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that's the direction i was thinking as well, just trying to turn the train of thought into something coherent. i suspect the base programming on those uv5g will be similar what shipped on my Btech gmrs50x1, channels 1-22 were the 7 low power simplex frequencies (1-7), the 0.5 watt FRS frequencies (8-14receive only on mine), and then the 8 high power simplex channels (15-22). Slots 23-30 were set up for repeater use, with the +5.0mhz transmit offset baked in, though they used the same receive frequencies as 15-22. if i have a local repeater that the output is 462.575, i'll be able to hear it whether i'm on channel 16 or channel 24, because both receive on 462.575. However, on transmit, channel 16 is transmitting on 462.575 as well, while 24 will incorporate the offset and have me transmitting on 467.575 (which is where the repeater is listening).

The only other thing I can think of is the transmit frequency. The repeater channels receive on the same frequencies as 15-22, but transmit on 467.xxx MHz channels.

Well.. tried again today when I heard some people jump on to do signal checks. A random guy jumped on asking for signal check, and another person answered along the lines of "I'm not sure if you're looking for someone in particular to confirm, but I can hear you just fine". Once they ended their quick back and forth, I keyed up asking for the same, but with no response. I'm certainly doing something wrong. I've got my "Receive Tones" off, and my "transmit tones" set to the settings provided me. There are no other codes that I can see on the repeater listing page. I can hear traffic, but can't broadcast in. I'm also not hearing a "kerchunk" when I hit the PTT button, so I wonder if I have a setting buried somewhere that I've messed up. I've reset both radios to factory and started from scratch... so, conversely, maybe there is something I haven't activated to be able to use the repeaters. Or, I guess I'm probably just out of range...

They'll be a judge to sign a TRO in 3....2....1.....

Offroader just signed an Executive Order.

So it is spoken, so shall it be done.

Overruled!

You will never notice any difference compared to it being straight up and down.

The last time my antenna was tilted like that I was able to bounce my signal off the moon. It was strange that I made it that far as I was only transmitting 100 mW on GMRS.

He's telling me how I can use my repeater on the free airways. Schmuck.

In theory, it will tilt the lobes of the signal to be higher on one side and lower on the other. In practice, it might not matter. The only way to know is to try it and find out. I suspect that unless you're trying for some absurd distance, it won't make a discernible difference.

I was doing some testing on antennas today and decided to use the Midland MXTA 12 mag mount with the MXTA 26 antenna mounted to the roof of a metal garage. As you can see from the photo, it was not parallel to the ground. It was close to a 15-20deg angle. Any thoughts on how much being angled like that might affect performance? Would it be better to one side and worse to the other?

I do, though. Everyone in this thread is henceforth banned from using GMRS. Banned, I say! Edit: ah, dang it.

Thank god you have zero authority over who can or cannot use GMRS. There are many people who use it for many different reasons. Neither you nor I have the authority to say they don’t belong.

a lot of 'want to be' HAMER's practice their phonetic techniques on GMRS.. Pretty easy to follow these guys.. Just listen to WIN and PAPA and you'll know what i mean.

That's pretty much how I feel.

This is the way I do it on both GMRS and ham. I give it in plain old alphabet first and if the other party doesn't understand then I give it again with the NATO phonetic alphabet. However, when someone uses the NATO exclusively, it doesn't bother me a bit.

Like I said I get annoyed by it too. However I can see both sides of the argument. Gmrs radio and amateur radio communications via voice are generally conversational. There's no real need for things like tactical call signs and phonetic alphabet on the day-to-day basis. However there is plenty of opportunity when those things can be beneficial to The Operators. But that's not what annoys me. It's probably not what annoys Randy either, though I won't speak for him personally. What does annoy me is people who say their call sign at the beginning of their transmission and at the end of their transmission and in the middle of their transmission every single time they key up the microphone. We get it. We know who we're talking to. You only need to use your call sign three times in every hour of conversation. We don't need to hear it three times a sentence. And just so we're clear it's not a radio thing. I hate when people use words as fillers because they don't know what else to say. Words similar to "like" or dude, or ah, um, or whatever they use to fill in the silence between thoughts. My therapist says I'm getting much better at it though.

I just say let them do what they want. It hurts no one. If it annoys you maybe you should work on that. It a style, a personality. Now it they start demanding you do the same then maybe it's them with the problem. If this is their "fun" why should they need to stop. Just sitting here now and someone came on with their phonetic call sign just to say they were on the repeater. Not talking to anyone. Didn't bother me.

Thanks! They are for sure still sometimes linked. Detroit and mt. Clemens always is. Cheboygan, Flint, Saginaw always is. Sometimes they will link the two groups but not always. The north group seems to think Detroit is where tomfoolery comes from but we've all seen it from both sides. So they only link the two groups when it can be monitored now.

In My Opinion - The NATO Phonetic Alphabet Should Only Be Used For A Clarification When Necessary On GMRS. It's Really Not Needed For Regular Everyday GMRS Comms.

I agree. Use of the phonetic alphabet important for hams in order to accurately discern call signs for all the reasons you listed. Unlike GMRS logging calls in amateur radio is important. Almost nobody logs calls in GMRS. I would say nobody but there have been a very few people on this forum who have expressed a desire to log calls. But I find it very easy to ignore people using their call signs frequently or using the phonetic alphabet.

@OffRoaderX went far beyond sharing an opinion. I genuinely cannot imagine why anyone would be annoyed by use of the phonetic alphabet unless it's because "some people" think it's a symptom of trying to be a ham in a GMRS community. I think part of the reason hams use the phonetic alphabet so much is that amateur radio is international. It can be pretty hard to understand someone whose first language is not the same as your own, especially the pronunciation of some letters. Just think of how much "B" and "V" sound alike in Spanish. GMRS users almost never talk to someone in another country, so being understood is not as much of a challenge (unless you're in California). Furthermore, shorter wavelengths have higher frequencies, which typically improves clarity in voice signals. Even the difference between 70cm and 2m can sometimes be discernible. If you're playing around on 80 meters, you're going to repeat yourself quite a bit. GMRS, being at the higher end of the spectrum, rarely suffers from poor quality of voice signals. For the most part, if you can punch the signal through, you'll be understood. Simply put, GMRS users don't use the phonetic alphabet because we don't need to. It's easier for me to say "WRTC" than "Whiskey Romeo Tango Charlie", but sometimes I'm going to use the phonetic anyway. I have 33 years of using the phonetic alphabet in uniformed service and I also participate in amateur radio. It happens. I just don't understand why anyone gets their undies in a wad over it.

Hi all! Just got in to GMRS/HAM. Anyone active in here?

Look at the repeater map/database.