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Does that answer come under RTFM?

On 9/9/23 I was driving in Santa Barbra along the coast and had my radio on scan and I picked up a live surf competition being broadcast from San Clemente. I believe it was on 450.500 which is one of the local PD frequencies near my home about an hour north of where I was. The broadcast was a good 150-160 miles from me staight across the water. Zero obstructions. I confirmed what I was hearing when I got home by the names of the surfers and where they surfed that day. Radio waves be crazy. Why do I remember the day? It was the day I took my ham test.

The only time my “upload to radio” is grayed out is when there is no file downloaded. If I have a file open it doesn’t matter if the radio is plugged in or not, the “upload to radio” isn’t grayed out. Based on this I would say Chirp isn’t seeing a file. For context I am using Chirp on a Mac. No file, upload grayed out File but no radio plugged in, upload not grayed out Edit: the programming cables were plugged into the computer but not the radio. I then removed cables from computer and there were no changes in results.

Here’s exactly what they say: In Wyoming, people frequently need the assistance of Search and Rescue. No matter how small or large the situation might be, Search and Rescue volunteers are there to help get people home safely. Here are some steps you can take to increase your chances of being rescued. Buy an FRS/GMRS capable radio or walkie talkie and program the 307 channel into the radio. Program to UHF 462.6125 Privacy Code 85.4 or Channel 3 and Privacy code 07 (307). If, or when, you become stranded, if searchers are looking for you they can attempt to contact you on this channel. It is not a 911 type channel. Always tell someone where you are going and when you plan on coming back. Ask local authorities if a check-in form is available. Pack appropriate gear and supplies. See resource link below. Have a portable radio and have it programmed to the 307 Channel. This channel is not a 911, but it can assist you when monitored by Search and Rescue personnel. Check the weather and avalanche forecast. Search and Rescue personnel will not actively monitor channel.

I believe that the write-up for Wyoming, and now Colorado, is, in fact, saying EXACTLY that: ‘Persons in the backcountry SHOULD carry a properly programmed FRS/GMRS Radio for use in an emergency’. Why else would Homeland Security in the State of Wyoming be advertising their “Be 307 Aware” program with prominently displayed posters if this radio scheme was only for internal use within SAR Teams?

Change TONE MODE to Tone. Move the value 225.7 to the TONE column. Verify ops.

FYI - Unless, the radio is type-certified for Part 90 freqs, you can not legally transmit on both Part 95 and Part 97 freqs, pursuant to Part 95, Subpart E.

Got a point there! Most PSEs I've been on insisted everyone's HT had his or VOX disabled. Then again, I would try to keep all background noise to a low volume.

Since this subject was revisited, it could be as simple as someone leaving a radio on VOX near a TV or broadcast radio receiver.

Technically, according to FCC Rules & Regulations regarding two-way radio service in general, it's forbidden for anyone regardless of Radio Service to Rebroadcast Commercial TV or Radio programs. Sometimes you have those mishaps when you for to lower the volume on your TV or your general broadcast radio, those are often overlooked. Even Rebroadcasting for another two-way radio service is forbidden by FCC R&Rs. I don't like someone's gone to say to post, No Doh! I know the Majority of us are well aware we can and can't do or shouldn't do on any Radio Service.

I hope this is not considered inappropriate or against forum rules. I certainly have zero financial interest in Raddioddity. I do not know a lot about the brands they carry. They seem to handle their own brand (probably made in China) and Baofeng (definitely made in China), maybe other brands as well. What I do know is that I have never found better customer service from a company. That is saying a lot because I worked in technology for 30 years dealing with major computer manufacturers and data management vendors daily. Radioddity customer service responded to my dead channel 15 on a pair of Baofeng UV-9Gs by: 1. immediately offering a return pick up with the promise that they would replace the units with 2 confirmed working UV-9Gs 2. Or give me a full refund if I prefer. 3. Upon my suggestion that they return refund 50% and let me keep the units, they immediately agreed. They followed up to confirm that I got my refund and were beyond pleasant every time we made contact. It is hard to find a customer-oriented business these days, but Raddioddity is one. If I ever need any product they handle, I will be prone to deal with them.

TL/DR: minor gripes with how they report inventory, and shipping. no direct experience with their customer service, as I haven't needed to use it. My only complaint with Radioddity relates to their website. I ordered a Xiegu G106 and DE-19 package deal, which they showed as having US stock, with 5-7 day shipping (iirc, on the shipping). However, it shipped from China instead, and according to the tracking took 3 or 4 days just to get dropped at the shipper. Total time was just over 2 weeks to actually receive it. Partially my bad for cutting it close, but I was kind of hoping to participate in one of the contest weekends, but the radio didn't get here in time...I skipped ordering from Amazon because the price difference would have been over $100. Aside from the G106, I also ordered a GD73 dmr radio from them awhile back. Got hit with a foreign transaction fee by my credit card on that one (didn't realize at that point they were international), then problems with DHL about delivering the radio (shipped to a PO box). also had a bear of a time setting up the radio, between not a ton of into for it, and me having zero idea with DMR codeplugs. That surprise foreign transaction fee put me off for a long time, but it looks like they've added paypal support between then and when i gave in on the G106.

What's your budget? (what's max you can spend) Do you have HOA restrictions on Antennas? What's your living situation? (home, apartment, camper?) You can study for your Technician and General Class license at hamstudy.org - my grandkids studied for two weeks and passed Tech on the first try. They were 12. 73 de KB9BVN WRWI253

CHIRP operates the same on Mac and Windows, the only difference is the layout. I have CHIPR installed on my 2018 Mac mini and a one year old Dell laptop with Windows 11.

This is why you download from your radio and copy/paste into that file. CHIRP files are radio specific. I can't load my UV-5R GMRS file into my UV-5R8W and vice versa. I can however copy lines from one to the other and then load.

Not that I know of.

This could be right ^^^ I keep two different programming cables plugged into my computer and sometimes select the wrong one in Chirp which becomes immediately apparent when it won’t see the radio I’m attempting to connect with.

Are you sure you are uploading the correct radio file? Try downloading from the radio again and make changes to that file and upload to radio. I’m in the habit now of downloading from the radio twice, using one file to change and one to bail me out when I screw something up. Hope this helps.

It does have a DM function. Bring up the profile of someone and click the envelope below their profile picture.

They're definitely better than the other Chinese vendors. They say they have an office/HQ in Delaware, but all the replies to the support email come in the middle of the night so I'm assuming they're in China or somewhere over there. My impression is the names they give us aren't real (e.g. Ingrid, Sophia, Kate); the names sound like American or other native English speakers but the replies sometimes don't seem to correspond with that. Also, the replies might sometimes be from bots but that's not certain. They are good at trying to come to a resolution. They didn't solve my driver issue (SShannon did that), but they did give a partial refund once and I've just ordered a spare mic they're shipping from China. I had to pay on their website, though, and I almost balked at doing that. Their website is terrible if you watch all the connections being attempted. And they use Spotify for payment processing which I normally avoid. So as long as I can order their stuff through Amazon I might buy from them again. But if I have to buy directly, probably would look elsewhere. tl/dr: they're OK

Did you try downloading it from the Manufacturers software download page... here? https://tenway.com/download/

Okay, curiosity got the better of me. I downloaded the manual. Those "two channels" A and B are really two time-slots on a single frequency. Each DMR channel has two time-slots. Both channels use the same frequency, but you can set up the repeater to use Time-slot 1 for one talkgroup and Time-slot 2 for another talkgroup. Of course that's a moot point in GMRS the way the regs are right now. So, one frequency pair, broken into two time-division multiplexed "channels". Not usable for GMRS, and an analog transmission talks over both time slots. So, you are right that two different conversations could take place at the same time. Here's the manual: https://www.hytera.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Hytera-RD982i-RD982i-S-RD982i-S-100W-Digital-Repeater-Owners-Manual.pdf That repeater is beyond end of life.

Hi Tim, To get right to the point, no, you can’t talk hundreds of miles using a five watt 6 meter or 10 meter handheld radio, except in the most unusual circumstances. Finding a handheld radio for 6 meters would be difficult. Handhelds for 10 meters might be available but they’re few and far between. But you also do not need to pay off the national debt to get into the HF bands. I have a Yaesu FT891, which is about $670 and a wire antenna I built from a kit for $70. I hold the center up with a fiberglass pole about 30 feet in the air. On a daily basis I can usually talk several hundred miles away but not always and not always in the same direction. California seems easy but I can’t reach my friend in Seattle. Mostly that’s on 40 or 20 meters. I hear almost nothing on 10 meters. There are other radios like the Xiegu G90 that is less expensive but has a lot of support. I don’t have one but they’re about $450. I also have a Yaesu FTDX10 that costs about $1300. It’s my favorite for lots of reasons, mostly the ease of use. It’s not nearly as portable as the FT891.

Welcome to the site! Technically it is possible to do this, but practically it isn’t a great solution. It would require two radios, a controller, and a duplexer. You would have to ensure the two radios are well shielded from each other. Buying a purpose built 2nd hand repeater will almost certainly be less expensive. Don’t go cheap on the duplexer either, or the transmission line or antenna. Solar power could be used to keep a battery bank charged up. But it is possible. There are all in one repeaters that are only five watts or so from Retevis that include a duplexer. If you have line of sight you might be able to use one of those.

You’re wrong, mostly. I suspect that your complaints are based on something you have read on the Internet, that others complained about, not personal experience. Your complaints simply don’t truly reflect most of the real world. Most repeater operators freely share their repeaters, asking only that you request permission so they have some control over access. In some cases they ask for donations to help cover expenses. In other cases they charge an up-front fee or dues that represents a share of the costs. There are other options, including cell phones if you don’t like it. Regulations prohibit making a profit by sharing a station but certainly allow recuperation of expenses. A repeater is just another station: (3) A station may be shared only: (i) Without charge; (ii) On a non-profit basis, with contributions to capital and operating expenses including the cost of mobile stations and paging receivers prorated equitably among all participants; or (iii) On a reciprocal basis, i.e., use of one licensee's stations for the use of another licensee's stations without charge for either capital or operating expenses. (4) All sharing arrangements must be conducted in accordance with a written agreement to be kept as part of the station records.

None of which is official or even remotely a standard other than the basic channel set up as lined out by the FCC. Just saying. I can hazard a guess at where you got your radio (BSR). I wouldn’t put much belief in thinking everyone else has a radio that is set up this way or that there are some hard fast rules to its program. I have one from there as well. First thing I did was dump most of the preprogrammed channels and load my own.

It does help to make online experts think twice before they tell people completely wrong information. If that makes me douchy, then I'll drink another glass of vinegar...

They’re popular out west in Colorado, Wyoming & Montana. Wyoming Search and rescue have a program called Be 307 aware, and Colorado has the same procedure in place minus the CTCSS tone on FRS CH 3.

I will also recommend the KG-1000Gplus. It is likely the best mobile/base on the market as well. It is my base radio and I love it! https://www.buytwowayradios.com/wouxun-kg-1000g-plus.html?___SID=U

The KG-1000G is a 50W GMRS mobile radio that has a remote-mount face that can also be snapped-off for theft-prevention. It is a very good all-around GMRS radio.

Congratulations... you wrote the dumbest thing I've read on the internet today! You should be proud. You beat out a lot of competitors.

In context, it makes a lot more sense. I appreciate the follow-up.