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Okay, I’ll bite here. I own a repeater (Rugged 575) in Naperville, IL at 300' receive / 250’ transmit. It’s on a commercial site with other UHF and VHF radio systems as well. Not only have I spent nearly 5 figures setting this up correctly but I monitor it as if it was my baby, cuz, you know, it *IS* my baby. I built it with no financial help from anyone else. Of course there was other help I received by LOTS of other commercial repeater owners (Those of you that are reading know who you are) as I’ve come a long way in the last year and some change here. I have my repeater system set up for several different private family usage cases and I also have a tone for public which I closely monitor as well and others that are out there do use it. As a repeater owner I’m super happy to turn my radio on and hear other people using it. As a matter of fact just yesterday some other licensed GMRS users were using my repeater and I needed to use it with my wife as I was at the grocery store and I broke in and said, “hang tight guys, I need to talk to my wife for a minute. I’ll let you know when I’m done”. Anyways, I flipped to our tone, talked with her about the particulars, then went back to the public side and said “Carry on guys! Glad to hear you out there using the machine”. That being said, mine is set to “Ask permission” as well because as others have mentioned, I want to know who is using it to verify their license and location because it’s my system and it’s my responsibility to make sure it’s up to par on the commercial shared site. I have sent an email back to EVERY! SINGLE! PERSON! As well welcoming them with the tones to use it! I haven’t had the need (yet) to ever reject anyone from using my repeater but I still keep a tab on who has access to it as in my opinion, it’s my responsibility to do so. Not only that, but I have my custom verbiage I send back with every request as well stating that this is a family repeater as well and to aid to traffic on the other PL tone. Heck, I’ll paste what I send you can see where we are coming from with this: “The tone for my repeater is XXXX (left blank) (N – normal, not inverted). When you key up for the first time please identify yourself using your call sign and call for ROB. I am regulating who is using my repeater as it is being used for my family as well. I have received an exceeding amount of requests to use my repeater. Originally this was set up for family only use but seeing as the range is far better than expected, I have opened it up on an as-requested basis to any licensed GMRS operator. PLEASE NOTE: ALL TRAFFIC MUST YIELD TO MY FAMILY. The tone for public use is different than family so if you see your radio lighting up receiving on 462.575 but no audio is coming through on your radio it's because my family is talking so please do not key up until that traffic has cleared. Thanks and I hope to hear you on the air!” That being said, sometimes users don’t understand what a multi-table is either so I will say this too: When you first use a new repeater you should ALWAYS call out for a radio check IMO because you don’t know how that repeater is set up and should NEVER assume anything! I was in Iowa once and I made contact to the owner on the traveler tone (I was travelling) and he told me that it’s linked to another repeater in California! NONE of this information was posted on mygmrs.com and upon googling I couldn’t even find it either!!! It was good to know that I was keying multiple machines too and me and the owner had a nice long 30 minute conversation and he was glad I keyed up and shouted out! To sum up further as a repeater owner: *MOST*, but not *ALL* repeater owners don’t mind you using their machine I’ve found. Now I’m in the Midwest mind you, so again, no assumptions would be made for other machines that I’ve never used, but around here most repeater owners are very happy to have you on their machine and it brings a great smile to their face to know that they are serving the public with a reliable communication system and growing the hobby as well! Remember that GMRS isn’t HAM and HAM isn’t GMRS. A *LOT* of people out there want GMRS for family use under one license and that’s what I’m doing but I’ve decided to open it up to the public as well as the coverage is fairly decent. I looked at getting a business license and could have easily done it too but I like the idea of being able to chat with my family *AND* other GMRS users so here we are! Thanks!

I completely agree with you from the standpoint of making the decision to purchase the MXT400 on the basis of being able to overcome it's (factory) limitations. There are better radios (TK-8180 just as an example) available on the used market that can be had for 1/2 the price (possibly less) of a MXT400. That being said, the information is well receieved for those who already have a MXT400 and find it not completely useable due to the lack of split tones that some repeaters use.

True, but again, there are much bigger issues at hand if one is having their posts on the internet dug up over a certified radio that might or might not be programmed. For example, I could say I am 6'7" tall and play a mean game of basketball. That doesn't make it true or even likely. Only when other evidence correlates with online posts does it really matter much. I think the main thing is that when a radio, at first glance, passes the sticker/FCC ID smell test, all other possibilities drop to near zero... UNLESS there is something much bigger behind the inquiry. The sticker and FCC ID are prima facie evidence that "these are not the droids you are looking for."

True, but getting on the internet talking about how you plan on and/or are breaking the law is the invitation for the "bigger problems" to walk through the door. Maybe that is the real convo to have... hihi

I may do that. I'll figure that out once I get my hands on the duplexer and measure it. As usual, the spec for this project is evolving as the project moves forward.

It reads like you are not familiar with how the certification stuff works, but the second you flash the radio to anything but 100% stock... it's certification is null and now a non-compliant radio. In fact, per §95.335, you modifying your radio yourself is also illegal. So, you are actually violating 2 federal rules by modifying and transmitting on a modified, formally certified GMRS radio. There is no such thing as programing it, but keeping it's certification.

OK, change of plans..... (I do this often - over-complicating things only to end up landing on a much more simple solution) I've had a duplexer on my wish list for a while, and just pulled the trigger on it this morning after reading your previous post. I will put the duplexer in the same box with the solar controller, and run 3 short jumpers between the 2 boxes - RX,TX, and 12V power. This will be family comms while we are camping where there is no cell signal. I'm trying to keep this a 2 box project in case I need to hike up the mountain for a good repeater site. If the camp site is centrally located, the repeater will be there. I suspect this will seldom be the case though. I can think of at least 4 parks we plan to visit again where I will be humping this thing into the woods. I did try the simplex repeater thing, but the kids could not get the hang of waiting for the roger beep and would constantly step on the re-transmitted signal.

"Cheap" is relative, the only true 2W (and not 1.2 or so) that I've found are the DeWalt ones, and they cost as much as a Wouxun GMRS setup - though they're much better built.

Yes I do but this thread included a utube video of the process which some folks who are unfamiliar with programming a radio and using the software involved could appreciate. It added information so as not be redundant

This is why FCC Type Acceptance is a GMRS requirement. "Build your own repeater" is a HAM project, not a GMRS project.

All well there. But, do you realize that same information was posted to this MyGMRS in this same thread back in July?

Fantastic... Three new members! Welcome WRJI929, Dusty1 and EMKuhn!

No question is stupid! I just got my GMRS license yesterday (WRJL946) and just got the Midland MXT275, I'm waiting for it to come in to start, this is all new to me so I'm in the same boat!

LScott, I appreciate you bringing this point to life. Having given it some thought, I am landing on the “Just because you could, does no mean you should” position. Some things settle out in time as “It is just good practice”. Why, because in time users determine that certain practices contribute to the best mix of mix of value. Just like there is value in the FCC rule which defines the center frequencies that must be used. Imagine the value of GMRS if a users could choose their center frequency within the GMRS spectrum. How friendly and useful would that be? The uncoordinated and inconsistent use of frequencies would lead to the death, not growth, of GMRS. In the amateur radio world, 5MHz offset are not mandated either, but after 100 years +/- Hams have settled on 5MHz as their best practice. Does not mean they can’t do something different? Each variable that gets thrown into the mix for using a radio makes it more difficult for more and more people and therefore increases the barrier to entry and persistence. As a systems engineer I personally have done a lot of things that were technically correct and very feasible, but in the end they contributed to reduced value for client. Less value because it made the system more difficult to understand, use and maintain and contributed little material to ultimate user. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Regards, Michael WRSH965 Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk