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There is no ambiguity. Part 97 does not require type acceptance so using a Part 90 radio is perfectly fine, and there are many hams who use older Motorola or Harris commercial radios. One needs to be aware of a couple things when using a Part 90 radio: 1) As @Sshannon shows above, many Part 90 radios will do 136-174 and 400-480 MHz. Obviously most of that range is NOT amateur radio (or even MURS or GMRS) so you need to make certain you are only transmitting where you are authorized to do so. 2) Unlike amateur radio, the FCC regulations for MURS and GMRS *do* require radios to have type acceptance, and a Part 90 radio like these does not have that type acceptance and as such is not authorized for use on those services.

What MARS/CAP mod? It's a Part 90 radio so it will cover 2m/70cm as well as MURS and GMRS. Not type-accepted on MURS or GMRS, of course.

This has been my experience as well with my Baofeng radios, I need to put them on complete opposite sides of the room or they will mess with each other.

Motorola P/N is: HVN9025 Professional Radio CPS which runs under Windows 95, 98, XP, 7 - not so sure on Win10. Originally 32 bit, but the later versions would do 64 bit. R06.12.05 (released @ December 2011) is the one to look for as it is the last one that allows wide or narrow selection on a per-channel basis (it also fixed a number of problems including the 64 bit Windows USB problems, and it can be found "out there". Revision R06.12.09 was the very last one, however it is narrowband only unless you have the wideband entitlement key. There's also a ton of firmware flashes available (and probably needed for really old first generation units). There's also lots to know if you picked up an eBay refugee that was flashed/converted from an early LS trunking model. The go to bookmark for anything Waris (Pro Series mobile CDM & HT750/1250) is: W9CR.net

Also, when yelling important stuff on your HT, hold it sideways. It looks much cooler that way.

It’s a dual band radio. Using the right passcode in the programming software allows changing the band limit configuration to cover the required frequency range. The important question is it legal to use the radio to transmit on those services. Without qualification the answer is no. Anybody who does should understand this fact. After that it’s up to them what they choose to do. It’s not my job to play the part of a radio cop. About dPMR you can find info on the Internet. As far as I know there is nothing that prohibits its use here. When digging around for information on it I haven’t found a definitive reason why it’s not used in the US at least. My guess it’s just a marketing issue and more importantly which CODEC is used. The dPMR standard has THREE different and incompatible CODECS specified with an optional vendor specific one allowed. Whereas DMR, NXDN and P25 all use a specific one, AMBE+2, regardless of manufacturer. This ensures radios using the same protocol can inter communicate between manufacturers using compliant radios. That wouldn’t be true for dPMR radios. dPMR MoU tech lib Voc Bits V1 (2019).pdf

An antenna with radials mounted to the top of a hard hat really seals the deal!

It’s something that people are easily confused about. A type 90 accepted radio may be used on the amateur frequencies, but a radio built and sold for the amateur bands is not necessarily type 90 accepted.

If you want the good looking chicks, you need a belt clip. If you want the REALLY good looking ones, a leather radio holster.

My D878 doesn’t have a problem with it either. Myself I’ve been looking for a couple of radios that can do dPMR, which is used mainly in the EU. I haven’t seen it in North America so far. It’s very similar to NXDN but the protocol is different. Anyway at least you didn’t get stuck with one of those crapy old Baofeng DMR radios.

My Alinco DJ-MD5 does VHF 136-174MHz / UHF 400-480MHz

I maybe a little to add my two cents, but being a NE Philly Boy, I hope that someone would reach out to me with information, so I could join if the dues aren't too steep.

It is rough... since yes it's 2x the cost of a tram/browning of similar design. But built at a different level. So might as well throw it out there, especially with "best" being at the top of the list. He will have to decide his budget. I think the Diamond is a better antenna. But I WANTED survivability, which influenced my choice heavily. Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

Looking for a low price point stopped me from recommending that style of antenna. My personal vehicle has a Diamond NR770HB, with that design spec.

I'm sure I'll end up with something like this. I'm not too concerned about GMRS, mainly because where I am moving (Wyoming) there are barely any GMRS repeaters in the whole state (I think three, and only one is open?).

Yes, my Yaesu radios can be on the same tabletop. My Baofeng has to be seven or eight feet away. I would recommend having someone else take the other radio outside.

Really kinda tough like Marc says. Mainly because 1/2 wave 2m ⁵/8 over ⁵/8 uhf is going to be about 31". Really, any 1/4 wave 2m , 3/4 70cm antenna will work. ³/4 wave is just terrible from my real world testing but mostly on the transmit side, it received well. So any of the company's that build it will work equally (about) as well. Tram browning larsen etc. They are all going to about 18-20 inches. Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

You need professional series software for that radio. Version 6.12.08 was the latest. Astro will not work.

I have a Baofeng UV17 Pro GPS that I have been using for airband (awesome radio by the way) and decided to order the Mate since it also does airband, and is orange lol

Honestly I don’t know if a meter is enough space with the radios I think I would try more like six. Good luck I hope you get it worked out. ?

In the test today as outlined above they were 1 meter apart. It's going to take some coordination to run the test again but far enough apart to rule out interference from each other, as my helpers in this testing process are my kids... No programming via computer, as I don't have a cable to do so yet. I think I'm going to put this on a hiatus for a bit. But if I find the cause, I'll be sure to share. Thanks for the thoughts and tips everyone.

I looked this over several times and I find myself arriving back to the desensing conclusion. How close are the radios during this last test? Are you programming via a computer? If so could we see an image from that?

I can tell you from experience, if you carry a radio and put on a black shirt that says "STAFF" on the back, you will definitely get a lot of attention from those "chicks". For the duration of the concert, anyway...

GMRS will work about as well as the 440 ham band. A NMO Mag mount with 1/4 wave UHF antenna is one of the better antenna's you can use. Any commercial LMR 1/4 wave will work fine. You range sounds about what I see during caravans on Jeep events or travel with family. To be honest MURS may of been a better option and no license, but no repeaters.

GMRS is quiet much of the time here as well, other than the simplex traffic from business, or when there are major fires. The "congestion" issue I mention is related to time-of-use. Our groups, and those on other repeaters on the same channel, often want to use their systems at the same time. Due to the terrain here, our portable radio users can get stepped on from users of other systems operating mobile or control stations at high-elevations, even 80 miles away.

Open or not? That is the question. Well no, not really. But I guess I need to determine what your definition of closed is. Are you referring to it being closed as requiring permission for access, or are you referring to closed as no one outside your specific group as having access going forward. And I will warn you that even having an OPEN repeater on this forum with POSTED PL's but the ability to request access will fill your email box with permission requests. I get them all the time. No one has ever been denied, but I still get the requests. So will you. If you are going to make the access semi-private, not post the PL / DPL information publicly, like I have, and wait for requests, you will get MORE requests. But at least the repeater is publicaly posted for frequency and area of coverage. This will cut down on the possibility of someone else parking a repeater on your frequency with a different PL. Not posting it publicly at all can get a repeater parked on your frequency if no one else knows about it. Or posting it as being PRIVATE, or fee based membership. Then you will get to deal with assholes like me that absolutely abhor the idea of taking a shared resource and trying to charge money for it. My way of dealing with it was building a repeater that completely covered the other guys coverage area and making it fully open. Of course he did have a for profit business of selling access to his GMRS repeaters, so I really had ZERO heartburn doing so. He was the only one that suffered form that since his users could access my repeater for free, so they didn't need to pay him any longer. But those are the breaks. I work very hard in this area to work with anyone trying to setup repeaters for any type of use outside of that. I have run coverage maps for all the repeaters in my area, referenced this site and others trying to locate all the operational repeaters around with their PL / DPL information so when someone is talking about putting up a repeater I can assist with something resembling frequency / PL coordination so interference is kept to a minimum and everyone is happy. I have programmed repeaters and tuned duplexers for others to get them on the air. And I have provided equipment to people to get a system on the air if they had a location to get something up and running. I just refuse to support it as a business, and will attempt to scuttle ANY attempt to turn GMRS access into a business for profit. Now understand that this stuff is EXPENSIVE. SIte access, electricity, equipment and maintenance all costs money. Requesting donations, having raffles, and other fund raising operations are well within the scope of getting the bills paid for keeping gear on the air. But GMRS is not there to enrich you financially. So in truth, leaving it open for use is the best option. Here's why in my opinion. First is management of access. There frankly is none. For those people that get on there and act dumb, the other operators will deal with them, typically by just ignoring the stupidity. And that is the best way for dealing with LID operators. They get bored and go elsewhere that they can get a rise out of people. You will have more users if there are fewer restrictions for access. But there is a requirement of good equipment for that as well. My linked repeater on the MidWest system gets over 1000 PTT's a day and 4 to 6 hours of talk time on a normal day and twice that on the days there is a net. You can't get a couple mobiles in a box to stand up to that usage level for long. But it's always better to have good equipment from the start and not need to worry about it. The other thing with more users and activity is you can see the fruits of your efforts. And there are people there if you want to just chat with someone.

I 100% understand that. I am pretty sure you and I have discussed that I use a Comet SBB-1 when I am going offroad or in a known limited clearance area. A slight performance tradeoff for survivability is definitely a smart choice. A high performance antenna that is broken because of a tree or i-beam doesn't help at all.

I heard a rumor that the YouTube GMRS Queen will be making a video about this radio very soon.

My latest setup in the Jeep, using an external antenna.

My favorite GMRS handheld.

Oh.. shit. As it turns out, a AM as stupid as everyone says. It is also entire possible that I have had too much NyQuil .. Carry on.