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If 20 watts will do it for you, check out the Radioddity DB20-G a/k/a Anytone AT-779UV, a mini-mobile with cigarette lighter plug GMRS radio that can easily be opened to operate in the 2 meter and 70 cm Ham bands; clocking in at only $99-$109. There is a thread here that shows how to DIY an inexpensive cup-holder mount that makes it easily removable and reinstallable in your vehicles or you can buy one from Amazon.

A 45W mobile can be had for about the same price with fewer points of failure. What's not shown in their ad is you'll need a hand mike for the radio as trying to hold and key a HH while driving is very cumbersome.

These are the general steps: Select the correct repeater channel Enter the TX tone, and optionally, the RX tone Thats it. You dont need to enter any frequencies anywhere or do anything with the offset because if you did the first step correctly, the frequencies and offset are built-in. Not sure what you've done, but it sounds like you didnt do something right. Either that or you have a defective radio, and i doubt you have a defective radio.

Looking at the specs for that amp, it is for 1.25m (220-225MHz). GMRS is between 426.5625 to 467.7250. I don't know if that would cause any issues or not. The BTech AMP-U25 might be a better choice. I will say that you can get a BTech GSMR-20V2 for the same price as that amp .https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B6DB3SCL/?coliid=INSG1QQ020V7H&colid=2A7BPH9LMGKQ&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it And from what I have seen from different videos, BTech and Radioddity have done a good job on their radios as far as spurious RF emissions. You could go with an amp or with a mobile radio for the same cost so the choice is yours.

I have one, and have a few friends that have/use one and they work well - but just putting a big antenna on your roof will probably get you more farz... But, combining this WITH a big antenna on your roof to make up for cable-loss is a very good combo. Beware that "some people" will probably leave comments about this unit being 'dangerous' because of spurious RF emissions, but bear in mind that normal people dont care about that. EDIT: I have/my friends have the U-25 version as @WRYZ926 correctly pointed out.

I have the version that does all the digital modes, TDMA and FDMA. The amps were reviewed here: https://www.miklor.com/COM/Review_DMR-Amps.php The amp output falls off significantly on GMRS. I haven’t tested it with a wattmeter yet, however on the Ham 70cm band it draws about 5 amps on my bench DC power supply. On GMRS it only draws 3 amps. That suggests the output is only 60% of the “expected” 40 watts, basically 24 watts of output. If you have no other options than using an amp with an HT I guess you’re sort of stuck. However if you can, for the $100 the amp costs, I would just invest it in a quality higher power mobile radio.

As @OffRoaderX laid out those are the steps. Without knowing what was done exactly you may be at the point where doing a reset on the radio and starting over is your best bet. If you had chirp we could look at the program and see what happened but we’re just guessing at this point. Again the beep noise when pressing the PTT and in channel mode is an indication that you are trying to TX out of frequency.

The BTech AMP-U25 is for 400 to 480 MHz so it will work fine with GMRS frequencies. And don't feel bad about being new. I am new to GMRS and amateur radio myself. Find guys around you that have been in amateur radio for a long time and ask questions. The old timers are normally more than happy to help new people out. A lot of stuff as far as antennas, radios and amps will be very similar between amateur radio and GMRS. The obvious differences are frequencies and allowed power output restrictions. I'll suggest again to consider just getting a mobile GMRS radio since you can get one for the same price as the amp.

I’m not an expert on battery charging circuits, but what I do know agrees completely with this.

I've been intrigued for some time by the Anysecu/QYT amateur radio version of this style of radio to put in my wife's Kia Soul. And in fact if it's not permanently affixed to the car it would be easy to move from one to another. I may submit a request to my accounting department to see if she'll approve it.

I would just buy a mobile for that price or just a bit more, then you will have another radio and that's not a bad thing. They even come with a mic. If you want to use it at home you will still need a power supply

Good catch! I am new, so I could very well be mistaken, but I THINK they make these for a few specific frequency ranges. I just grabbed a link to the first one to pop up. I think they are produced specifically for the GMRS frequencies. Correct you are; that's why a hand mike is included in the package, along with all other accessories (cables., adapters, etc)

This is what you want: In this case it is possible to use four chargers, but with the load off, because the output will be higher than 48V with the chargers ON.

How the batteries connected is not a series connection, it is an explosion device. Where "48VDC" is written will in fact show 12V for a very brief period. Every battery is shorted via the other battery in the pair, current will be high and will destroy the batteries in a matter of seconds.

Pretty long shots but, the Tulare ARC repater (.700) is high level and might get over the ridge into that valley. Joaquin Ridge (.575) is closer, but will be probably be scattering off of the coast range along the path. 700 would be the best shot. Possible mobile coverage. Base stations in Bakersfield can access it, but they are not behind the ridge.

Why would people think spurious emissions from a UHF amplifier are dangerous? Is there some kind of data that would support such a conclusion? A study? Just curious. I don't want to key my Baofeng and bring down an Airbus or something.

This ^ .. you CANT program a repeater in VFO mode on most (all?) GMRS radios. You have to use a Repeater channel/"DIY" channel.

I don’t normally program front of radio but I think the following information will be correct for you. The beep you hear likely means your TX is out of frequency. A couple thoughts come to mind for me. The radio automatically sets the TX for repeater channels with the required +5 offset. If you programmed the input frequency with the offset already then it may be off do to this. Also does the frequency you programmed belong on repeater channel one (462.550)? I don’t believe you need to program repeaters in VFO mode. The preset repeater channels already have the appropriate frequency so you just need to pick the right repeater channel in channel mode and set the tones. The last thing I can think of is this radio won’t TX in VFO mode, only in channel mode. I hope this helps.

Thanks R... I agree with you. However, I recently joined a repeater club in my area and on my first transmission on the repeater (radio check), I was very quickly and firmly informed to turn that roger beep OFF when using the repeater. I know your feelings regarding this topic (I watched your YT video on why the Roger Beep is important). However, being a brand new member of the club, I thought it best to just go ahead and comply rather than p.o. the entire club membership from the outset. The comment from the NCO was to just use roger beeps on simplex. But there is no way to do that without having roger beeps toggled to ON, radio wide. Anyway, thanks again and thanks for all of the GREAT and informative YT videos!!

The BEST time to have it on is when you are using a repeater! But, i am not aware of any Part 95 GMRS radio that allows you to select the Roger Beep by channel.

Many years ago, only the English language was allowed on the FCC allocated frequencies. The FCC changed that rule many years ago.

Unfortunately a lot of people drink at the font of ignorance. They got it from a friend who got it from a friend… They feel very superior in their ignorance in fact And there have been some radios that were vulnerable to finals failure; anecdotally the Yaesu ft-817 may have been one, but most modern quality transceivers simply fold back power to limit current in the finals. With the right combination of transmission line length and open (or shorted) termination the current in the final transistors will be twice as high as they would be with an appropriate termination. If the final transistors cannot withstand the current and nothing happens to reduce the current they will overheat. There have been cases where they have been damaged, but unfortunately some people interpret that to mean that the damage always happens immediately.

Sure does. It's very common for HF in amateur radio. 300, 450 and others.

It really depends on the ability of the final output transistors to dissipate power. It’s wrong to say that every radio will blow its finals immediately if operated without an antenna, but it’s also wrong to believe that every radio is capable of operating without an antenna.

There was someone who used to be on this forum who was local to me. He complained about this type of conversation happening on the repeaters, here on this site. So, a few of us who know him would get on the repeater everyday for over a week, at a time we knew he was on, and would talk about nothing but our medical conditions, prescription costs, what we had for lunch and where we were meeting for dinner. LoL

GMRS is mostly line of sight (LOS) so anything you can do to improve that will help. Taking your hand held up on the roof of your house can make a big difference by getting your house and many near by buildings and obstructions out of the way. The same with a car, getting out of the metal box will help. Elevation will usually make the most difference. Hill top to hill top with nothing in between you might get a hundred miles depending on conditions and the antenna (some HT antennas are better than others). If you are operating in a neighborhood of buildings on flat ground you may only get a couple of blocks. There are lots of variables as you will learn and terrain will play a big roll. Also every barrier that the signal must pass through such as walls, forests even your body absorbs energy and will reduce your range. Keeping the antennas in the clear will do the most good. An out board antenna on a car or home can make a big difference, keeping the above in mind. Good luck, have fun and don't be afraid to experiment. It's the only way to know for sure what works for you in your situation.

My suggestion would be to not make up new ones. Just use the ones that already exist. The whole point is to have clear communications. That is why the phonetic alphabet came into existence in the first place.

Is the other end still connected to the tv?

This may actually cause damage... but, how about transmitting on high power too close to another radio will break the other radio's receiver. My radio has the pre-amp enabled. A buddy of mine started talking to me while stopped at a light. Our antennas were less than 2 feet apart. My receiver had an epic melt-down after just a few seconds. Everything i received after that sounded like it was under water and on fire at the same time. After power cycling the radio a few times and leaving it off for a few hours, if seems to have fully recovered. Depending on the radios used... I may be willing to fund this experiment.