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I'm glad I can help! Definitely my pleasure. We do still use 73 to send someone Best Wishes... it's much appreciated, and 73 to you too, my friend. Looking forward to following along with your most recent radio journey!

Also, keep in mind, as you switch between GMRS and Ham, the memory channels and custom programing gets completely wiped. While you can switch between the two on the fly, keep the phone handy so you can quickly reload your settings after the switch. Wow! Thats REALLY great to know! Maybe I'll just talk to the "Minister of Finance" (My wife) and see if I can just keep these for GMRS, and buy the other set for Ham. They're much more affordable than back in my Ham days. I remember saving up for months just to buy Yaesu or Icom radios. marcpaz I appreciate your patience with me on this one. You've taken a lot of the frustration out of dealing with this. Do people still say "73's"? If they do, sending them your way! Have a blessed Sunday!

Would that go on for more than an hour?

That makes sense.

This sounds like a text message being sent via rattlegram from a phone through the radio. We do it all the time when we are in a tactical mode, but encrypt the transmission with AES 256 so we know no one can break the code without the master key. Just an observation.....

With a 30 second period it sounds like it’s part of some signaling system. For a while various devices were sold that used FRS/GMRS frequencies for non personal radio purposes. Baby monitors, home weather stations, etc. Perhaps it’s something like that. Nothing prevents transmitting multiple CTCSS tones simultaneously with strings of data that include DTCSS codes, especially if those codes are being used to carry other data rather than access codes. Because they’re very short and audible CTCSS tones and DTCSS codes are extremely simple to inadvertently include in a transmission if a transmitter isn’t explicitly filtering them out. Our radios do that; they intentionally filter them out before adding specific ones in while transmitting. Someone’s home control system easily might not. Given the fact that you are able to anticipate when it’s going to be heard you should be able to track it.

I'm not near by... but this meter is "good enough" for GMRS users... this only works with analog signals, but gives you the SWR, power, and confirms frequency. Used one for uses with no issues. https://www.amazon.com/Surecom-Gam3Gear-SW-102S-Connector-125-525Mhz/dp/B01M7QPXEY/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3RFKA6QH45YCA&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ZkiREUuZSuQ_oim0vPoJNR_XM8V107XuS6AWXOeokubOCdVxUszbsKjYfCMesBgDp0ED-JqnC3OpZFW4o_g9PGSBkuFL2j4IZPFk3CoqQtXtTVcZmhLNCalFueW19_w8c_4aN7j73w3ESPkSo0BJvTbPjalgndvePMuQ2l0yo3jX7dG8rO5j-O0JV9tGiqv6ffrbIlMX1j7L9krlfPTsdVUze1ei91Y1hHXdZF5Vv4eu5WRuQWdoCfWU-CP7j7Xpw2aAIDmENQU2G5jxHgEz9A0hxumCAdjtYy0YxWKpLHs.38rQMOMVtYmxFlocGEF6qZuGHBYm0il4_YdCDkAtnWY&dib_tag=se&keywords=sw-102+meter&qid=1753635739&s=electronics&sprefix=sw-102+meter%2Celectronics%2C65&sr=1-2

Very good point.

@GeeTee Sounds good. Honestly, I think the inability to switch the GMRS version on the fly is an FCC compliance thing. The amateur radio version has no such constraints. If you plan on switching between the two, I would get the Ham version, too. A couple of things to know about... the Amateur version covers continuous transmit and receive from 136MHz to 599.995MHz. This means, if programed accordingly, you can use the unlocked (Normal) firmware option of the Amateur radio version to talk on 2m Ham, MURS, 1.25m, 70cm, and FRS/GMRS all on the same load. I am not publicly encouraging anyone to ignore FCC regs... this is just an FYI. The radio has a lot of range and you can mistakenly transmit on frequencies assigned to local/state/federal government, local Emergency Services, businesses, and about 1 megahertz of overlap for airlines and Air Traffic Control from 136.000 to 136.975. Be cautious when programing and transmitting. Also, keep in mind, as you switch between GMRS and Ham, the memory channels and custom programing gets completely wiped. While you can switch between the two on the fly, keep the phone handy so you can quickly reload your settings after the switch.

Posted 9 minutes ago My bad... I did mean PTT/*/Power on in the original post. (Humble apologies). I've been using the mobile ODMaster app to make changes. I downloaded it from the Google Play store a couple of days ago, so hopefully its the most up to date version. I did purchase a transfer cable so I could use the website to update from my pc if needed. What you're saying makes sense. Being new at this I may have inadvertently loaded the wrong firmware in the mobile app. I was going to try that cloning suggestion you gave me last night and use the unprogrammed radio to restore the one I've been playing with. I do want to have the capability of using Ham and GMRS at some point so I am going to return these radios. However, you've piqued my curiousity, and I am going to give your most recent suggestion a shot here in a few minutes. I greatly appreciate all the help! I'll let you know how it goes!

Sorry... I was not implying you did change the firmware or that there was/is a firmware issue. I mentioned what I did as a caution, advising against possibly changing the firmware that is preloaded on the device, as a possible solution. Also, there are three different firmware versions loaded on the radio's permanent storage, and you can pick which three you want to use... which you obviously already understand that. At least to some degree. In your original post, you said you tried pressing the Bluetooth button, the * (lock) button and turning the power on, which is not the correct method You have to press and hold the primary PTT and the * (lock) buttons while turning the power on, and then hold those buttons until the boot-loader loads the firmware menu. So, can you confirm which method you used? Also, I have read in several groups that some models of the TD-H3 Plus do not support the aforementioned method of switching between modes/firmware. I have read repeatedly that PTT/*/power only works on the Amateur Radio version... not the GMRS version. New approach. What version of the ODMaster software are you using? The web-based version or did you download the mobile app? You can force the App to load the program data for the wrong radio and all kinds of odd stuff can happen. If you are using the app, that is likely what happened. I would open the app and create a fresh/new GMRS program file for the radio that is blank, using the TD-H3 Plus template. From there, connect to the radio with the ODMaster app (not the web version), connect to the radio with whatever model from the drop-down allows a connection, and push the blank GMRS configuration to the radio. Do NOT do a read first... just push with a Write function. That should fix it and make it so you have the proper boot screen, too. Then you can program as desired. Now, if you want to switch from GMRS to Ham, you have to use a programing cable and download the TIDRadio CPS software. You can't switch the GMRS version on the fly.

Quick update... I did confirm that somehow I did manage to purchase the GMRS "only" H3 Plus radios. The site says that the GMRS only version can be verified by a "G" in the FCC ID number which these radios have. That explains why I can't switch modes like the regular H3 and the Ham version of the H3 Plus. At this point I'm just going to return the radios and buy the Ham version of the H3 Plus. I was hoping at some point to get my Ham license back and use these for both Ham and GMRS. I still don't have a reason for why the first radio would boot up as an H8 instead of an H3 Plus. However, it's a moot point now. Thanks again for trying to offer assistance!

Is it possible to capture a recording as previously asked by @SteveShannon and upload it here? I also was wondering if the noise breaks the squelch with an antenna removed from one of your HT radios? Just curious if the noise is really close by or not.

@nokones he did state that he enabled USB programming. Unless the radio is defective then the problem most likely lies either with a bad USB cable, with the computer and/or not selecting the correct communication port number. @WRXJ624 The easiest way to determine the com port number in Windows is to open up Device Manager. Then plug the USB cable into the computer and radio to see what new com port shows up. Once you know the port number, make sure to select the correct port number in the Midland programming software. Another issue might be that the programming software did not install correctly and may need to be uninstalled and then reinstalled. This doesn't happen very often so I would double check what com port number is showing up in Device Manager and/or try a different USB cable.

Yeah, hams are fun when they end up with commercial radios. It is technically legal to program ham stuff in a Part 90 radio since they can basically use anything for a radio that will work on the frequency band they are allocated. For a long time they wouldn't program anything ham into radios at my shop. Then they figured they would have me do it since I was a ham. I wrote a 1 page agreement and instruction sheet for getting a commercial radio programmed with ham stuff. It basically stated that the owner was required to provide a spreadsheet with the column's that were laid out for TX and RX frequencies, TX and RX PL/DPL tones, channel alias, a column for channels in the scan list for the zone, high and low power and a couple other things. Then if they wanted anything commercial with transmit, they would need an MOU on letterhead from the person listed on the license or a chief or high ranking official with the agency or department that owned the frequency. The MOU's and the channel lineup would be kept on file and if a programming discrepancy was noticed that the sheet would be checked against what was in the radio. If it matched what was provided, they would need to pay to get it changed. We weren't going to be researching PL /DPL, TX frequencies or any of that. What was on the sheet was going in the radio. IF the sheet was wrong, the radio would be wrong. It set a price for a single zone with 16 to 20 channels. If multiple zones were requested, and it explained how to create the spreadsheet for that, it would be done on an hourly rate with one hour minimum. Which was at that time 130 an hour. I had a copy of it laminated and put at the front desk for the greeter / customer service person to have them read when they came through the door. It also had the contact info for the state agency that was in control of the state radio system and that they would need to get a radio ID from them and an MOU for the talkgroups they wanted if they were requesting access to the state wide trunked system. I already knew that they wouldn't issue ID's to private citizens directly and that some agency that was on the system would need to sponsor them to have a radio on the system, so that wasn't gonna happen. But when you establish a policy, and put price tags to it. It stops them cold. Oh, and we charged $500 for codeplug creation for a state wide system subscriber. Which is what we charged everyone else. Most of them would leave in a huff, a few would do it, and we were happy to have their money and their understanding of what they were going to get for it. I finally decided we weren't going to do anything with the ham DMR stuff or it would be strictly hourly rate to program with a 2 hour minimum. Because DMR on commercial radios when they want a bunch of group calls and crap takes a LOT of time to create. And the codeplug was a one off. What one guy wanted in his radio wasn't going to be in 100 radios, just his. The next guy would want different stuff in different places and it was all a big PITA so they were going to pay for it. And we didn't and don't program ham radios, if it didn't say Motorola on it, we weren't touching it.

here in Califailure, HAMS play on both and when they play on GMRS it's very easy to pick them out.. The Alpha freaks

Some pople can't figure that out

hey silly. i think most people can figure out what i mean...

I agree

This is exactly correct. It doesn’t matter which of the GMRS/FRS channels 1-22 you’re on; if you’re using a GMRS radio you’re required to be operating with a license. If you’re using an FRS radio you do not need a license.

You are incorrect. The FCC rules list them as part of the allocated GMRS frequencies, although the power and bandwidth restrictions are the same as for FRS. I understand that to mean that if you are using a Part 95-accepted radio to transmit on those channels, a license is still required.

Wide bandwidth is authorized for GMRS users on 1-7 and 15-22 per FCC rules.

Regardless, even if Channels 8-14 are factory default channels in a GMRS Part 95 Type-Accepted handheld radios and only transmit at a half-watt ERP, they are still FRS only channels and not GMRS channels, and by rule do not require a license to operate on those channels. This is not a matter that is typically, normally, or in general, by rule it is "mandatory" only channels 8-14 can only be programmed in a Handheld Radio. In all Part 95 Type-Accepted radios, the radio firmware will prevent any radio from being programmed with channels 8-14 unless it is a handheld and able to regulate the RF output power to a half-watt ERP, and more than likely equipped with a fixed antenna that cannot not be removed.

I have a couple of HTs that output 0.5 watt or less on the low power setting. On the others, I block transmission on 8-14, but I usually monitor them.

I don't disagree, but I'm not sure where the lies and misinformation statement comes from. There are regulations on the books that restrict the stuff we are talking about. The FCC choosing to ignore the enforcement of those rules doesn't void them. And there are things that many of us do that violate those rules. The big one is running channels 14-22 wither wide band of in a radio that will not turn down to the legal power level. Then there are the guys with high power XTL's and such that don't turn their power down, running 100 watts on GMRS, either simplex or through a repeater. Hell, I will admit to the fact my one GMRS repeater is putting 75 watts out the back of it. Mind you it's going into a high loss transmit combiner, and that 75 in results in 18 out the other side. But it matches the receive very well at that level so I don't talk out farther than I can hear with mobile coverage. Portables can hear it farther than they can talk back to it, but that's a 10dB difference in power output causing that. And since it says NO LINKING I can't even add receive sites to equalize the portable coverage at this point. And again to your statement, who would know or care if I put up satellite receivers that were linked and voted back to the transmitter. The point is there are rules. You should at least TRY to follow them. Even if others don't.