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Good practice suggests using no more power than necessary to establish good communications. If you can get in to the repeater with only a watt or two I would do that. It keeps the hand held radio cooler and the battery pack will of course last longer.

The programming software should have a "download from radio" [otherwise you are always starting from scratch] and a "save file" function (not the "upload to radio").

The software should give you the option to save the radio's setup/memory programming file to disk. That's the file you want to open with the editor.

If you look at the screen shot he provided, copied here, you'll see three pairs of frequencies, for three different channels in the editor. He boxed one of the two frequencies, in red, for a pair which he determined was the TX frequency for that particular memory channel. Since initially both RX and TX were set the same that's why they look like a duplicate of single frequency, but in reality they are the discrete RX and TX settings. This radio does not use a firmware that assumes a single frequency with an offset model, typical for some Ham Radio gear. It REQUIRES two distinct frequencies, one RX, and one TX, for each memory channel. This is common for many many radios, particularly for commercial models and their derivatives. Having hack a number of Kenwood radio specific codes plugs myself I've seen the same thing using a hex editor.

Yeah, if you look closely at his screen shot of the editor you will see several pairs of frequencies, one pair for each programmed channel. All he did was pick the second of the two in a pair, the one he wanted to alter, and changed it from 462.xxxxx to 467.xxxxx to get the repeater input frequency. The only down side to hacking code plugs like this is when you need to make a change to the frequency. If it's one of the hacked custom frequencies you're back using the editor again. Not real convenient but it works. Not all radio's code plugs are this simple to hack. A few use various types of encryption to try and prevent this sort of thing. I figured that out on some of the Kenwood radios I have. After decrypting the code plugs a few interesting items were found like model numbers, embedded radio serial numbers, programming software license install keys etc. I was also able to see the normally hidden radio write protect password, if used in the software, in the clear.

Nicely done! You probably want to keep the Power Setting on LOW for Channels 8-14.

Now this is more like it. A big THANK YOU to MichaelLAX, Lscott, Backformore70, and KAF6045 for all your help and input! Screen shot is attached where I could change the TX / RX frequencies for the GMRS split independently, along with the power settings functions. I am still looking for the thread where somebody was getting 4.82 watts output, still no luck.

In the old days -- like 1997 when I got my GMRS license... Base stations couldn't even talk to another base station (besides having only two of the 8 main frequencies assigned). You have to look at the original GMRS intent: family or small business (the latter are grandfathered, but no new business uses are being licensed). In the case of the "family" -- think a moderately large farm. The base station would be in the farm house, while the family working the fields are using HTs or mobiles. Even a 640 acre farm is only 1x1mile -- and being a farm is likely flat enough that even a 2W HT could go corner to corner (1.4miles). Now... the tricky configuration: a repeater WITH microphone and speaker, located at the farm house. It would receive on the 467MHz frequencies, but only transmit on the 462MHz. This would qualify as a base station (think of it as a Dispatch operator, sending directions to scattered family members) when using the microphone/speaker, yet be a repeater for really wide spread family. Given the limited number of /shared/ frequencies in GMRS, and the prohibition on digital data (except for low power HTs sending location data on SIMPLEX frequencies) I don't think there are many "fixed stations" in GMRS -- unless part of a grandfathered business license. I think of fixed stations as things like telemetry or relays (not repeaters), possibly using DTMF tones to send/receive commands. "Fixed" stations don't "talk" to general public -- they use directional antennas (YAGI, dish...) aimed at another fixed station.

Aha, that's the problem. Don't you just love getting brain farts? ?

I don’t know this radio but if I understand the question wouldn’t this be so it scans for everything regardless of if there’s a tone set on the output of the repeater or not? That is to say that if you’re only scanning repeater channels set with rx tones you’ll be missing transmissions with no tones either from a repeater or not.

I wonder if it's a leftover from their older firmware's/configurations that didn't allow split tones. That way, repeater 15 could have the tone filter, and simplex 15 heard everything else that didn't have the matching tone.

I sent my MXT500 in for service. They fixed it and had it back out in the mail to me, literally on the same they they received it from me shipping it to them. Got the radio back before the end of the next day. In my opinion, they have fantastic service! As far as if any channel is set to wide or narrow, you really need to check in the menu of the radio. Each channel is set independently and we really don't have any way of knowing what yours, specifically, is set to. As far as wide or narrow and the radio's receive sensitivity, there is no relation. I don't have an answer for you why they seem to appear different between the repeater channel and the simplex channel. Only that the bandwidth setting isn't it. Eh... it doesn't quite work that way. Overdriven is a function of signal strength. The bandwith doesn't have an impact on signal strength. Non-linear demodulation by the discriminator circuit causes distortion. In wide band, the radio will transmit and is configure to receive a signal that is 20 kHz wide. In narrow band, the radio will transmit and is configure to receive a signal that is 12.5 kHz wide. The wider the bandwidth, the more data the signal can carry. In voice radio, that data is your voice. So, the wider the bandwidth, the better the fidelity. Without getting too far into the weeds, if a narrow band radio receives a wide band signal, not all of the audio is captured. This causes a signal to sound like it has a little more base and louder than narrow signals. If we go the other way around, and a wide band receiver hears a narrow signal, about 38% of the bandwidth the receiver is listening to has no signal. The empty space is filled with RF noise and the discriminator circuit ends up outputting audio that is both slightly higher in tone and lower in volume. Again, I can't really speak to this exact situation, but I don't believe a repeater was used in that case. Anyway, same rules apply as above. Bandwidth differences don't cause that issue.

Oh, great, now I have to get a Jeep… ?

The first "miracle" required is just getting the FCC to allow digital voice modes on GMRS in the first place.

I actually carry 2 antennas to use. Depending on where I am, I swap them around. I use the 6dB gain antenna when I am relatively flat areas, but if I am driving through the mountains (like when I go offroading) I use the 1/4 wave antenna.

Its a nifty little radio, but unless everyone else in your party also has one, most of that nifty'ness doesnt matter. As for basic use and fars, it's pretty much the same as any other radio.

Q-R-Mary: He's one of "those!" ?

Do we have any repeaters in the club? I'm hoping to have a rt97 repeater up and running within a month.