Jump to content

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 08/02/20 in all areas

  1. Marc and Mike have answered your question however I'll expand on it. If you wish to disable Ignition sense, Open up the 89D software and read from the radio (you need to have the radio on for this) Click "Edit>Optional Features" A new window should open. At the bottom right there is a field labeled "Ignition sense" By unchecking the box you disable the ignition sense cable (Works by switch only.)
    2 points
  2. The more I learn about the FCC's General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS), the more I am fascinated by RF in general. It touches everyone's lives every second of every day, yet few people pay much attention. How cool is it that after 42 years and 14 billion miles away, the 22-Watt radio on Voyager 1 is still sending data back to earth every day (how important is that antenna?). So why aren't more people interested in GMRS or RF in general? There's no test to get a license like amateur (ham) radio. It's $70 for a 10-year license, and is really easy to get started. So here are some theories. People don't know: GMRS exists Why GMRS exists Why they'd want to use GMRS How to envision themselves participating in GMRS What it takes to get started with GMRS What it takes to continue and improve with GMRS Technical information they should know about GMRS Etiquette when transmitting (TX) on GMRS What a GMRS "Net" is and why Most people within the GMRS community are helpful once you're in, but the community is very inviting in a go-figure-it-out-yourself way, and no one has assembled everything you need to know about GMRS all in one place. We GMRS people are putting the onus on outsiders to sift through thousands of painfully esoteric webpages with a winnowing fork, separating useful info from useless, poorly written, or incomplete info. When I first heard about GMRS on a 4x4 trip, I arrived home and Googled around and settled on a Midland MXT-275 because it seemed perfect for mounting on my truck dashboard. At the time, I had no idea that Midland doesn't manufacture a GMRS radio capable of operating on split-tone repeaters (Dear Midland, I know you're reading this: why do you squander so much potential?). Edit 6/28/2021: Midland heard our cry! They just updated the MXT-275 to include split-tone programming on repeater channels. So for example, now this radio is able to reach a repeater that receives (RX) incoming transmissions on 467.550 with a PL tone of 103.5 and repeats the transmission (TX) at 462.550 with a PL tone of 88.5. I didn't even know what "split tone" was or even what "tone" meant, or carrier or squelch or hundreds of other little things you all take for granted. Since then, I realized that if the big, bad manufacturers like Midland, Kenwood, Motorola, and iCom can't even invite the public to learn more and provide useful content for each stage of the customer journey—Awareness, Consideration, Purchase, and Loyalty—the 2-way radio industry has much deeper problems and aren't there to help guys like me. As we get involved deeper into GMRS, there's little-to-no hand-holding going on at each level of knowledge. I ending up relying on the Ham community here and there and a guy who is basically a saint at a little radio shop in Phoenix, Arizona (hope Tim over at Procomm and the others at the nonprofit AZGMRS.org don't mind me giving them a shout-out). Edit 4/14/2020: By the way, AZGMRS made this awesome list of FCC-approved GMRS radios that they recommend. If you live anywhere near Arizona and are reading this, now would be a great time to become a member. Their repeater network covers some 100 miles around Phoenix with more and more repeaters joining the network (check out their sweet coverage map). But it's still frustrating. I wish a GMRS expert—presumably a manufacturer—would just come out and say exactly what a total newbie needs at each stage of their involvement or level of need. Two-way radio manufacturers should stop wasting time trying to sell, and start marketing and branding, which means educating the public about the 5 W's (Who, What, Where, When, Why [+how, +how much]) without trying to sell to them. Most new users don't know what they need because they don't know what's possible. For example, I wish I knew that manufacturers don't typically include the best antenna on their radios right out of the box. It took me over a year to realize that the best bang for the buck for a portable base antenna to include in my go bag is N9TAX's Slimjim and that Smiley Antenna makes the best bang for the buck antennas for hand-held radios (which by the way, everyone just assumes newbies are supposed to know that hand-held walkie-talkie radios are called "HT" for "Handy-talkie" and what a "QSO" is). How would a newbie know that the cheap Nagoya 771 "upgrade" antenna for Baofengs that everyone talks about actually isn't the best bang for the buck for the GMRS frequency band of 462–467? How would a newbie know that antennas work best when tuned exactly to what they call a "center" frequency that accommodates 5 Megahertz in each direction (+5 and -5 Megahertz) at the expense of hearing other frequencies? I learned the hard way that in order to properly install an NMO antenna mount on the roof of my truck, I would need a drill bit specifically made for drilling NMO antenna mount holes, and that yes, it is worth the money to do it right the first time. I'm still in the middle of learning how a "quarter-wave" or "5/8 wave" antenna works, the difference between dB gain vs. dBi gain, mic gain, antenna gain, because again, everyone seems to just assume I already know what all this means. I still don't understand what antenna "tuning" means and why you have to "cut" an antenna to "tune" it. Can I make my own antenna right now in a pinch with a copper wire in my garage? Ok, show me! How do I measure it or test it? What is SWR? Can I measure it myself? What do I need in order to measure it? Is one SWR meter better than another for my level as a newbie? Is there something I should learn to make it worth buying the better meter that opens up a whole new world of capability? Is it worth learning all that? This graphic did a great job beginning to explain what dBd gain means for those of us who know next to nothing about it, but now I need to go find out on my own and sift through a thousand webpages to find out if dBd is something new I need to know. Speaking of dB, I know that "dB" is a decibel, but is it the same as my stereo volume? Why do I see manufacturers saying that the microphone and cable have a dB rating? What is going on here? This is madness! We can Google things all day, but which info is true and correct and the most helpful? I think that the entire industry is sitting on a Gold Mine of consumers sitting at home for weeks on end who would love to buy GMRS equipment and communicate via GMRS to friends, family, neighbors, and other GMRS users. Whoever provides the most useful, relevant, and engaging content that stops making assumptions about what people know or don't know will win. STOP ASSUMING. START EDUCATING.
    1 point
  3. Many newer cars and light trucks now have power monitors on the negative terminal of the battery. Best practices these days are: 1. Hot to battery hot with an inline fuse within a few inches of the battery. 2. Negative to a factory grounding point somewhere in the vehicle. 3. Check the manufacturer’s install instructions. On commercial gear, fusing is not needed on the negative side. 4. Wiring going through the firewall must be appropriately grommeted. I use the large factory wiring grommet when possible. There’s usually plenty of room to run your power lines there without disturbing anything else. 5 Be neat use loom and ty-wraps. I’ve done hundreds of commercial and public safety installs. These are the tried and true ways to do the job correctly.
    1 point
  4. Just connect the main power and the power sense wires to the positive connection of the power supply.
    1 point
  5. So many reasons I started using FRS/GMRS bubble pack radios so long ago I forget when I started, maybe late 70's or early 80's we all had CB radios in our 4x4 vehicles that we took on the beach at the Jersi Shore and the woods. CB gave us more range, but the CB radios were so big and bulky and required a huge antenna when most of the the time we were within line of sight, but just out or range to yell at each other especially on the beach, those bubble pack radios worked great, no problem with a mile or little more, line of sight on the beach, no obstructions. Fast forward to post 911, cell phones were down, lived in a close neighborhood, everyone dug out their kids bubble pack radios and were able to communicate and relay messages back and forth. Few years later at a rustic community in the Pocono Mountains of PA, the community office monitored one frequency in case anyone needed to contact the community management office. Everyone else monitored a different frequency as a "calling" frequency. If someone needed something they would just call out on the "calling" frequency like, anyone want to go trail riding this afternoon, anyone around that can give me a hand doing whatever for a few minutes and one of my all time favorites bon fire and adult beverages at the Jones, 7:30 tonight. Ya all get the picture. Currently we use GMRS & MURS around our farm. All of the equipment have a radio installed on them, additionally everyone takes a walkie-talkie with them when they go out. We are 8 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico about an hour north of Tampa, hard to believe dirt - sugar sand roads - very poor cell service when we have it, lucky to get DSL internet service at 1.5 gigs. So we initially used radios on our farm. As we met and got to know neighbors, they bought radios and now the neighborhood has our own network, our "family" channel has become the "calling" channel which is fine with us, we don't miss much going on in the neighborhood then. So much easier asking once on the radio if anyone has a certain tool or part for our tractors, atv's etc or something for the horses than making 15 to 25 individual calls. It works great, all the kids take a walkie-talkie with them when they are out on their dirt bikes or ATV's, they can switch to a channel and talk among themselves, they can call out on the calling channel if they need something. Pretty much everyone knows everyone, we all know who is trustworthy etc. Of course, again one of my favorite parts, as they say "pop up" parties .....The announcements comes over the radio Everyone welcome at the Dog House, grills on, fire is lit !
    1 point
  6. Because GMRS is a service that exists for one simple purpose, providing voice communications in the local area, with a very low barrier to entry. Note, there are people who try to turn GMRS into a sort of mini amateur radio, and there are amateurs, who try to build a pseudo-GMRS service for friends and family. But, in the end each service has its own intended applications and it’s own reason for existence and that’s why I am licensed in both
    1 point
  7. Many fire and police in the US are on trunked digital systems that are encrypted. There are very few that are using analog radios and that traffic is usually chatter. Nothing worth listening to.
    1 point
  8. Aaaaaand speak of the devil... Sunday's Wall Street Journal article, which affirms everything I'm saying! ‘Ready for Lunch? Over.’ Walkie-Talkies Make Comeback With Folks Stuck at Home. Coronavirus lockdowns give the World War II-era device new life
    1 point
  9. 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.
    1 point
This leaderboard is set to New York/GMT-04:00
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Guidelines.