My Experience With The BTech GMRS-RPT50 / Overview and Review Of BTech's New 50-Watt GMRS Repeater
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- čas přidán 2. 06. 2024
- In this video I recount the story of my relationship with the new BTech GMRS-RPT50 GMRS repeater. The RPT-50 is BTech's new high-power, 50-watt repeater, and it is the first full-power, base-station type GMRS repeater on the market. I go over most of the features of the repeater, a few things that I like about this new GMRS repeater, how it compares to my Vertex VXR-7000 repeater, and the issues and problems that I encountered with the GMRS RPT50.
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Right off the bat calling your viewers dumb...
Only the dumb ones.. You can tell which ones those are because they leave dumb comments complaining about being called dumb.
@@TheNotaRubiconlove your channel Randy. You would be an awesome neighbor for a variety of reasons.
🫵🤪🫏
I are verie dum!
As it should be stated
Federal Amplitude Governance Service LMAO!
😂👍👍
Made me LOL.😂
I’m old enough to remember them. They had Spandex uniforms.
I spit my whiskey on my desk
I just got it, ok, I'm a little slow. 😂
Thanks for washing my car. Looks great!! 😂
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.
Honestly a solid review. No punches pulled, no egos stroked, but giving credit where it is due.
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.
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? 🤔
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.
Sounds about like what I would expect from a B-Tech product.
Thank you Randy, for this informative video!
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.
Just got my repeater back form repair it's been in service for 24hr and is working well so far
You are very entertaining. Also funny. Thanks for making videos. Love you man.
Love YOU man! 😭
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.
Thank you!
Always great to hear a real review.
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.
This is still my favorite channel. I luv digesting it
Great story... and they all lived happily ever after....
Have to scratch that one off my wish list. Good job Randy!
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.
Excellent video
Thank you for your realness
Awesome review. Can’t wait for a follow up review and field test.
Another great review. You really had to labor through this one! A lot of time, too. Thank you for your time and effort.
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.
6:20 Nobody talking about the video files on Randy's computer 🤣🤣
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. 😉
Thank you! Happy to help get you some new pencils ... 😅 ... Good job introducing this repeater.
Thank YOU!
This channel is lit!
LOVE your shirt. I shall get one👍
Thank you!
Oof that’s rough.
Thanks for the video as always.
Love the shirt...
Thank you!!
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
The best story!
Love this guy
Little guy is on it today. Get us ready for the weekend....
$1499 monies is gonna cut into my onlyfans budget...... decisions and sacrifices must be made.
Don’t worry, Laqruishuh won’t miss you if you take a couple months off
Dem tiddies doe...
Probably more value with your of. I bought and returned.
I still want one. Maybe the price will drop a little as they get the kinks worked out.
i got one so far after firmware update been running fine one week into it
How do your knobs feel?
same not the best @TheNotaRubicon
Bad experience, but excellent support. Nice to see them standing behind their product.
You keep talking about haters. I'm not seein it! Great video!
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
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.
Cool story bro.
That ending was both anticlimactic and beautiful at the same time 😂
Heck yeah. GET YO MONEY BACK, JACK!🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑
What are you using for the squelch setting for your Vertex standard. I have one as well and am using the commercial settings which is killing weak or distant transmissions. Not the manual settings.. Just trying to get this thing working as it should.
Here for the knowledge. Stay for the video file lists on the PC 😂
🤣
You, Sir, are hilarious !!!
‘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.
I had high hopes for this unit, especially costing this much, but it seems with time, they'll work out all the bugs, and it will live up to its calling.
If it was Mil Spec, it would have a 101% duty cycle for leap year.
Naw, Mil Spec only means the cheapest bidder for the Government contract.
DADDY IS ON THE SCREEN
Hey, I was born in 1962,.. scary shit, Randy
Just liked myself, to save time.
@@london19657 hahahahahaha
Kids…
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.
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.
Good to know, for sure. Least they were helpful about it. What sort of recommendations do you have for putting together a repeater rig in this power range?
I'm still happy with my VXR-7000 that I got used for $500.
Give the Yaesu fusion DXR2 a shot. I think you'll like it.
Looks promising, but several missing future functions and issues you identified and encountered. Hope to see a more refined Version 2.
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).
6:19 LMAO.
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.
When will you evaluate Baofeng GM21 ? I bet it will be your new new new favorite
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.
Will it Work on SP or EP with my Betamax? SP in conjunction with EP make for a long night.
Just a quick question,, does GMRS have to go through the frequency coordinator and they tell you what channels you can use on your repeaters ?
No. Its every-man for himself and the biggest repeater wins.
Fucking amazing. The end.
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.
Didn't see the wife's boyfreinds car wash coming perfect comedic timing too funny.
The question i cant get answered is can i connect it to a node. Does it have a cos connection
To those guys on "THAT" GMRS channel that were so very excited about this repeater, all I can say is....I TOLD YOU SO!
Was the new BTech repeater working with Zello? I have no idea how any of this stuff works but I enjoy monitoring your repeater from the other side of the country.
Wasn’t the Zello access channel disabled?
Randy, our GMRS Btech RPT50 experiences were nearly identical. Using Windows 10, I could not use the Btech software or the firmware. After manual programming, the Morse code identification would work only one or two times no matter what time interval was programmed. Lastly, on high power, it only broadcasted at 14.5 watts. Paypal will issue a 100% refund after the repeater is received by Btech in South Dakota. The cost to ship the RPT50 back with a shipping business this morning, via UPS was $139.30! I'm looking for a replacement rock solid GMRS repeater in this price range... any recommendations? Can true happiness be found with a Vertex 7000? Best vendor for the Vertex?
I am very happy with my VXR-7000.. you can only find them used now, and the biggest issue with it is that the software is hard to get and is very old - i can only get it to run on Windows 10, cant use it on Win11...
Wow 😲 and then bummer 😕
Random comment, but I love your Donald Trump picture frame in the background.. ❤
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.
Randy, I also was an anxious purchaser of this repeater. turns out much difficulty with software and high power ended up being a whopping 14.5 watts! Thank goodness for Paypal refund safety net!
That sounds like a bad duplexer like mine. Did you contact support?
@@TheNotaRubicon (See above narrative) Thanks for your wisdom and input!
Yep, when they asked for videos of my issues, I dropped all of my hopes and dreams and went back to Paypal...
Well i had high hopes. I will wait for them to work out the issues. Uggg
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
Finally
interesting device. I guess if you have some kind of club or enough friends who want to use the repeater it would be worth hosting. What do you get out of it for hosting the repeater? Just being nice?
happy that you got your monies back, but sad that you lost a friend.
Sad to see that it didnt work out. I'm very interested in this thing if they can get it right. Seems like the price is a little steep for something that has very limited remote configuration capabilities... but theres an ethernet port and so my pp is tingly if they turn that on.
Willing to pay the money as soon as all glitches fixed
Maybe you can dive into meshtastic stuff. I have recently started looking into that.
When it's less fiddly, and more relatable, then maybe.
@@TheNotaRubicon I am going to give it a try and check this space out. Stuff coming.
Time for Wouxan to step up to the plate.
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.
lol, his private folder with Ryan Renolds video.
B tech motto - Works Great, til it doesn’t !
While disappointing, not unexpected. I think they are experiencing growing pains, but hopefully will sort it out soon.
that's methed up!
off topic ...can you recommend a portable gmrs radio that has a built-in PA system...
Boy, you are right, that is off topic!
@@TheNotaRubicon I guess you really don't know sorry to waste your time
It is a shame you had issues with it so soon after unboxing, but at least BTech gave you some great customer service. I am sure given some more time the bugs will be all worked out.
that acronym though
Are you certain that it wasn’t the ‘Commission for Radio Aerial Propagation’?
3:10 LOL
Same thing happened to me
I want one.
Why? 😂
Did you watch the video, yet?
lol don’t waste your money, buy commercial gear lol
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.
Hey Randy, check out the SRPT-02 repeater. If you're interested, I'll send you one.
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!
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.
Does yours have loose knobs?
@@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.
Howdy can you review the midland GXT GMRS 5-WATT TWO-WAY RADIO - GXT67 PRO thank you 😊
Ok, since you asked! Check back in a hour.
But how many fars will it get