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I am having a similar problem. My radio is 4 years old and had been flawless until today. I was considering buying a replacement from them for it because I really like it but if this is typical of their customer support, they can pound sand. I will buy a much cheaper radio elsewhere.

A magnet mount mobile antenna on a 9x13 baking sheet or a large pizza pan works well for a temporary setup. Another idea for mounting a base antenna is using a satellite dish mount also commonly called a j mount. I use a few j mounts for my different antennas. They have held up to 50-70 MPH winds just fine. The Antenna Farm has the Comet CA-712EFC for $124 and the Comet CA-GMRS for $80. The CA-712EFC is rated at 9 dBi and the CA-GMRS is rated at 5.5 dBi. There are other brands of antennas available too. I personally would go a little cheaper on the radio and spend my money on LRM400 or equivalent and a good antenna. Just try to avoid the cheap coax from Amazon and eBay.

Playing around today after some severe storms we had yesterday. I've noticed this afternoon, that I am able to TX from the HA1G to the GM-30's no problem, however I am not RXing on the HA1G from the GM-30's. I originally thought the PTT was broken on the GM-30 but I tried a second GM-30 and have the same issue. I've assured there are no privacy tones on either radio. I've also factory reset all three radios and continue to have the same problem.

I have to agree that a VR-N76 is not the radio for someone new to GMRS. I will suggest staying with an actual Part 95 certified GMRS only radio. There are plenty of options depending on how many bells and whistles you want. The Baofeng GMRS radios are cheap and they work. A step up will be one of the Wouxun radios. Some will state that you should not waste your money on cheap Chinese radios and they will suggest business band radios. Again I will suggest sticking with a Part 95 certified GMRS only radio. You can always get something different once you get comfortable with radios.

He lied to you. He lied, right to your face.. That is not a GMRS radio and it is the LAST thing anyone with a brain would recommend to someone "new to GMRS" and looking for a GMRS radio. You should never listen to anything that idiot ever tells you again.

No experience with that radio. That is a HAM radio that appears to be capable of transmitting on GMRS (otherwise may be known as a SHTF radio). It has a boatload of features that cater to HAM's and are not readily understandable on how to use/configure or even what they are for novice radio users. To transmit on GMRS you would have to manually program all the regular GMRS channels/frequencies. (of course adhering to power limits etc for those channels, if you care about conforming to rules). All the GMRS rules/frequencies are baked in on a true GMRS radio. It is also not CHIRP capable which was one of your listed requirements. (Vero N76=Radioddity GA-5WB also not CHIRP capable) More is needed to recommend anything, but just throwing out Mabey a Wouxun KG-805G ? It's a good true GMRS radio, very easy to use. And mid-price range..CHIRP capable. I prefer the 905G as it has a bit better IP rating but it is not CHIRP capable.

thank you for the advise I was talking to someone who dabbles in radio and is pretty knowledgeable in radios. he told me to look into VR-N76 radio pretty easy to use etc. have you heard or know much about them?

Well, all depends on what YOU want in a radio. I take it this is a handheld given your previous '2 pack' purchase, as mobiles/bases are not usually sold in 2-packs. Waterproof/ruggedness? May be useful for hiking. Complex or simple interface? Lots of buttons or just simple channel display? Lots-o-buttons lets you program repeaters on the fly in the field. Simple is well...simple. Other listening bands like HAM/MARINE/MURS etc? SHTF capability/unlock (Tx on bands outside GMRS like HAM/MARINE/MURS etc)? GPS capable? Bluetooth/phone pairing capable? FM Radio capable? NOAA alerts NOAA weather channels USB C Chargable as opposed to cradle only charging emergency light? ...etc..etc..etc.... and the list goes on But I second @SteveShannon 's mention of watching some reviews, notarubicon on youtube ( @OffRoaderX here ) has reviewed every GMRS among a few other radios out there.

Welcome! I haven’t used Chirp lately, but if I were you I would binge watch Notarubicon videos on YouTube. Starting with a Baofeng isn’t a bad idea.

I don’t think Rich gets notified unless something is reported. Everything on the home page works fine for me now and has for a few hours.

Still messed up over here at 14:30EDST. I first noticed the issue this (Saturday) morning about 07:30EDST. A friend reports that he sees nothing on the home page. I did not notify Rich. I thought if a note was made on here he somehow got the word. Problem experienced on my Android using Chrome.

hello guys! new here Reporting in! I'm in the market to look for my first GMRS radio!! exciting I know haha. I got a two pack radio set from amazon about a year ago I got help from a real radio guru he knows his stuff!! super thankful for the help! but he couldn't figure it out ( wasn't CHRIP programmable sadly)so I ended up returning them to amazon and life just happened and never got a new radio since. so here I am in market again! I'm looking for a mid tier GMRS nothing cheap please all comments and advice is welcomed looking for a radio which is as programmable via CHRIP. I am also located in NC and want to start hiking again so why I'm able and willing to pay for okay radio. - WSCC962 OUT

Yes in many ways it buys much more than it used to. The abilities of a modern cell phone as a computer held in your hand are amazing compared to computers in 1974. That computer power of a cell phone was only available to governments and BIG research facilities back then. What a Boafeng HT can do now for less than $50 was easily $300 or more not that long ago.

As a very wise-man says in my videos all the time: You snooze, you miss out.

Too bad you missed it. It's a pretty good little repeater.

It’s working now. I didn’t reset my password.

The wife has already started quoting “If you give a mouse a cookie”.

One can place a budget on radio equipment?

Talking about it is legal Grasp you some of that

Here's my little setup. Nothing outrageous, but not necessarily simple. And the approx parts list, some smaller stuff not included.

Sure! On the way out right now, but I'll share what im using for this job. Its easy to do and the tools are very affordable.

All linking is a violation of GMRS regs. That shouldn't be really hard for people to grasp.

The logic of the question was altered by the $100 limit; the logic isn’t truly scalable. I wouldn’t use pvc. It’s too flexible and it gets brittle after exposure for several years. There are chimney mounts that strap to chimneys and support a metal mast or even a fiberglass or carbon fiber mast (fiberglass is perfectly adequate and non-conductive). A decent base antenna will work well in that kind of installation.

I really appreciate all the informed responses! The truth is that I can afford more, but the logic of the question was really the crux. After doing some more measurements, my cable run is likely to be considerably longer than I had originally expected, so I’ll probably go LMR400. My chimney has a metal top that I’m considering a mag base for, but I’d have to pull It down if I ever (extremely rarely) wanted to use the fireplace. I see the other option as a long piece of pvc tube with some guy wires, but that doesn’t get nearly as tall as my second story chimney. I’m pretty sure that standing at the closest upstairs window to Dallas that I’m already hitting repeaters close to downtown with the longer (included in the GM30 plus kit) whip, so I’m betting that I’ll be ok no matter what.