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The GM-15 Pro which is the same as the GM30 is an awesome cheap HT and here is why almost everyone in my GMRS group uses them. 1. Repeater Capable and programmable on the radio. 2. Easy to use and the Baofeng lady explains things in the menu so they make more sense. 3. Sounds good, the speaker is not the best speaker ive heard but its better than many of the other sub 30$ HTs. 4. Basic Power Meter on receive. 5. Good range and the amazon pack includes a ABREE AR-771 type whip and again the pack is less than 30$. 6. Can listen to FM Radio and 2M/70CM Ham band 7. UV-5R programing cable works on it (again more below). 8. USB C Charging and good battery life 9. Convenient Wrist Strap and okay belt clip. 10. Light up buttons (GM15 Pro only?) 11. Easy to remove antenna and good spacing to fit pretty much any aftermarket antenna or adapter. 12. Pretty good manual 13. Sync allowing you to see channel names and freq on the display at the same time 14. Dual monitor is available if you like that. 15. NOAA weather channel scanning automatically Things I do not like 1. Biggest issue for me is that its not Dust/Water Resistant. 2. Saving per channel CTCSS/DCS sucks on the radio (but not completely impossible with help of Baofeng lady's guidance) 3. Belt Clip is weak and attaches to battery. 4. Battery has 3 pin charging on the battery but no base charger included or sold (why? Yes it has USB C but base chargers are nice. Maybe another base fits but idk which one.) 5. Not CHIRP Compatible and seemingly no plans to be so from Chirp 6. GM-30 Program needed to program it as Baofeng never released their version of the programming software. (My Cable required me to find some drivers as well for it to work on windows 10 and 11 tried both and then settings in device manager needed to be changed to compatibility modes). 7. Its a typical SOC GMRS Radio (but who cares at less than 30$). So for using it around town and at the farm it works well. It is is cheap and we have talked 30miles+ house to house on these with really good clarity. If you want to mud wrestle with a radio this is not it. If you drop things in your toilet this is not for you. If you talk mostly simplex and like to carry your radio around and want something better than a midland bubble pack or a basic baofeng this is a good option with lots of options on the radio. Overall Id give it a B+ for a GMRS Radio there are things I wish it had (at least a little dust resistance) but most of them have solutions.

Many, many photos and video clips of soldiers over there using Baofeng UV-5R radios.

He already confirmed that the issue was resolved from a previous comment The radio he specified, the UV-5G, is designed specifically TO transmit on GMRS. Nice effort though .. I guess?

Pin this please!

When gaps occur in the FCC database files, you won't show up until the following Sunday's full database update. The FCC publishes a weekly full database file, and then during the week they publish the new and updated licenses incrementally (known as deltas). If their system doesn't generate a daily file and your callsign would have been in that day's file, you won't appear in the next daily file -- you'd show up in the next weekly full database file. It's a pretty antiquated system, but it works most of the time. The biggest issue is waiting until the next day for us to learn about new licenses. The FCC created an API that allows live lookups, but it's painfully slow and practically unusable. It's easier to download the database updates and host the data in-house.

@WRYC373 - welcome to MyGMRS. I realize you’ve been here a couple weeks now but I didn’t recognize that you were a new member. So, welcome and merry Christmas!

Thanks it worked Both radios are in channel mode and working

And at the Olympics, used by the Chinese ski team.

Were they delivered by Amazon?

Battle-tested. Can't say that about my collection of Yaesus. The first video I saw with one was of a Ukrainian soldier discussing how they took out the Moskva.

From what I'm finding, my antenna is a pretty good quality unit. Made by Andrews but the printed label is too faded to read any more than that, however that was enough. Turns out its the same as a CommScope model DB-420-B according to the information I'm able to find. The thing is 20 feet tall and all aluminum construction so it isn't terribly heavy. It's much bigger than I realized when I volunteered to take it down. I actually have 2 of them with access to a third if I remove it as well. I have attached a picture of a unit that looks identical to what I have. I also was able to remove the coax feeding it which I think I read was LMR-400. There should be enough to relocate this thing to the top of my tower. It already has type N fittings on it as well which fits the duplexer. I'm pretty convinced a repeater is in my future. How soon it happens remains to be seen And whether it gets linked also remains to be seen. I have installed a virtual machine and installed a version of AllStar. It is Debian Linux based which is great for me because I have been using Linux Mint for years which is traced back to Debian so it's very familiar. The problem I have is it is only a CLI machine and I haven't found any useful step by step howto's to guide me on setting it up. Everthing I'm finding is explaining how to do it on a Pi (which is also running Linux) but I'm not starting from the described image. I'm going to need some more time to figure this out I can tell.

Thanks, that's a great review. I think I'll pass on this one. Mike

I always count it a success when I can talk to my wife on a handheld from 10,000 foot Mt. Baldy where there's no cell service here in southern California through a repeater that's on a 5,700 foot peak 40 miles away that she's almost 20 miles from.

@TheNevilleKid Better keep an eye on that Santa. Looks like he may try to walk away with one of your radios.

I checked mine, V4, and the attached photo are they only frequency options shown for the TK-880 mobile radio.

It is the KPG49D software for the TK880-1 and the radio operating band should be 400-470 MHz.

I believe the correct software is KPG-49D. I can verify tonight when I get home. I am unsure about the 70cm, as I have not attempted that. https://hamfiles.co.uk/index.php?page=downloads&type=entry&id=radio-programming%2Fkenwood-programming%2Fkpg-49d-v3-x Hope this helps. Good luck.

We were using the AR-771 antenna it came with not the Rubber Ducky we were very impressed as it means we can talk house to house across the county.

Here is a video explaining how to setup a GMRS Live node for those that are interested. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2b3kQUo5yY

Maybe it would make sense to start with a non-linked repeater. Many people steer clear of linked repeaters.

Here is a GMRS specific version. It is called GMRS Live and works on Raspberry Pi. https://www.gmrslive.com

Thanks. I just downloaded the .iso and will probably install it to play around with it but it looks like AllStar is made for HAMS. When I look at the node list all I have seen on my quick look was HAM frequencies. I have a couple mini computers that I can install software on and leave headless by the repeater (if I ever get that far). One of the computers is running Windows 10 and the other I installed Linux Mint on to play with. They were originally used for digital signage. They are only slightly bigger than a raspberry Pi but have an i5 Intel processor.

Forget CB. Most portable CB's are bulky, and the antennas need to be large to be the least bit effective. How far away with the SAG vehicle be from the hikers?

I don't trailer mine and have to remember, "I drove it here and will have to drive it home" and even my 2015 Rubicon has parts now are no longer in production!

I can't say I go "off-roading" just secondary roading.....logging roads and maintenance of repeater sites in areas where logging often takes place. I have an old Blazer and Suburban that get used for this purpose. Blazer for fun and shorter wheelbase, and Suburban when I want to camp or sleep inside a larger vehicle. For work and play, I use either Cobra 29 LTD classic CB and older FRS/GMRS radios, to include: Garmin Rino 120/520/530 radios, Anytone 878 variants, Motorola TalkAbout variants, Motorola Trbo XPR6550's, XPR7550e, and an all in the palm Cobra ST WX 75 CB. As others mentioned, CB is still the "Go To" for many, to include logging trucks and forestry workers....do not want to meet on of those trucks coming down the mountain when you are going up it. GMRS works great in vehicle convoy's, while CB is still more popular in my area and secondary road use. Work wise, my employer requires CB, and another form of radio, as well as cell phones for all drivers. The Cobra 29 series, 75 CB, and cell phones get used often for off roading and secondary road use. However, while the Cobra radios hold up, the microphones are garbage. Quality has gone down a lot over the years, even on older long lived models. Channels used vary by site, trail, road, or construction/logging crew.

There is no standard that I'm aware of. Generally when you enter an active logging area you'll see a channel painted on a rock or tree or something. Sometimes it corresponds to a road number. I think whatever outfit is running the job picks a channel. I generally don't bother unless I know there is active logging going on. I think it's pretty unlikely they will ever switch to GMRS since they are often working with independent drivers and whatnot. It would have to be the whole industry making the move. Then there's the licensing issue. CB really isn't a bad option in that environment.

I have added channels for repeaters that will cover me for trips I know I take at least yearly. Also Have programmed channels for when I wheel in other states. I feel this has me ready for traveling and meeting new people along the way.

Love it! Monitor channels so you can rescue Yota's. I have 2017 Rubicon Recon Usually use channel 16 unless super busy and we will use less used channel. Only "real" trail so far is Uwharrie in NC. Plan to hit Gulches, Windrock, and 5 BOH trails in Penn this coming year. By the way. Love the videos. And thank you for inspiring me to get into GMRS.

I've been known to get my Jeep dirty from time to time 2006 LJ Rubicon & 2012 NotARubicon Ch16 or Ch19, open. Also scan/monitor all channels so I can rescue Toyota's in distress Mottino Wash, Marble Canyon, John Bull, Doran/Odessa (Calico), anywhere in Old Dale

That appears to just be the way the site works. Some open repeater owners have stated they wished the “request access” button didn’t appear on their repeater. Others have said its not necessary to request access, but they like to know who’s using their repeater. Of course many GMRS repeater owners do require that a user seek permission. Unlike ham radio repeaters where the license is assigned to a trustee but belongs to the club (along with the repeater hardware and site) a GMRS repeater is licensed to an individual and that individual has full say over whether to share it or not.

Sorry, I don't agree. He simply made a joke about the thread title. His joke was funny, and not offensive. Your response however, was, in calling someone a DICK. I clicked on the thread expecting it to be about someone other people on the forum might know, perhaps asking if anyone had heard from Terry, or maybe if anyone thought a product or service someone named Terry offered was worthwhile, or maybe letting people know Terry had passed away. Nope, just a post asking a question about a radio. Good question, bad thread title, which I am sure was not intentional on your part. Thread titles are used so people know what the thread is about. Calling someone a DICK for making a joke about a thread title that doesn't come close to describing what the thread was about is an emotional knee-jerk reaction. Maybe take a second to breathe and rethink. ONce again, I believe your mis-named thread was not intentional, but it did nothing to tell anyone what your thread was about, hence the joke.

I came here to read about Terry Sullivan, not some dumb question about a radio! Clickbait!!!!1

The UV-5R(G)(X) series of radios is an excellent "gateway" radio into a lifelong struggle of buying newer, bigger and better radios to meet your needs!

Wide/Narrow has nothing to do with it because that would not prevent them from transmitting/hearing each other. The issue is he is trying to transmit in frequency/VFO mode, which you cannot do on UV-5G radios.. Assuming there are no incorrect tones, putting the radio in channel/MR mode and set the correct GMRS "channel" should make everything work.

Oops, I made another second mistake in life. I misread that info from the Kenwood Installation manual and from the wrong page. That figure was referencing the test equipment required. I hate googling from a smart phone. My KPG shows the same info for the band splits.