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A ham and a GMRS repeater can live comfortably on the same rooftop or even the same tower. If the ham repeater is an older one, there is a good chance it is a 2-meter machine, which is far enough away from GMRS that it won't be an issue. Even if it is a UHF 70cm ham machine, both can live on the same space - just as long as both of you have good quality BpBr cavity filters, not just cheap duplexers. Stop by and talk to the building owner or manager. Tell him that there is already a ham repeater up there on his roof, which is a federally licensed service, and that you would like to add an additional licensed service similar to, but not exactly the same as ham radio. Be sure to note that it is being done as a public service, and not for profit in any way.

I was able to get free access to the top of a condo in Florida on the beach by mentioning that it would be perfect for emergency use and residents of the building could get a license and use it for free. I eventually lost the site because wireless companies were snooping around and wanting to kick any "competition" out, and the condo association was wondering why I was there rent-free when they had a paying tenant looking to come in. My mistake was not getting a contract or lease agreement with them. If I had that, they would have been able to tell the wireless companies tough, we already have an agreement and you'll have to deal with it. It can be an informal contract, just says why you're there, what you'll pay, and for the longest period of time you can negotiate at a time (so you're not having to renegotiate each year, for example).

Yea, I'm more than well aware, that place has sucked plenty of cash from my pocket over the years, way before I got into radio. Somehow I pick expensive hobbies, luckily the wife doesn't care all that much.

I agree that your numbers do not sound right. When troubleshooting, it is always best to eliminate as many variables as you can. Every piece of equipment, cable, connector, adapter and the environment are candidates for affecting results. Anyway you can hook your meter up to the back of the radio directly (i.e. M-M UHF adapter) plus a dummy load screwed directly to the meter output? This should show you a 1:1 SWR and the actual output power of the radio. Can you can get your hands on a different meter so you can contrast readings between the two? When readings are not as expected, it is nice to contrast two pieces of measurement equipment to just to provide confidence. Check specs on your meter. What is the minimum power level the meter requires to function accurately. If the radio is indeed outputting low, the meter may give you bad readings. Case and point, the manufacturer of my SWR meter advises the meter must receive at least .5 watts for meter to perform accurately. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Well, yes, but... Since that filter costs anywhere from 2x to 9x the price of the CCR it would be used with, the money would probably just be better spent of buying a decent radio in the first place. Which is, I think, the point everyone is trying to make anyway.

Like I mentioned, I have not found any new certifications in the database. Pending, approved or otherwise. I guess someone is going to have to call them.