[@flapjack9495]

🎺🎺🎺

[@TheKingOfInappropriateComments]

I love this idea. conventional repeaters are losing their sites. A mesh network of backyard repeaters that don't require the internet is a better way to do it if you can get enough people on board.

[@sandypiazza7254]

Domenica ne testiamo 5 rb 24 e 1 rb 91 dopo test vi informo !

[@Phone_Geek]

Interested in the legality of people using this without a licence, which inevitably will happen. You know my line of business, so for me the interference at 433 is of concern

[@eadweard.]

What's "Trumpets"?

[@flapjack9495]

🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺

[@briantheminer]

Brilliant idea, something else to try I’m guessing Retevis are going to sell these like hot cakes

[@briantheminer]

Got mine delivered with 5 handsets, I’ll let you know……

[@briantheminer]

I have found they’re on 471 frequency range, way out of the 430 specified in its blurb, and a bit illegal here no doubt

[@davidbrant8617]

​@briantheminer how are these working out for you?

[@briantheminer]

@@davidbrant8617 quite honestly, brilliant!! The only negative is because of the inbuilt repeater,there’s about a 1 and a half second delay between pressing trigger and transmitting I’ve not messed about reprogramming yet, but could be even better then

[@davidbrant8617]

@briantheminer Awesome yea i dont think that would bother me to much, I have been looking at these heavily there isn't much out there on them. Thanks for the feed back.

[@davesmith5092]

Wonder about the legality in the US.

[@jhonsiders6077]

I bet ok till some sad ham complains!

[@jplacido9999]

​@@jhonsiders6077 Everybody wants to do what they like, until a neighbour has the same ideia...than what...no complaint ?...just let it be ?...

[@robertmitchum2972]

I was wondering the same exact thing. Tried to lookup the legality of this setup here in the US but didn’t get to far… According to Retevis, it is legal in the US. But I take that info with a grain of salt. I will have to contact the ARRL on the legal use of this system here in the US.

[@janosnagyj.9540]

"trumpets" ? 🤔

[@flapjack9495]

🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺

[@wernerdevos1074]

The RB91 is nothing more then a RB24 in a metal case. I heard the fan is working all the time and noisy.

[@superpieton]

5 watts on LoRa is *strictly reserved* to ham radio. It's totally out of the european 10mW EIRP limit for ISM433 usage. Those chinese chitty gadgets are RUINING the 70cm amateur band because of non-hams buying and using them without proper licence! I hope it's not encrypted, or it will not be usable by amateurs, which would make that thing illegal because ISM433 is 10mW EIRP and amateur radio has to be unencrypted.

[@briantheminer]

It could be said that these. Chinese radios are increasing the interest in amateur radio though, some are starting to use them, learning more and going foundation?

[@elsuperpollo2273]

This repeater should only be accessible to licensed amateur radio operators too many loop holes, for meshtastic users.

[@RingwayManchester]

There’s no loopholes? You have to have a licence…

[@barrieshepherd7694]

@@RingwayManchester Like a TV they will operate without a license 😂😎so quite possible they end up being used illegally. !

[@W4TRI]

Have to wonder if they are legal for USA use. You c an buy them so it won't be long before these are the new "Freeband" radios. The camels nose is under the tent again FCC!

[@jhonsiders6077]

Until some sad ham complains! Which they always do !

[@W4TRI]

@@jhonsiders6077 Ok you sold me! Buying a setup just to P SS off Sad Hams! LOL!!

[@bobkozlarekwa2sqq59]

Cost?

[@RingwayManchester]

What about it?

[@bobkozlarekwa2sqq59]

@@RingwayManchester how much does it cost?

[@RingwayManchester]

Oh right I just didn’t realise that’s how we ask for things these days? The links are in the description as I said.

[@gamlemann53]

:-)

[@itechflagstaff]

Thanks!

[@RingwayManchester]

Thank you so much!