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@nokones he did state that he enabled USB programming. Unless the radio is defective then the problem most likely lies either with a bad USB cable, with the computer and/or not selecting the correct communication port number. @WRXJ624 The easiest way to determine the com port number in Windows is to open up Device Manager. Then plug the USB cable into the computer and radio to see what new com port shows up. Once you know the port number, make sure to select the correct port number in the Midland programming software. Another issue might be that the programming software did not install correctly and may need to be uninstalled and then reinstalled. This doesn't happen veery often so I would double check what com port number is showing up in Device Manager and/or try a different USB cable.

Yeah, hams are fun when they end up with commercial radios. It is technically legal to program ham stuff in a Part 90 radio since they can basically use anything for a radio that will work on the frequency band they are allocated. For a long time they wouldn't program anything ham into radios at my shop. Then they figured they would have me do it since I was a ham. I wrote a 1 page agreement and instruction sheet for getting a commercial radio programmed with ham stuff. It basically stated that the owner was required to provide a spreadsheet with the column's that were laid out for TX and RX frequencies, TX and RX PL/DPL tones, channel alias, a column for channels in the scan list for the zone, high and low power and a couple other things. Then if they wanted anything commercial with transmit, they would need an MOU on letterhead from the person listed on the license or a chief or high ranking official with the agency or department that owned the frequency. The MOU's and the channel lineup would be kept on file and if a programming discrepancy was noticed that the sheet would be checked against what was in the radio. If it matched what was provided, they would need to pay to get it changed. We weren't going to be researching PL /DPL, TX frequencies or any of that. What was on the sheet was going in the radio. IF the sheet was wrong, the radio would be wrong. It set a price for a single zone with 16 to 20 channels. If multiple zones were requested, and it explained how to create the spreadsheet for that, it would be done on an hourly rate with one hour minimum. Which was at that time 130 an hour. I had a copy of it laminated and put at the front desk for the greeter / customer service person to have them read when they came through the door. It also had the contact info for the state agency that was in control of the state radio system and that they would need to get a radio ID from them and an MOU for the talkgroups they wanted if they were requesting access to the state wide trunked system. I already knew that they wouldn't issue ID's to private citizens directly and that some agency that was on the system would need to sponsor them to have a radio on the system, so that wasn't gonna happen. But when you establish a policy, and put price tags to it. It stops them cold. Oh, and we charged $500 for codeplug creation for a state wide system subscriber. Which is what we charged everyone else. Most of them would leave in a huff, a few would do it, and we were happy to have their money and their understanding of what they were going to get for it. I finally decided we weren't going to do anything with the ham DMR stuff or it would be strictly hourly rate to program with a 2 hour minimum. Because DMR on commercial radios when they want a bunch of group calls and crap takes a LOT of time to create. And the codeplug was a one off. What one guy wanted in his radio wasn't going to be in 100 radios, just his. The next guy would want different stuff in different places and it was all a big PITA so they were going to pay for it. And we didn't and don't program ham radios, if it didn't say Motorola on it, we weren't touching it.

here in Califailure, HAMS play on both and when they play on GMRS it's very easy to pick them out.. The Alpha freaks

Some pople can't figure that out

hey silly. i think most people can figure out what i mean...

I agree

This is exactly correct. It doesn’t matter which of the GMRS/FRS channels 1-22 you’re on; if you’re using a GMRS radio you’re required to be operating with a license. If you’re using an FRS radio you do not need a license.

You are incorrect. The FCC rules list them as part of the allocated GMRS frequencies, although the power and bandwidth restrictions are the same as for FRS. I understand that to mean that if you are using a Part 95-accepted radio to transmit on those channels, a license is still required.

Wide bandwidth is authorized for GMRS users on 1-7 and 15-22 per FCC rules.

Regardless, even if Channels 8-14 are factory default channels in a GMRS Part 95 Type-Accepted handheld radios and only transmit at a half-watt ERP, they are still FRS only channels and not GMRS channels, and by rule do not require a license to operate on those channels. This is not a matter that is typically, normally, or in general, by rule it is "mandatory" only channels 8-14 can only be programmed in a Handheld Radio. In all Part 95 Type-Accepted radios, the radio firmware will prevent any radio from being programmed with channels 8-14 unless it is a handheld and able to regulate the RF output power to a half-watt ERP, and more than likely equipped with a fixed antenna that cannot not be removed.

I have a couple of HTs that output 0.5 watt or less on the low power setting. On the others, I block transmission on 8-14, but I usually monitor them.

I don't disagree, but I'm not sure where the lies and misinformation statement comes from. There are regulations on the books that restrict the stuff we are talking about. The FCC choosing to ignore the enforcement of those rules doesn't void them. And there are things that many of us do that violate those rules. The big one is running channels 14-22 wither wide band of in a radio that will not turn down to the legal power level. Then there are the guys with high power XTL's and such that don't turn their power down, running 100 watts on GMRS, either simplex or through a repeater. Hell, I will admit to the fact my one GMRS repeater is putting 75 watts out the back of it. Mind you it's going into a high loss transmit combiner, and that 75 in results in 18 out the other side. But it matches the receive very well at that level so I don't talk out farther than I can hear with mobile coverage. Portables can hear it farther than they can talk back to it, but that's a 10dB difference in power output causing that. And since it says NO LINKING I can't even add receive sites to equalize the portable coverage at this point. And again to your statement, who would know or care if I put up satellite receivers that were linked and voted back to the transmitter. The point is there are rules. You should at least TRY to follow them. Even if others don't.

I think most hams who also have GMRS licenses have amateur and GMRS frequencies on the same radio. It's so much more convenient than carrying two radios...I've heard... Regardless of the radio used, I'm a proponent of sticking to the authorized power levels and bandwidths because I don't want to interfere with someone else's enjoyment of the airwaves.

@OffRoaderX this may be a dumb question, but would the MXT575 work in the MXPW500? I would think so, but didn't hear you mention in your youtube video.

Nope. If you have a GMRS radio, typically only HTs, that will do 1/2 watt, then it's allowed. But I agree in a practical sense, it's better to not use those channels. § 95.563 FRS channels. The FRS is allotted 22 channels, each having a channel bandwidth of 12.5 kHz. All of the FRS channels are also allotted to the General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) on a shared basis.

Did you activate/enabled/turn-on the USB feature in the radio menu first? I suspect it is not a PC issue, but a radio feature in the menu that hasn't been enabled to turn on the radio USB port as a programming port in the radio. If you don't make the radio USB port a programming port than it is only an USB charging port.

Channels 1-7 and 15-22 are both FRS and GMRS. Channels 8-14 are FRS only. Most of the Hams I know will not play on Ham freqs anymore. Some of them have their General or Extra license. They play on GMRS because that is where the Cool Radio Dorks play and hangout. I was told by my Ham friends that most of the Hams are very different, uppy up, snoobish, and cannot connect with other Hams very well, and getting into Ham was not what they expected and no longer will play on Amateur radio, and more than likely will just let their Ham license expire.

Anyone in the Savannah GA area that can check my GMRS SWR/Power with the proper meter for my Radioddity DB-25G radio. Please let me know.

Found this.

FRS and GMRS frequencies are the same.. If their radio is tuned into GMRS, it is tuned into FRS..

I’ll wait.

Someone please tell him.....

100% of my HAM friends have their 'HAM' radios tuned into GMRS . And i would say most or maybe all of them have their radios programed to FCC required specs.. i.e. power levels, bandwidth, frequency etc. None that i know of have FRS programed into their radios. I wold be willing to bet ya a 'Silver Dollar' that most hams in this country do the same. Most just don't talke about it.

if you can get into it, you can.. thats the hard part. There are lots of guys in the Linux family that love doing that stuff. In fact in the late 90's before AutoCad allowed 'Add-Ons' guys were tweaking its code do to a lot of stuff.. I used many of the tweaks they invented at work all the time.. In fact we used Bentley Cad for the most part and there was a guy in Atlanta in my industry that was changing the Bentley Cad code to add a whole host of nice tools our industry used. The tools he was creating got very popular so he started a compnay called Focus 1 and started selling his version along with a licensed paid for copy of the Bentley software. it was actually a copy of Bentley with his code changes. . Eventually, Bentley caught on to what he was doing and sued Focus 1.. The guy ended up forfeiting his version of code to Bentley and since Bentley has been marketing those tools as Bentley Comms. Our compnay had 8 seats from this guy with a huge investment in them.. We ended up going to AutoCad, when Bentley started to hardball us on purchasing their new versions without discounts... I dont't think many left are using Bentley.

Ok, maybe I'm doing a poor job of communicating this..... so, lets start over. 1. Yes, I agree that IT is not radio... However I was a General class HAM operator for many years before I got out. Granted that was 20+ years ago and things were a whole lot different. Hell, I'm from the days of working alongside my dad swapping physical crystals into radios to get new frequencies. (I'm over 70) 2. I have stated that the hardware and firmware versions are identical (and the most current versions according to Tidradio website) on both radios. I never performed any firmware upgrades. I only programmed some additional channels and made some button changes (using ODMaster). 3. As for programming each of the 41 items in the radio setting menu, I used parts 1 and 2 of this video series from Youtube to manually adjust each radio setting. 4. I have attempted the PTT/*/power on process on both radios without success. I hope this makes things a little clearer. I just read on another forum that there are 2 different models of the H3 plus? One can change modes using the process described above. The other is GMRS only. Interestingly, when I connect to these radios via ODMaster, it will only read from the radio if I connect using the TD-H3 GMRS setting. Could this be the issue all along? Could it be that I am following instructions that were meant for the regular H3's that do not apply the H3 Plus GMRS only radio? Thanks for trying to help me I know this isn't exactly the perfect medium to try and convey what's going on. A phone or video call would probably work much better.