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There are things called access codes for most repeaters. you will need the input and output code (usually CTCSS or DCS) These need to be entered into the radio as well in order to activate the repeater and talk into it.

When you are looking at a repeater on the list and and it says output with one frequency and input with another, what does this mean. Which frequency is your radio supposed to be set to? Sorry for the newbie question, but I'm confused.

I was prey to the cable loss BS scam, apparently the low loss cable myth seems to be targeted towards beginners just to sell them low performance LMR400, misleading them into believing that a .3 dB loss is going to render your radio useless. Not so. FYI, I currently have a 2.3 dB insertion loss between my preselector and the 3 TX/RX bandpass cavities combined on my house base setup, even with a 2.3 dB I can easily reach 20 miles on 25W base to mobile... again, don't fall for the cable loss BS. A 1 dB loss is not going to hurt anything. Go with Heliax, and not b/c of the lower loss, but for the lower noise, which means better signal to noise ratio, since with LMR400 chances are the noise floor will increase by a few dB, which will certainly hurt things a lot more than losing a 0.3 dB of your signal. Again, don't use UHF chrome connectors, use N trimetal. Impedance mismatch and PIM will also ruin your range too... and will be an absolute witch hunt to find them. G.

Have a look at this site for mobile wiring recommendations. While the topic is mobile Ham gear the same exact recommendations apply for GMRS radios. http://www.k0bg.com/wiring.html

Fuse the hot lead very close to the power supply. If the radio is cutting during transmit, the most likely cause would be inadequate wire size. Size chart attached.

Mid atlantic region. GMRS/FRS 462.575. My daughter knows not to give out info, she is a smart cookie. I am filing a FCC complaint today. And I am going to call the local police and report the stuff he said to the kids. One of the repeater owners says he shut down a ham repeater as well so he has drawn alot of attention to himself.

If your going for 100' Id probably move to the LDF and not the FSJ.

5.0000

The output is the frequency that the repeater transmits on; the same frequency that you listen to. The input frequency is the frequency that the repeater listens on; the same frequency that you transmit on. In the GMRS world, when using repeaters, the repeaters always listen to frequencies in the 467 MHz band, and always transmit on frequencies in the 462 MHz band. Convention has it that there is always 5 MHz difference between the transmit and receive frequencies. Hope this helps. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Well, my recommendation goes to a 2nd hand (used, but not abused) Motorola XPR4550 mobile. These XPR4550 are very nice, and they can be found in decent condition for around 100-150 bucks on the bay, cable can be had for 20 bucks, and the legacy CPS can be purchased on eBay as well. These mobiles have a proper superhet receiver with a multiple tuned varactor front end, which will allow you reach more than 2 miles on a lot less power than 50W. To give you an idea, my XPR6550 portable, (which uses the same receiver as the 4550 mobile) can easily reach 1.5 miles on just 1 watt. Where? in the Madison WI area, which is super-hilly suburban terrain... All my 6550 radios are used (2nd hand), some have small scratches, etc, but the scratches didn't stop them from demolishing all the crap inexpensive radios I own... Some background: most of those GMRS cheap mobiles usually show a 10-20 dBm loss in effective sensitivity, a loss that cannot be made up by just cranking power to 50W. 20dBm means you'll need 100 times the power to make up for it... So, if a radio has 95 dBm effective sensitivity means that it won't be able to hear anything below the 95 dBm mark... vs. a radio which has 115 dBm effective sensitivity, which will be able to hear equally good a signal coming from a 1 watt radio as a 95 dBm effective sensitivity radio would hear a 100 watt signal. That is the importance of having a real receiver with tuned front end... etc. G.