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The default squelch setting is 04, on the new 275 and I thought that maybe setting it as low as it will go will allow you to better hear the squelch return from the repeater when it does get back up and running, Best of luck!

Nailed it! The Irony could only be greater if it turns out Baofeng's manufacturing plant was in Wuhan! ?

The few I got were between $50 and $100 each.

Section 90.427(b) specifically prohibits programming unauthorized frequencies into a transmitter: (b) Except for frequencies used in accordance with § 90.417, no person shall program into a transmitter frequencies for which the licensee using the transmitter is not authorized. So, how does that fit into this conversation? I’ll try to answer with some scenarios that I hope will explain my understanding. 1. Ms. Sierra Citizen, while out for a walk, finds a sheriff’s deputy slumped over in the front seat of his cruiser. She has no cellphone service or any other communication device with her. She picks up the microphone in the cruiser and asks for help. I believe the various exceptions which allow emergency communications would protect her from prosecution. 2. Mr. Joe Prepper has every frequency programmed into his portable radio. He finds a person slumped over in the front seat of their car. He picks up his portable radio and calls on an EMS dispatch frequency for which he is not authorized. I believe that even though he potentially saves the life of the person, he has clearly violated 90.427(b) by having his transmitter preprogrammed with unauthorized frequencies. I’d be surprised if he wasn’t prosecuted. The bottom line is this, the emergency provisions allow great latitude in radio usage in true emergencies, but they don’t serve to waive the rules that establish and protect communications systems simply to be prepared.

I would agree, the property setup stuff sounds great. Even further, a Moto or Hunters DMR repeater is hard to setup badly out of the box. We have a handful of the multimode repeater that sound good, but the technical team that maintains these those are really good and have the proper equipment. The biggest problem with DMR repeaters appears to be maintaining a good reliable internet connection. The Anytone sounds like junk no matter what, but it's loud, which is what many people like. Sound quality is exceptional on the XPR and SL radios, even on a hotspot. I even bought an SL7550 just for at home hotspot use, and it's always on the Ohio talkgroups 247. My CS800Ds do sound good, not as good as the Motos but much better than the trash Anytone.

@wayoverthere DMR sounds good when setup correctly and uses good radios. When DMR first got popular the only option was Motorola MotoTrbo repeaters and radios. None of the CCR market was building anything. Over time they did. I know of a few DMR repeaters that sound pretty good over the air. They are mostly MotoTrbo but some other LMR brands on the air also. On the other side there are a lot of "home brew" repeaters now on the air with MMDVM boards on analog radios. Most that get put up never get aligned or setup properly and don't have the audio quality of a LMR repeater. Mostly because many hams don't have the test gear required or the know how to set them up right. Next issue is the subscribers. Again the CCR market has flourished and blanketed the market with cheap stuff. They don't sound as good and putting them over a home brew repeater makes it sound even worse. Some of us have learned the hard way after buying "economy" radios then spending a bit more on a true LMR radio the difference. Even though I have many high quality P25 radios I got suckered into the cheap DMR market when I wanted to dabble in DMR. Mostly because it was easy. The radio got used once. Its in a box. Sadly DMR is dead where I am so only listened when working in different cities. I did finally get an XPR7550 and its night and day from the MD I had. YMMV

Your choice of radio brands, types (HT, mobile or base) and what purpose you want to use them for, e.g. GMRS for family under one family license to the different levels of individual Ham licenses. So those just starting the venture I hope that the following will help you plan where and what you want to do. This review of the Wouxun KG-935G is more for how should one position this radio since Wouxun has made several GMRS radio which I have KG-805G, KG-905G now KG935G for GMRS and a Wouxun KG-UV8H for Ham. They all have their place in how you use them. The 805G has it place for smaller hands, easy to use. Then going up to the 905G and 935G for a more beefy feel, programing and what I like is scanning group options to name a few. I have my Ham ticket and so how do I plan to fit GMRS and Ham radio into my life. Though out all the forum and posts on Part 95 for GMRS radios and Part 90 for Ham and the two can get married per FCC, I choose to carry two radios that share batteries and other accessories plus program on the HT face and software menus are some what alike. So the KG-935G is a solid commercial radio for GMRS but allows you to monitor 2 and 70 meter ham frequencies, to be clear only receive and can not transmit. So if you want to monitor a Ham repeater, pick the correct frequencies to hear the repeater when you set it up. I have only had the KG-935G radio a few days and still working on making it my daily carry in my Jeep. Yes, I could get a Baofeng or other multi band radios for Ham and GMRS in one radio but if you have used a $40-50 radio, you may not reach a repeater or others may not heard your audio. Do not get me wrong, many who have these multi band radios and works for you great, you are closer to a strong repeater and it is your radio choice… Happy for you. I was given a free BaoFeng UV-82 Classic and could trigger the Ham repeater but no one could hear us in both GMRS and Ham… Now I know why the gifter gave it to us. Do not read into this statement BaoFeng or other brands… are fine, you get what you pay for. It just where I live and the equipment did not match to my radio environmental needs. So for fueling my Ham 2 and 70 meter I have a Wouxun KG-UV8H which is a Ham radio that can monitor GMRS but not transmit on 462.xxx…467.xxx KG-UV8H is Part 90 legal for Hams per FCC. So on both KG-935G and KG-UV8H I can scan away and in my area of Western NC, we have great high mountains and privately owned and friendly repeaters owners as long as you are license, follow the repeaters owners rules and get permission before hand to get the PL codes. So one day the GMRS is busy or I need to reach family/friends/others approved operators on the GMRS repeaters. Then on other days the Ham frequencies is active like on Net Control nights or Fox Hunts or just general communication with other Hams. In our area we have more Ham repeaters then folks to use and talk on them. Out of the 6 repeaters in all bands, it like crickets. O let me add one of the latest thing new to me as a Ham, it is DMR and the DMR repeaters are linked and you can have miles and miles of communication plus talk to others around the world with just a handheld HT radio. No big antenna or collection like an antenna farm in your backyard which might upset your wife. As soon as I understand more about DMR I will let you know. So for those wanting digital GMRS and roam which FCC has not made the rules changes to fit that function, go get your Ham ticket… and do DMR as we have more DMR repeaters in our area. Ham ticket test is not that hard… I’m 74 yo and my 12 yo grand daughter and I did FRS for years just in the yard and close neighbors. Then we got a family GMRS license and many GMRS folks who are Hams also, suggested to us to study and take the Ham test. You no longer need Morse Code as part of the first level of license. Second get a study buddy, friend, one or more of your children or grand children. For a preteen to get ones Ham ticket has caused her to grow, be confident and has new friends, fun events. O yes she had Mic fright at first, I still do and ex LEO. How we got started is we first reached out to the local Ham club, we meet the folks at a lunch meeting and felt welcomed and asked for a coach to walk us through the process. It not hard, it took us one and half months of online study three times a week for one plus hours and we pass the test end of May 2021. It is quoted that Ham radio is the art, science in communication and helping others in times of an need or emergency. My 12 yo grand daughter caught the radio vision after going to Rocket Museum in Huntsvilles, AL and saw all the radio equipment and all the astronaut where Ham and you can talk to the ISS as it goes overhead. So one of her many goals in life is joining Space Force as well as be a pet sitter and walker. Feel free to PM me if you want more personal detail, otherwise all comments accepted as this is IMHO which that is why no one radio fits all your needs, it personal, so share your story so others can see if that fits them. So go and enjoy your radio journey. MacJack

The repeater is actually fairly close to me. It is listed on this site. I learned a few minutes ago that the repeater was down for maintenance for a bit this afternoon. Pretty sure that’s when I was trying to hit it. Thanks. I have the radio set up properly. Pretty sure the repeater was down for maintenance when I was trying to hit it.

I think NYC area has a similar dispute that has been going on for years. After reading about the CA stuff I'm glad I live in the country ! I could put all 8 repeaters up but I'd have to give each cow their own channel

I wouldn't say a fiber link is better than DSL. My house actually had DSL for 3 years as we had no fiber or highspeed from any other place. I averaged 2-3mb and that's it for up and down. My P25 would work most of the time until we got down below a 1mb then I would get garbled on the base. For link speeds it really depends on the system and how much it needs. A site with 3 channels of TRBO and controller needs more than a single channel. QOS is also very important. In a closed network such as public safety uses its easy to have QoS for Voice and less Qos for other traffic. In the commercial world the ISP doesn't give you or I QoS for our home networking. We just share the pipe and when it gets busy it slows down. Depending on the importance of the system will change the requirement from the ISP. Thats why when you call someone like Verizon for Fiber they have different plans for residential or business. Normally you will find a business account cost more for the same speeds. When building a system going to the ISP with a SLA (System Link Agreement) we will provide what we need. And for reference a system I worked on a system 15 years ago was a trunked system with 8 channels. We used a single T1 to the site. It was on a microwave link so congestion was not an issue. One of the things I think hams forget about in regards to the LTE style links is the idea of a disaster. The LTE modem on the Trbo repeater is going to work about the same as your cell phone. For those that have been involved in disaster scenarios you know that cell can be overloaded or completely gone. Many times Fiber and copper phone lines still work. All in all its about what service you need and want to provide. If I'm going t promote my P25 ham gear as a RACES/ARES type system I am going to make sure it has the ability to help, otherwise its just another radio on the air.

One shows up at an event like 1/6 and then bets their safety on a $30 Chinese radio? Yeah they should be prosecuted, for stupidly.

Just for the record this is the FCC rule part covering public safety frequencies. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/90.20

@Lscott Yes it would, but most commercial installations have no issues with getting proper links. I know some locations can be challenging to get a Fiber or Highspeed connection but I have seen Microwave links to another location to grab an ISP from. Alot of the commercial LMR stuff I have seen and worked on was done this way if there was not fiber to the site. More and more public safety is getting Fiber to sites as a redundant link and with coordination can be very beneficial to other users on that site.

I don't know if its just a matter of being cheap anymore, ... b/c a lot of the used LMR quality gear can be found for less money online than new CCR garbage... Back when I started on Motorola radios you could find used XPR6550 in great condition for <60 bucks... so... G.

That was my point. Most hams are dirt cheap. They wont spend $100 a month on a good ethernet link for a tower site. Quality costs money.

I would suggest you contact Oklahoma State Department of Homeland Security, which is who those interop frequencies are licensed to. It should also be noted, you likely won't get anyone on those frequencies. Looking at the license, the emissions designator is for P25, and considering the state has gone to P25 for OMACS there is likely not a single soul that will be listening to analog NFM to even pick up your call for help.

Updating, as I noticed I attached NIFOG version 1.6.1A in my previous post. Attaching NIFOG (National Interoperability Field Operations Guide) version 2.0 from August 2021. The first portion still describes when interop frequencies can be used by different types of users. Page 5 shows that Title 47 applies to Part: 80,87,90,95, and 97. 1937188711_NIFOGVer2.0_508version_FINAL_9_23_2021_(signed).pdf

@gortex2 I have a meter that I spent about $700 for that measures line loss. It's been pretty good to me so far. LOL

This is a great video of physicist, Dr. Greg Latta, explaining what exactly SWR is and how it impacts your radio. At an hour, it is a little slow, but very much worth the watch if you want to learn exactly what is happening.

True, though how many analog repeaters are dead silent day in and day out. The point of digital in my opinion is to have options to reach further than the local RF footprint. I often have a good 5-10 minute qso from people in Dayton, Columbus, Cincinnati or even Toledo, all of which wouldn't ever be in range (with the exception of 1 repeater than manages to reach Canada and WV on a good propagation day). My real point is poor internet connections kill the DMR exprience, and lets be honest, the local use (RF to RF) is non existent. Look at this repeaters last used: And it's coverage is pretty massive. It's also been offline 95% of the time due to internet connection issues.

Owner of this place will answer your questions adn likely have it in stock. Recommend calling instead of using online ordering. He's a Ham who has been doing this for over 40years. Loves to do UHF/VHF simplex. Think he is doing microwave work now adays. Wealth of information. https://rfconnection.com/ lInk to coax https://rfconnection.com/belden-9913f7-cable/coaxial-cable/ Has everything you need. It is like the bat cave of ham, I mean tubes, switches almost everything. Some of the stuff has thinned out due to the inability to attend Hamventions but you ask he probably has it lying around.

HT range booster! ?

18 watts for $99!

@tweiss3 There is no need for internet other than linking. I think a lot of hams forget about that. In commercial DMR systems that are linked there are specs for links however many don't go by them. In Public Safety those are crucial. I have seen many DMR repeaters using a hotspot or similar LTE router on top of a repeater. Most issues are poor coverage inside shelters and hams don't want to put up real LTE outside antennas. A county I just finished has this issue. The ham guys continue to complain that since they moved the repeater it doesn't sound right. Local talk groups are fine. They have a cheap hotpot on the repeater with no antenna. I have no Verizon and 1 bar of ATT inside the shelter. The hotspot shows 1 bar sometimes. It would not surprise me when the repeater keys up the bar goes away just from local interference and RF. . They don't understand that. With no linking a DMR repeater can sound really good. As said good test gear and properly setup sites are really good.

Suggestions. 1) Before making any changes to the radio, Using the software, read from the radio, save, archive and protect from loss the original configuration. This is for your protection unless you do somehow bugger things up down the line. 2) Start you programming always by use a copy of the original configuration read from the radio. 3) Leave the original 30 channels in the radio, exactly as they were at the time of purchase. This is just for consistency and compatibility between radios. 4) Add your ‘custom’ channels to the end of the list. You can put them in any order you choose, but put them in an order that is meaningful and useful to you. I suggest putting them in the next unused “channel group” on your radio. Doing so will make it easy for you to hop to them quickly using a function key. Depending upon where you place them, you may be able to scan just your repeater channels and not everything else if you do not want to. In my case, I have the original channels programmed per the factory. Then, because I want the ability to program new repeater channels on the fly when traveling, and what all like-frequency repeaters together, I have 8 pre-configured memories in place for each of the 8 repeater pairs (64 total). They are all labelled with a number (550,575,600,625,650,675,700,725) to aligns with the frequency they operate on. They are all order. They all start out generic (without CTCSS/DCS codes) and have have a letter suffix (e.g. 700-A, 700-D, etc.). Those that get used for specific repeaters, I alter the name (e.g. 700-CNCY). For me it puts all of my 550 repeaters together, my 700 repeaters together, etc.. This pattern has worked beautifully for my needs. All of my GRMS radios, mobile, base, HT are configured this same way. While my methodology is overkill for some, it has proven to be a huge time and effort saver over the last 1-1/2 years. Good luck, and enjoy your radio. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

69? you paid 30 too much... I paid 39.95 for each BF-1801, the same piece of crap garbage CCR as the GD77... G.

Dude... Midland just completely punked out. They said the specs are 42-50 watts. They are trying to get out of it by saying it's close enough and my gear. @gortex2 The 12 feet is the total length of the antenna transmission path. I may have added too much information, causing some confusion with that statement. There is only 3 feet of patch cable between the radio and the watt meter and the meter shows a perfect 50 Ohm load, so the rest of the path, after the meter should not be relevant, no? My loss meter is showing 0.102dB on the patch cable. The watt meter is not reading at the end of the path, it’s the first item in the path (not including the cable). Even if we get really picky and add the typical 0.019 dB per UHF connector, we are assuming a total of 0.204 dB of loss, not 1 dB. That should be a total measured output power of 47.7 watts. Would you agree? I’m not trying to give anyone at Midland a hard time. I am a life-long Midland customer, purchasing CB’s, FRS and GMRS handhelds and GMRS mobile radios. I love the products. The main reason why I am even complaining is because my MXT400 (siting right next to me) is putting out the exact same power (measured) as the MXT500, which is supposed to be more powerful. So I hop people can understand my frustration.

Ed Fong antenna, those are great for receive and transmit. Used many of those for emergency communications services in the aftermath of hurricanes, floods, and oil spills. Also provides some funding for student projects, and lets them learn real world aspects of electrical engineering and building a product that can be used in by the public. Let us know what you get with that Ed Fong antenna real world.....to see if the math worked out. With transmit and handhelds, I was taught to estimate about one mile per watt, but that still depends on terrain, frequency, and antenna in use (that was assuming the standard antenna included with the handheld radio.) Receive can often be much more, depending on the radio you are receiving and antenna in use......talk in versus talk out is also always an issue when repeaters are in use. Forestry service often deploys five watt portable repeaters, as their handhelds are only five watts, keeps that talk-in vs. talk-out similar in distance. You have received great advice in previous posts above.

The charge controllers I linked to claim little to no RFI generated. Any type of switching power converter has the potential to generate huge levels of RFI unless it’s well shielded and proper filters on all of the wires going in and out of the box are used. Many radio operators have experienced RFI just from using their table top DC power supply plugged into a wall outlet. Those aren’t the only sources either. You can search for and read the horror stories where people spent weeks or longer only to find it was the LED night light, malfunctioning power supply in a TV, computer was sitting to close to the radio, noise only present when the USB printer cable was plugged in etc.

@MichaelLAX, are you doing it on purpose?