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That’s amazing! How do they know when to stop?

As an internet legal scholar and couch-based constitutional expert, you should know that complaining about it here is not going to accomplish anything other a bunch of back and forth verbal & grammatical masturbation.

Congress gave the FCC the right to get involved in local wireless communications, as well as justification to exist as an agency when they passed the Communications Act of 1934. And just FYI, complaining/arguing/chest-beating about it in an online forum wont change anything - If you really want to change/eliminate the FCC start by contacting your congressman or an attorney.

19 can't be used by the something like 20% of US citizens who live above Line A...

Mixing digital and analog services on the same frequency just doesn't work. It works in Part 90 because the channels and coverage areas are coordinated to prevent one service from interfering with the other. GMRS/FRS is an uncoordinated service meaning you can use any of the frequencies at any time and any place. Also, as there are so few channels available you can't help but have the modes interfere with each other.

@CTarna Welcome. I think you will enjoy GMRS.

30 meters wavelength is 10 MHz frequency.

Polyphaser appears to be a very good product.

It’s always a good idea to go through your passwords from time to time, but that’s not what is needed to prevent someone from stunning or killing your radio. Your radio has an ANI. By default, all radios of that model are programmed with a factory default ANI. In order to stun or kill your radio two things must be true: 1. The stun or kill function must be enabled in your radio. 2. The person sending the stun or kill command must send it along with the ANI that is programmed into your radio. That’s especially easy if you never changed the ANI from the factory default. All someone would have to do is send out the stun or kill command with the factory default ANI. So, you should use Chirp or the factory CPS to change the ANI to be different from the factory default. Also, unless you have a reason, disable the ability of your radio to be stunned or killed.

Except that UHF is terribly attenuated by moisture, including snow in the air, which is far less dense than the drifts that result from an avalanche. That’s one reason the avalanche transponders are only 457 kHz. Also, for the same reasons, GPS receivers may fail when beneath snow. And finally, a quick Google search reveals that having other RF devices nearby can interfere with beacons: Avalanche beacons are specialized radio transceivers operating on the frequency 457 kHz. Because they use radio frequencies, they are subject to problems caused by interference. Interference can be caused by many factors, some of which are under your control, others are not. Your radio, cell phone, GPS device, smartwatch, and even the foil-lined energy bar wrapper in the buried party’s pocket can interfere with a beacon search. https://nspserves.org/avalanche-beacon-precautions/

For ham, but this thread was about turn around for GMRS

Welcome!!

Hi. New (licensed) GMRS user from northern NJ. Long time CB user (even had a CB license, back in the day), but just got MTX275 for Jeep (along with CB). Interested in reading up on tips and tricks of this new-to-me tech.

+1 on the Polyphaser recommendation. You are trying to protect a high priced radio, do you want to trust it to the lowest priced protector or do you want one with a known good reputation?

Agreed. Polyphasor and Alpha-Delta both have high reputations.

WRONG! Stun and Kill are activated using DTMF (Dual Tone, Multiple Frequency) tones, not digital although they can be sent in digital radios.

These analog radios can be configured to transmit their ANI at the beginning or end of a transmission. Most are not set that way. But the stun and kill functions are specifically described in the manual. It’s true that digital modes require an ID with each transmission, and it’s true that digital modes have enhanced abilities with respect to being ejected from talk groups, but that’s different from what is being discussed.

This is true. A lot of the members of my local club keep bugging me to get on HF along with using FT8, etc. But I have kept to using the VHF and UHF bands. Our 2m repeater is quite busy since it has a large coverage area, possibly the biggest in Missouri. A few of us are getting more members to use the analog side of our 70cm repeaters too. I prefer having a good analog setup since it will be more reliable than digital in severe conditions/emergencies.

I have not but my son-in-law is a backcountry skiing outfitter and teaches avalanche safety. I went to him all excited thinking one of the tiny gps transponders we fly in rockets might be a step forward. He quickly explained the situation. Anyway, I would try it to see if it receives GPS signals when buried, if it has any range transmitting when buried, and how much it interferes with your beacon when transmitting.

Tested for Ham Saturday Nov 25 2023, 9am, Thanksgiving weekend. Got notification from FCC at 11:09am Monday NOV-27 that payment was required for the application submitted for me on behalf of ARRL. Paid within 30 minutes, showed pending immediately after on FCC website as well as bank account for the rest of the day. Received an email from Hamstudy.org that my callsign was issued at 3:05am Tuesday NOV-28, which I assume was automatically generated upon approval/completion of payment. Edit: Posting is hard, meant to quote the part about yeah that's ham, question was on GMRS. Seems like they're the same process except ham adds the test results submission as the application vs someone selecting an Apply button. Timeframe a month apart for 2 different licenses ran the same

Interesting thread I clicked on, only because today I received a call for a lost APX4000 Model 2 on a trunked radio network. I had to explain why I was only going to"Transmit Inhibit" the radio, as then they usually end up at one of our repair shops, when someone notices they receive, change channels, and otherwise appear to function until you try to transmit. Many organizations in commercial radio shy away from stun and kill, and the use of system keys helps keep your radios/programming within your organization. It would be interesting to know if CCR's now have this as well? Some do most everything else as found on commercial radios.

Ah yes. The infamous CB Keydown competitions. I've said it here before, I'll say it again. Keydown competitions are what's missing from GMRS.

Gee, couldn't get anywhere finding someone dumb enough to petition the FCC for DMR or some other digital modulation format on GMRS , so you decide to bring up the question of the actual existence of the FCC. DO you actually work for a living or are you stuck in your house, just sitting there figuring out new ways to post stuff on the web to wind up the masses and cause trouble? I said this before, if YOU don't like the service, find a different one. Or go entertain yourself with freeband, pirating on commercial frequencies, or just put Zello on your cell phone and use that. It's become clear that you are not here to have a reasonable conversation about any topic that resembles reality and instead just post things that will stir up the best result. Welcome to the ignore list. You have joined a rare bunch that up to now only included OffroaderX. May the two of you find happiness in limbo.

So...I haven't worked with the newer mxt115, but i don't believe they're computer programmable, at least at the consumer level. The key points with the older 115 I had were enabling the repeater channels via the menu, tuning to the right "XXRP" channel for the frequency desired (which is programmed with the offset needed for repeater use) and then setting the code that corresponds to the tone needed for that repeater. I understand the new 115's have TX and rx tones separate now, and TX tone is what you need for the repeater...Rx is optional. https://cdn.accentuate.io/81031332017/1623709961570/MXT115-Owners-Manual-11-16-2020.pdf Page 23 has the instructions to enable repeater channels, 18 and 19 have the past about setting tones, and 27 has the table of what code corresponds to what tone.

@JoCoBrian I'm doing the face palm. @Sshannon Thanks for keeping me strait.

@PACNWComms @Sshannon Yes, the KG-1000G Plus has a SO-239. Once everyone pointed me in the right direction on who makes a good product I contacted PolyPhaser and they recommended the IS-50UX-C0 for my application. It has the SO-239 connectors. I asked about the N connector because I have read and watched a lot of discussion on this subject. He stated that since I will be using the M&P EVO connector that there really won't be a significant difference. I did do some reading on PolyPhaser and and they appear to be "top shelf" stuff. Other than the radio and power supply, I have been in a planning mode, trying to figure out what will work with what. So now that I have more information, I just need to roll it around in the bean for a bit before pulling the trigger. Then I will be ordering the cable, surge protector and antenna all at once. Thank you again for pointing me in the right direction.

But perhaps with so-239 connectors. N connectors are definitely better for GMRS frequencies but I think the KG1000 probably has an SO-239. Or get that polyphaser and install N connectors on the coax cables that attach to it.

It's going to take some careful thought to figure out how to do it. IMHO for the moment we should just forget running digital voice on repeaters. I think the major gain is digital voice on simplex. The logic there if you need a repeater the analog FM types seem to do a very good job of providing good coverage. The digital voice modes would primarily benefit HT to HT, or HT to mobile/base communications. Also remember UHF spectrum is limited. The FCC mandated most services move to narrow band in an attempt to free up more spectrum. Asking the FCC to allocate more spectrum to GMRS is very likely dead on arrival. We would be lucky to keep what we have now. https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/6478-digital-direct-mode-simplex-on-462-mhz-gmrs-channels/?do=findComment&comment=66329&_rid=1908

Well in that case, either ya make it all ONE digital standard or keep it all analog. Dont give anyone the option to run both, otherwise it creates problems and shoves everyone away from the band. Remember, we are only playing with 8 and in some cases 6 repeater pairs. That isn't a lot of room. I am not against digital. I love running it. It makes better use of the band, but if it ends up like Ham Radio and you add the unregulated nature of GMRS to that equation, that will mean people will be able to just set up whatever they want wherever they want. Sadly, you wont be able to do it without disrupting the current users. I know on Ham Radio, Digital repeaters have really shoved a lot of Hams off of the bands in some places. It doesn't accomplish anything good. Straight up, there needs to be organization. It needs to be regulated. What I would love to see is to have more frequency pairs added to GMRS.

That's a great suggestion. I can't remember if it was on this forum or somewhere else but there was a guy that just started using his new radio and someone in the neighborhood stunned his radio. Took him a while to get it straightened out if I recall.

Got a GMRS handheld. Trying to get around it but so far this is way better than the one we use before. I'm able to pick up signals that are over 10 miles from house. This is definitely getting interesting. I cant wait to get my base antenna soon and make plans installing it the right way. I was watching Randy on Youtube. Its full if information and he's very knowledgeable. Are you guys able to reach him on GMRS repeater. According to him, he's on a highly elevated place. The few high elevation around there is Chino Hills, CA. La Verne is lower. Cant be Montebello for that's in the other side of 605. Sorry for the late reply. I didnt get a notification. It was a Happy Thanksgiving too!

Well, I wouldn't go saying triggered, but the subject has been brought up many many times as many people have said and I have personally watched most Hams "empty out of the room" so to speak when it comes to using the VHF/UHF bands where these digital voice modes are used. Not only has that happened, but many Hams will straight up talk very badly about these bands right over the air and get other new Hams to trash talk these bands. What is really sad is that they have added many different digital voice modes, DMR being one of them, to these bands and not only does it cause Hams to trash talk the bands even more, some fly off into a rage about how digital voice is not real Ham radio and they will go as far as having certain feelings (not good) about those who use it. Like I said, there is literally over 1 GHz worth of space to play with on these bands where you can do digital voice. DMR only takes up 6.25 KHz per channel (utilizing time slots). There are some places where some of these bands are dead. There is literally no one on them at all. You could set up pirate radio stations (not condoning that) and no one would know, as in, that dead. So when people get on here with ideas about DMR on GMRS and someone like me has seriously watched Ham bands, where this is more than allowed, dry up in front of his face, yes, it can be pretty irritating to see the posts. So, Yes, Ham Radio all the way. Just dont get sucked down the HF rabbit hole when the Hams with higher class licenses come around coercing you to upgrade your license to join the HF crowd in contesting, otherwise, you will become like every other Ham abandoning the VHF and UHF bands to talk around the world doing contesting. GMRS is meant to be analog for people just simply trying to communicate between family and friends. Would I personally love to see DMR on GMRS. Absolutely. But not with the limited space and lack of control over the band the way it is now. Ham Radio is the place to be for digital because you have all sorts of freedom to experiment with it any way you want, minus encryption.

Another tidbit to remember: On 30M there is no phone allowed. So any question about 10 Mhz band, just remember no phone.

Easy way to remember the bands 80m - 3.5 Mhz 40m - 7 Mhz 20m - 14 Mhz 15m - 21 Mhz 10m - 28 Mhz The higher the freq, the smaller the meters.

Still didn't answer the question about why YOU don't bother to go petition the FCC about making a rule change allowing DMR on GMRS. And again, as myself and others have said in this thread. This is a dead horse being beaten again. This has been rehashed over and over again. No one is going to petition the FCC for the rule change, including members here who have actually successfully petitioned the FCC for rule changes. And the reason is simple. DMR on GMRS will cause nothing but problems for the current users. It's about as dumb as when the FCC decided to change CB radio from 23 channels to 40 channels making everyone's equipment obsolete when the change took effect. The actual part 95 radios that are in service will be unable to operate with DMR. Same issue exists for adding channels to GMRS or making GMRS narrow band. If you want to petition the FCC for a rule change, and get it to the point that it's open for public comment, we will certainly comment on the change. Until then, be happy with what you have, and if it doesn't suit your purposes use a different service. Because while your numbers are correct, they apply to DMR being effected by Analog signals. Not the effects of DMR on the ANALOG signals of the multitude of users out there currently using the service within the rules as they are now.

There’s no need. That’s part of being a ham, getting to try different things.

I agree to have both GMRS and amateur licenses. I suggest getting a general class license since it opens up all of the HF bands that technicians can't access.

The kind of contacts you’ve described are typically done using an HF radio on the ham bands. VHF and UHF (like GMRS) are really not great at making long distance contacts and for the most part the GMRS service is really not intended to make long distance contacts, although there are a few people who get on some of the networked repeaters on GMRS. If you just want to make quick contacts without actually talking to someone you might enjoy one of the digital modes, like FT8, where your computer decodes a list of incoming calls and you attempt to connect, just long enough for your two computers to exchange signal reports. If you actually wish to talk to someone HF phone or a digital handheld and a hotspot might be more interesting. There are a lot of us old men (I’m not offended at all, I’ve heard some conversations that really do nothing to attract others to the hobby) but not everyone is an old man, and with a little persistence you can find others who share your interests.

Because GMRS is for common folks to buy off the Walmart shelf and use fairly informally. Part 90 radios and location specific rules make sense when commercial radio shops are in charge of configuration and sales.

Is this problem limited to one city or state? Or maybe neither of us really know. Are you suggesting a "one size fits all approach" is the only way? The FCC has created a list of "major metro areas" in Part 90 where different rules apply. Why not apply this same concept to GMRS? It is highly unlikely that additional radio channels will be allocated for GMRS in specific regions. So it seems logical that the best approach is to make better use of what we already have. Digital provides 4X the capacity within the same spectrum. It is not clear if this will actually increase perceived interference or reduce it since far fewer repeaters would be needed to support the same number of users. For example: I have two separate user groups operating simultaneously on a single DMR repeater today, as it provides for two simultaneous channels (slot 1 and slot 2). If I were to lose the DMR license for this and have to go back to legacy analog operation, I now need to build a second repeater and use yet another GMRS channel for that second repeater. I suspect this might increase interference to those on the new channel......

This also looks like a solid deal: https://www.buytwowayradios.com/wouxun-kg-805g.html?___SID=U

https://www.amazon.com/Radioddity-GM-30-Handheld-Receiving-Overlanding/dp/B08SLR7W7F/ A little bit more, but a better radio IMHO. And Black Friday sale!

If you are wanting to save money then I will suggest the Baofeng UV-5R GMRS hand held radios. Here is a link to the radios I bought from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BGHXV6Y4?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1 These are certified for GMRS use and work fine. I haven't had any issues with the and $50 is a good price for two radios and extra antennas.

@WRZM228 the link you posted is for a dual band 2m/70cm radio. It will not transmit on GMRS frequencies out of the box. It might be possible to perform the unlock hack to get them to work on GMRS frequencies. Performing the unlock hack is another discussion all by itself.

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.

Here’s what a Reddit user said: Stun is a setting which will allow the radio to receive but not be controlled or used to transmit. It will listen for the revive command. It's a commercial radio feature. For example, if you have a radio which found it's way into the wrong department and need to get it back...you stun the radio so the current user brings the radio in. The radio can then either be remotely revived or revived through reprogramming the codeplug. Now there is also a function called kill...which is used to make the radio inoperable. In cases where a killed radio can be recovered, it will have to go back to the manufacturer (with the associated service fee) to be fixed. Short of Stun/Revive/Kill: A stunned radio can be revived. A killed radio is dead.

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:

This is a very bad choice for many people because the programming software/CPS has a very steep learning curve, is often difficult if not impossible to find, often (depending on the radio/software) does not run well on newer computers, things like batteries, cables, etc, are also often difficult to find or expensive, and it will almost certainly cost a lot more. And most important: Those commercial radios are not Part 95 approved so it is illegal to use them and they will go to jail!!!!!1 I know this because I've seen this posted on this forum 100 times or more. Sometimes "cheap junk Chinese radios" are plenty good enough for normal people, despite the poor QC, but "some people" just cannot seem to grasp this simple fact and will live the rest of their lives proselytizing against inexpensive radios completely oblivious to other people's needs/desires.