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No profit, they just spend that to add more repeaters.. It's so easy on GMRS, evan a cave man can do it..

Haters gonna hate. The same guys hate other hams that use or don't use digital modes etc etc. As I've said before, the majority of active members in our local club are just into 2 way radios and don't care which license, band or transmission mode you are into.

Yah, that's what i thought.. I dont know if the OP as already installed the software, it had a driver issue, so now he's installing the drivers, or if he's just clicking willy-nilly.. When I installed the software the separate driver setup/install was not needed as you eluded to in your previous post. MrSig: Did you install the actual software, and ran into a problem with the drivers, and that is why you are trying to run the Driver Setup program?

The driver on the website is CH341SER.EXE - dated 10/6/2014 within the RAR file if that helps. I'm assuming that's what he is trying to install.

I dont know man, I am not such a petty control freak that i would care about something like that.. jeezus.. go outside and touch some grass.

So if it's "not for profit" do they have do the appropriate tax paperwork?

You can try just installing the software without the driver and it may or may not work. It's basically the driver for the USB to serial cable. Some cheap cables have counterfeit version of the USB to serial CH341 chip built into the cable and require a prolific driver to work. If it is a genuine USB to serial chip built into the cable Windows will autodetect the cable and install the drivers automatically. If it's not a genuine chip or a "cloned chip", Windows will show it as a unknown device. You can try plugging in the cable, bring up Windows device manager and check to see if the drivers installed properly by expanding the "Ports (COM & LPT)" and see if you have any new COM ports listed when you plug in the cable. If device manager detects it as a "prolific chip" with a triangle (triangle means no or bad drivers - Windows see's it as a counterfeit chip) next to it or "unknown device", then you need to figure a way to get the drivers installed. My guess is if they list the driver for download - it's probably a counterfeit/cloned chip and needs it to work but you might get lucky.

One can't charge money or prevent others from using public frequencies. What repeater owners can do is control who uses their repeaters since the repeater owners pay for the repeaters and associated maintenance costs. And repeaters are private property. It is common curtesy to join the local club that owns the area amateur repeater by paying dues it you plan on using it often. While joining and paying dues are not mandatory, most will willingly do so to help with repeater maintenance. Setting up good repeaters is not cheap, and proper maintenance isn't cheap either. While I don't agree with charging for repeater use, paying a minimal membership due that goes towards repeater maintenance is fine.

Charging for its use does not make it "commercially operated".. But, to (i think) answer your and the OP's question, it does not break any rules to charge for the repeater as long as its not "for profit" ..

If that makes you sad, you should set up your own repeater so everyone can use it for free and teach them all a lesson.

For the experts, is it even in accordance with FCC to have a commercially operated repeater?

yup, there a thousands of repeaters set up this way, And yes, they are making money, else they would not invest in dozens of repeaters under one license.. More and more get added each week

Often times there is no benefit to most people. When asked, I generally recommend to never bother with an update unless said update fixes some specific issue that you need to be fixed. "some people" often just blindly apply any update they come across and they sometimes learn the hard way that the risk of permanently brick'ing the radio is high.

Pardon my newbie question. What would the benefit/goal of changing the firmware? I have no intention of doing this. I don't have the experience to even consider it.

What is the name of the Executable file you are running when this happens?

This is what I get. Then when I click install I get.

Still getting when I go to install it "Driver install failure!"

I have Windows 7 not 10 Just rebooted and can not find CH341SER.INF any place on the computer so I will try to down load and in stall again. The program works not hooked to the repeater yet. Thanks for the help guys.

Thanks for that. It seems that some think it is OK to charge money to transmit on public frequencies and others don't.

I live in southeast Michigan. I had my Radioddity G30, hand held out on the back porch to just listen. I listened to two people just 25 miles south of the Mackinaw bridge which is 300+ miles from me. Today I heard two people talking from Indiana, and two others from Cleveland. Are they somehow jumping from repeater to repeater? I'm sure someone has a answer to quell my curiosity. Thanks for helping me understand...

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Just tell the HAMS this is your "First Step" in your radio journey and will be following up with a HAM license. Probably will get all the help you need, or is that false advertising. lol

I see many repeaters listed stating they require a paid subscription. I have questions about this. All licensed GMRS users may transmit on any authorized GMRS frequency using any available tone, providing they are not breaking any FCC regulations. I understand that setting up a repeater requires time and resources (i.e., $$$$), but anyone setting up a GMRS repeater is essentially putting it out in the public domain. Tones are not some super-secret thing. How is charging people money to use public frequencies not illegal?

I hear you. My adult sons take great pleasure in telling me if I forget to be a "normie" and get a little to military. I usually start with, "well at your age I was blah blah blah," as if they care. LOL

LOL - Too Funny........ "30 Super Carry" Was As Successful As The "Sig357" Round - Both Didn't Do Well........ Everyone Has Their Opinion, & As Long As The Gun Goes "Bang" For Your Specific Purpose - All Good For The Intended Purpose.......