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We had the SINCGARS radios when I was in. They came out shortly after Desert Storm. We were not allowed to use them in Germany at that time since the constant frequency hopping messed with German civilian communications and broadcast stations.

To test @MarkInTampa's hypothesis that maybe the two radio don't understand one another's tones, I changed the setting on the radio from "tone" to "TSQL". If I open the repeater with another radio, the TYT hears it just fine, but it still won't open the repeater.

Well no need for the attitude that you displayed nor was there a reason for name calling. Even the best of us will overlook the simple things when trouble shooting. I won't bother to try to help you ever again since you want to get an attitude, Good luck figuring things out.

I may not sound like a knowledgeable person, but I do my best to keep up. I recently purchased a BTECH UV-PRO, which is a Part 90 equivalent to the GMRS PRO. My first thoughts so far, the radio feels good in my hands. As far as programming it, well it's different than most Amateur Radio HTs and Mobiles. Of course, with Amateur Radio Equipment doesn't really have a Part 97 type acceptance or certification, but that's a different topic. Back to programming, the UV-PRO is similar to the GMRS PRO, which I find as easy as changing the trash liner in one's trash can. The APRS function can be a little bit tricky, but that may just for me. I was able turn on and off APRS, but I still need learn more about to use the full capabilities of the radio. I have to give BTECT an A for an excellent radio that is budget friendly and can be easy to program in a pinch when necessary

Wide band means the channel is 25kHz wide, but the intelligence (speech) occupies 20 kHz of the 25 available.

hey everyone i am visiting family currently and they live about half an hour or so outside of clarksville and no matter what i tune my radio too i get constant static, i have no idea why, it was working back home but here its like something is blocking all signal or something what could cause this? EDIT its something in their house causing, no idea what could do that though

There doesn't seem to be any way to do that, either from the software or from the front of the machine. It only allows a CTCSS tone or a DTCS tone. There's no way to leave it blank. FWIW, it doesn't work with either CTCSS or DTCS.

Hmmm... That's a thought. I'll try that.

Just to be sure I wasn't hallucinating, I tried it again just now with the 7900. Same antenna, same settings, only changing repeaters. It worked just fine with the Retevis but would not open the BTech. Based upon my (admittedly limited) knowledge of how radios work, this shouldn't be possible.

Try disabling tone on the repeater input. At least it will rule out incompatibility of the tone settings between the radio and repeater.

Read the entire post. I tested the TYT radios on a Retevis RT97L with the exact same settings and they worked. I used half a dozen antennas including the ones that worked just fine with the QYT and the AnyTone. Yes, I checked SWRs on all of the antennas and they were all below 2.0:1. Everywhere from my driveway to several miles away. I carried an HT to make sure I had contact with the repeater at the tested distance. No kidding, Sherlock? Of course it should. That's why I'm baffled.

All the Sky Warn Nets (weather reporting) are normally done on local 2m repeaters. That's not to say a local group could not run a Sky Warn Net on GMRS as long as the repeater owner is okay with it and you have people that can report directly to the NWS. We do not use our GMRS repeater for Sky Warn Nets but most of us do monitor it just incase during severe storms. We were asked about running a Sky Warn Net on GMRS but that would take away from our 2m Sky Warn Net as we are only allowed so many people that can actually report directly to the NWS. We don't have enough people that can report to the NWS to run two nets at the same time.

First off. Are the TYT radios that you are trying unlocked for GMRS? I ask because the TH-7800, TH-7900, and TH-9800 are amateur band only from the factory. Which means they won't transmit on GMRS. Next What antenna(s) are you using and have you checked the SWR on them? How far away are you from the repeater the trying to talk with the TYT radios? I have two TH-7800 radios that have been unlocked and they will connect to any and all repeaters I can reach as long as I have the tones correctly programmed. I've talked on BTech, Bridgecom, Motorola Quantar and other brands of GMRS repeaters without any issue. Double check your setting on the radio as it should work no matter what brand of repeater you are using.

Compander = Compression/Expander It's a method to re-constitute your voice after the insignificant audio has been squeezed out of it. Just like concentrated Orange Juice doesn't taste the same as fresh squeezed - Compandered audio isn't the same as the Original audio. For 12.5 narrowband, it was considered a win in the overall audio picture, but you gave up some tonal quality while it did reduce background noise and hiss. In 25 kHz wideband, I never really saw the benefit to using it. It's also a system wide setting, so if only one radio on your channel is using it, all the other units will not hear him clearly & vice/versa. Better to have everyone using the Compander feature, and not all radios offer the feature - and not all radios treat the compandered audio exactly the same during compression/expansion. It can lead to odd sounding audio. I've also seen some radios display a lack of sensitivity at the edge of coverage when using compandered audio. I played around with that a bit in the late 90's with the onset of narrowbanding. the TLDR was: use if it it works, but you're better off to implement it from the start. Migrating a user group over to it was a PITA - especially if they had a mix of radio models.

This is such a wonderfully succinct way of putting the differences in intended (and, often, the actual) use cases of the 2 services.

Well, unlocked what bandwidth options does it give? 12.5 is always narrow, but 25khz is wide in commercial and ham, 20khz in GMRS. splitting hairs I know, but still. I guess the minute it's unlocked it's not legal on gmrs, so if it's out of bandwidth compliance who'll really know/care?

I just thought they could at least provide a link in the app to the forums in the menu (that could take you to the browser / site... but I guess you would have to re-log in again anyway. oh well.

If you are using GMRS to communicate between multiple vehicles in your group, or have any local GMRS repeaters, then using during storm chasing might be useful... but if you are looking for locals reporting on the storms, more likely to find it on HAM frequencies or MAYBE CB -- I would guess.

Recently acquired a GMRS license and mobile radio with the hope of using it as primary coms during storm chases in Upstate SC, down to the Columbia area. So far... crickets. Like, all the time. Zero activity. Anyone here active in west SC/NE GA?

Not the best if you want to use for repeater work, but good enough if you know the frequencies/repeaters beforehand.

Yup. I did use the software to put in tones though. The total number of channels is limited (only 37 total channels including 1-22, FRS & GMRS)

I would say you're right except that they will connect to other GMRS repeaters. They connected to my RT97L without any problem.

Might want to re-read the specs on the TH-9800 & TH-7900. According to their manuals & specifications, they will receive only on 462.550 MHz (320 to 512 MHz) - but will not transmit on that frequency range. (467.550 MHz) Their spec UHF transmit range is 420 to 450 MHz.

Do they then allow for Repeater transmission right out of the box?

Just because it look like it, doesn't mean it is. But in this case I think the cat squished the roof.