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it's kind of funny with GMRS compared to HAM Radio like WIN or PAPA. The later being busy every single day almost every min of the hour.. GMRS on the other hand, at least in my area and places i frequent while camping, has it's cycles. Some days the spectrum is busy as heck and scanning will drive you nuts and other days it's so quite you begin to think your radio is broke. My repeater can go weeks with zero traffic then all of a sudden its a mad house, it sounds like grand central station. There is even a young crowd that come and go on my repeater, every once in a while they get on and zabber having fun then their gone but they always seem to come back. On the HAM side with PAPA and WIN, it's like wait your turn so can can speak. I prefer using GMRS becasue i dont line the pressure of following the HAM zargin. They like things done their way or you can't play, but i respect that.

I haven't paid the RT price, so I don't know what I'm missing there. CHIRP has been adequate for my needs, and I find that it does control all the settings I can think of for the KG-UV980P, as well as for my other radios (UV-5G, AR-5RM, RA87). There are things I don't like about it's UI: Copying, moving, pasting, cursor movement.... some things are just not quite as easy to use as a typical spreadsheet. But it works and is reliable. And it's community driven so new radios show up pretty quickly. I did try the Wouxun software and didn't care for it.

Ahh I guess you’re right there. It’s a 12V accessory port, not a functional cig port.

I’m running the MXTA25 ghost on a hood-hinge mount on the passenger side. Absolutely not the best location for it RF-wise, but it was the best spot for me since I wasn’t prepared to drill the cab roof. I’ve been testing it out the past few days w an AT-778UVII at ~5/15/25W and it’s done remarkably well. Granted, it does better when I’m pointed at what I’m talking to since it has the passenger A-pillar behind it. My radiation pattern is a bit wonky due to where that antenna sits. But I’m happy with this so far. I’ve been able to get into repeaters with low watts at distance so it’s working for me, despite the non-optimal config.

Is it an actual cigarette lighter port or is it a powder accessory port? There is a difference between the two. A cigarette lighter will have prongs inside to hold the lighter in while it heats up while an accessory port does not have the prongs.

My current 2021 Tacoma has one. And my 2013 328i had two believe it or not lol But agreed, cig ports are a dying breed and not a reliable source of clean wattage.

That's definitely a downside, perhaps even a deal-breaker, IMO.

Sorry, But I Don't Agree With Your Interpretation Of Part 95.1751 (c). #2 - GMRS Stations (Not Operating Under The Individual License) (Other GMRS Stations) Are Properly Identified For The Retransmitted (Repeater) Communications. The Words "If" & "And" Are Key To Understanding The Rule, That's Why It's Very Self Explanitory.

Ask away. That's literally one of the reasons this site exists. I'm always happy to answer questions it I can.

GMRS doesn't get a lot of use in central Oklahoma, at least on repeaters. It's not completely abandoned, and there are several repeaters, but they're not usually too busy. One in Oklahoma City gets steady but not overwhelming usage during the workday because someone uses it for their business, but it's a brief conversation every 15 minutes or so. I occasionally hear someone on simplex in the more urban areas, and FRS gets a lot of use by construction crews and store staff, but the range is so short that it's hardly noticeable. I'm sure it's different in more heavily populated parts of the country, but at least here, GMRS is a good communication option for many of us.

When I went on jump status in 1978, it was $50/month. In 1978, that wasn't huge, but it was significant.

Nothing except the fact that most of the people who want/need an FRS radio aren't "radio people" and don't even understand the need for programming. Most will just give up if faced with the necessity to do more than push the button and talk. Admittedly, it's not a very high bar, but it does make some difference.

My repeater is not open. It is only used for my ranch & range. I have gave permission only to a few other ranchers near me and the owners of leased land for the cattle. Every time the range is hot the range officer broadcast that. When it is cold too. It's a safety thing.

Agreed. An eventual reduction to zero is feasible. After all, as was pointed out there isn't a big operational gap between FRS and GMRS and FRS is already not licensed. GMRS was $70 for a 10-year term and is now $35 for a 10-year term. IDK, perhaps I've got the wrong perspective, but at a rate of $3.50 per year it sure doesn't seem like money is the FCC's motivation for GMRS licensing. Otherwise, they would be charging more and wouldn't have recently lowered the fee. I think that at some point the FRS/GMRS chaos will reach critical mass, and the FCC certainly has bigger fish to fry. I too had one of them there CB licenses back in the 70's that soon became irrelevant. I also had a cheap Kraco radio, and it worked great!!!

I guess you didn’t read or the rules you agreed to read when you got your license Follow the rules or don’t but you are giving incorrect information. If people other than your family are using the repeater you absolutely are required to have you repeater ID. FCC Part 95.1751 (c): (c) Any GMRS repeater station is not required to transmit station identification if: (1) It retransmits only communications from GMRS stations operating under authority of the individual license under which it operates; and, (2) The GMRS stations whose communications are retransmitted are properly identified in accordance with this section. the “if” and the “and” are key to understanding the rule regarding the need for repeater ID. It doesn’t say “or”.

yes, but with a price tag.. Some like RT, i have used both, I don't mind CHIRP, it's free and will get you the same results.

Ignore the crass comments here on the forum. Everyone is a beginner at some point and sometimes if you are not at all familiar with something, the manual is not as intuitive as we would like. Asking question is okay! Like @WRYS709 Said: Welcome to MyGMRS.

yup, its a good idea to auto identify your repeater station, especially if it is an open repeater. At the end of the day, Its operation is the owners responsibility. Also a good idea to set up for remote access to disable if needed.. I have never had to remote shut down mine but a nearby friend has a few times due to jamming. Another thing he does, that i don't, i probly should, if he is away from montering range he shuts his down.. His is set up for continuous 15 minute ID intervals. I dont like that, i think it is silly, so i set mine for ID on Busy only on 15 min intervals. It's a personal preference thing. He does it so people can find and identity that particular repeate which has a very very wide operational range.

This makes me cringe. I worked in 12v industry for so many years and running anything beyond a phone charge out of the cig plug is questionable at best. Even Garmin's and radar detectors we would 100% of the time hardwire them into better circuits then the lighter plug. Remember your voltage effects your power output as well. My kg1000g+ puts out the full 50 at 14.4 @ 9.7 amps if i pump up the voltage to 15 it puts out 51ish watts at 8amps. Most vehicles while running will have around 13.8v to 14.4v.

Send Repeater ID a email they are very nice & helpful. This is what they made for me for mine. Bushnell_pause_added.mp3

Yes you should not have any issues with RT Systems.

Thanks for the reply. I use chirp and planning on changing the frequencies to use GMRS. Does the RT package offer the programming to do the same?

this guy fibured it out

GMRS is actually not bad until you get into the bigger cities..Then it seem's 'Game off' time

Stateside things were tight and we didn't have kids yet. But when I was stationed in Spain we even managed to save some. The exchange rate was very favorable, unlike Italy, England and especially Germany. Honestly, that was my best duty station. All the fun and no one was shooting at us. Although, it did come darned close a few times. The ETA really didn't like American servicemen.