The Ipswich Repeater
A complete repeater in a waterproof case, antenna included. Two mobile radios and an onboard computer that runs the repeater and sends your station ID automatically. We assemble it, test it, map your property's coverage with you on a planning call, and commission it over video. You mount the antennas where the plan says; the spacing guide in the manual makes that a hardware-store job, not a rigging contract. It makes its first contact the day the case is opened.
What's in the case.
Every unit ships assembled and tested, with printed documentation and a laminated channel card in the lid.
- Two mobile radios, configured as a duplex repeater
- Two base antennas with mounting hardware and a spacing guide; we pick the sites together on your planning call. Quick-start whips get the repeater working out of the box while the real antennas go up
- Single-antenna option: a factory-tuned duplexer ($249), or we build around a duplexer you already own
- Onboard computer: automatic station ID and transmit timeout protection
- Regulated power with Anderson Powerpole connections; battery option ($549): LiFePO4 with solar-ready wiring
- Waterproof hard case with external antenna and power feedthroughs
- Printed manual written by the person who built your unit
Three configurations.
Same case, same computer, same documentation. The radios change with the job.
- Ipswich Network — $14,500
For organizations covering a campus, a farm, or a district: three linked repeaters with a mesh backbone, an offline mapping appliance loaded with your county's data, remote training for your team, and three years of the Watch plan. Built to order against a 50% deposit, commissioned remotely like everything we make.
- Ipswich G — $3,495
GMRS, certified end to end (FCC Part 95E radios). For families, farms, camps, and neighborhoods. We file your GMRS license with you on the planning call, and the $35 FCC fee is on us.
- Ipswich 90 — $4,495
Part 90 DMR for licensed organizations, with AES-256 encryption and the offline county map server onboard. You load your own key in free programming software; we never see it, and since current firmware it cannot be read back out of the radio. Frequency coverage 136–174 and 406–480 MHz, with cross-band operation supported.
Every Ipswich includes a planning call where we map your property's coverage together and agree the antenna site, video commissioning, and 90 days of support. The guarantee: clear comms across the property we mapped, within 30 days of delivery, with the antennas mounted where we agreed. If you don't have them, we keep working with you free until you do, or we refund everything. Your first annual checkup is booked before the commissioning call ends; the Watch plan ($249/yr) continues from there with two remote checkups a year, configuration updates, and a priority contact.
Free coverage map.
Before you spend a dollar, find out what a repeater on your property would actually reach. Email your address to hello@ipswichriverlabs.com and a geospatial engineer runs the terrain analysis and sends back a one-page map of your coverage, including the dead spots you have now. We do ten of these a month, first come, first served.
Built to order.
Units are built in small batches with a 50% deposit and a two to three week lead. We email the list before each batch opens. Organizations can write to us directly.
A free codeplug for New England.
A codeplug is the file of channels, tones, and names that makes a radio useful. We are giving away the one we build for New England: GMRS and MURS channels named in plain English, plus a comms-plan card you can print, laminate, and hand to your family. The card marks which channels ride on the $35 GMRS family license and which MURS channels need no license at all. If you want to see how we build before you buy anything, start here.
- GMRS + MURS channels with plain-English names
- Comms-plan card, ready to print and laminate
- Your email goes on the Drop Zero announcement list