I have no interest in repeaters, has to be point to point, if repeaters will be up, cell phone will be up. I would want a system that does not rely on third party infrastructure. 3rd party infrastructure would be open to damage, theft government control, etc..
That is absolutely incorrect.
Here's how a repeater works. Let's say you have a base radio and a mobile radio. Your brother (or friend, parents or whatever) decides to get in on the action, so he puts up a base and a mobile. All is good. But then you discover that you can reach his base better when you are out and about, than your own base. Maybe his place is on a hill, or he has a two story house while yours is only one story. Or maybe he is just a few miles farther in a direction you normally go. Whatever.
Anyway, it would be nice if you could reach your own base as easily as you can reach his base.
Well, you can. If your group/family has control of a good radio location (which does not have to be a commercial tower), you can set up your own repeater. All you have to do is put a second radio there and connect the two such that one radio receives and the other transmits on a different frequency.
You can use a duplexer (big filter) so both the transmitter and receiver can use the same antenna without interference. But a better way is to let each radio have its own antenna, and separate them. One at each end of the house, or one in the house and one in the barn, or whatever. The radios are only connected by audio lines and a transmit control line. No actual radio signal passes between them.
That's not just theory; it actually is that simple and it actually can be owned and operated by you or your group, at the best radio location you have available. No grid tie, no infrastructure, no outside influence necessary. You can have it in your own back yard. I do have one in my own backyard, and it is wholly owned and operated by me.
You can still do the point to point thing. Either (1) have the repeater on one channel and simplex on another channel, (2) turn off the repeater portion and just use one radio when you prefer to do that, or (3) plug in a microphone to the receive radio and use that one to both receive and transmit simplex on the same channel your repeater setup receives on.
A repeater doesn't take anything away, nor add reliance on some outside influence. It just adds capabilities that the original point to point setup didn't have.
Besides give him a while " Capt K " will have his own Am or FM broadcast station setup & tune to his channel up north ! You won't be able to talk back , but he'll give you the info ! He'll just go back to his roots !
