Leaderboard

Topic locked for the greater good.

Once again, for some reason the original post has been edited, but in this case, the subject line sums up the original question, and several posts agreed on a valid answer. There is already a well established "Highway" or "Travel Channel" for GMRS, and it is 462.675 with a CTCSS Tone of 141.3Hz. Again, on a Midland MicroMobile, (and many other GMRS or Combo radios) that would be channel 20 with a "Privacy Code" of 22. (However, check your radio's owner's manual for the privacy or quiet code that matches 141.3 Hz. Not all radios are mapped the same for these codes.) This frequency can be used in repeater mode, or simplex if a repeater is not available in the area. ...and if you don't want to miss any possible action, then use WRAF233's suggestion, and just set the radio to "SCAN". Also of note, just yesterday, I was traveling on US HWY 81 in North Central Kansas, and heard 2 truckers using channel 20-22.

For the uninitiated: https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/new-gmrs-band-plan.405599/

So, I started my personal GMRS and ham journey in January of this year for reasons that are not relevant here. Among my goals was to be able to have simplex RF comms with my wife at her office. (2.1 miles as the crow flies, through suburban northern Virginia. Small rolling hills, but plenty of RF interference along the way.) Frankly, I was disappointed by the limitations of HT<-->HT around here. I was lucky to make it 3/4 - 1 mile. Clearly, line of sight matters enormously. I got a simple j-pole antenna and tried that at home from my attic. (HOA issues.) Still HT to HT, but no luck. I got permission from the HOA to put up two 5 foot j-pole antennas and got them up yesterday. (See attached photo. Both are Ed Fong designs. One ham and one GMRS tuned.) Simultaneously, I got a 50 Watt (UHF) / 40 Watt (VHF) mobile radio. This morning, I ran a quick and informal series of quick tests with the mobile radio set up in the ham bands (70 cm and 2 m) as a cross-band repeater. (I use a 70 cm simplex channel to my home mobile, which then repeats it on 2 m out to my local repeater (W4AVA).) In short, VICTORY! The repeater connections had several flat spots for me. They're 99% gone now. I can trivially tx/rx to my wife's office location with 5 by 5 audio signal on a simplex connection. I know many folks here dismiss the Ed Fongs, but I have to say those reviews are not consistent with my experiences. In particular, the Warrenton GMRS repeater that is some 40 miles from here was completely out of range for me in the past. With the Fongs on the roof, I'm getting 5x5 signal reports consistently on that repeater -- which serves a vast footprint of NoVA and MD. YMMV. So, yeah, I'm pretty happy with where I am on my personal journey. Cheers, Ken van Wyk WRFC318 / K0RVW

https://www.fcc.gov/document/wtb-confirms-amateur-radio-license-exams-may-be-held-remotely The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau released a notice today that Amater Radio License exams may be conducted remotely. This is great news for those who are stuck at home but wanting to get their Technician or General ticket.

Marc. I think he is saying the FRS radios can transmit simplex on the repeater output frequencies. He is not saying they can transmit through the repeater. However, I think you are right, Like you, I am done with this discussion, and as well, I think this topic is done. Could a moderator please close it.

I think you guys (Ian and Mark) are reading too much in Russ' posts. It's all figure of speech, about regulatory bullet and our miserable lives, which we are almost out of. And the radioreference thread was fun to read! The whole proposal seemed to me as in: if it ain't broken fix it till it is. If somebody wants to go narrowband, because of interference on repeater input or lack of wideband gear or whatever the reason, feel free to do so, it's allowed today.

So we went from childish to vague ominous threats that are as empty as space, as if you have some kind of control or insight as to what the future holds for the spectrum and its users. Nice! So, here's a little secret about how many of our laws are made and regulatory agencies plan. Big business polls the people to find the largest marketable demographic that is likely to buy something. Then they look at likelihood and expense to deliver in a specific timeframe, estimate time to profitability and anticipated duration of product or service lifetime. If they think the can make a lot of money soon, the companies bribe/lobby/make campaign contributions to whomever they need to (in the order of hundreds of millions) until they get their way. You aren't going to change anything. You don't have any insight or insider knowledge. You're talking out your butt.. and if anything does change (I'm sure one day it will) regardless of how much you will claim it was you, you would have had nothing to do with it.

I am barely 3 weeks into GMRS and as impressed as I am with the performance of the GMRS radio over my prior use of CB MANY years ago, I am even more impressed with the community! Between the help I have gotten on these forums and the suggestions I have gotten while talking on the radio, I now have a system that FAR exceeds my initial expectations. So to everyone here and on the air: THANK YOU! Note to self: Try to leave well enough alone for now. Enjoy what you have before you "over tinker..."

"Breaker one-niner!" But yeah, when I'm between cities, I do 20-22 as well. ORI where I can find it, and I welcome the chatter.

I'm honestly a little annoyed you deleted the first post, because we're still having a discussion, and I missed the beginning. CB is useless and nobody operates (here) any more, ham has told me to get new friends with ham licenses, and all I wanted was a way to keep in touch with my nerd friends at ren faires with no cell coverage. My weirdest requests here have been in service to this singular goal, too. I just want to solve a boring practical problem. What the heck is this about dodging bullets and out of lives? Be courteous and don't redact our history, please.

That was painful. I saw his posts on QRZ... but I haven't seen this one.

Being as sincere as I can be, this is a discussion forum and we like to talk about this stuff. Just because a bunch of people disagree with your opinion, that doesn't mean the conversation doesn't have value. You have to understand, though. It's not a question of facing change, but rather the change you suggest is not an improvement. It was the technical equivalent of telling people that cars pollute too much, so your solution is to got back to horse drawn carts. You have to expect a nation full of personal automobile owners would think its a terrible idea, regardless of any potential perceived benefits. The more narrow the signal, the less data you can move. In the voice service, that translates to loss of signal and voice fidelity. That translates to less range and a voice service that has less potential, not more. So, in the same way I made a valid technical point of fact to support my opinion, I would recommend you continuing the conversation in the same way. Having the adult equivalent response of, taking your ball and going home, isn't going to win people over.

Got the same response on the other forum, only more harsh.

Regardless of how this turns out, the exam will still be taken. Learning new things is a lifelong passion for me. At sixty-nine however there is not a moment to lose.

Just do as the rest of us do, and program one good radio with channels 1-7 for low power narrow-band at 5 Watts, and channels 15-22 for high power wide-band at whatever the radio can do - 25-50 Watts. Don't even bother to put 8-14 in your radio... those are the low-power FRS channels, and should stay that way. (Those frequencies should have never been assigned in the first place, and should have been left as guard-band space between repeater inputs.) You do not need more channels. If the band is that crowded in your area, and you don't want to hear others, use CTCSS, or better yet, DCS.

There is something called the Open Repeater Initiative or OPI. It uses 462.675 with a CTCSS Tone of 141.3Hz. The frequency was selected by a group of Repeater owners who wanted to create a standard for travelers to be able to have easy access to repeater while on the road, without having to search for a repeater or ask for permission to use it. The 141.3 tone was also selected as the "travel tone" standard. Scanning the frequencies is okay, but you may only talk for a couple of miles. Using open repeaters with "traveler" settings gives you a chance to reach the greatest number of operators for more distance and time.

The inability to use different tones on the same channel is a BIG mistake by Midland. The first thing I noticed is that I couldn't use the only linked repeater in my area because of this. With the research I (should have done in the first place but oh well) did I discovered the wonderful world of used commercial grade radios on Ebay. For what I paid (And got refunded) for the MXT400 I purchased 3 TK-8180 radios for my house and 2 vehicles. And yes, I know there was also the cost of the coax and antennas but whatever. What this radio is capable of is outstanding compared to what Midland offers. But yes, I understand what Midland is probably marketing to. I have family in Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina. I have already researched and placed the repeaters in their respective state/travel groups on the radios so when I hit the road (I HATE flying but I digress) I have another potential way of maintaining communication between my point of departure as well as my destination along the way. Midland would have to include some extensive features to their future line up and even then, the cost difference will most likely keep me shopping in the used market for the foreseeable future.

I've reached out to my reps at Midland and they said nothing new in the Spring, and nothing to announce for later in the year yet. I think any plans they had are put on hold because of the pandemic. I'd expect something out by Q1 2021 realistically.

The Ed Fong antennas include the choke which is inside the PVC pipe. It's on his web site

I'd rather have your expertise and there's no need for bickering. If someone knows what is best for each application, stand up and say it. The rest of us need to know when to lead, and know when to follow.

Note. I obviously know nothing about your furnace. But, with modern high-efficiency furnaces, the exhaust gases are not very hot. In fact, a fan is usually required to use the exhaust fumes out the vent. So, if you do have a modern furnace, heat damage to the PVC is not likely to be an issue.

I think the biggest problem is, there are too many opinions AND most new users don't even know "what" they want to do. For the most part, many new radio users don't know what tech is the correct tech for any intended purpose. Until they get in and find out something they like and figure out how it will suit their needs, we wouldn't even know what advice to give. I have tried to help, though. I actually have a published article I wrote about the pros and cons of each common service, what they could potentially used for, and just a really brief overview of the science behind it. It was focused around off-road communications, but applies to everything. I can always share it here, but I haven't due to potential bickering.

I think it was Voltaire who observed Perfect is the enemy of Good.