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Reviews For: Bridgecom BCR-220 Repeater

Category: Ham Repeaters

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Review Summary For : Bridgecom BCR-220 Repeater
Reviews: 9MSRP: 995
Description:
A commercial-grade Amateur 220 repeater in a 2U rackmount package. Built-in controller with Morse ID and many Ham-friendly features. 30 watts RF power and battery backup.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.BridgeComSystems.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0095
KB8CSL Rating: 2022-06-15
Excellent Repeater that is now discontinued! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have operated a Bridgecom BCR-220 in Dayton Ohio for about 10 years. It is an excellent repeater and highly recommended. It is now 2022 and Bridgecom no longer sells the BCR-220. I hope they continue to offer repair services for the 220 repeaters.
W4PIG Rating: 2019-11-03
BCR-220 REPEATER NICE Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I HAVE HAD MY REPEATER ON AIR FOR ABOUT 1 MONTH SO FAR IT HAS BEEN GREAT. THE TEC SUPPORT IS GREAT AT BRIDGECOM . I GAVE THEM THE INFORMATION THEY PROGRAMMED IT AND WAS READY TO PLUG AND PLAY. LIKE MOST HAMS SERVICE IS WHAT SELLS THIS REPEATER SECOND TO NONE THANKS BRIDGECOM WILL UP DATE REVIEW AT A LATER DATE 73
N4DBM Rating: 2019-02-14
Very Good - Well Pleased Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
My OM actually bought me this repeater as a gift. He has a VHF Engineering 220 repeater that came from the late 1970's. We both have many, many years in the commercial two way radio business and have played with everything from complete junk to the most expensive, impressive equipment that Motorola, Kenwood and G.E. have to offer.

I work for the NC Highway Patrol on microwave radio systems and Motorola Quantar and GTR equipment. I have a big emphasis on reliability. I believe the BCR series is very well built and appears to be reliable.

I opened the unit up to examine it. Naturally, it was no surprise that the TX and RX units are Bridgecom's branded mobile units mounted in the case. They use a MeanWell power supply, which is pretty common in package equipment. The programming software takes some getting used to, but the customer support, such as posting videos on YouTube on how to set up and program the repeater is very impressive and much appreciated.

I would make mention that if the unit is going to be used in a non-air conditioned facility that you select the option that the fans run continuously to keep the power supply cooler even when in idle mode. Otherwise, having the fans run only on TX is sufficient. I appreciate the dual fans in the enclosed cabinet. It's a nice design.

The transmitter uses a power module brick rated at 30 watts. I think 25 would be a good setting not to push things.

These days, finding a 220 repeater is difficult. You can fool around with a pair of TYT mobiles, find a controller, a power supply, some fans and a rack, and make a repeater given enough time and effort. You'll have $600 in that. Given the nice package the BCR series comes in, I think it's well worth the extra money if you want something on the air quick.

Thanks much for the great unit. I look forward to years of good service from it.
KY4TS Rating: 2017-01-10
Good repeater, great support! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Our club purchased this in July of 2016. It's our first 1.25cm repeater. So far, I am very impressed with the quality of the unit and the ease of programming. We had a few issues during the install (mostly of our own doing) but Tim and Ron were always readily available to answer any questions. We are very satisfied at this point with the BCR-220 repeater! Now, if we can just get it to a higher profile location...
N3FCX Rating: 2016-10-18
support Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
we purchased the bridgecom 220 rpt back in December 2015 it's been running great did develop a noise problem at the rpt site source was never found a lot of stray rf around our site ordered a filter from dci that solved our rfi problem called ron at bridgecom about some program questions ron was very helpful great support from bridgecom even after purchasing their products n3fcx

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Earlier 5-star review posted by N3FCX on 2016-01-02

after almost 30 yrs our 220 rpt died ordered a bcr220 from tim king placed order december 17 2015 bcr had the new 220 rpt delivered by december 22 2015 tim king was great to deal with he kept us up-dated the entire time tested the new bcr 220 on the bird watt meter results were great would highly recommend bridgecom if looking for a new rpt or re-placment n3fcx
W5YTR Rating: 2015-08-20
GREAT PRODUCT Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I RECENTLY PURCHASED A BRIDGECOM 220 MHZ. REPEATER
I HAVE TO SAY I AM VERY IMPRESSED WITH MACHINE. SOLIDLY BUILT. RON IS VERY SUPPORTIVE AND STANDS BY HIS PRODUCTS.THE REPEATER IS BUILT TO C.C.S. STANDARDS. TRANSMITTER WAS KEYED DOWN FOR 6 HOURS AND THE REPEATER NEVER GOT HOT. THE POWER OUTPUT DURING THIS KEYDOWN PERIOD NEVER WAVERED, THE OUTPUT WAS 28.6 WATTS THE ENTIRE TIME.VERY SATISFIED. W5YTR 73
KB7GP Rating: 2015-08-13
Excellent Performer Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I don't often get involved in writing product reviews but in this case I feel it is appropriate. I found interfacing this repeater to a third party external controller to be straight forward and satisfactory. We worked directly with Ron Kochanowicz, the owner of Bridgecom, concerning some unusual interface issues. He immediately addressed those issues and incorporated those enhancements into his repeater's firmware. As a result, we recently deployed a system incorporating two of his repeaters, the BCR-220 and a BCR-40U. These are the heart of a modestly complex linked system, W7WRG, serving western Washington from Oregon to the Canadian border. We continue to receive compliments from the users and flawless performance. We are now planning upgrades to our second mountain top which will also incorporate Ron's BCR repeaters.
K5IN Rating: 2015-08-03
Excellent 220 MHZ repeater Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Using the BCR220 with a Arcom RC210 external controller. Also have a BCR440 and they are heavily used and stand up to the long winded ham duty cycle HI HI.
WB6FLY Rating: 2014-10-15
Finally! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
A very flexible repeater, with many functions remotely adjustable using DTMF commands. Very sensitive receiver. Performed flawlessly during several long ARES nets. Rugged chassis, user-friendly controls, and easy setup. The BCR-220 appears to be the only turnkey 220 repeater available to the Amateur community.