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The last time my antenna was tilted like that I was able to bounce my signal off the moon. It was strange that I made it that far as I was only transmitting 100 mW on GMRS.

He's telling me how I can use my repeater on the free airways. Schmuck.

In theory, it will tilt the lobes of the signal to be higher on one side and lower on the other. In practice, it might not matter. The only way to know is to try it and find out. I suspect that unless you're trying for some absurd distance, it won't make a discernible difference.

I was doing some testing on antennas today and decided to use the Midland MXTA 12 mag mount with the MXTA 26 antenna mounted to the roof of a metal garage. As you can see from the photo, it was not parallel to the ground. It was close to a 15-20deg angle. Any thoughts on how much being angled like that might affect performance? Would it be better to one side and worse to the other?

I do, though. Everyone in this thread is henceforth banned from using GMRS. Banned, I say! Edit: ah, dang it.

Thank god you have zero authority over who can or cannot use GMRS. There are many people who use it for many different reasons. Neither you nor I have the authority to say they don’t belong.

a lot of 'want to be' HAMER's practice their phonetic techniques on GMRS.. Pretty easy to follow these guys.. Just listen to WIN and PAPA and you'll know what i mean.

That's pretty much how I feel.

This is the way I do it on both GMRS and ham. I give it in plain old alphabet first and if the other party doesn't understand then I give it again with the NATO phonetic alphabet. However, when someone uses the NATO exclusively, it doesn't bother me a bit.

Like I said I get annoyed by it too. However I can see both sides of the argument. Gmrs radio and amateur radio communications via voice are generally conversational. There's no real need for things like tactical call signs and phonetic alphabet on the day-to-day basis. However there is plenty of opportunity when those things can be beneficial to The Operators. But that's not what annoys me. It's probably not what annoys Randy either, though I won't speak for him personally. What does annoy me is people who say their call sign at the beginning of their transmission and at the end of their transmission and in the middle of their transmission every single time they key up the microphone. We get it. We know who we're talking to. You only need to use your call sign three times in every hour of conversation. We don't need to hear it three times a sentence. And just so we're clear it's not a radio thing. I hate when people use words as fillers because they don't know what else to say. Words similar to "like" or dude, or ah, um, or whatever they use to fill in the silence between thoughts. My therapist says I'm getting much better at it though.

I just say let them do what they want. It hurts no one. If it annoys you maybe you should work on that. It a style, a personality. Now it they start demanding you do the same then maybe it's them with the problem. If this is their "fun" why should they need to stop. Just sitting here now and someone came on with their phonetic call sign just to say they were on the repeater. Not talking to anyone. Didn't bother me.

Thanks! They are for sure still sometimes linked. Detroit and mt. Clemens always is. Cheboygan, Flint, Saginaw always is. Sometimes they will link the two groups but not always. The north group seems to think Detroit is where tomfoolery comes from but we've all seen it from both sides. So they only link the two groups when it can be monitored now.

In My Opinion - The NATO Phonetic Alphabet Should Only Be Used For A Clarification When Necessary On GMRS. It's Really Not Needed For Regular Everyday GMRS Comms.

I agree. Use of the phonetic alphabet important for hams in order to accurately discern call signs for all the reasons you listed. Unlike GMRS logging calls in amateur radio is important. Almost nobody logs calls in GMRS. I would say nobody but there have been a very few people on this forum who have expressed a desire to log calls. But I find it very easy to ignore people using their call signs frequently or using the phonetic alphabet.

@OffRoaderX went far beyond sharing an opinion. I genuinely cannot imagine why anyone would be annoyed by use of the phonetic alphabet unless it's because "some people" think it's a symptom of trying to be a ham in a GMRS community. I think part of the reason hams use the phonetic alphabet so much is that amateur radio is international. It can be pretty hard to understand someone whose first language is not the same as your own, especially the pronunciation of some letters. Just think of how much "B" and "V" sound alike in Spanish. GMRS users almost never talk to someone in another country, so being understood is not as much of a challenge (unless you're in California). Furthermore, shorter wavelengths have higher frequencies, which typically improves clarity in voice signals. Even the difference between 70cm and 2m can sometimes be discernible. If you're playing around on 80 meters, you're going to repeat yourself quite a bit. GMRS, being at the higher end of the spectrum, rarely suffers from poor quality of voice signals. For the most part, if you can punch the signal through, you'll be understood. Simply put, GMRS users don't use the phonetic alphabet because we don't need to. It's easier for me to say "WRTC" than "Whiskey Romeo Tango Charlie", but sometimes I'm going to use the phonetic anyway. I have 33 years of using the phonetic alphabet in uniformed service and I also participate in amateur radio. It happens. I just don't understand why anyone gets their undies in a wad over it.

Hi all! Just got in to GMRS/HAM. Anyone active in here?

Look at the repeater map/database.

Anybody have frequency and codes for keys repeater?

This…if you need a second set of repeater channels. Start slow and learn about setting up repeaters near you using the first set of “repeater channels”. Welcome!!

Everyone does things a little different. Go with what works for you and your repeater.

Only use that option when re-doing the floors in your bathroom or painting the house. Not sure if mowing your lawn counts, but you can give it a try.

I don't have a GM15 Pro, but I found this reddit thread - looks like it's a second set of repeater channels you can set up for different tones.

Ok I'm very much a nubie, but I have a question that might seem dumb but here goes. I have a baofeng GM 15 Pro and I'm going through the menu and came across something called DIY I have no idea what it is or what to do with it. Please help, I think this could be a great hobby and I want to do things write and make some new friends along the way. I thank you all in advance for your time and wisdom. WSYI957,Piggl3t

That's why we have 3 digit IDs that are sequential as you join the group.

Welcome!