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It's like any other hobby specific area. They all have their funny jargon. After you're in it a bit you'll pick it up quick enough. Remember just one thing, DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS! That's how you learn.

Are you following these procedures to activate the repeater channels. Selecting the narrowband or wideband setting has nothing to do with if you can or cannot access a repeater channel. You have to set the radio to activate the repeater channels. The procedure are as follows: The MXT575 can talk to GMRS repeaters, which can greatly increase radio range. You can enable and disable the repeater channels on the MXT575. There are 8 repeater channels. 1. Press the MENU button to enter the menu. Use the VOLUME buttons to navigate to menu setting “rP”. 2. To enable the repeater channels, press the LOCK button. Use the VOLUME buttons to choose between “oF” and “oN”. 3. Press the LOCK button to confirm your selection. YOU MUST PRESS THE LOCK BUTTON TO CONFIRM YOUR SELECTION OR THE REPEATER CHANNEL SELECTION WILL NOT BE CHANGED. • When activated the repeater channels will be displayed as the channel number (Ex. 15, 16, 17, etc.) and the RP icon • Repeater channels will appear immediately following the standard GMRS channels (ex: 20, 21, 22, 15rP, 16rP, 17rP, etc. I hope that this helps

Not sure about Madera, but Fresno PD and fire are also still largely analog (on uhf), if you get bored.

I just gave that beta of Chirp a try and it all worked great! Thanks again!

This is what I do. When I moved to this area a bunch of years ago I searched LEO, Fire, and public works for our county. I then checked the FCC database for frequencies on which I was not hearing anything. To my surprise the were all active just not much going on. I live in a mountain area. The two largest counties around me, Fresno and Madera, have not made the jump to trunked systems or digital and still use VHF.

Did you try the legacy version of CHIRP? https://trac.chirp.danplanet.com/chirp_daily/legacy-20221217/ They say it should work in Windows 7

I can't fill out the top very well.

Agreed. Having a radio that is certified for part 90 and part 95e, and could be flipped from a part 90 commercial (non-ham) frequency to a part 95e frequency would not seem to be a problem the way I understand the rules.

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

Welcome to the new forums! Unfortunately, over the last year or so we've had serious problems with our previous board software (phpBB and vBulletin), so I did some shopping around and decided that Invision Power Board is the way to go. Between vBulletin and this new software, I've had to lay out over $400, so I didn't make the decision lightly. While it's possible to migrate the posts from the previous software, I decided it wasn't worth the effort. I prefer having a clean platform and I will be tying the forum software to your main user accounts, so you no longer need two accounts for the site. This extra step will take some time for me to implement, so I'm going to lock down user registrations so we don't have duplicate accounts everywhere. Keep a look out for an update in the near future! So without further ado, welcome to the new forums! I hope this will be our last migration for many years to come, and donations to help offset the software licenses would be very much appreciated.

Its like Christmas. My I get my Wouxun KG-1000 G Plus Mobil Today. It is out for delivery. The only issue is that my play time is reduced because I have several irons in the fire including my upcoming Ham tests which I have not studied for recently. I just inherited a WWII Mauser my great uncle brought home from Europe after the war so I am cleaning and researching. I am trying to sell some estate property, and my son just sent me the book "One Second After" which is a pretty riveting and interesting book so not enough hours in the day. I am not complaining, It could be worse. I will start by setting it up as a base just so I can get used to it without sitting in a car and have it next to my PC for programming. I do have a laptop however so that is not a big issue.

Forgot about FPD. The two towns I live closet to are unincorporated so I just listen to Madera SO who provide our LEO services.

I have and SDS200 scanner that downloads everything from RadioReference.com's database and I am able to pick up a LOT of VHF traffic.. Mostly things like forestry service and several other federal agencies, public service traffic, some ambulance service companies and the California Highway Patrol.. On UHF I am also able to get a couple of police departments, the Los Angeles County Sherrif's department and a couple of fire departments, but all the others are encrypted.

The Wouxun radios are easy to program from the front panel or mic. The XS20G Plus was easy enough and very similar to the 935G Plus I helped program for a friend. My next purchase will probably be the KG935G Plus or I might splurge and get the KG Q10G.

I should get my KG 1000G Plus tomorrow according to USPS informed delivery. I'm still waiting on my seat bolt mount for the car so I can install my 2m/70cm radio and my KG 1000G Plus.

No I haven't tried that. Thanks for the link.

you can click on the links in my first post to get from Buy Two Radios, they were better price than Amazon

WRYZ926 Ya I'm always amazed at how many people don't seem to want to do any research of their own. They get an idea that they want to get into radio, get on you tube for five minutes run out and buy a Boofwang (thanks Randy) and then find a forum and start asking "how do I work this thing and why will no one talk to me? I must need a repeater, whatever that is". I spent a couple months researching and reading this forum (and others) before signing up. I was able to answer most of my questions just by reading. I bought books on radio communication. Most of the questions they ask can be answered with a search on the forum. I agree that an FAQ section could be useful to point them to.

I find that new members frequently do not bother reading FAQ's or pinned threads on most of the forums I on. This goes for forums on many different topics from vehicles, firearms, model trains, two way radios, etc. That being said, a FAQ can be useful to have and point out to new members.

The "license free" stuff is under the ISM (industrial scientific & medical) licensure and is restricted to 1W maximum. All devices must be type accepted, and may have other things like fixed antennas required. For amateur radio 902-928, same band, but you can do much more stuff. I have some Motorola 900MHz radios I use on amateur that do analog and P25. HT is typically around 3W and mobiles are 30W. Like UHF, 900 is extremely line of site.

Here is the firmware sent from Radioddity. Updated my radio and everything is working as it should! GMRS_GM_30_009_20211117.bin

Also they could be using simplex with a tone. I do that alot with friends. We dont use the repeater but use a PL or DPL. In that case we dont here you calling.

There seems to be some confusion when reading the regulations. I had to re-read it several times before it made sense, at least to me, with how it was written. It made more sense when I considered the radios, the commercial ones I have, with Part 95 and 90 certification. The radios where manufactured to sell into different markets. This was before the 2017 rule changes. If the radio was programmed with Ham frequencies AND those were an exclusive allocation for Ham we would have a problem. At the time those radios were designed and certified for business use of GMRS frequencies it was legal. With the 2017 changes not anymore and why you are very unlikely to find a manufacture that will bother, no market. The FPP issue is pretty clear cut with little wiggle room. The reason why you can find it on some radios apparently there are some government agencies where it is allowed.

Slow your roll, there, Tonya. What I said was: I agree with you that the regulations say that having the ability to easily configure a radio to transmit on frequencies in ham bands on GMRS radios excludes them from 95E certification. In fact, if you took the time you would see that I posted the same paragraph from the regulations.

A bit off topic but the above section "C" is phrased in a peculiar way with regard to what frequency, or frequencies, are programmed into a radio. The specific argument has to do with having Ham 70cm frequencies in the radio while also having GMRS frequencies at the same time. There are people who claim it isn't legal. I disagree. First off I mentioned in a post a while back that the Ham 70cm band is not an exclusive allocation. Hams only have secondary privileges. The primary users, typically government stations, are. Those frequencies are licensed and the radios require certification, even if they fall within the Ham band. Due to the statement: "unless such transmitter is also certified for use in another radio service for which the frequency is authorized and for which certification is also required" Having a "Ham" 70cm frequency in the radio along with GMRS can be argued to comply with the above quote rule section and thus legal. Where you do run afoul of the rules is with the FPP, Front Panel Programming, that allows the user to enter an arbitrary frequency into the radio. I believe that's what doomed the first generation Baofeng radios. They had Part 90 certification, BUT that also required the radios can not allow arbitrary frequency entry under Part 90. In a quick move the radios where shipped with the frequency programming functionality disabled and either required it to be enabled through a menu setting or the use of the programming software to enable it. Some of the current model LMR, commercial, type radios also allow FPP. However it has to be specifically enabled through the radio's programming software. It can't be enabled by accessing any controls the user can manipulate. The programming software has warnings about making sure the "feature" is disabled before turning over the radio to the user for normal operation.

I like the FAQ idea. Also I like the idea that many other forums have of locking threads so they don't get revived months or years later.

The question as stated in the title "What is the best antenna and brand for HT GMRS radio?" So any references to non GMRS radios really don't apply to the question. In support of @Sshannon's statement the cheap GMRS radios like the Baofeng UV-9G come with duel band antennas. They are not specifically tuned for GMRS. Some of my less cheap (as far as GMRS radios are concerned) Wouxun radios came with antennas that are not duel band and at least are stated to be properly set for GMRS frequencies. The Nagoya NA-701G and the NA-771G are better than a stock Baofeng in my experience, the NA-771G may be just sightly better than the stock Wouxun and as mentioned by @WRHS218 I like the flexibility of the NA-701G over the stock rubber ducky.

The people that you might be hearing on 15-22 and trying to talk to are probably on repeaters - very common in my area. The repeaters transmit in the open on channels 15-22 but you can't talk to them unless you're on the repeater channel. That's a whole other ball game. You need to activate the repeater channels - they are inactive from the factory. And then you would have to program the repeaters in your area - again, that's a different ballgame but the way to go eventually. Also, you might have accidentally set the high power channels 15-22 to low power when setting up the radio. Like was mentioned above, ask for a radio check those are always replied to if there is anyone listening on frequency. PTT and say "Good morning/afternoon/etc. this is -license call sign- on -channel #/repeater name- requesting a radio check on a new radio" When you get a reply then say "Thanks so much you are coming in loud and clear/a bit scratchy/broken/whichever" this could start a conversation about location, type of radio etc. then after you're done pause a bit and say: "Thanks again I'll be listening here from time to time -call sign- out or standing by" Once you are past radio checks and want to jump in at another time out of the blue you can always say "Good morning/etc. -call sign- listening on -channel/repeater name-. that tells people you're available to chat. If people want to talk they will respond. Polite is always the best intro and it works .

I don't like disagreeing with you, but your statement is both true and false. Radio engineers, at least the ones I have met, do test stock antennas with their designs and write specifications for the "rubber ducky" that provides the best match. Many times this results in one that has to be manufactured to specifications that existing units don't meet. Why else would LMR radios specify different antennas for specific radios operating in the same band? One size doesn't fit all.

With the exception of some built in antennas such as the Garmin Rhinos, none of the antennas used with commercial GMRS radios are “designed for the radio.” They’re standard off-the-shelf items picked for a combination of cost and performance.

In the LMR world we use the antenna that was designed for the radio. Its all part of the design. Changing it may result in loss of performance. Just my experience.

I only have Wouxun GMRS HTs now, but I have the Nagoya NA-771G and a NA-701G. I don't find that the shorter 701G adds anything extra to my radios but I like that it is more flexible than the OEM antenna. The longer 771G may be a slight improvement over the OEM in receiving signals on the fringe but not a lot in my experience. I have tried several others that I don't have any longer and don't remember the brands. Seems like I normally end up just using the antenna that came on the radios. But again, different brand radios than what you are asking about so YMMV.

The Nagoya NA-771G is definitely a popular choice. I have the 771G for my GMRS HTs and the 771 dual band version for my 2m/70cm HTs. I do notice better reception when using the longer 771/771G antennas versus the stock rubber duck antennas.

I don't know about best but a lot of people (myself included) like the Nagoya NA-771G. It's a bit long though (about 15") so I use the NA-701G mostly (about 5.5").

If only the biggest GMRS Radio YouTuber would make a video showing exactly how.. oh well, I guess we'll never know. EDIT: Since you never told us WHICH Baofeng radio you have nobody will be able to help you anyway.. Baofeng makes a LOT of radios.

40 miles is quite a stretch for a 4 or 5 watt portable to reach back to the repeater in most real world situations. I'd question why you think you might need 50 watts in order to reach 40 miles out, but you're not worried about the other half of the path - the repeater's receive side. If you need lots of power to reach out, how's that 4 or 5 watt portable going to answer back? If there's power in the building, it's probably 10 times easier to just use that. I don't think I've ever put a repeater cabinet outdoors on a building rooftop. Even if they didn't want to have us penetrate the roof, we could always find a way to wall mount the repeater inside & then sneak a coax cable out onto the roof. I have had to use non-penetrating sleds and find interesting ways to hide antennas so that the building architecture was not 'damaged' by the sight of an ugly exposed dipole. But solar power on top of a building that already had existing service? Nope.

It may be helpful to know how far it is from your place to your buddies tall building? Is said building where he lives? If it is maybe he can just put up an antenna on the roof, that may be all you need. If not then a repeater may be the answer. Also is there power there that you can just plug into?

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.

Larsen 150/450/800

Oh yes the 2-Meter SoCal so-called “free speech” repeater - 435!

I would not set it to none on any XE radio. The entire reason its there is to have a certified battery on the radio. I ran into a customer who changed this on all the fire radios so they could use cheap batteries. A radio was sent in for water damage and was not repaired as it was using non IDLH accessories.