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The distortion is due to Doppler and, it's an FM repeater. I've tracked the ISS on my SDR, and depending on the pass (relative to my location), the Doppler can be as much as +/- 10KHz from the down link center frequency. So if your radio has a tight bandwidth, there will be distortion for all except the closest part of the pass. I use my FT-818 because my tuning rate isn't fixed at 5KHz. You leave your transmit signal alone and simply tune the receiver as the pass progresses. The FT-818 isn't a 'Satellite" rig, but it's better than using an FM HT. Sadly, rigs that offer full cross-band duplex can get expensive. That said, the Alinco DR-735 and my Yaesu FTM-400 will do cross band duplex and more refined tuning steps than simply 5 KHz, so at least for the FM satellites they are an option. Basically, any dual band radio that can do/work as a cross band repeater is usable for FM satellite. As far as power, don't ever use more than about 10W. Not because it will cause distortion, but rather you overload the repeater. It doesn't take a lot of power to access any of the satellites.

Below is general information on the Motorola DTR and DLR series 900MHz FHSS digital radios. I am a user of the DTRs and the DLRs and have become a serious fan of them because they are professional quality and work amazingly well. I own a small fleet of legacy DTR650 radios and a small fleet of DTR700 radios. I have also previously owned a small fleet of DLR1060 radios. DTR600/700: https://www.motorolasolutions.com/en_us/products/two-way-radios/commercial-business-two-way-radio-systems/on-site-business-radios/dtr-series.html DLR1020/DLR1060: https://www.motorolasolutions.com/en_us/products/two-way-radios/commercial-business-two-way-radio-systems/on-site-business-radios/dlr-series-digital-radio.html CPS download: https://www.motorolasolutions.com/en_us/products/two-way-radios/commercial-business-two-way-radio-systems/on-site-business-radios/dtr-series/dtr700.html#tabresource The Motorola Business Radio CPS is a free download from Motorola and programs all of their Business Radio models. CPS cable on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Motorola-HKKN4027A-Programming-Cable-Black/dp/B00EC2PV6A/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=motorola+HKKN4027A&qid=1613093281&sr=8-1 The same CPS cable is used for programming all of Motorola's business radios. The one exception is the legacy DTR410/550/650 models because they use a different CPS cable. No programming is needed to use these radios out of the box at the factory default settings. The DTRs and DLRs work with each other right out of the box at the factory default settings. Customization of settings and features requires the CPS. Some settings can be changed without the CPS. The fastest way to get some DTR and DLR radios talking to each other if they don't already do so is to reset all of them to the factory default settings and then go from there. You don't need the CPS or the cable to get started with the DTRs and DLRs. Motorola has made it insanely easy to get started with them. Motorola DTR550 case study: https://www.motorolasolutions.com/content/dam/msi/docs/business/_documents/case_studies/rutland_healthcare_case_study.pdf The Rutland Healthcare case study is a bit dated as the DTR550 was used. The legacy DTR410/550/650 models have been on the market since 2006 and were discontinued in November 2018, marking the end of a 12 year production run. Support for the DTR410/550/650 models end on November 30, 2023. The DTR600 and DTR700 are the replacement models for the legacy DTR410/550/650 models. DTR history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOTO_Talk The DTRs and DLRs are a spinoff from Motorola's MOTOTALK feature in several NEXTEL iDEN phones years ago. NEXTEL called this feature Direct Talk and is not to be confused with the DirectConnect PTT feature which worked through NEXTEL's iDEN network. The DirectTalk feature works PTT simplex phone to phone on 900MHz and uses FHSS. The killer app for this feature is for PTT use between phones when network service is spotty or unavailable and phones are close enough to each other to communicate. NEXTEL phones were popular with contractors and other professionals at jobsites and there was nothing more frustrating than the DirectConnect PTT feature would not work because one or more phones had no network service and phones were still relatively close to each other. The off-network DirectTalk feature provided a solution. The DTRs and DLRs use the same FHSS system but were coded differently from the phones to be incompatible and supposedly was done on purpose. The DTRs and the DLRs are the modern day implementation of the MOTOTALK platform. The legacy DTR410/550/650 models shared a common design with a NEXTEL phone during development and were originally part of the same design project until they spit apart to become separate products. Users of the legacy DTR410/550/650 models will notice that they are very NEXTEL-like in their behavior. The DTRs are commercial radios and loaded with features for business radio users. However, they often are too much "radio" for the average retail business user. Retail users just want a small radio with no keypad and display and minimal features to keep it simple. The DLRs are Motorola's answer to that. DLR = Digital Lightweight Radio, according to Motorola. The DLRs have the features of the DTRs, minus a display and keypad and channel capacity but are compatible with the DTRs. The DLRs were released in the summer of 2015. The DLRs are incredibly easy to use. The DLRs appear to be marketed toward users of the UHF analog CLS series analog business radios that are very popular for retail use. The DLRs seem to make sense for the target market. Some people don't like the large round PTT button on the front of the radio because they are so accustomed to PTT being on the left side of the radio. The DLRs are smaller than most FRS bubble packs and the front button makes sense for the very small size and thin form factor. A DLR radio is comfortable to hold in either hand and a thumb press activates PTT. I found the round front PTT button makes perfect sense for such a small radio. Old retired NEXTEL phones with the off-network DirectTalk feature can be found very cheaply on eBay. The i355 is a good model to look for. There are several videos on YT demoing their use. Factory fresh new batteries are still available for them. I know that because the legacy DTRs use the same battery and I recently re-batteried my DTR650 fleet. The one gotcha with old NEXTEL phones is they need to have a SIM card in them that was previously activated on an iDEN network to activate the DirectTalk feature. The MOTOTALK platform is an ID-based system and each phone or DTR/DLR radio has its own unique 11-digit Private ID, sort of like an Electronic Serial Number (ESN). In the DTRs and DLRs, this is ID loaded by Motorola at the factory and is not changeable by the end user or with the CPS. For private talkgroups and private 1 to 1 calling, individual radios only know each other by their 11 digit Private ID. NEXTEL phones with the DirectTalk feature form the 11-digit Private ID from 1 plus the area code and phone number that was assigned to the phone when it was activated on the network. This is why an old NEXTEL phone must have a previously activated SIM card in it to enable the DirectTalk feature. DTR/DLR FHSS on 900MHz: The DTRs and DLRs use a hopset of 50 frequencies spread across the entire 902-928MHz band and spend no more than 90ms on any given freq in the hopset. The DTRs make about 11 hops per second. The digital modulation on a given freq in the hopset is according to an 8-level modulation scheme. The occupied BW on a given freq in the hopset is around 26 kHz. Motorola's VSELP vocoder is used. VSELP is what NEXTEL phones used. Per FCC 15.247, an FHSS device operating in the 902-928MHz band must use a minimum of 50 frequencies in the hopset and output power is limited to 1W (+30dBm). The legacy DTRs were FCC certified at 890mW (+29.5dBm). The DTR600/700 models were FCC certified at 830 mW (+29.2 dBm). The DLRs were FCC certified at 880mW (+29.4 dBm). The few tenths of a dB under the +30dBm legal limit is to account for measurement uncertainty and slight variation in power output from unit to unit and not exceed the 1W (+30dBm) legal limit. The power numbers in the FCC certs reflect what was measured from the individual sample submitted to the accredited test lab for cert testing. My DTRs: I own a small fleet of legacy DTR650 radios and a small fleet of DTR700 radios. The DTR650 has been around since 2006 and was discontinued in November 2018 when the DTR600/700 models were released. The DTR600 and DTR700 models are the replacement for the legacy DTR 410/550/650 models. The DTR600/700 programs a little differently from the legacy DTRs but are fully backward compatible. I have also owned a small fleet of DLR1060 radios which also work with the DTRs. I later sold my DLRs to a friend for his business as I traded up to the DTR700 and kept my DTR650 fleet. At first he wasn't sure what he was going to use them for except maybe as rental radios for his customers but now he and his employees use them all the time around the office and at jobsites. The DTRs are my professional quality digital replacement for GMRS/FRS for local on-site simplex type use with family and friends. I never got them to set any range records but they work amazingly well and are capable of outperforming conventional Part 90/95 UHF portables on simplex. They totally blow FRS away. Where they beat other radios is when working inside buildings. Where they blow all others away is when aboard cruise ships. People who have used them on cruise ships report having full ship coverage on all decks compared to a pair of 4W UHF commercial portables on GMRS simplex which had trouble penetrating more than about 2 decks. Like when inside buildings, the ship is much more open at 900MHz compared to 462/467MHz (GMRS/FRS) and VHF MURS. The ship represents a compartmentalized metal enclosure with many reflections created. The many reflections inside the ship actually helps at 900MHz and the FHSS operation causes the individual hot spots and dead spots to hop around as the frequency hops. The FHSS operation effectively stirs the modes so to speak as the frequency hops. A coworker once asked me why not just use FRS? My answer was that I have already been doing that since FRS was created in 1996 and longer than that as a GMRS licensee (KAE9013) since 1992 and using good quality commercial gear. I want an all digital solution that is higher quality and more professional than FRS. The fact that they are completely scanner proof and can be made very secure via private talkgroups and private 1 to 1 calling comes as a bonus. While technically not encrypted, they can be made very secure. They are not monitorable on any consumer grade receiver (i.e., scanner) so don't even bother trying. I have also been bit by the digital radio bug as a ham (N1DAS) and want to use digital radios. I still have GMRS/FRS and MURS as a backup and for interoperability with non-DTR/DLR users but they are no longer my default go-to modes local on-site simplex use with family and friends. Aside from occasional light use of FRS with my young nephews when they come to visit, I hardly use GMRS/FRS at all anymore. I love these radios for local on-site simplex type use. My wife loves using them too when we are out shopping or doing whatever. She is not a ham but totally gets it when it comes to having radios to stay in touch. She has told me that she specifically DOES NOT want to use an FRS bubble pack radio. She much prefers using the DTR radios and wants to use only the good stuff (LOL) when we chitchat on the radio.

Yeah, and as I mentioned, another newbie mistake is thinking you need QRO to get a satellite. BTW, When I mentioned less distortion on the closest part of the pass (due to Doppler), I meant when it is moving the least, relative to your position. That is usually at the apex of a pass for near overhead passes, or it can be when a sat is just over the horizon and/or nor coming or going away from your location. I hope that makes sense, kind of difficult to explain how and when Doppler becomes a PIA for FM satellites. The bottom line is Doppler is at it's worst when the sat is coming directly towards you and as it moves away. Higher frequency coming at you and lower as it moves away. The real bitch IMHO, is that you really only have a few minutes, on most sats, to tune and make contacts. It is, however, pretty cool!

As far as rigs go, keep in mind there are rigs that transmit cross-band, but cannot actually receive while transmitting (Like my FT-818). Most rigs that can be configured to be a cross-band repeater can listen on one band while transmitting on the other 'duplex', so watch the specifications closely. Just because a rig is dual band doesn't mean it does duplex. I know the IC-9700 can do this (it better given the price tag! LOL!) and, you also get the option of working the SSB/CW satellites. Duplex isn't strictly necessary, but it helps to be able to hear yourself in the down link, because that is likely where others hearing your signal will answer you! Ironically, one of the widest coverage sats is AO-7 which is back from the dead and, only when it is full sunlight (Batteries croaked). It isn't an FM satellite though, only SSB/CW, but even with it's 40 year old decaying orbit, you can work half to 3/4 of the country during a pass. Have fun!

Well, I could swear that's how it used to work, but I just tried that and it doesn't work that way anymore. The FCC CORES system is quite possibly the worst system to navigate I have every seen. I apologize, BoxCar. But, what you can do is save your FRN and password as your login and password for the License Manager site: https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsEntry/licManager/login.jsp From there, you see a list of your licenses.

@marcspazI just reread your earlier comment. It would be a very (very) odd event for the ISS repeater to overload your receiver and/or peg the S-meter. I'm wondering if perhaps a newbie might have been transmitting on the down link frequency (i.e. they got the split wrong/reversed). We have a small group out here who work the sats somewhat often and even one guy with an 11 element yagi on the down link (into an HT) who has never experienced anything near an overload on the down link. Food for thought

@WROZ250 I appreciate the advice. I have used other people's gear before and had a great time, which is why I tried my own equipment yesterday. It was pretty fun using one person's radio at 800mw and another at 5w. I had an FTM-400. I don't know if it was a firmware issue compared to your experience, bit the lowest mine went was 5kc steps. I replaced it with the FTM-300DR. I'm currently thinking about an FT-991a, IC-9700 or an IC 705. I just don't know if I like the idea of being QRP unless I buy a bunch of amps, or I would have already purchased the 705. Anyway... thanks again. I guess a new radio is in my future.

Not legal. You are cross banding between two entirely different radio services . You can't do that. Sent from my SM-A125U using Tapatalk

The mere name indicates that it is optimized for Amateur 2m and 70cm bands. MURS is at 151 [channels 1-3] & 154 [channels 4-5], and GMRS is at 462 [1-7, 15-22 simplex], 467 [8-14, 15-22 Repeater/aka 23-30]

I don't think the concern here is that it's possible to find your address if someone is already targeting you by name. I think the concern is more that anyone who hears your call sign as you broadcast it over an area that could contain anywhere from dozens of people to hundreds of thousands of people could successfully target you based only on the call sign...

What radio were you using? I haven't made it successfully, but my understanding is that even with Doppler, the frequency does change throughout the contact. I doubt you had too much gain, as those I know that make those contacts do so with Yagi/Beam antennas with gain over 11dbi. I would guess you were slightly off frequency on the receive, but on the marker on transmit. I know my IC9700 has an auto tracker than can track the received carrier and adjust as it moves with the Doppler shift, but I don't think any other radio has that. Others use the computer to adjust on the fly.

I get a kick out of this as well, as a quick Google search gets a lot more than many people realize. I had a guy in a fishing forum mention that the "blackout" headlight on his truck was on his "bugout rig" and that he could not say more due to OPSEC (Operational Security) reasons. A quick Google search showed this guy used the same screen name for other forums, and in one included a picture of his Texas Fish and Wildlife pickup truck, with the military style blackout light on the brush guard. It was his issued work vehicle, not personal. Similar searches in radio forums result in similar results. In another radio site forum, a member posted many APX series radios, claiming they were for personal use (all 7/800 MHz). Well others then called him out, as they showed county names on the screens, and people found out whom it was and mentioned to the local departments that some of their "missing" radios may have ended up with a certain user. Online searches are easy, just using a call sign, and other details, as it is public record as you mentioned.

That works, but you really don’t need to search for it. Just log into CORES and you see all the licenses for your FRN.

QFT. I have witnessed first hand, a well placed high gain antenna running 100w out, significantly outperform a poor antenna at low elevation and 1,000w+.

Honestly, if you need the actual FCC regulation on the matter, then look it up on the FCC web site. If you are smart enough to get logged into this web site, you are smart enough to look it up. The regulation is pretty cut and dried, 50 watts out of the radio transmitter, amplifier or whatever the source is. That's the on paper FCC rule. Reality. If you are running a hybrid combiner network feeding three repeaters into one antenna, your losses in that combiner network will exceed 6dB. So if you are running 100 watts into the combiner, you are STILL only getting 25 watts out to the antenna feed line and then you have the loss of that line to contend with as well. My system is putting 18 to 20 watts out of the building. Feed line is 300 feet, and .817dB per 100 feet. So that's .817 X 3 or 2.451dB. Plus the .5dB loss per connector on the cable, the .5dB loss for the surge suppressor... Am I gonna tell you that I am pushing past the 50 watt maximum at the station, of course not. My station is completely legal. But lets have a different discussion. Lets talk about 12dB sinad, capture and minimum signal required to hold open squelch. The average MTR2000 will open squelch with a PL at about -120.5 to -122dBm. And requires about -118to -119.5dBm for a 12 dB sinad. That's a signal change of a very scratchy signal to a fully copyable signal with background static. For a full quieting signal you need to increase your input signal from -120 to about -105dBm. So about 15dB of increase. So what is that in terms of watts? specifically the power change. If you are running a 10 watt radio, and you are generating a signal level of -120 at the repeater input, to make that signal -105 would mean you increased your signal to 80 watts to achieve that -105dBm signal level. SO, does a 50 watt radio make a big difference over a 10 watt radio? It does, but not as much as you think. With my silly little 18 watts I talk 37 miles in some directions. Because antenna HEIGHT and gain is FAR more important than what your watt meter says your power out is.

For the record, you can have a PO Box. You just list it at the time of application. If you already have a license, you can change it to a PO Box.

I have my PO box listed on my FRN and both my Amateur and GMRS licenses. I believe you modify your FRN first and then update your licenses to remove the physical address. IIRC, it’s no cost to do this.