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With the constant migration of police, fire, and business, Land Mobile radio comms to VHF-Hi, UHF, 700 MHz, and 800 MHz, trunked radio systems, VHF Low Band has been fast becoming a deserted wasteland. Surely there is available spectrum between 42 and 50 MHz. Motorola produces little if any Low Band gear, anymore. Kenwood has been a "go-to" for Low Band gear, but I understand their presence in that market may be dwindling with the demand. The military has always had a presence there AFAIK, at least back to the Vietnam era. Surely they don't need the entire 30-50 MHz all the time. I recall during what was the largest manhunt ever in my state, in February of 1974, National Guard APC's and possibly helicopters were operating on 42 MHz Highway Patrol frequencies to coordinate with them. They had frequency-agile gear and it sounded to be transmitting a broader signal than the HP radios, during the manhunt for 3-4 cop killers who murdered a deputy and seriously wounded another, as well as murdered a town police officer the night before. In the early 1980's, I would hear military aircraft doing practice bombing or missile strikes on local telephone microwave towers on 49 MHz. It has been many years since I heard any such activity. I imagine they too, have moved to higher spectrum. The shorter wavelength of these frequencies would allow for easier antenna placement in mobile or portable applications than with CB. It would also allow for better signal peneration into and out of automobiles, as well as brick and stone buildings. A real plus for rural and mountainous areas would be realized through dense foilage as well as "knife-edge" propagation over and around hills and mountains. Such a band would be far better in rural environs than UHF.

One of my H3 GMRS units is now showing no power to the antenna with an SWR meter. This one's been literally sitting in a bin since I tested them all on May 9, so... this is disappointing. If I can't rely on them to work after sitting untouched for a month, I might have to pony up for different units. On the other hand, the cheap Retevis 628 FRS walkie talkies I bought for my oldest kid have been thrown, dunked in the dog's water bowl, chewed on by my toddlers, and gone down the slide, and they still work just fine.

that would be 4 in a row.

You'll get nowhere with that attitude mister.

that would be 3 useless posts. is that really your best?

You sound very angry.

and neither are your two comments. Is that how you got your "grand master" rank, by posing useless replies?

Well that's not very helpful at all.

I ended up going with an install on forward portion of the rear glass. It gets great reception and no complaints so far about my transmissions. Thank you all for the help in figuring out possible problems prior to installation.

You really have to be causing a lot of problems like jamming and/or interfering with others before the FCC will even think about doing anything about it. The flip side of that is the FCC will be more likely to do something if one interferes with or uses public safety bands without authorization. And this is only if the agencies receiving the interference actually push the issue. I can easily tell when someone is using an illegal amp on CB/11m whenever I get close to them while in my car. I start getting interference on my dual band radio when on 2m. And nothing ever gets done about that.

Where would channels fit in the already crowded bandwidth? The US Military still uses 30 MHz through 80 MHz on a regular basis for the frequency hopping SINCGARS radios. Right below the 2m band is the air band and right above the 2m band you get into business and public safety bands. The same goes for trying to expand the GMRS UHF channels/frequencies. GMRS falls right in between 70cm, business and public safety bands.

they told me that they were off for the week-end. do you now approve of me posting a question here or would you have more questions for me?

And that is why I will always recommend a Part 95 certified GMRS radio for those new to radio. As you said, they work right out of the box and are easy to program.

What did BuyTwoWayRadios Support say about this when you contacted them?

Not to mention that a H.A.M.s radios that has been unlocked to transmit on GMRS does not make it a "GMRS radio" .. You will have to do everything - ALL the programming, EVERYTHING manually, yourself.. For many people this is no big deal.. For many others, it is a dealbreaker.. With a real "GMRS Radio", you take it out of the box, turn it on, pick a channel and talk.. not so with a H.A.M.s radios that is made to transmit on GMRS frequencies..

This enforcement has been going on for years - and my prediction is that he never pays a dime.. Just look up this guy's PREVIOUS fine of $14,000 issued by the FCC in 1999.. Which he has still not paid... BUT - you ARE correct.. that is ONE fine.. out of millions of violations every year... You literally have a greater chance of being hit by lighting .. but, it COULD happen... So.. act accordingly...

Sure it’s for 11 meter band (CB), but…. https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-25-456A1.pdf Now you know.

Hi I am trying to program a repeater into my Wouxun KG-Q10G and I use the channel wizard to do so. First, I select "repeater", then, next, RX-FREQ which is 462.650. then the TX-CTCSS (with a tone) TX-DCS (left on "off") then the RX-CTCSS (with the same tone), RX-DCS (left on "off"), TX-POWER, CH-NAME, CH-NUM and the, finally, the SAVE MODE which I select "SAVE END". And everything works perfectly. Until I switch off the radio and then back on. When turned back on, all the setting remain correct except one, the RX-FREQ which drops down from the correct 462.650 down to 462.550! What am I doing wrong? Thank you for any pointers. 73!

The TYT TH-7900 has worked well for me. I also have the AnyTone AT5888UV III which is the tri-band version of the AT5888UV. I like it a bit better than the TYT, but it's slightly more expensive. Either one would serve just fine, IMO. TBH, there aren't a lot of radios with a removable head unit. I've used the TH-7900 with the head unit in a different room from the radio, separated by a 50' cable, and it worked just fine. I haven't tried that with the AnyTone, but it probably would work.

Oh my, mister stickler for the Rules is recommending a 100 Watt radio for GMRS when the power limit is 50 Watts???? I wonder if he actually read the regulations like he tells everyone else to do. And as @OffRoaderX stated, the Wouxun KG-1000G and KG-1000G Plus radios are the only Part 95 certified consumer grade radios with a removable face plate. And they work right out of the box and are easy to program through the radio or with the Wouxun CPS from Buy Two Way Radios. Yes you can buy an amateur band or commercial band radio and open them up to work on GMRS but then you get into the whole Part 95 Certification. And we will leave that argument for another time.

I'm not wishing it on you. I hope you never get it. I'm just saying, don't feel crapped on if it happens.

As far as Ivy, still immune as of last weekend. I'll know about the Oak, sumac and stinging nettles this weekend after we visit the river land...

There's no way to know. It could still happen. I had a patient who got his first outbreak at 84. Before that, I might have thought that at 69 you'd be safe.

Sorry to all forgot GMRS is PMR were I live and yes I have a few cobra and British brand Entel locked on PMR. And Yes just lazy and a busy life.

Well if we don’t care about staying part 95 legit a Motorola mcs2000 trunk mount is about the best you can get. They will last way longer than consumer junk for less money and can take waaay more abuse. And they come in 40w and 100w flavors.