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I'll check out Ham Study.org. Much appreciated.

Thank you all for the information. Makes life easier... until the next blunder Any recommendations on other radios with the same or better capabilities... not just GMRS? Thanks

I can ask my wife to stop hitting cars in parking lots, but she doesn't need to respond or stop doing it. So, I guess I don't consider asking you to stop an "enforcement action" . But yes, your right, he was issued an NOUO (notice of unlicensed operation) asking him to stop. Before that he was left a notice of interference on his car windshield by the agent. And has a history of this type of action, which he did nothing about and never paid the fine in that case either.

but its the truth. Honestly, i'm surrounded by them.....

Well now you're just being mean!

You forgot that BEFORE that, in almost all (99%?) cases they first send a nasty letter asking you to stop. You also left out that his current NAL details his previous 1999 NAL ("fine") and states that he has still never paid that one.

I can vouch.. 'Tumbleweed' Sucks.

You shouldn't post his callsign because now people can very easily go to this link: FCC License Lookup for WRXP381 and see his full name and address via the publicly available FCC license information. But maybe he wont mind because we know he read all the rules and regulations before he signed up for his license - because that's the number-one stupid thing he obsessively repeats in his posts. So he obviously knows all of his information is free for anyone to look up.

The current FCC enforcement process is they issue a initial notice called an NAL (notice of apparent liability) which lists what you've done wrong and usually includes a proposed, proposed, penalty (called a proposed forfeiture) which is usually a fine but could be take your crap down, stop doing something or hand over your equipment, but all proposed. The target can contest the issue or do nothing, if the target does nothing, the FCC can issue a Forfeiture notice which is in the form of 'you need to pay the fine listed' or hand over your stuff or stop doing whatever your doing or whatever they had decreed . The target can continue to do nothing, and all the FCC can do at that point is turn it over to the DOJ for "collection" which must happen thru a US district court. This usually takes the form of the DOJ issues a pay up notice you appear before a judge and come to an agreement. In rare cases, usually involving big companies, like AT&T, Comcast...etc...you can opt for a jury trial. In the majority of the notices turned over to the DOJ from the FCC, the DOJ does nothing due to lack of resources. They usually only go after the big boy companies or big dollar fines so they can make an example/get news coverage and hopefully detour others. In the case of the original posters PDF, that is a forfeiture order, so after Leon got his NAL, which it says was May30th, 2023, so 2 years ago, and did nothing. And will probably continue to do nothing. The FCC's order says Leon needs to pay up within 30 days, the reality is, they will probably wait 2 years, turn it over to the DOJ, and nothing will happen.

Will you notice a difference in the antennas? At normal effective GMRS fars, probably not. Going for super extended mountain top to mountain top with antennas out of polarization angle agreement, yes.

So the antennas you’re looking at are ground plane antennas. Not to be confused with chassis ground. The radio will work great. The mxta is a great antenna. But needs 12-18” of steel or aluminum around it. Now some people will tell you it will work but it’s like neutering your set up. Why spend money on a good antenna just to neuter it. I know midland shows it in a lip mount but it is not a lip mount antenna. That’s why I don’t like advertising. If you actually ask midland they will tell you it needs a ground plane. The best possible way to mount any ground plane antenna is in the center of your roof with an nmo through mount or a mag mount if you don’t want to drill a whole. I saw get the highest gain antenna you can afford/fit for height. I started with a cheap mag mount ut72. Worked great. As they aged I stepped up to the midland 26 made a huge difference. As those aged out we went to the comet2x4. Those made an even bigger difference. We now run 5 trucks with the 2x4, one older truck with the ut72 and a 25w b tech. And one of my hands is still running the 26 with a 50w. They all get about the same distance in the 100mile range in the open. To the guys that don’t like facts and real world every day experiences, and you like to spend other people’s money by making them feel bad they don’t have a cruddy kg1000…. Kick rocks. I use my radios more than all of you combined and I’ve had them all.

I think the stuff that he gets right is either because he got lucky and said the right thing by mistake, or he researched the hell out of it and somewhat properly regurgitate what he read, but doesn't actually "know" what he is talking about. I think this, because right after he says something correct, he will follow-up with an explanation of why he right, but that explanation defies physics. Imagine if I said that during certain conditions, if we shoot a GMRS single dang near straight up in the air, it comes back to earth and covers hundreds of miles in every direction. But then, instead of saying that it happens because signals can bounce off of planes, meteor showers, the moon or (more often than not) random weather anomalies... I say it's because the radio signal is so heavy, it's like launching a watermelon out of a giant slingshot. Its kind of like that.

Either works, but CHIRP is much simpler. In Extra Settings->Frequency Limits match the TX to the RX and .... you have a full SHTF radio, including MURS & GMRS among others, but as others mention, it's now up to you to be compliant with the rules/power limits etc.

the odds the FCC will go after people specifically for using non-certified radios is very very slim. One would have a better chance of winning 10 Lotteries. For those that program their non-compliant radios to the exact specs for a given frequency per fcc rules, it would be impossible for the FCC to even enforce it. Now to the idiots that prgram their radios to 40 watts in the FRS band. Go get em'

That’s exactly right. I tried hard to give @Socalgmrs his due. I even upvoted a few of his posts after others piled on just because it was him, wanting him to settle in and realize he didn’t have to act like that, but after the past few years where he has steadily gotten worse rather than better I realized that nothing I did was going to change for the better. It helps to understand that he was a member here under the name wrxp381 (his call sign), then changed his username to SocalGMRS, quit the forums, had all of his identifiable posts changed to come from username “guest”, and then came back as socalgmrs again to act exactly the same way he did before or worse. As Randy said, others will provide whatever good information that he might have injected into a conversation. You’ll literally miss nothing by adding him to your ignore list.

Best wishes as you go through ham licensing. HamStudy.org makes it easy and enjoyable and free if you like online learning. One of the things you might learn within a couple years of becoming a ham is that one radio isn’t enough. You might even find that the radios you have unlocked, thinking they could do it all, really aren’t enjoyable to use on those unlocked frequencies when compared to a radio certified for those frequencies.

DOSW, I forgot to mention that I don’t use ch 1-14, only 15-22. So this 980P should work just fine. It will be replacing the Anytone AT 5888UV which is brand new… with issues. I’ve had it for a month. It was working just fine, but started having problems with it yesterday. It would power off immediately after turning it on.

That’s exactly how I feel also. A fine for using a radio that hasn’t been certified for a particular service will be a secondary charge and will only accompany much more severe primary charges, such as intentionally interfering with government agency’s communications.

DOSW, thanks for your reply. I missed the 2w limitation in the original post for MURS. I’m hesitant to purchase the KG-1000 plus as I’m in the process of getting licensed for HAM and I’d like a radio that can do GMRS as well… like the KG 980p. I was just curious about expanding the frequency range or “unlocking” it. Looks like I’ll just copy and paste my CHIRP settings and hope for the best

You might also consider a GMRS radio with all the controls in the handset like the BTech GMRS-20V2, the Retevis RA86, or the Midland MXT275. A controls-in-the-handset unit is even more space-efficient than a detachable-faceplate radio and it's easy to find a place to hang the mic. The KT-9900 GMRS is the same radio as the BTech GMRS-20V2 and is the GMRS version of the Anysecu WP-9900 and the KT-9900. I have the WP-9900 and it's a decent unit.

The Anysecu WP-9900 (aka KT-9900) is such a radio. I have one, and I like it for what it is. It is an inexpensive Chinese radio, but it will do what it claims. Mine does a legit 25 watts on VHF and 20 watts on UHF/GMRS. The receive sensitivity is good and I've never had any complaints about the transmit audio. The audio of the speaker mic is so-so and adjusting the volume on the fly is a major PITA. Mine doesn't like a standard CB-type remote speaker; for some reason, the radio turns off when the speaker comes on, but even if it worked, you still have the issue of adjusting the volume. I added a pair of small USB-powered speakers with a volume knob, and it works great. One thing I learned the hard way is that you have to carefully check the SWR of your antenna. If you key up on an antenna with an SWR higher than about 3.5:1, you'll burn out the finals in a matter of seconds. Is it what I'd call a great radio? No. But it's good enough that when I burned one out, I bought another one. As far as I can determine, it's the only ham radio with that form factor, so for the price, I like it okay. I'd rather have one with the same form factor made by one of the Japanese manufacturers or at least by AnyTone or TYT, but there aren't any. There are a couple of options in that form factor for CB and GMRS radios, but the major manufacturers of ham radios seem completely uninterested. Given the space constraints of modern vehicles, I think they'd sell like hotcakes, but maybe I'm wrong. It does seem to me that a lot of (most?) hams like the aesthetic of a whole bunch of radios visible in the vehicle, so maybe it wouldn't be as popular as I think.

You could be right, and it may come to that. We'll see.

We may both be right; it may have to do with the type of operations they conduct at that base. Just an educated guess, but I spent 14 years in the Air Force.

NMO Bracket and Mount https://theantennafarm.com/shop-by-categories/nmo-vehicle-specific-mounts/3663-avalanche-silverado-classic-2003-2007-detail Chevrolet Avalanche (2004-2006) Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 2500, 3500 (2003-2006) Chevrolet Silverado Classic (2007)

If you're looking for a trunk lip mount this is the best one on the market and comes with everything you need. And the Midland antenna will work perfectly with the Comet mount. https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/cma-cp-5nmo