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But you could set your radio to scan on the 467.xxx frequencies with no receive tone, and then, once you hear someone transmitting to the repeater, scan for tones, provided your radio supports scanning for tones.

There’s a hidden compartment under the driver’s seat which should be completely empty. The battery is in an identical compartment under the passenger’s seat.

I could, but I'm too busy letting my wife tell me how to drive!

If you want to see several of the different threads about this topic, search the forums for “95.1749”

"Sorry to hear that. You are welcome back to Texas any time." I grew up there. Left for the military in 1978. Came back after that for a while and followed a job out here. Thankfully, I have never lived in a big city here. I have something most Texans don't have though, a declaration from the Texas House of Representatives signed by state congressman Jack Brooks in 1961 stating that I an official Native Texan. I was born in Louisiana and my Texan parents moved back to Texas a couple of months later. For some reason they seriously thought it was important that I was a bona fide Texan. I am more proud of being just a plain old American.

This has been discussed multiple times in the past. The rules don't really say that and quoting someone from a blog don't make it so.

Now the confusion likely comes from discussions of higher power radios like the KG-1000G 50 watt model. That radio can exceed the power draw capability of a lighter socket/power port and should be wired to the battery. When in doubt consult the manual.

467.675/462.675 with a CTCSS of 141.3 I believe was considered to be the settings for what used to be known as the Open Repeater Initiative. That seems to have gone away in recent years, but there are quite a few repeater owners trying to keep it alive. If a repeater has a different tone set on the encode side, you won't be able to open squelch on it. Generally, it's a better idea to find repeaters that you will be near and using, and program those into the radio. I do believe the travel tone (141.3) is still pretty widely used, but if none of the repeaters in your area are using that tone or trying to keep the ORI alive, you are pretty unlikely to get anyone. Generally, for road trips, I will see what repeaters are available along the way and around the destination and get those programmed into the radio before leaving.

I thought El Rando getting dressed up meant going out with a Boofwang with the wrist strap and belt clip.

https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20230803/fema-and-fcc-plan-nationwide-emergency-alert-test-oct-4-2023

I don’t know that you’ll get solid answers.

Thanks for sharing the link. I really appreciate solid answers. 73 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I forgot the empty compartment under driver seat Thanks

Thank you Ray! I'll be printing out your explanation(s) and putting in my filing cabinet. That way I can go back and reread.

The problem I have is that you keep saying "linking" is prohibited. The regulation only says "connecting to a network other than for control purposes" is prohibited. Although a network is the most likely (and easiest) way people would link repeater, it's not the only way. Two repeaters could be directly connected (linked) which would not involve a network. Also, the fact that probably hundreds of GMRS repeaters are linked, using the internet, and FCC has done nothing about it, including no "do-better" letters, makes me think it's a tempest in a teapot.

If they "clarified" it to mean something other than what the rule originally said, then they changed the rule. If they can show that their clarification didn't change the rule and that other interpretations were incorrect, then I appreciate the clarification.

Who says linking requires internet or telephone connection?

No, they don't make Microwaves, just coax. Pretty sure its Times New Roman.

OK, now I have to go dig mine out.

Nope. The wording of the rule has been changed.

Also "While the rules previous only outlined a prohibition of GMRS communications on the PSTN, this language was recently updated to include "other networks" more generically to address a range of other technologies (internet, cellular networks…)." In other words, FCC changed the rules. How can they do that without an NPRM? Those of you with linked repeaters might want to speak to your representatives.

I'm well aware of the wording and what it says about connections to networks. That doesn't say a repeater cannot be linked to other repeaters and I believe that linking repeaters together so that what is received by one repeater is transmitted by another is a form of remote control.

I knew it. A "stirring the pot" trap.

Go read the blog entry and decide for yourself. Note this change to 95 E, which is referenced in the letter posted on that blog: § 95.1749 GMRS network connection. Operation of a GMRS station with a telephone connection is prohibited, as in § 95.349. GMRS repeater, base and fixed stations, however, may be connected to the public switched network or other networks for the sole purpose of operation by remote control pursuant to § 95.1745. Note that it says "may be connected to ... other networks for the sole purpose of operation by remote control ..." Remote control means things like turning the repeater on or off, changing the power level or tones, etc. My interpretation of that is, "You can hook your repeater up to the Internet, but only for remote control". In other words, not to link it to other repeaters for voice traffic.

This sounds like one of those "stirring the pot" traps we see so often here.

Nailed it. There is no universal travel tone. You could set 141.3 and drive past an antenna farm, but if none are set to 141.3, you won't reach anyone.

Hi James! I understand the headache thing. Once it is adequately explained, hopefully it will fit together more easily for you. I will try to do that but if I inadvertently leave holes of gaps, please feel free to question me. This will be lengthy so I beg the pardon of those who feel that all comments should be brief. Your mobile, base, or ht, when operating through a repeater will necessarily transmit on one frequency (the repeater input), and receive on another (the repeater output). Those input/output frequencies need to be spaced a certain distance from each other frequency wise to prevent de-sense and other issues of self-interference by the repeater to itself. On land mobile UHF frequencies in the USA (like GMRS), the standard spacing is exactly 5 MHz. Using the lowest GMRS repeater pair for instance, to operate on repeater channel 15, your mobile, base, or ht (here shortened to ht for brevity) will necessarily transmit on 467.550 which is where a repeater using repeater channel 15 listens for all transmissions. When the repeater hears a transmission on that frequency (its input), it begins transmitting on the output channel (462.550). Audio (voice, etc) received on the input is transferred to the output and broadcast over it, where others' mobiles, bases, and ht's receive it. Given that ideally, a repeater is up high on a tower, water tank, building, mountain, etc, and usually with a large gain antenna, it enables transmissions from an ht to be heard and retransmitted at much greater distance than would normally be possible. The repeater is doing something that most ht's etc cannot do, which is transmitting and receiving at the same time. When your unkey your ht, the signal into the repeater drops and after a few seconds (usually 2 or 3), and the repeater stops transmitting. That extra 2 or 3 seconds is called "hang time" (often erroneously referred to as "squelch tail") and is helpful in determining your relative signal received from the repeater and whether or not you actually keyed it up or "hit it". It can be set by the repeater owner regarding duration and some repeaters (thankfully very few) may have no hang time at all, leaving you to guess whether or not you hit it or whether or not it is even on the air. If the repeater is using carrier squelch (aka CS or CSQ), chances are high that it will regularly receive and re-transmit traffic intended for other repeaters operating on that same repeater frequency or "pair" (input/output). Those transmissions could be in the same town or even hundreds of miles away depending on elevation of the repeater, the other system ht's, band conditions, etc. Enter CTCSS/DCS! CTCSS (Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System) and newer DCS (Digital Coded Squelch) allow a repeater owner to set his repeater's tone decoder to a specific tone. That tone will be needed before the repeater receiver can receive an ht's transmission on the input and begin re-transmitting it on the output. Other signals using carrier squelch or a different tone will not open up the receiver and activate the repeater. Think of the tone decoder (for instance set to 141.3 Hz) as a lock. The encoder on your ht, also set to 141.3 is the key that opens the receiver and allows it to key the repeater transmitter, rebroadcasting your transmission over the repeater. The term "encode" is generally associated with transmitting from a given ht or repeater and "decode" is associated with the receiver on a given ht or repeater. You encode a 141.3 tone so the repeater's decoder set at 141.3 will open up and activate the repeater. Likewise, most repeaters, as a convenience and courtesy to their end-users, will encode the same tone on their output. In this example, we will say that when this hypothetical repeater begins transmitting, it is encoding a 141.3 tone on the output. As many ht's (and mobiles or bases) have rather loose front ends (the part of your receiver that screens out a host of noise and interference sources), being able to set your ht's decoder to that output tone to keep your radio silent except for stuff coming through the repeater is a big deal for many. Setting your ht's decoder to 141.3 on this repeater will greatly reduce annoyances from other repeaters, kids playing on FRS, intermod, spurious signals, etc, from coming through your speaker. Unfortunately, some repeater owners neglect to set the encoders on their repeaters, forcing their end users to endure the aforementioned noise sources and more. Some repeater owners who limit access to their repeaters may encode one tone on the output and require a different tone on the input to make it more difficult for an unauthorized user to hack their tone by using tone scan. Even if the repeater encodes a tone on its output, you have the option of leaving your decoder on your ht turned off if you desire, allowing you to hear other repeaters, simplex conversations on GMRS/FRS channel 15, etc. Many repeaters have a Morse code automatic ID which will sound every 15 minutes during a conversation and at random times throughout the day and night. As many repeater operators thoughtfully set their repeaters to not encode a tone during these random Morse ID's, setting your decoder on your ht can let you work, watch tv, and sleep better, if you have your radio on while doing those and other things. I hope this was of some help.

This site actually has the best list of repeaters around. There's also a map that will show you the repeaters all around you. If you go to the menu up at the top, click on map, it will pull the map right up for you.

Geezus, some people could over-complicate a cup of water. YES, it will work.

"I set them to encode (transmit)".... "extra 30 seconds it would have taken them to program their repeater to encode a tone on the output" Hey Ray, I'm confused. "Encode" is TX on the radio. How is encode (TX) could a repeater be the same? Nothing gets heard if the radio and repeater is TX (encode) at the same time. My head hurts.

Recently a big GMRS youtuber posted a video about the repeater-jammer, callsign WRTD259 in Steelton PA that got busted by the FCC for jamming a repeater. In that video the youtuber reads the public FCC violation notice and displays the FCC public notice of violation on the screen - you can see the full, public complaint against WRTD259 here: https://www.fcc.gov/document/jonathan-gutierrez-licensee-station-wrtd259-steelton-pa Now SOMEONE has filed a notice of privacy-violation against that video, demanding that all personal information about the jammer be removed from the video.. Of course, there is no way to know exactly who filed the notice.. But if we were to guess who filed the notice, hypothetically, it would seem funny that a jammer would demand everyones attention while jamming, but does not want any attention after he gets caught.

You will need to get them from their club. Click here Texas GMRS Network

Your group should invest in radios on a service that allows encryption.

Good point.. I only use that Times New Roman "real" LMR400, or whatever its called.

First, there are many different types of coax cables that people call LMR400. Some have a shield that consists of aluminum foil over copper braid. Some, like the M&P 10mm stuff have copper for both layers. LMR400 is the Kleenex of coax. Does it make a difference during full duplex transmissions? Darned if I know, but I’m certain that this range problem isn’t because of LMR400. I just read an older thread on another forum where a guy said “my company has several repeaters that work just fine with LMR400, but I’m looking at making a portable repeater and I want something more flexible.” Immediately someone went into great lengths telling him not to use LMR400 for repeaters.

Yah, there's your problem, right there.. Many of the "experts" I have seen posting stuff here really struggle understanding the difference between "will not work/does not work/is bad" and "may not work 100% the best".

75Feet of LMR400 from my VXR7000 gets me ~50 miles of farz, so I'd say LMR400 works just fine - Not "The best", but good enough for most normal people with low-power, non commercial installations.

@JamesBrox what you may want to do and what I have done is program one set of the eight repeater channels with a TX tone of 141.3 then you will be able to use an open repeater with that tone. Don't set a tone for the RX if you want to hear everything on that channel regardless if the repeater is using that tone or not. When you make a contact verify it is an open repeater free to use. Most that use that tone are but some may not be.

Dealing with the Youtube overlord-bots is a PITA.. Its easier and less hassle to just spend 15 minutes re-editing the video, re-upload it, and get 2X as many views and get paid 2X as much, in addition to the payout from the first video.

Stupid is as stupid does. Hopefully YouTube will tell him to STFU.

Most 20 - 25W transmitters require a minimum of 8 amps power.

No, it isn’t. For a 50 watt radio you would probably need at least a 15 amp power supply.

Whatever you do don’t hook it up to the 120 volt (unless you like smoke). These radios are designed to run off the car’s battery. You can plug it into the 12 volt dc cigarette lighter type outlet if you want to keep it temporarily installed or for a more permanent use run the wires back to the battery, red + terminal for red wire and battery grounding terminal for the black wire. FYI I don’t remember what the fuse size is for the cigarette lighter outlet, check your Toyota manual if you decide to use that. The fuse size should be equal or greater than the radios 15 amp. I believe it is.