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This is one topic that I know that everyone would want to slap me across the head. I used to complain about LEARN. But, I have to admit that there's a lot of intelligent individuals in that organization, which I wouldn't want tarnish the organization by joining. I'm just happy that I change my mind about LEARN. Of course, I wish there .575 repeater that was open for anyone to use, even if the Repeater Owner or Trustee asked for donations. Besides, Repeaters cannot remain on without money

No Problem! I recently was listening, and the LEARN SYSTEM is opened to not just Public Safety Individuals, but a lot of other occupations are joining. I would join, but right now I think I better steer clear of one individual who I won't disclose their name or unit number. I have to say that I done something wrong, which I won't go into details. Nothing Illegal or in violation of FCC R&Rs. Glad to Help again!

This is true. It is also true you have the on-line personality of soiled bedpan.

So Put Up Your Own Repeater On That GMRS Frequency. He Owns The Repeater, Not The Frequency Or Squelch Access Tones. Repeater CWID Is Not A Requirement, Nor Is That Relative. Not Sure Why This Is Such A Big Deal. The Repeater Owners Have Their Option For Allowing Use.

I'm sorry. In the context you intended it was not snarky. I must have been overly sensitive that day.

I usually set A to whatever I want to monitor and B to some frequency that's unlikely to be used. If you have dual watch turned off, at most you'll have an extraneous channel displayed in the B window, but the radio will ignore it.

Yep, they stop just short of saying it doesn't require a ground plane. As @73blazer commented, DX has a good reputation which is why I didn't question their statement. And as 73blazer also observed, it probably does better with a ground plane, but even NGP antennas do that. I might get more farz with a ground plane, but TBH, I doubt it. I think the topography is such that a more efficient antenna wouldn't give me more than I already have. I'm happy with the antenna; I just feel a bit silly recommending it as a NGP when it isn't. I added an edit in my original post.

Yep, point proven. Had he been polite when you urinated in his territory everyone would have been cordial and respected each other before moving on. I have time for idiots like that.

Yes, that rule seems pretty clear, although its existence is kind of a mystery to me. The nearest repeater to me (about 10 miles) is a "private" repeater. A few years ago, I came up on that repeater and asked for a radio check, I just wanted to see if my new HT could make that 10 miles. The owner of that repeater immediately responded and tore me a new one for accessing his repeater. I apologized and stated I was just requesting a radio check and hadn't intended to ruin his day. I haven't accessed that repeater since, due to courtesy; but here is the thing...I have that repeater in my normal scan and that repeater literally has LESS THAN 5 MINUTES OF TRAFFIC on it per year. No recurring repeater ID. Yet this guy is sitting on that public frequency and tone, claiming that he "owns" it. It boggles my mind and makes no sense.

Although Diamond doesn’t specifically say no ground plane, they do declare that the antenna will work nearly anywhere on a vehicle:

Except for the Jeep trails, I thought he was talking about The Villages, FL.

I made an argument on this matter a while back and this is what I got back "It doesn't mean that it is an open repeater you still need permission by the owner of the repeater to use it" I think that remark was kind of strange for the owner to list the repeater as open if that's the case the owner should either post the repeater private or permission use only so it won't confuse other users thinking that they can use the repeater without asking permission for use

There is one eham.net article where one commenter mentions it functions well without a counterpoise/ground plane. DX is a very reputable place, mabey they got their info from somewhere, mabey it's just a plain 'ole mistake? Who knows, But it's working for your setup and that's great! I found this worked great on my RAM 2500 CC roof (with a tri-mag mount) and SWR's with same radio are 1.1-1.3:1 depending on freq in that setup. So it does seem to me it functions much better with a ground plane.

It's working just fine for me. Evidently, I have enough ground plane despite being mounted on the bed rail. DX Engineering described it as a non-ground plane antenna, and I took them at their word. I guess I won't be so trusting of them in the future. A couple of ground plane antennas have worked pretty well in that location. The Comet 2x4 was great on 70cm and GMRS, but had an SWR of 2.0-2.25:1 on 2 meters. The Comet SBB224 has stratospheric SWRs on 2m, 1.25m, 70cm, and GMRS on the passenger side and all below 1.5 on the driver side. Same mount, same coax, same distance. IDK. RF energy does funny stuff. If it hadn't worked, I would have been pretty chapped at DXE for describing it as NGP.

Some more info, someone in shreveport is putting one up soon.

And go ahead and enforce it.

Rules Seem Pretty Clear To Me. 95.1705 Individual licenses required; eligibility; who may operate; cooperative use. (d) Individual licensee duties. The holder of an individual license: (1) Shall determine specifically which individuals, including family members, are allowed to operate (i.e., exercise operational control over) its GMRS station(s) (see paragraph (c) of this section); (2) May allow any person to use (i.e., benefit from the operation of) its GMRS repeater, or alternatively, may limit the use of its GMRS repeater to specific persons; (3) May disallow the use of its GMRS repeater by specific persons as may be necessary to carry out its responsibilities under this section.

Yes, one of the reasons I left So Cal nearly 40 years ago. Too many people in general and a high percentage of those with an exaggerated sense of self-importance. Rural Nor Cal was an enlightening experience for me back then. Friendly people, much less sense of rush. Many neighbors helped us out when we were trying to get established and basically starving. Since then, I have tried to pay it forward. If that means setting up an open repeater on the travel tone, so be it.

Yea that’s a ground plane antenna. Not going to RX or t nearly as good as it could if it had a ground plane.

Interesting. It worked great for me. As you say, maybe there is a little ground plane effect from the bed of the truck. I assumed DX knew what they were talking about. You know what they say about assuming. In any case, it works great for me.

Using HTs, there will be no discernable difference in range for GMRS or amateur frequencies. "

My parents still use a 49MHz cordless phone system in their house. I never looked at what type is was before until just a couple months ago when we switched them from AT&T's rape job $110/mo landline to a $6/mo VOIP service. My dad just got some new batteries for the handsets last year!

Tough crowd, no. Just a lot of selfish and self centered mindsets.

I am seriously considering it. As I stated previously, my location is really not ideal for what I am trying to accomplish but it is worth a go. Tough crowd in this room. I am simply trying to help out my neighbors.