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At a rocket launch on the Black Rock desert I picked up enough leaded solder to last my lifetime. Some very fine stuff and some that’s about two times as big that’s multicore with rosin flux. And it’s all smaller than the old “Radio TV” solder that I still have. The smallest stuff is perfect for fine pitch SMT.

What? They make a .500 in something other than Nitro Express? When did that happen?

"Some people" seem to read between the lines too much, and miss the bigger picture....

What part is false/what are they claiming? When I look them up they just say they are H.A.M.s radios..

Thank you for the explanation helps out a lot. Sadly seems like a lot of these radios are being falsely advertised on Amazon. No shock there I guess.

Thank you for the clarification

If it aint as big as my pinky finger, it aint for me..... .500 S&W or nuthin....

The GMRS version of the 5RM series is the UV-5G Plus. Type-approval aside, the 5RM variants (with the exception of the UV-5G Plus) cannot be set to power levels below about 2w. That makes them incapable of meeting the technical requirements for operating on GMRS/FRS channels 8-14, since those channels are supposed to be constrained to 0.5w or less. Aside from that they can be correctly configured for 1-7 and 15-22, though they would still not be type-approved, so still in violation of the FCC rules, which not even the FCC has enforced against individuals historically. It would be impossible to distinguish a 5RM series configured technically correctly on channels 1-7 and 15-22 from a UV-5G Plus. Nobody could tell the difference. And on 8-14 it would be hard to know, though transmitting at 2w when you're supposed to stay under 0.5w is more likely to interfere with nearby repeater mains, so not a good practice.

... Baofeng made in the United States

Did you check the manual to see if that flashing pattern means anything specific?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Midland Ghost antenna based on ACTUAL TESTS AND DATA that I have done (not based on "Some People's" opinion).. However as others have posted, the Ghost antenna form-factor may not be the best choice, but if you use it, it will perform fine as long as its not blocked/surrounded by any metal.

Ahhhh.... the administrative state that makes up rules and regulations and enforces by being judge, jury, prosecutor along with fee collector.

Is a 5rm a GMRS legal radio ? : No - the 5RM is a H.A.M.s radios what’s the difference between a uv-5rm. And a 5rm: a UV-5RM and 5RM are the same thing. I assume you are asking about the 5RM vs the AR-5RM - the 5RM is locked and the AR-5RM is not locked. If my assumption was wrong, please elaborate.

Is a 5rm a GMRS legal radio ?.. what’s the difference between a uv-5rm. And a 5rm. Seems like 5rm comes unlocked Right out of the box…new to the GMRS world. Amy help would be appreciated thank u

Tinted windows can be an issue depending on the composition of the tint. In my opinion, unless the glass is clear without tint I won't recommend using them. It's NMO and a 3//4" hole or nothing.

Official response (won't say answer) is expected tomorrow. I did not phrase the question the same as the title of this topic, but it should be good enough to settle it if they provide real answers (if they just quote the regs we'll gain nothing). Unfortunately this is not the environment for sharing real information so I do not know if or where I would share it.

Pretty much how it is here. Of course since it's mostly me and mine, how can it not be? Other than a small group of friends nearby that I talk with occasionally at home, I don't use GMRS unless I'm out of town up where there's no cell service.

I hate the new lead-free solder with the water soluble flux. The joints seems to always look like a cold soldered ones, and the flux doesn't work nowhere near as good as the rosin type. When I'm out at a swap and need solder I look for the old stuff.

All well said. My personal beliefs are if you are not proficient in soldering you shouldn't be a radio tech. Sure, soldering is only a small part of radio repair, but if I make a diagnosis and have to send the radio to the "soldering department" and wait till it comes back, the hell with that. With my eyesight diminishing due to age, I still can work SMT under magnification, but it gets challenging. And I refuse to use anything other than Kester leaded solder. And screw fumes hood. Nothing more satisfying than the smell of rosin and lead.

Is a 1911 in any caliber other than 45 considered blasphemy? Sorry I couldn't resist. I'm not a fan of linked GMRS repeaters, mainly because there are only 8 repeater channels. And I won't argue about fixed stations versus base stations. That can be interpreted 100 different ways by 10 people depending on the day of the week. Always get an official response when dealing with any federal agency, NEVER trust an opinion given by word of mouth. The FCC is no different than the ATF when asking for opinions of the legality of something. You can ask the same person the same question and get different answers depending on the day of the week.

Although I've never really used it, my repeater is set up to remotely disable/enable and i can even send the commands via my cell phone.

True, but the repeater isn't anywhere near me and it's in a city I'm not likely to go to, so I just deleted it from my radio. Leaving off the Rx tone would be a viable option in Oklahoma, but perhaps not in southern California. We don't get enough GMRS traffic here to create a headache.

This is one more thing I didn't know. If a person's radio didn't support cross-mode tones they could always just the leave RX tone off. They would receive all traffic on that frequency in range but that probably isn't too big of a deal. I, too, avoid Goober Operated Repeaters. There is one GOR in an area I travel occasionally, that after seeing the clues, decided it would be to my benefit not to use the repeater.

SWR isn't really a big deal with HTs because they're not putting out much RF energy. The radio can stand a high SWR without damage. It may get a little warm, but that's about it. If the radio was getting warmer than I thought normal, I'd throw away the antenna and use a different one, but so far, that hasn't happened. Most mobile/base units have a circuit to disable transmit if the SWR is too high. A notable exception is the Anysecu WP-9900. Keying up for even a few seconds on an antenna with an SWR higher than about 4.0:1 will turn your radio into a paperweight. I really like the concept of the WP-9900, I just wish they'd address some of its shortcomings. But for $89, I guess you can't expect too much.

I got some solder that really wasn't solder. I am pretty experienced in the work and I couldn't get this crap to flow out. I thought it was me until I got my old roll of Radio Shack solder out and fixed up the joint in seconds. The new solder came with my new soldering iron. 1st time I had one you could set the temp on the iron. And then I had that issue, wasn't sure what was going on until I read more reviews and they said just throw the solder out that comes with it. So I did, and I agreed with them.