[MRCA] Retransmit

[Ken Downs]

Ray,

You wrote  "the amateur concept of using repeaters is unknown in tactical military radio?"

I never saw repeaters as we amateurs know them in my 20 years, except of course with commercial equipment for post engineers, military police, etc. Tactical radios did not support that sort of operation, at least up to 1987 when I retired. 
Tactical operations don't normally need a repeater as we know them; the two simplex freq "Retrans" sufficed to jump mountains or otherwise extend range. I suspect the main technical reason precluding repeater use was the need to frequently (in some places I've been, every 8 hours) change frequencies. How are you going to retune all those duplexers? Plus, the KISS principle is vital in tactical gear. Observe a new ham/new owner trying to program a new ham radio ht or mobile rig. Then add factors like him/her trying to do it while someone else is trying to kill him/her, and, of course, the usual "tactical weather" (always bad). One frequency, one PL tone (hell, that was called "new squelch"- "Old squelch" was simply carrier operated.) simple, "GI proof" operation is essential. Nothing to fight QRM, select various i.f. bandwidths (with some exceptions), work split, etc. Personally, I think that gear sucks for ham band use, except for situations like 60 meters. But it's fun, so we do it anyway under the right circumstances. 

Ken, W1KRT 
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