What is the Repeater

The repeater is an electronic device that receives a signal and retransmits it. Repeaters are used to extend transmissions so that the signal can cover longer distances or be received on the other side of an obstruction. Some types of repeaters broadcast an identical signal, but alter its method of transmission.

There are several different types of repeaters; a telephone repeater is an amplifier in a telephone line, an optical repeater is an optoelectronic circuit that amplifies the light beam in an optical fiber cable; and a radio repeater is a radio receiver and transmitter that retransmits a radio signal.

What is the radio repeater？

A radio repeater is an electronic device that combines a radio receiver and a radio transmitter to receive a signal and retransmit it over a greater distance, allowing two-way radio communications to go further.

A repeater at a high elevation can connect two mobile stations that would otherwise be out of each other’s line-of-sight propagation range. Repeaters are used in professional, commercial, and government mobile radio systems and amateur radio.

How Does a Radio Repeater Work?

it’ll need a radio station. A radio station consists of a receiver tuned to one frequency as the “input” and a transmitter tuned to a different frequency as the “output,” both of which are connected via a controller device.

When a receiver receives a signal, the controller activates the transmitter, which then retransmits the signal.

This means that if you use two-way radios with a radio repeater service, they will be configured to receive on the repeater’s input frequency and transmit on the repeater’s output frequency.

There are two radio frequencies that the radio repeater system needs to use. While mobile stations use radio repeaters, the repeater station’s frequency must differ from the transmission frequency.

A repeater is generally placed on top of a tall structure or a mountain, and it is fitted with a powerful antenna system that allows it to collect weak signals and transmit across a large area. Thus, a repeater may expand a low-power handheld radio’s effective communication range to dozens, if not hundreds, of kilometers.

Repeaters are occasionally connected to increase the transmission range. And the work may be accomplished via cables, a radio link, a phone connection, or even digital audio technology through the Internet.

Additionally, frequency-selective filters are necessary to prevent the receiver from being overwhelmed by the broadcast signal. The repeater must transmit simultaneously as the signal is received and may even utilize the same antenna for both sending and receiving.

In the next article we will cover: What is the Function of a Radio Repeater