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IF the LT-590 is just a limited version of the MXT400, and, one wanted to build a part-95 acceptable repeater out of “MXT400”s, then one could use the LT-590 as the receiver. I am not saying the receiver would, or would not, be selective or sensitive enough. But, if the MXT400 was de facto “good enough,” then the LT-590 should be too.

This is already permitted; see the Garmin Ring for more details. This is only an expansion to GMRS channels. Speaking of the Garmin Rino, enough people are willing to shell out $650 for an FRS radio that it's still in production a decade later, and with ever more smartphone-like hardware. Hams use APRS, which has grown from a simple "amateur position reporting system" into a full-fledged tactical network (their words, not mine) which allow passing of email, instant message, position and status information… I don't have any use for it, as nobody I communicate with has a ham ticket. However, an in-dash GPS navigator / GMRS radio (god willing, GMRS repeater, too) would be amazing, especially if it was aware of repeater coverage circles and could seamlessly and automagically switch to simplex (one less thing to worry about). A momentary tangent into commercial land-mobile radio and fleet management - they pay thousands of dollars to use satellite to pass quick voice messages and location and status of their vehicles in real time. Clearly there's a use case, but mere mortals can't afford to find out if it suits them. I'd like to be able to have a combination of turn-by-turn directions, and semi real-time GPS coordinate updates when I'm driving with someone else. And geolocation bursts over GMRS are a perfect opportunity to unseat Garmin's Rino protocol in favor of APRS; this will allow other vendors to compete in that market and help drive prices down. Furthermore, (knock on wood…) calling for help will include machine-readable GPS coordinates, which will direct help quickly and efficiently to the location of someone in jeopardy instead of requiring the organization of a search party or a helicopter with a thermal camera. I'm even open to data bursts on repeater inputs, though with more trepidation - perhaps limiting them to manual triggering would be a good first step. Or another option would be to offer cheap repeater controllers with multiple tones; data would be transmitted with one PL code embedded in a sub-audible signal -- Dakota Alert embeds triggering data for their MURS driveway alarms by modulating the CTCSS tone -- and a different PL code for analog voice, allowing a repeater to silently pass data without interrupting users of legacy hardware with the modem howl of modulated data. Another possibility is silent slow data, and the use of the whole audio spectrum for loud fast data, embedding a callsign into an opening tone and a GPS coordinate into the roger beep? I've done similar things with an Anytone I bought before their certification was pulled. The preamble and Roger beep would embed the name of the user in such a fashion that compatible receivers would display their name or callsign on their display while they were talking. It sounded like a cross between birdsong and modem sounds, and was perhaps an unpleasant roger beep to listen to, but it took no longer to transmit and was no more intrusive than one.