Is it normal that a 5-story building cannot be connected wirelessly over a distance of 15 km?
That's perfectly normal.
If you can "hear" the other person, it indicates that your "ears" are functioning properly, and switching to multiple handheld radios confirms this. If the uplink is not working, the first step is to rule out any setting issues and ensure that both the uplink frequency and the silent tone are set correctly. If these settings are correct but you still don't receive a response, it means that the strength of your signal reaching the repeater is below the "threshold" required to activate the repeater, meaning it hasn't reached the minimum level that the repeater can detect. Therefore, the repeater cannot hear you, and there will be no feedback.
What methods can be used to improve communication quality?
First, you need to find a location as high as possible to verify that your handheld radio is properly configured and can successfully connect to the repeater. Then, you need to determine the geographical location of the repeater and see if it's located on your balcony or behind you. The fastest way to improve communication quality is to try to increase the height. If increasing the height isn't possible, you need to position yourself so that you are facing the repeater and move around to minimize obstructions between you and the repeater. You can experiment with different Moxon antennas, but be sure to use a vertically polarized antenna, meaning the square frame should be vertical relative to the ground. Adjust the position of the antenna to find the optimal location. If your balcony environment allows it and the Moxon antenna can successfully connect to the repeater, consider using a Yagi-Uda antenna with approximately 4 elements, which can significantly improve communication quality. However, if the Moxon antenna cannot connect to the repeater, switching to a Yagi-Uda antenna may not result in significant improvements.
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