Overview

MyGMRS.com and RepeaterBook have conflicting listings. Does anyone know what's correct? (Attached App Screenshots)

I'm looking forward to seeing what 2026 brings!

Today marks the 4th anniversary of NOVA GMRS. We couldn't have done it without you! I just wanted to thank our Founder, Eric (we miss you buddy), David and Mick for all the fantastic support over the years. Keep an eye out for new events and get togethers in 2026. Happy New Year!

Hey! Welcome! We don't have too many members out your way. Most of the time people from NOVA venture out to Rockingham to go offroading in the park. The repeaters I normally use when I am out there are the Harrisonburg 575 with a tone of 110.9, the Shenandoah 575 with a tone of 141.3, and the Elliot Knob 600 repeater with a tone of 123.0. Hopefully that will get you started.

Greetings from the new kid on the block. Currently reside in Rockingham County. I got my GMRS license not too long ago. Haven't been able to get on the air much due to life changes, relocating, and lack of local GMRS repeaters and folks on the air where I used to reside. I am hoping that I am able to learn more about this method of communications while potentially meeting up with many of you in the near future. I am laid back, quick learner, easy to get along with and eager to teach what I learn from you folks in this group with my children and family. Also, which local repeaters in my region do you folks suggest I request access to? I'd like to get on the airwaves more frequently to hone my skills and put my radio equipment through their paces. Thanks to all that chime in. GMRS radios I own are: BaoFeng UV-9G Wouxon KG-935G Will purchase two mobile GMRS radios before Springtime. Just not sure which radios yet. (Advice and guidance are always welcome) Merry Christmas and stay safe out there, folks. John - WRON425

Roger.

I've tried a few times since it went up. I haven't had any luck, but that's no surprise due to my location. Maybe once the leaves fall?

835 [Matt] ... were you ever able to hit the PW County repeater from your Alexandria base? I'm guessing NO. Peter

I saw the new listing in RepeaterBook the other day, and on here today. I'm looking forward to this one.

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for attending the get-together today! Also, thanks to all of our admins and repeater owners for coming out, and our friend Tim for helping coordinate! I had a great time seeing old friends and making new ones!

Marc ▪︎ Roger. Sounds like the snubnose 19-inch rack is going to be fastened down for greater installation hardening. That'll truly add an even mkre customized appearance with the added benefit of fastening everything down. I supposed you could consider some short heavy duty springs between the brackets and 19-inch rack to arrest resonance and vibration ... especially during trail events. Peter

That's awesome to hear! Once all the brackets are made and the cosmetics are done, I have to get some fresh images out!

Bummer... hopefully the next one will work out. I am trying to do them at least once a quarter... sometimes more.

Bummer. I can't make it due to another commitment.

Marc, Much appreciate the thorough answers to my questions plus the additional info and background as to how/why this all came about. This PW County site seems to be well situated and for a good cause. The heat map predicted reliable coverage is excellent and whenever I install a base station omni at our DC residence [to replace the current configuration comprised of unity gain "rubber duck" antenna sitting on a pizza pan], I expect to be able to hit the new repeater. Glad to hear that the subject GMRS station will be open during other than emergency operations periods. "See" you on the airwaves and [hopefully] at the next meetup whenever and whereever it'll be. [P.S. I must've shown the photo of your Jeep's rear-seat-mounted multiband repeater to a dozen telecom friends. Awesome and unique integration work]. Regards | Peter | WSIC582

Awesome! Looking forward to seeing you!

I am interested in attending

Hey everyone! I know it's a little last minute, but NOVA GMRS is having a get-together this Sunday for lunch. We are going to try to beat the heat of day and meet from Noon to 3:00 PM. We are going to meet at Virginia Gateway Center, in the lot between Target and Five Guys. For those who haven't been to this location before, you can navigate to 13299 Gateway Center Dr. There is a picture below, showing where specifically, we park. Bring a chair, drinks, etc. to be comfortable. The plan is to talk radio (or whatever) and then sneak into Five Guys about 1:00 PM for a quick bit and enjoy some company. If you have never been to a get-together or if you are new to GMRS, I highly encourage you to join us and ask lots of questions. As always, this is a family friendly event. So, bring your family and friends! RSVP below or check us out on FaceBook! https://fb.me/e/5m4JpSoAs

I've been messaging with Eddie for the last couple of days on this site. I had no idea a repeater was being planned. A buddy of mine called me up and let me know about it. I haven't really used it yet, but it sounds pretty good. At 1.5 miles away, you could work it with 1/4 watt. LOL

I've been listening to Ed(?) test the repeater over the last 2 weeks. His transmissions are pegging my meter (I'm only 1.5 miles from the repeater ). He published the repeater to the myGMRS database: https://mygmrs.com/repeater/10670

Hey, Peter! Great questions. BTW... if you hear us chatting, you are always welcome to join in! I appreciate the interest. We talked about it a little at our last get-together, but just touched on it. So, I'm happy to give more details. I am a volunteer radio operator with the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES). I serve on a few teams supporting DHS/FEMA, US Marine Corps Quantico (MCCS/MCM), Loudoun County, Prince William County and the Virginia state EOC in Richmond. ARES is a nation-wide group attached to the American Radio Radio League. Our organization has formal MOUs with local, state and federal agencies across the nation. Our team provides a full spectrum of auxiliary (and on occasion, primary) communications support for the aforementioned agencies. That would include, but not limited to, voice traffic, independent email services, wireless LAN/WAN both in an affected area and relayed outside the impact zone, video, GPS and signal tracking, and much, much more. We have had great success in drills and real-world service for more decades than I have been alive, and I am happy to be apart of the organization. These relationships have afforded our teams some special privileges in the radio world. Hospitals, government agencies, and private business all appreciate the services we provide to the community, and to help us provide the best possible services, these agencies/businesses have allowed our groups to install VHF and UHF repeaters on there buildings, commercial radio towers, and on high-elevation properties. We even have repeaters and towers installed in national parks for areas known to frequently need our support. I mention all of this because it is relevant to what is happening with the proposed GMRS repeater. The Prince William County government is allowing us to install a new amateur radio VHF and UHF repeater on a county radio tower. The intent is to have the amateur radio equipment available to all licensed amateurs, while ensuring priority use for ARES supporting the county, state and federal government. Since we are going to have both a VHF and a UHF antenna, we figured we would gang a GMRS repeater on the UHF antenna, having it support both systems. I proposed the use of the GMRS repeater to the county under the same assumptions as the amateur radio repeaters... they will be open to all licensed users, with the county and other served agencies traffic taking priority during drills and emergencies, and the county EC agreed. Keep in mind, we are in the early stages of planning. We need to design the system, acquire hardware, and coordinate frequency use. What we are planning is subject to change... but the proposed details are as fallows. The availability date is currently TBD. As mentioned, we are still gathering parts and the facility is currently in the end stages of renovations. We cannot build until construction is complete. The tower is in the south-eastern part of Prince William County. The base of the tower is about 155 feet above average terrain. The arm the antennas will be on is about 300 feet above ground. We are going to use high-gain folded dipole antennas for all repeaters. We are planning on legal limit for the power output on GMRS (and 100w for the amateur repeaters). The channel is TBD, pending coordination. This will be a publicly accessible repeater, open to all licensed operators. Again, if the repeater is needed for emergency use, we will terminate public access until the emergency need is over. We hope that amateur gear will be sufficient so local families/residents can use the GMRS repeater in a local communications outage. We have not settled on a tone yet, but it will be CTCSS. We will ask local users to use whatever the primary tone we select for day-to-day use, but we will also have 141.3 for emergency/traveler use. The coverage area is theoretical at this point, but below is a projected coverage map showing 99.9% reliability. As we drop down to 70% reliability, the coverage increases dramatically.

[Thursday, 7 Aug 2025] Group, In recent days I have heard chatter on Blue Mountain '600 and Warrenton '725 re. a new repeater to soon be commissioned. Purportedly, such repeater will have a significant RF footprint. Can anyone add more info on this news, particularly: • What County it will reside in? • Projected commissioning date? • Availability: Public / Private? • Planned channel? • Planned PL or DCS code? • Predicted coverage (rough)? • Etcetera ... ? ___________ Thanks & regards, Peter | WSIC582 | NWDC

Hey folks! Had a great time at the Meet-N-Greet. Just wanted to thank everyone for coming out and share a few pictures! Talk to you all soon!

Hey folks, Just a quick reminder about our meetup this weekend. This is open to everyone. We especially encourage new operators and new members to join. We will have several area repeater owners joining us with information and printed handouts about what is happening in our community. Many of us will have test equipment, willing to help troubleshoot problems and answer any questions you may have. Looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday! If you haven't seen the event on our FB page, you can get the details in the original post (above) or at the link below. https://www.facebook.com/events/744340581470568/