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Well, according to the manual that @WRUE951 posted a couple comments above, it’s #28.

I haven't heard of hacking a digital system but like anything else, it's possible. But i think much more difficult for the average person with Digital when you consider hacking ' eavesdropping

Sounds like the violator had better be VERY careful in his response letter to the FCC. Should probably send them a pic of the radio with a bullet hole through it, LOL.

Thanks! Just to ask, does anyone know which Baofeng CTCSS code number is 162.2 Hz?

I thought perhaps since OP didn’t specify GMRS repeaters in their statement (I fully acknowledge that’s likely what they were talking about). it would be worth mentioning ham repeaters as well. Which according to Repeater Book there are 1,707 Texas repeaters in the database. Add the 112 GMRS repeaters or 263 if you count stale and offline repeaters listed here, and all the repeaters that are not listed here it would be safe to say Texas has a significant number of repeaters. Hopefully OP finds this encouraging and if there are no repeaters in their area because like it was mentioned it’s a big place, do as @OffRoaderX often says you can be the pillar of your community and add one. He has an affiliate link bellow for you.

The all digital systems are at more risk than the old systems IMO, and in more of a catastrophic way. My Son works in MD and there entire digital system was hacked and shut down. Never was an issue with the old system. Wasted so much money going to digital to only end up not even being able to go old school because everything was removed. I think they would have preferred a random interference.

yup, it's not illegal to 'program'. rather illegal to transmit on an unauthorized frequency.

"illegally programmed" is...certainly a hell of a phrase to use.

Good info here. Thanks. Chirp really is your friend with this radio. I would add for someone new to remember that the programming for the RA87 has a left and right side. Cut and paste makes it nice going from side to side if you want to duplicate things. I’ll use Chirp to set one side for local channels and repeaters and set up the other for travel repeaters.

I say an intentional act. Cities Counties, etc selling off old radios decommision them and clean of all programing. The guy admitted to tuning into a police frequency and also menat he had to tune in the correct PL tones. A few years ago the same thing happened in our community. After about two days a squad of Hams assisting the cops were able to zero in on the offender. The FCC in this case was notified after they nailed the guy and according to the news accounts, the FCC handled the problem.. Now days with Public Safety going all digital its almost impossible to breach their systems.

The things that could be better on the 5RM: It's a little on the large size, particularly when compared to the tiny UV5R. It doesn't have a squelch knob as higher end models often have. It's not weatherproof, but it's so cheap it probably doesn't really matter. It doesn't allow for dividing the 999 channels into scan-banks, as some higher end models allow. The lowest power setting is about 2.2w, which exceeds the power limits of some bands it wasn't explicitly designed to work with (GMRS channels 8-14 are max 0.5w. MURS is max 2.0w). Of course it's not made for those frequencies; it's a ham radio. But people often do use it for those bands. The display is rather hard to read in bright daylight. Some of the menus and secondary functions of the number-pad buttons are counter-intuitive or even mislabeled. However, for approximately $30, it's the best radio I'm aware of. Models that are substantially better tend to cost substantially more. It's my most frequently used handheld.

Yeah but some of us enjoy helping others out.

He probably had no clue it would transmit an authentication code and he was trying to use it as a scanner. or not?

This bubbled up on my local feed today. I am not sure if this was an honest error or if this dude was legit trying to get into the law enforcement system, but the FCC only sent a no-no letter. Part of me thinks that if it was an honest error and the person was just trying to repurpose the radio, that's fine... don't do it again. Another part of me is thinking "he admitted to putting the radio on that frequency himself, which implies some nefarious behavior and he should get more than a warning." Anyway, just a reminder to try not to cause interference when you are attempting to repurpose those older LMR Part 90 radios. https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-410850A1.pdf Snip of text...

No, not GMRS, ham. Sorry for the crossover.

I really like the 5RM (AR-5RM, UV-5RM). It has all the features I would ask for in an entry-level HT. As much power as is practical in an HT, 3 power level selections, 3 bands tx/rx, airband and NOAA rx, USB charging, and it uses accessories which are robustly supported. IMO, the UV-5r is too small to manipulate easily, but the 5RM is a good size and it feels solid in the hand. In fact, I don't have any significant complaints about it. I have a couple of spares unopened, but so far, neither of my "regular use" 5RMs have shown any sign of quitting. I invariably get signal reports of full quieting on repeaters. Some users have reported that they get poor audio output quality, but I haven't experienced that. It doesn't do digital modes, and I'll want that eventually, which is why I describe it as an "entry-level" radio, but that isn't a factor on GMRS and it may be all the HT radio you ever need for simplex and GMRS usage. It remains to be seen how well it will hold up over time, but it was so inexpensive that I bought spares, so I'm not too concerned about that.

Just an FYI.. One thing I did not understand about my RA87 is that certain menu features can easily become deactivated as you experiment with the buttons/settings. On page 9 (see Channel Display) is a list of these menu functions. Please note the reference for a simple RESET process of pressing the REV button while pressing/powering up the RA87. This info might help you as you experiment. When you wrote Pre-programmed channels, I don't know if you are referring to the limited factory test channels or channels you manually entered or entered using software. I highly recommend Chirp software for the programming of your radio. A valuable evolution is to use Chirp to save your Code-plug/choices, and then write the CP to the radio again after any experimenting goes sideways. Afterwards, your RA87 channels' names are displayed again --- provided you set your Chirp settings to show channels by Name instead of by Frequency. Chirp is your friend. In case you do not have your original manual: https://www.retevissolutions.com/Assets/files/20230518/1000309129/RA87-ENGLISH-MANUAL--1-.pdf Best Regards!

Right. It happens easier than most think, and I'm sure Many have decided to let a ham license lapse, or a commercial, or gmrs license lapse, then one day you decide to make the investment again ... Guess what ? Too many Frn's and which one was which ? The gentleman I talked with at CORES said this happens quite often, and sometimes even the commission has been known to mouse up your file and Frn's as well.

I do as well, 40+ years worth in technology and coms. But AI is not something the industry has explored enough with yet, and autonomous learning in certain devices needs to be handled carefully.

That's because you have radios from a vendor who either feels that a) what you got was good enough, b) you don't need to know what was fixed, and/or c) if we deign to provide firmware to you out of the goodness of our hearts and it bricks your radio, tough - buy another one. For a look at what REAL firmware release notes look like, and the sorts of new features that can be provided: vers.pdf

It’s possible that the club license is grandfathered. Since 2017 no new club GMRS licenses have been issued.

that would be an interesting one to look up.. Hmmm Alias name? is that legal?

For GMRS? When did the club get its license?

The meter working was as addition. Before it just indicated it was receiving a signal. No it also shows a basic signal strength.