Leaderboard

On the 462/467 MHz main channels handhelds fall under the same limit as mobile radios. That was the subject of another thread about a year ago maybe and one of the forum members wrote to the FCC and asked. Although extremely impractical you could have one that transmits at 50 watts.

In my neighborhood wattage does come into play. It is because of all the thick trees not because of distance. Better antennas on the HTs has also been a big help.

A 5W handheld will easily get you 10 miles if there is clear line of sight. I am at 3340 feet elevation and one of my daughters is 3.7 miles away at 2400 feet. We have a ridge between us that is 80 higher than the line of sight. We can talk on handhelds at 5W and 2W. We have to be standing outside to get clear communication. If you can hear the repeater you might be able to hit it with the 5W. The best test is to try it. If it were me I would have both a handled and a mobile anyway.

The 511 does not do digital texting, it has no GPS, and it is more like an FRS radio than a GMRS radio. Source: I have one.

Apparently you feel that my suggestions were somehow insulting. They weren’t intended to be and I’m unsure why you would take them that way. Best wishes and welcome to the forum!

How many SEALs are carrying two Palmetto State carbines rather than a single M4A1?

Its amazing how that happens!

I did need lunch, and yes, after about the first few replies, mine included, the thread went about a mile off topic. Carry on.

I'll second what @WRHS218 said and add that just because the info on the page is "stale" doesn't mean the repeater isn't active. As far as access goes, if you are in Texas try out texasgmrs.net.

Hello and welcome. Ten miles is no problem for a 5 watt handheld line of sight. I talk 30 miles fairly often on mine. The only way to know for sure if the hill will hinder you is to try. It is just as easy to take a hand held with you in the car to the hill top rather than having a mobile in the car. It will work a little better if you get out of the car with it. Baofeng's are an inexpensive entry level radio that are popular and have lots of support. There are better radios but they cost more. Baofeng's are good for getting your feet wet though.

IIRC, i never measured the power because I didnt want to break the antenna and/or i didnt have a good way to measure it off the connector. and I dont think the power was mentioned anywhere in the sales literature or documentation (that i can recall).. Since they dont brag that its a "Full 5 Watt radio" I assume it is closer to 2 or 3W, if that.

Thank you. So I guess I don’t understand what @CyborgAlienWRYG738 is getting at. I can’t find where Midland says the power. It looked like it’s probably not much, in spite of the marketing bs.

https://www.radioddity.com/products/radioddity-db20g

And the db20g is on sale with a mag mount (no whip) for $85.

Why would the manufacturers announce something for Christmas that flies in the face of current FCC regulations? You simply won’t get text in a mobile anytime soon. Mobile radios with external antennas are simply not allowed to have digital transmissions. There’s nothing preventing Bluetooth as a feature. Here’s one way you can add it: https://www.buytwowayradios.com/wouxun-mmo-004bt.html?fee=5&fep=5286&utm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=product_ppc&matchtype=&keyword=&device=m&adposition=&network=g&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAC4SJ1iwoeG6EwEA_v7aLLMz-JEcT&gclid=Cj0KCQiAmNeqBhD4ARIsADsYfTcWQ4-6WDD2H7CjJ707l3VjdfrT7IyeukP9wzLVORiRAfLEx1sHj38aAiCQEALw_wcB p.s. All these features are available in ham radios.

First all the TD-H8 are the same, they are just running different firmware modes. You can change this mode by holding PTT plus either Asterisk (Ham), Zero (GMRS), or pound (fully unlocked) as you turn on the radio. If you fully unlock it it defaults to medium power being 5 watts and high power being 10 watts on GMRS frequencies Even in GMRS mode though, the power configuration app can indeed be used to change it to 10 watts. We aren't debating anything, we are passing on information on how different radios work. Why comment if you have nothing useful to add?

I would add that repeaters that are open and require no permission can fall into the stale category easily. Once the owner puts it on the site there may be no reason to log back on the site for it and the site automatically puts it in the stale category after a year of not logging into it. This happened to a friend. I think it would be helpful if an email went out automatically to the owners of repeaters asking them to update yearly before it falls stale. Maybe this could easily be implemented by @rdunajewski? The site sends update reminders for GMRS license. I don't know, just a thought.

I guess I wasn't clear. GMRS HTs can have a removable antenna and most do. FRS HTs cannot have a removable antenna. I don't understand why a GMRS HT with a removable antenna would be excluded from having this feature.

The Tidradio TD-H8 can put out close to 10 watts, they have an app to tune the output at different power settings and frequencies too.

I reported your post for you so @rdunajewski can help you. It's his website and the only one who can help.

I think he meant that most HT's only put out about five watts max and that you are stuck with that unless you get a mobile/base.

WRXB215 brings up a good point I had forgotten. Radio clubs often have member only repeaters that don't get listed publicly. I have family in Southeast Texas and there were no repeaters listed in the town they live in. I found and joined TexasGMRS and they have several machines in the area.

@WRUI477 I personally do not have any experience using any other cable than the red Wouxun cable for Wouxun radios.

If you get an HT, you're always limited to 5 watts. That may be good for walking around as long as you have reasonable line of sight to a repeater. You can even set it up mobile with a magnetic mount antenna. But if you're going to be out driving around much, in and out of handheld range, marginal line of sight, etc, you'll eventually wish you also had those extra watts. Also remember that once you permanently install a mobile, it's stuck with that vehicle. So you could make a mobile more versatile by making it moveable from one car to another. Like in a go-box or something. You may find you need both HTs and a mobile to fill your needs. Another solution is a mobile amplifier you can install in a vehicle so you can connect your handheld. But those cost as much as a mobile radio.

I have the Repeaterbook app on my phone and it allows you to search for GMRS repeaters. It seems to have fewer repeaters than MyGMRS. GMRS repeaters are not coordinated like Amateur radio repeaters. So unless the repeater owners add their machine to a database (and keep it updated) it can be hard to find active repeaters.

I don’t know of any for GMRS but there are certainly vhf and uhf ham radios with those features. But it should be recognized that the ability to send GPS position via GMRS is limited by regulations to handheld portable radios with fixed antennas and may not be done on the main 467 MHz repeater frequencies. That probably means that manufacturers don’t have great motivation to certify such a radio. (d) Digital data. GMRS hand-held portable units may transmit digital data containing location information, or requesting location information from one or more other GMRS or FRS units, or containing a brief text message to another specific GMRS or FRS unit. and: § 95.1787 GMRS additional requirements. Each hand-held portable unit transmitter type submitted for certification under this subpart is subject to the rules in this section. (a) Digital data transmissions. GMRS hand-held portable units that have the capability to transmit digital data must be designed to meet the following requirements. (1) Digital data transmissions may contain location information, or requesting location information from one or more other GMRS or FRS units, or containing a brief text message to another specific GMRS or FRS unit. Digital data transmissions may be initiated by a manual action of the operator or on an automatic or periodic basis, and a GMRS unit receiving an interrogation request may automatically respond with its location. (2) Digital data transmissions must not exceed one second in duration. (3) Digital data transmissions must not be sent more frequently than one digital data transmission within a thirty-second period, except that a GMRS unit may automatically respond to more than one interrogation request received within a thirty-second period. (4) The antenna must be a non-removable integral part of the GMRS unit. (5) GMRS units must not be capable of transmitting digital data on the 467 MHz main channels.

If you clear out the receive tone you’ll hear everything on the receive frequency. Then, if the repeater is in use, you’ll know for sure if anyone besides you can hit it, assuming that you’re in range.

This info would be ideal for your proposed FAQ thread.

I just did that for my mobile setup. With the right antenna setup the difference is not huge it's A LOT bigger than that! A whole new world....

IMO, it is important to point out that the RG-58 coax that comes with most magnet mount antennas, while not "the best" you can buy, is more than plenty 'good enough' for average, normal, GMRS users.

Nice!

That’s very admirable.

I stand corrected and I am not afraid to admit when I am wrong. I overlooked all of the FRS channels that can use 2W and was going by the ones that are locked out on all GMRS mobile radios (channels 8-14).

That’s only true for FRS/GMRS channels 8-14. Mobile and base radios are allowed on channels 1-7 and 15-22.

There are 22 FRS channels and 30 GMRS channels. 1-22 are exactly the same channels and both FRS and GMRS are allowed to transmit on them. 1-7 and 15-22 are limited to 2 watts for FRS, but GMRS can transmit on 1-7 at 5 watts and 15-22 at 50 watts. 8-14 are limited to 0.5 watts for both GMRS and FRS. 23-30 are GMRS only and limited to 50 watts.

What is the difference between a 2023 Kia Rio @ $17K and a 2023 Camaro SS @ $50K. They will both get you to the grocery store. The will both get you across the country. Why would anyone pay $50K+ for a new car when they can get one that will do the same thing for $17K? Yeah, it is kind of like that. I have had both the cheap radios and a couple of the more expensive radios. The build quality, the ease of programming, IP rating, and a lot of other things make the more expensive radios I have worth it for me. It comes down to personal choice. If you have to be talked into buying something, you probably won't be satisfied with it.

You guys go ahead and keep debating which GMRS HTs put out the most power. I'm going to lunch. Lemme know if you ever settle it. On second thought, no.