Overview

Hey folks, just some quick planning for Saturday... for those of you who are not familiar with the area or would like to caravan up to the top of the knob together, I will be at a Shell gas station at 3275 S Main St, Harrisonburg, VA 22801 at 8:45 AM and leaving there at 9:00 AM. It's about a 50 minute drive to the top of the knob. The Shell station is literally right off the highway off-ramp. On i81, take exit 243 and the Shell station is across the street from the bottom of the ramp. For those heading straight to the meeting location, I'll see you at the top of Reddish Knob at 10:00 AM.

This time in my Ranger instead of Edge

Details Event by Marc Spaziano and NOVA GMRS Reddish Knob, Saturday, March 29, starting at 10 AM. Public · Anyone Come join NOVA GMRS for a Radio Expedition up to Reddish Knob and play Radio for the afternoon! Everyone is welcome to bring their handheld radios, mobile radios, or "portable" setups and discover the amazing range of your gear that is associated with high elevation of the mountain top. Lets find out how far Your radio can reach! Reddish Knob is located in the George Washington National Forest, outside of Dayton / Harrisonburg, Virginia. While this is a knob on the ridge-line in the forest, it is paved all the way to the top. Any vehicle can comfortably make it all the way to the top without an issue. Along with your radios, bring a camera, warm clothes, and something to snack on for lunch. There is nothing nearby... so bring everything you need to be comfortable for a few hours. For those not familiar with the area, we can find a meet-up spot if you would like to follow me from town, up to the main lot.

Hey folks... one of the big things many new users (and some of us old guys) enjoy doing is figuring out how far their radio can reach. It's always fun to contact someone from say 80 or 100 miles away on a handheld radio. In September of 2023, we went as a group up to Reddish Knob and played Radio for the afternoon. Everyone either used their handheld radio, mobile radio, and some extravagant "portable" setups to see what kind of range they could get from the mountain top. With GMRS (and some amateur radio) being a line of site service, its possible to make contacts from as far as 150-180 miles away while we are up there. I personally talked about 162 miles. We had a great time. Does anyone have any interest in doing something like this again this Spring? Just bring whatever gear you want to test out... you can try some of my gear, etc. It is paved all the way to the top of the mountain and any vehicle can access it.

In this club > Under the Area Repeaters Tab > Under East to West > is SEVEN CORNERS 600. I don't see this repeater any where else on the mygmrs.com web site. Old data? (I'm new so maybe not).

Hey Rob, thanks for checking in. We have a pretty active group spread from Alexandria/Arlington (and into MD) to Leesburg, and south into Woodbridge/Stafford/F'burg and as far as Warrenton and Culpeper. We don't have much activity here. Typically we will post events that are occurring. Most of the activity would be on the area repeaters and on our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/groups/novagmrs The big repeaters we use are the Bull Run Mtn. 650, Warrenton 725, Seven Corners 675, and DC 700. Our members have wide area coverage repeaters on every available channel pair, but I think those are the largest and most popular, in that order. Come check us out on Facebook, and all the repeaters are listed here on MyGMRS. Using the 'Map' feature will likely be the most beneficial to find the repeaters and request access. Thanks, Marc

Checking to see if this group still has a pulse. Just discovered the group and joined. I personally need to get smarter on GMRS (and other radio) and was hoping to see a bunch of comms from which I could learn. I am also up for in person meetups and learning sessions. Thanks all! Rob - WROV979

https://mygmrs.com/repeaters https://mygmrs.com/map

I am new to GMRS and radios in general and all of these suggestions sound like a good idea to me. Thanks! WSEK955

Hi! I'm new to GMRS and am trying to connect to the repeaters and I am wondering if there are tones I need to program in? I'm along I-66 in Oakton and have a goal of reaching Alexandria/Springfield/Kingstowne area. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! WSEK955

Roland will be greatly missed. He was a big signature in the D.C. metro area as well as up and down the mid-atlantic, PA, NJ/NY and WVa. His base setup (completely legal) had some reach and if the conditions were right with some ducting. His voice could be heard on a repeater by you or even on simplex. For 2 years straight, when I commuted to and from work. He would often chat with me, purposely pausing his day to catch me on various repeaters. I have caught him doing this with multiple people including Marc. He was outstanding steward for the radio community and was upstanding. In person, his Veteran Vietnam Naval side came out with the swear words. What a character that "old fart" was. Rest in peace WRPJ758, 42 (former Capital City React) Roland you deserve it of any person I have ever met. The D.C. area GMRS community lost a great one. Now who will answer the 5x radio checks a day on all the repeaters. Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

Today, I lost a friend; NOVA GMRS lost a beloved member. Roland Jackson (WRPJ758) died today. For those in the DC Metro area, he had a positive impact on the community. Roland was a staple in the GMRS realm, willing to help anyone, chat with everyone. You will be missed my friend. Pictures care of @kidphc

Thanks for posting!

When: 2/24/24 @4:30 PM Where: Five Guys, 7321 Atlas Walk Way, Gainesville, VA Who: Anyone interested in radio https://fb.me/e/6le81jZPo

Hi everyone. I have had some things come up in my life that have been taking up a lot of my time. I have not had the time nor energy that NOVA GMRS deserves. I am going to take a step back from a leadership role for awhile. I'll still be around the group to chat and will be on the air. However, I have asked Jack Ramberg to take the lead in my absence. He's graciously agreed. Thanks for being a wonderful group and for all the new friends. Talk to you soon. Marc

Event by Marc Spaziano and NOVA GMRS American Legion Riders Post 176 Springfield, VA Group · Members of NOVA GMRS Hey folks... a little last minute and long overdue, lets meet up for Brunch at the American Legion Post 176 in Springfield. They have a large lot and the cafeteria is open to the public. Our friend Walter is a member at another post and has invited us to join for a group get-together. I apologize for the last-minute invite. Hope you all can make it! American Legion Post 176 6520 Amherst Ave, Springfield, VA 22150 11:00 AM

NOVA GMRS and OCD Offroad are inviting everyone to join us for an "Intro to GMRS" presentation at OCD Offroad's service location in Stafford Virginia on Saturday, November 4, 2023. This presentation is prepared for people who have little or no radio experience, are looking to learn some very basic information to understand radio principles, radio performance and purchasing options. We will cover the following: What is GMRS? Why Select GMRS over CB, FRS or MURS. GMRS Compared To FRS. Range. What is a Repeater? Radio Technology and Programing Overview. Radio Types and Licensing. This session will be video recorded and published for public viewing at a later time. Please be aware that if you attend, your image may be published publicly, electronically (online) and via other means. Seating is limited. You must RSVP below to attend. If RSVP within 24 hours of the event, message MarcSpaz to confirm seating availability. If you can't attend, don't worry. We will be sharing a video of the presentation after the event.

I had a great time up on the mountain this weekend. Thank you to all who could attend. For those who didn't make it, our friend Holden shared a few pictures. Enjoy...

Hey folks, the weather forecast is looking fantastic for Saturday... Just a reminder to wear layers. It will be as cool as low 40's in the morning, but expected to reach to low 80's in the afternoon.

Hey everyone. Mike asked me to pass on a very big THANK YOU to everyone for donating to the power bill. Donations reached just over $1,000. This was enough to cover expenses associated with getting the power turned back on, a few months of current and future power bills, and Mike is investing the remainder of the funds in a backup power system to keep the Bull Run repeater on the air during comercial power outages. We have an amazing group! You all are the best!

CONVOY Hey folks, I am setting up a meet-up time and place for those wanting to convoy up to the mountain together. The hope is to get to the mountain top by about 9:00-9:30 AM. For those leaving from the DC Metro area, we can meet at Sheetz at 13039 Balls Ford Rd, Manassas, VA. at 6:30 AM and we will leave promptly at 7:00 AM. For those coming from the Winchester area, lets meet at Burger King at 33964 Old Valley Pike, Strasburg, VA. at 8:00 AM and leave promptly at 8:15. We will stop for fuel at the Shell gas station at 3275 S Main St, Harrisonburg, VA., and then head up to Reddish Knob. COMFORT / FOOD Hey folks, this is going to be 5 hours of round-trip driving for me, so I will be making a day of it. I assume this will be the case for many of you. I wanted to just provide a few recommendations and reminders to make sure everyone has fun and is comfortable. Please remember to bring your radio! LOL. It's not a requirement, as I am willing to share, but if you want to maximize your time, having your own gear will help. Bring a chair of some type, and possibly a small folding table. This will make life better. I wouldn't want to stand all day and having a flat surface for writing notes about contact, a place to hold your radio/drink/make lunch will be a plus. The weather looks like its going to be wonderful, but cold in the morning. Dress in layers, bring a hat, sunscreen, bug repellent, etc. If you take daily meds for health, please remember to bring them. Food and Drinks... I would recommend a small cooler with drinks and some food that doesn't require heating. The mountain top isn't really setup for cooking. There are no fire pits or grills. Let me know if you have any questions. If you have any other tips... post them up.

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who made it out to dinner tonight. I hope you all had a good time. I had a great time! I want to also express my gratitude for the generous donations given to Mike. We have a fantastic group! Thank you all!

I think incorporating the trail rides is a great activity! Inclusive with a variety of ride difficulties and an excellent get out their and explore kind of activity. Good cross over of interesting and club populations.

Great feedback! I like it. We'll have to see if we can hammer out so.e details at dinner this weekend. Mike W will be there. Since he owns most of the repeaters in DC and Northern Virginia, as long as he's good with us doing it, we should be able to get that stuff going. Assuming the group is interested.

BLUF: Explore purposeful uses of the local repeaters. - real world field exercise simulating limited operating conditions. For example, and this is just an example, we could simulate the most convenient repeater is down and on the fly programming of an ht is required to make contact with a more limited reach repeater to get directions to the dinner spot for the evening. Another example, follow the poker run concept and have checkins on a designated route - get yourself from DC to Winchester maintaining comms along the various repeaters. The reddish knob trip - making distant contacts and seeing what these things can do. Perfect! - standard periodic monitored check-in time slots so that you can try out the antenna, new radio, etc. I understand there is adversity to mimicking ham stuff like nets but this would help and lot of newbie and tinkerers play with they toys without having to endlessly keechunk or randomly call for a radio check and rolling the dice with what you get back. _Just some thoughts - RIVRRAT