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We might think the same, however our approaches are vastly different. I do not believe in charging into a conversation then act like my Dipole is the largest in the room, and there is more then enough room to have people disagree with me. I find people are more open to talking with honey, not talking with vinager. Well this is where I will disagree on your opinion, solely based on if the check-in net is tolerant to people just learning how it is done, then this could be a secondary tool in the tool box for when a natural disaster occurs. As I wear three hats (CB'er since the 90's, GMRS, and Amateur Radio) I am very interested to know what antenna's are being used, and how far propagation wise one could reach. Can you please specify "trying to use it like ham" for me. There is a multitude of ways I can take this, however I want to be clear in how you meant it. I will state a overall impression which is you are stating the GMRUS is trying to be authoritative, yet it appears you are doing the same. Why become that which you have issues with?

In my experience, the purpose and use cases for 2 meter/70 cm is exactly the same as GMRS, except that with GMRS the entire extended family can talk and no technician test is involved. People use handheld radios to talk to each other, sometimes while doing something else.

I don't follow. As far as I can tell, the vast majority of GMRS users *aren't* hams...

Welcome to the forum. Yes, if you didn't see/feel those red flags, you would be like the majority of the public. I believe we are mostly thinking alike but I do want to make a couple of points. GMRS is already being turned into ham, with check-in nets and bragging about how far away they are using an antenna in a tree, etc. There is currently nothing being done and no way available to us to correct this. The group's wording emphasizes education. That might help people that don't know how to program and use their radios. But to put it simply, that won't work for the biggest problems. The regs are freely available to read (carefully to get the meaning). However, the guys (and some gals I guess) who are trying to use it like ham don't care because they can get away with doing what they want. I don't see anything in this group's plans that will fix that. Only FCC can punish rule breakers and they (FCC) are aren't even trying. SeaScholar says this is a club and he didn't need permission or even discussion to start it. Well, it isn't just a club in the normal sense. It's a national organization that wants at least influence, if not control, over the service*. (If there's no control/authority, then where is any real value?) With how other national organizations have behaved, it is appropriate for us to be concerned over any such "club". Even though I am not going to join, it definitely could affect my use of the service. And my 35 bucks got me the same license he or anyone else has. So, as was my first reaction, I still feel who put him in charge. *I don't like calling it a hobby, it can be if you make it that, but it's foremost a form of communication used like a tool. And to me, that applies to ham too, despite the guys who make using it a hobby.

I mean, given how aggressive and rude all your posts *here* are, I assume they ignore you because they want nothing to do with you. Maybe someone with manners and a good attitude would do better? I'm sure they couldn't do worse...

It's surprising how far you can communicate with a good line of sight. My personal best HT-to-HT is 22 miles, but we were both on elevated terrain features with apparently little or nothing between us. In Alaska, I had a cabin in a remote riverside location accessible (barely) with a 4WD vehicle. There was a lodge 12 miles away on a mountain that had phone service, and they monitored (as far as I could tell) every radio service known to man. When I got there, I'd flip on my repeater and check in with them. I couldn't directly communicate with an HT because of the trees, but by running an antenna into a tall tree, I could reach the repeater and thence the lodge from any reasonable distance with my HT. On the other side of the valley, some 60+ miles away, people on another mountaintop could talk to the lodge easily with an HT. I don't know how far a UHF signal has to go before it begins to degrade just due to distance, but it's a long way. Theoretically, it would be readable forever, but a radio wave isn't perfectly coherent. It will eventually begin to spread and scatter from things as minor as water vapor or dust in the air.

I am getting the same error under Windows 11. I had to do many times to install the Silicon Labs driver because 11 kept rejecting the driver (it was straigtforward uner Windows 10). Afterwards, the KG935G programming software gave me the debugging assertion error listed above when I assigned the port (COM5). I did an "ignore" and the software seems to read from the radio ok. Of course, I would rather not have the error. These errors did not occur under Windows 10. WRYF584/K7YFM

It's not the cables so much as the different chargers for my various Part 90 Icom LMR h-t's I have to admit, I was lucky when I purchased my 1st Alinco Part 90 h-t years ago [DJ-MD40], it was on sale, & included the cable I don't use DMR, but I'm glad that my Alinco DJ-MD5 uses a standard micro-USB cable I don't remember if one was included or not

Just a note on DMR encryption. This thread on another forum might be of interest. https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/official-standards-documents-for-dmr-encryption.399358/ I think the only encryption that fairly interoperable between manufacturers is ARC4 (RC4) 40 bit. Some DMR radios don’t offer AES or DES levels. I do have a few Motorola XPR650’s with RC4, https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/261-motorola-xpr6550jpeg/?context=new and I have it added to my Kenwood NX-1300’s. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/290-nx-1300duk5/?context=new They go by different names but are the same thing. Motorola calls theirs "Enhanced Privacy" and Kenwood calls it " Enhanced Encryption" or "RC4". I believe Hytera radios use it as well. https://www.hytera.us/resources/what-is-two-way-radio-encryption/ Then the Anytone D878UV's have RC4, AES and their own spin that only works with their radios. This is an interesting topic and could use it's own thread.

i think you are right.. Couldn't play tonight, my friend with the other radio got drug out to dinner by wify.. ... will try tommorow.. I just found out the one i bought (from RadioDitty) came with a European Charger... Been charging it on my labtop cord and had to dig into the factory unit tonight. One more surprise

Here is the line of sight tool. I know that area. That is a good reach for sure.

Not only that, but I also misread your post.

I am going to toss my low watt transmission into the fray here. I have read what was said here about this GRMSU group plan, and I for one cannot really get behind the idea due to the conflicting information that was presented as there are plenty of red flags going up. The reason being and I am sure it is not the group owners intention however the whole thing comes off as a thinly disguised attempt to control the masses on what radios they use, how they use the frequencies, etc. The reason why I say I personally have read flags is due to either the rather ambiguous statements, which you will not clarify or the multitude of contradictory statements. I will now take the time to demonstrate what I mean: 1) "GMRUS was created to be a community-focused advocacy and education group" My question becomes (as will all "advocacy and education" groups) what are your plans should questions, concerns or complaints arise from those within or even about your group? Do you have plans for an oversight committee or shall you have the owner have final say? What are your contents of infractions? How do you plan to carry out disciplinary actions to those incurring those infractions? How do you plan to make those incurring infractions public? Falsely flagging John Doe's GMRS' license because he said something you do not like, or using a radio you do not like is not going to cut it. 2) "to create a supportive and educational community for GMRS and education groups and FRS users, empowering them with the knowledge and skills to effectively use these services." I am rather confused. How can you say the above, then in the very next sentence state "growing community of radio users who are drawn to the simplicity and accessibility of GMRS and FRS". So which statement is true? Does GMRS have a simplicity and accessibility, where anyone can gain a free FRN, then pay $35 (current year prices), grab a radio and go? Or is GMRS something that needs to be studied for and then taught (by you of course)? I cannot help but get the impression you want to turn GMRS into other radio services, which by your own words do indeed cement that impression. 3) "We are not seeking any authority over the service" This is yet another conflicting statement. You claim you are not seeking authority over the service then you state (and I quote): "Our core mission is the exact opposite. We believe that education is the best tool to combat misuse of the airwaves. By providing accessible training on proper radio etiquette, programming, and emergency protocols, we aim to elevate the standard of operation and make the GMRS experience better for everyone. An educated operator is a responsible operator". Followed by "a modest membership fee is about sustainability for a non-profit organization. Any funds collected would go directly toward operational costs like hosting a website, developing training materials, and covering insurance for events" These very statements are indeed seeing yourself trying to seek authority over the service. 4) "We have immense respect for the HAM community, but we also recognize that GMRS serves a considerably different and equally valid purpose" Another contradictory statement. If GMRS was its own entity then why even mention you want the following: training workshops, "Elmer" mentorship for licensing, and community events? You are in truth wanting to turn GMRS into ham radio which I can only imagine is solely based on the fact that GMRS operates in the expanded 70CM Band (462 MHz to 467 MHz). At the end of the day GMRS stands for "General Mobile Radio Service". It does not stand for "Professional Amateur like Radio". What I mean in the situation where I walk down from our house to the lake with my radio on channel 15 (462.55 MHz) and my wife wants to speak to me, we can have a natural conversation, where we are sarcastic or joke with each other. If I happen to fart sounding like the inception sound effect we can laugh about it. There is none of the pomp and circumstance like Ham Radio such as "N0NYA, K3TTY -- John Doe what are the atmospheric conditions like today? (inception sound effect fart heard at the house), sounds like bad weather, should we activate an ARES net?" There are many more statements you have made that I would love to make a comment on, however that would come off as a personal attack, and I would much rather focus on the core of what was said. Granted you can state you should be allowed to have your group, even claim others must see the merit it brings, however you should allow others to be wary, and even either question or want no part of your trying to organize some form of a leading authority for taking that is something inclusionary of all into something exclusionary to only those you deem worthy of using. PS: I have held a Amateur Radio license far longer than I care to admit, and I understand far more than I let on. I do not wave it in people's faces due to the fact that I simply do not care how people behave when it has zero impact on my or my family's lives. That said and to be contradictory myself; I will speak up when I see any form of gatekeeping taking place into a hobby I am passionate about.

thanks for the reply! pretty amazing that a 5w radio can make it up that far. since earth has the whole coverture thing and obstructions, i can see why it might not go as far. from what i can gather, the tower is probably approx. 2k ft elevation and i'm at 100 ft. that image is pretty cool. cant seem to find the site you were using but here's my google map image. there are some hills but no huge mountains (from what i can tell).

I suspect that the error detection on the highest level of encryption is what’s causing the problem. It might be so sensitive to errors (understandably) that at any greater distance the error rate prevents the data from getting through.

Don't try to overcomplicate everything.. It's just good line of sight..

2 dud's. I bought one and won one.. It's really not a bad radio in Analog and DMR.. . I'm gonna figure out whats gong on with the encryption, something buggy there and probley doesn't like the highest level where i have it set..

Well at least you won it, and didn’t have to spend, say, $97 for it!! Sounds like it’s a DMR dud!

thanks for the reply! there isn't a mountain as high as the closer repeater but i'm located in norcal (suburbs) and there are hills, trees and several buildings towards the further repeater; no real line of sight, open fields or deserts. if i'm correct in thinking who you are; love your vids!

@OffRoaderX I'm no expert but your situation sounds like it may be what's called "knife edge diffraction."

thanks for the reply! never hear of tropospheric ducting but after looking it up, it's very possible. supposedly in area Aug & Sept have a higher probably of this happening. i'm not familiar with the linking of repeaters but from my understanding this is considered illegal with gmrs repeater but the repeater is operated by a radio network that has a few repeater near each other; maybe they are linked somehow. my radio tones are set to 162.2 in and out, so no sure how i could hear them on the receive side; that still puzzles me. thanks again for the reply!

Make sure to use a cable with the FTDI chip in it. Also make sure to download and install the correct driver before plugging the cable into the computer.

This and the other thread have the longest posts I've ever seen.

Windows 11

I want really receiving any error messages other than that it could not locate the device on com port 5 yet when I unplugged the cable com 5 would disappear off the device manager. With the apps there weren't any error messages just took forever to get the Bluetooth to connect and then wouldn't do anything... you tap "read" and the radio would say "program..." then go back to the regular screen and the app would show "failed".