Leaderboard

This feature already exists on the Reports page for Premium Members. The reason for making this a premium feature is that 95% of this website is free to everyone, but our operating costs are a major factor in being able to continue to provide for the community. The information is freely available but if you'd like the extra convenience of integration with other services then we charge a small fee which gives you additional perks like no ads, Classifieds access, and the ability to list a GMRS club.

A true pillar of the community!

I can see the confusion. The Mesa Crest repeater was personally funded by my wife and I.

As far as buying from China, buying something manufactured to American specs and sold only by an American company means that most of your money stays here. That’s economically better than buying from a foreign company. There are no GMRS manufacturers in the USA, unfortunately. The only other way to make sure none of your money goes outside of the USA is to buy used equipment from a n American company.

I ordered mine directly from Midland and the set screws rust. If you look closely in this picture you’ll see the source of moisture. I’ll replace them eventually:

Thanks for the tip about the known channel 15 issues. I am returning them to the supplier "Radioddity". They were very helpful and prompt. They said they would check out channel 15 on the replacements before they ship them.

I agree with this. There are obviously differences between the two but they are both still two-way radio. And no reason why people can't enjoy one or the other or both. People are already doing that. I have many tools to work on the car, no reason we can't have many tools for two-way radio.

I recently got my technician's license and also got my GRMS license while waiting for my amateur call sign. I treated studying for the technician test just like anything else. I read the book a couple of times then started taking practice exams' And when I would miss questions, I went back and reread the book. I did that until I could pass the practice exam with a 90% or better. I am currently doing the same as I study for the general test. A family member pushed me to get my tech license knowing that I have been considering it for a long time. He told me to stop procrastinating. He also got his GMRS license at the same time I did and we are now talking to the amateur radio club we belong to about GMRS. We presented the idea of getting a GMRS repeater going on the local 900 foot tower where our 2m and 70cm repeaters are located. We also told them that GMRS might be a good way to get people interested in getting licensed for GMRS and amateur radio. Plus we stated that using GMRS along with amateur radio frequencies could be beneficial during an actual emergency. The more frequencies available the better With the right approach both GMRS and amateur radio can work together to get new people interested in the hobby. And that is the approach we are using to get more amateur radio operators within the club to get into GMRS and also get new people into the hobby.

APRS is a way of communicating information using packets. The most common information transmitted using APRS is location, but it can also include weather or text messages. There is a whole unofficial network of radios called digipeaters (digital repeaters) that share all of that information so it can be seen using the website APRS.fi, but if you have an APRS capable radio you can receive the information locally as well. People flying large high power rockets or high altitude balloons use tiny little APRS transmitters tucked away in their payloads so they can get them back. When my ham radio club provides logistical support for a local fundraising bike ride, many of us use handheld radios that allow us to communicate by voice on one frequency while transmitting our location on the APRS frequency. That allows our “base” to see all the moving pieces on a map on a computer screen. If you search for AI7KS in APRS.fi you may see traces for AI7KS-7 or AI7KS-8, depending on which one of my APRS radios I am carrying (assuming I remember to turn on APRS.)

Where can I find these? They sound great for search and rescue use or event communications.

Oh I know about not being active any more with HAM. I was very active until I got a job doing commercial radio and it seemed I had all these ham friends that I had never met come out of the woodwork wanting to know about old equipment and what was done with it. Wanting me to look at their broken radios (for free) and all sorts of other stuff. Then I ran into the issues of offering to assist with building and maintaining infrastructure (ham repeater) and being told they were different and what I knew about commercial radio didn't apply to ham repeaters (while they were using Motorola repeaters that I serviced daily). That pushed me away from the service for a long time. I am slowly getting back to it and doing my own thing. The problem it created, is I now ONLY do my own thing. I help some folks, but those groups I had issue with are shut out. I refuse to do anything for them. The one group I even offered tower space and a backup repeater to. Completely free, their call sign and all on the machine and would only require a phone call to get it activated if their stuff failed. They balked about it, Said they would need access 24/7 to the site. ( There are two people having access like that, me and the site owner) when I said they would need to schedule, but their access was not needed as I would host it on my gear as a backup and they didn't need keys to the site they again balked and said no. So the tower their repeater is on will be coming down soon. They have no where to put their repeaters and have zero options to stay on the air once the tower is down. I see it as being NOT MY PROBLEM.

I thought I'd post this in case anyone is interested. Because you never know. I just got this radio a couple days ago. Measurements were made with a Diamond SX40C SWR/Power Meter into a dummy load. The radio is supported by CHIRP. These are my results, but in my experience, these radios are inconsistent. This radio is also marketed by QYT, and a GMRS version is sold by BTech. Programming was done with CHIRP and from the keypad. Anysecu has programming software but I have not used it. Output power (Anysecu rates it at 20-25 watts depending on the power setting.) 144-148 Mhz Low: 9 watts. Medium: 12 watts. High: 19 watts. 420-450 Mhz Low: 6-7 watts depending on frequency. Medium: 10-13 watts depending on frequency. High:14-19 watts depending on frequency. 462-467 Mhz (My radio didn’t need unlocking. I cannot speak for other variants. I only tested GMRS.) Low: 4-5 watts depending on frequency. Medium: 8 watts. High: 10-12 watts depending on frequency. Programming quirk #1: From the keypad, low, medium and high power settings are available. Using CHIRP, only low and high power are available. Programming quirk #2: Channels can be named with alphanumeric tags from CHIRP, but even though the option appears when programming from the keypad, only numbers can be selected. Programming repeaters and menu options from the keypad is very similar to the Baofeng UV-5R, but there's no voice prompts that I have found. Receive audio is decent, considering this is a speaker mic. Volume control is a little quirky, with multiple ways to adjust it. Transmit audio is a mixed bag. Most reports I get say it’s somewhat hollow and doesn’t have the fidelity of my Yaesu mobile, but it is reasonably clear and readable. Typical of a lot of these radios. The radio unit does get warm after a bit, especially on high power. Not hot, but definitely warm. As a result, I’m mostly running it on medium power. Overall, I won’t use this for my daily driver, more as a solution for my two vehicles that have no room for a dedicated mobile. I’m determined to improve the transmit audio. We’ll see how that goes.

Could be "The Kiddy Kartel"... They were responsible for the demise of the Delta Repeater as we knew it. They are located in Montclair and El Monte, so they are right in the footprint. They are losers and dont like it when other people have nice things.

In a nutshell, Standing Wave Meter, CQV SWR120 Digital Power Meter, 240x240 Full Color LCD Display, 1.8Mhz to 54Mhz, 0.5W to 120W. I just received this meter and plugged it into my radio. I was impressed with the easy to read screen even with its small size. QST has a review on the meter in the Nov. 2023 issue and they show it is quite accurate out of the box. Amazon lists it for $79.02 but a quick search got the price doen to $45.02. I paid slightly less from a Chinese store, just over $41.00. It sure beates my Surecom SW-102.

Mine seems to be painted black and it looks like Blue Loctite was used. If it rust I'll hit it with some Scotch Brite and give it a blast of paint.

There really won't be much difference between 20 watts and 50 watts in flat/open terrain or if you are top of a hill. 50 watts can make a difference if you are in the woods or trying to picket fence off of obstacles. One thing I do not care about with the Midland radios is that you can't add a bunch of different repeater channels to them. You are limited to just a few where the FRS channels would normally be. The other thing is that Midland radios come from the factory set to narrow band and you have to go in and change each channel to wide band. It is hard to buy anything that is not made in or uses components that are made in Chine now days. That includes everyone's computers, tablets and cell phones no matter which brand they are. I will buy CCR's from US based companies knowing that I can get support from them and most of the money stays here.

You can monitor two frequencies at a time and scan VHF/UHF (500 channels). I believe other threads here make the claim that 40 watts does not enable that many more “fars” over 20 watts; antennas being more significant.

That'd typically what I use mine for. They are available from Ham Radio Outlet, DX Engineering, and companies like them. Common brands are Yaesu, iCom, Anytone, etc.

Unfortunately there aren't a lot of GMRS mobile radios with removable control units. like there are for HAM radios. I am in the same situation looking for space in my 23 Ford Escape right now. Midland does make a couple of models where the screen and all controls are built into the mic which will make installation easier as you can stack the main body just about anywhere. There are a couple of cheap Chinese GMRS radios that are made the same way. the CCR's are only 20 watts while you can get a 15 was or 50 watt from Midland. There are also quite a few 20-25 watt GMRS mobiles that are pretty small too. So you do have options. I am concentrating on getting a HAM radio installed in my Escape first then see what direction to go with a mobile GMRS radio. I will be using a 2m/70cm radio with removable control unit. I currently have a Midland XTS500 as my GMRS base station and a Wouxun XS20G (20 watt) that I might see if I can find room for in the car after I get the HAM radio installed. Otherwise the XS20G will go in my SxS.

I am now having withdrawl because I am returning my Baofeng UV-9Gs. I contacted Radioddity (the seller on Amazon) and they were very prompt at helping me return them. They volunteered that they would check the channel 15 problem in the warehouse before they shipped the replacements.

There are losses from connectors, more in some grades of equipment. I still prefer to leave my swr/power meter connected in-line. If something strange happens it’s sure easier to diagnose. Having the meter off should not affect the SWR, unless it’s a really poor meter.

Well GMRS was never intended to be social media so in the context of attracting young people it may not be easy, other than again for it's intended purpose, camping, boating, hiking, off roading, farming, emergency comms, even some business use etc. Anyway it is just a tool and if it is not the right tool for the job at hand then find the one that is.

And this is the reason the HAM radio repeaters are quiet. GMRS has in a way turned into HAM radio, going beyond what it was intended for. The original intent was for situations that you needed communications, but didn't want to go the full route of a commercial license on Itinerant frequencies or MURS. GMRS is a nationwide license (commercial frequencies outside SOME itinerant licenses are NOT nationwide) you can use with family, and other license holders. We of course have transitioned beyond that to rag chew when it's not being used for the original intent. Repeater linking is a lot of what makes that possible. I have 3 repeaters on the tower. One is the tower owners (725). It is open but all users are requested to use my unlinked repeater (675) for local comms unless the repeater is busy. Then there is the 600 that is linked. It gets a bunch of traffic. Some of it is local traffic for the link but much of it is from other repeaters on the system. The 675 see's maybe 3 hours of use a week and the 725 see's less than that. So area of coverage has a lot to do with how busy a repeater system will be. Stand alone repeaters in medium to low population densities are not going to have much traffic outside the system owners. Large multistate systems that cover multiple high density population centers (Chicago, Indy, Columbus, Milwaukee, and most of the state of Indiana and Illinois) will obviously be busy because there are more people in the coverage area so you have a higher possibility of people being licensed in the coverage area. You mentioned pre-arranged comm's. That's a NET in ham radio. And we do see traffic during nets on ham. But very little normal conversation. And in truth, everyone has a cell phone. Your wife, the kids, the neighbor down the street. So when you tell Jr to take a portable radio you get met with "Dad, I have a phone, I don't NEED this stupid thing" or better yet, try putting an antenna on the wives car. "That ugly shit is NOT going on MY car." Figure out how to get past that and you are getting somewhere. Otherwise, be happy that you have a hobby that you enjoy and hope it doesn't go away in your lifetime.

Ha! Funny I just watched one of your videos ref. Your phone or Grindr for accessing random people, great content by the way! I’ll be subscribing.

It is looking to me like the radio has issues that it likely came with. I would try doing a full reset (menu 40) and if that doesn't clear up the issue send it back.

First, it is important that you understand that I know less than you, but I will offer some info on one point. I have only had a GMRS license for a couple of weeks. I found a repeater on RepeaterBook, and there was a menu option that said request access even though that repeater said "open" access. I did not hear back, and as I thought it over, I figured it was open to the public and started using it. I was only on it a few minutes at 5:30 AM, talking to my adult son, testing the limits of the setup as he drove to work. The owner of the repeater jumped on and asked if he could join the conversation. I ended up talking to him for an hour. He said he never saw my request because it is an open repeater, and he is glad to see it being used. This makes me wonder if the "Request Access" is a standard option OR if it is sometimes put there in error as a default or in the beginning when the repeater is first set up. I think if it is a private family repeater, it is easy just to make it closed access. If it says "Open," I would take it at its word. If anyone complains, just inform them their repeater is improperly designated and move on. I see that as their problem, not yours. It worked out great for me because that repeater gets me over an impenetrable ridge that is 1 mile to my south and gives me county-wide coverage. In addition, I made a great contact.

First, depending on how much real estate you have in your vehicle or home, I always recommend having it all.l I have HF, Ham VHF/UHF, and GMRS in my home and in my Jeep. Don't think of it as better or worse. Just different. What differences serve a purpose for you at any given moment is the right answer.

Ham offers more frequencies, more options to explore as a hobby, more repeater coverage, while GMRS offers ease of use with family and friends that have no interest in radios other than to communicate. One may help you get assistance where there is no cell coverage while the other may help you spot that tire placement off road or keep you in touch with your wife at camp while you paddle a kayak around the lake. Is one better? Sure the one you need to do the thing you want in the moment. I fully am in favor of both.

In my humble opinion, it's not an issue of ham vs GMRS. Or what ham has over GMRS. There are advantages to both. GMRS doesn't require a test, just your $35 and a promise to obey the FCC rules. And the license covers family members, up to a point. But the frequencies are limited, and channelized. Ham radio requires a test, the same $35, and only covers one person. There are many more frequencies available with UHF ham radio. Both ham and GMRS can operate simplex or through repeaters. You'll probably find more repeaters on ham radio. I use both, since I have ham radio friends who communicate with me, and I use GMRS to communicate with my non-ham wife through a repeater if I'm out somewhere with no cell coverage. My suggestion is to use both and don't fall into the "one is better than the other" trap. Also, there are a few mobile ham transceivers out there that do HF, VHF and UHF. They're not cheap, and you may end up rolling the dice in the used market to find them. The Icom IC-706MkIIG, IC-7000 and IC-7100, the Yaesu FT-857, and others.

20....as it has always been. Plus, 19 cannot be used north of Line A. Sent from my SM-A136U using Tapatalk

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.

I like it so far. The one thing that I wished it had was the ability to toggle on/off, Roger Beeps on a "per channel" basis instead of radio wide. Off for the channels programmed for local repeaters/clubs and then on for those simplex freqs.

Alright I figured out what you were looking at in the manual. That is an advanced feature, part of the remote control capability to activate or monitor another radio that is part of your group. Must be set up ahead of time. It allows you to check on someone that is not responding by remotely waking up their radio (with a special code) or to open the mic so you can hear(monitor) what might be going on where they are. Like in an emergency or something. Not the standard "monitor" feature. In fact I did not see that mentioned anywhere in the manual. Not surprising you were confused.

Usually the monitor button allows you to listen to the frequency you are currently on with no squelch or tone on receive. Handy if you see a signal on the s-meter but don't hear the audio.

Necessary or not, phonetics are helpful on any radio service (not as much though on ones that don't have callsigns). I even sometimes use phonetics on the phone but some of the dippity-doos have trouble understanding them.

With Respect To Grindr 259

This entire thread is probably driving both potential GMRS and potential hams away from radio. Why would they want to partake when a bunch of guys from both services bicker all the time?

GMRS was dead near me so I got my amateur license. Now I have many, many more channels to hear silence on

You mean you're not choosing the cartel mule shipping option? Nevermind, they also report directly to several 3 letter agencies.