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Reviews For: YAESU DR-2X 50W Repeater

Category: Ham Repeaters

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Review Summary For : YAESU DR-2X 50W Repeater
Reviews: 3MSRP: 1995.00
Description:
System Fusion II C4FM repeater with IMRS
Product is in production
More Info: http://https://www.yaesu.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd=DisplayProducts&ProdCatID=249&encProdID=057D2799368BFF1769E1F15BF30E7DB0&DivisionID=65&isArchived=0
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0034.7
KD5GR Rating: 2022-04-26
Very good performance Time Owned: more than 12 months.
UPDATE: Our club now has two DR-2X repeaters operating, one VHF and one UHF. Both are in automatic (AMS) mode for TX/RX. The only problem we've had is loss of digital capability that's fixed by cycling AC power. (We have a remote relay for this purpose.) This is not an uncommon problem, but it is easily fixed.

Yaesu still has the great club price available. $700 without the LAN board (IMRS) and $900 with it. Get the LAN board even if you don't plan to use the Internet linking feature.

Great repeater at a great price.

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As mentioned by K4ETN, using the B channel for control is a great feature. We registered the DP-IDs for the control ops on both repeaters and set them up for digital control rather than DTMF.

Our Club (Texas Youth Amateur Radio Club) has been running a DR-2X on our 2-meter pair for six months without any issues. Another DR-2X will be delivered this week and we'll put it on our 70cm pair.

Our installation is NOT in an area of high RF saturation, which I believe to be essential. I've talked to two people who tried to use a DR-1X in an high RF environment and it was deaf. The number of cans required was simply too much. The IMRS capability is a major feature for linking of various chapters as the Club grows. It won't be full-time linking and the ability for users to "call up" one or more repeaters in different areas is very attractive to our target audience.

Chas.
KD5GR
K4ETN Rating: 2020-02-08
Continued improvements make this repeater a great deal! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Our club replaced its TKR-750 in September 2018 with a DR2-X running in AMS. And so far its performance has vastly improved our coverage, even operating from a site at 1720 ft. AMSL.

The biggest bonus feature is the ability to use the B side receiver as a control link. It works flawlessly. I recommend that you change the default control codes and with 4 digit capability you have a multitude of options available.

One glitch since it has been in service which was no switching to digital mode in AMS. This was not the fault of the repeater, but from the commercial power jumping up and down during a weird storm. The onboard controller got a bit confused with the power fluctuations.

A power off reset/reboot cured the problem and a battery was installed for limited back up.(There is a auto start generator on site also)

Running on the high power (50w) setting has been no issue due to the improved cooling which was evident looking at the inside of the repeater.

We run a weekly net on analog and a digital net afterwards with great results. Usage is about equal between the analog and digital users on any given day.

Our membership enjoys the repeater and we are very pleased with its performance.

K4ETN
AH6DX Rating: 2018-01-28
Vastly Improved from DR-1X/XFR Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This initial review hopefully will help other Clubs make a better decision if this repeater is for you or not. Past experience with 2 DR-1X for a year. In all honesty, I feel that most "issues" with the DR-1X were due to owner's lack of understanding and/or studying the manual.

The DR-2X offers:

* 50W RF Out max, IF you need it, but I find mid-range more suitable as it more matches the average power of mobiles. IF you do run 50W, I suggest a temperature-controlled fan on the PA. easy to do.

* IMRS, this great feature allows you to Ip link to up to 99 other repeaters via internet, a basic tenet to Motorola's IP Site Connect. My caveat with IMRS is that it is a fairly complicated process requiring understanding of the structure and intent. NOT Plug & Play!

* Digital/Analog, you can FIX in digital but can only do Analog in AMS mode, this permits analog FM and C4FM selection based upon user signals received. After all, they really are a digital repeater.

* Wires-X with IMRS can be used together, but you must use a node radio on your LOCAL/DEFAULT DG-ID.

* Audio quality is superior when using Yaesu C4FM radios, however, artifacts are common using other devices such as OpenSpots, DV's and other non-Yeasu C4FM capable devices. I hear the same on DMR when these are used.

Keep in mind that this is not a complete review, but addresses some of the more important points you will encounter. Also I might add that Yaesu support has been good.

Review written by Tommy KH6TA

ah6dx@aol.com