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Simplex on private repeater output w/ tone
WRUU653 and 5 others reacted to OffRoaderX for a topic
Violate any protocol? NO Upset the repeater owners? Maybe, but that does not matter.. Just don't intentionally be a dickhead.6 points -
Typically, the higher you go into the atmosphere, the colder it gets. However, a rapid influx of high pressure can cause a temperature inversion. This pushes a layer of warmer air up into the troposphere. These rapid transitions will typically occur in Spring and Fall when there are very rapid temperature changes during sun rise and sunset. While it occurs in the Spring, it's most prevalent in Fall.5 points
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Premium Membership
WRXB215 and 3 others reacted to rdunajewski for a topic
I refreshed your account status, and it now shows you as a Premium Member. Thanks for your support!4 points -
There are lots of reasons for encoding the repeater output tone on the output/simplex channel that in no way involve purposely interfering with anyone. I am a member of an informal repeater group that meets at different restaurants in about a 40 mile radius of the repeater one day, each month. Oftentimes, these restaurants will be well outside of the repeater's coverage area. As such, we usually agree to monitor the output of our repeater to help newcomers or old members locate where we are for that day. Several of us, to include myself, make sure we encode the repeater's tone on its output/simplex channel so that someone with the tone set in the decoder can hear us. Likewise, when two operators are mobile, portable, or even on base; many miles from the repeater, if they are close enough to each other, they can communicate more easily on simplex than through the repeater. Encoding the repeater output tone on the simplex channel the repeater uses facilitates simplex and allows monitoring the repeater when cresting hills or otherwise in receiving range of the repeater. If someone is not a member of a paid repeater group, encoding that repeater's tone while transmitting simplex can allow for useful communication to a paid user if close to the paid user. For instance, the paid user is lost or needs mechanical assistance. The paid user might need a connector, cable, or something else and if the non-member has something helpful to share and is close enough, they can assist the paid user without violating the sanctity of the members-only repeater. Not everything is sinister.3 points
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I'm not going to explain my motivation for this or anything here. It's usually pointless to try to change anyone's mind, especially on the internet. We have 7 channels at 5W, and 8 channels at 50W for simplex. I don't monitor 1-7 regularly because it's mostly FRSers. Repeater use dominates those 8 50W simplex frequencies. And I have to set a separate tone if I want to block hearing repeater traffic. FCC screwed up by not having repeater output separate from simplex. I'm not going to get into issues with specific repeaters. But almost all recently updated or new repeaters are either permission required or members only. They're turning this public spectrum into something more like business radio.3 points
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Have you tried logging out and back in? Maybe clear cookies? Just ideas…3 points
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Simplex on private repeater output w/ tone
WRHS218 and one other reacted to SteveShannon for a topic
UncleYoda, You absolutely are within your rights and the regulations to transmit on the 462 MHz main channels. They’re yours as much as they belong to anyone else. And there’s nothing wrong with using the same tones that a repeater uses. However, it could be confusing to anyone who hears you. They would have no way to know whether they were hearing the repeater or someone on simplex. If they transmit in simplex on 462 the repeater would not relay the signal so you might not hear them. Similarly your transmissions will be limited in range. Some people listening to the repeater might not hear you at all which could lead to them inadvertently interfering with your transmissions. It’s not something I would do, but you’re within your rights.2 points -
So output tone would be on 462.xxx so someone listening for repeater output would also hear your Tx? Interesting idea. I can see where that would help prevent someone from walking on your transmission. You wouldn’t be accessing the repeater so I can’t see an issue with that though someone might think you were. Hmm2 points
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Premium Membership
WRZX444 and one other reacted to SteveShannon for a topic
The only person who can help is Rich:@rdunajewski I’ll report your post to catch his attention.2 points -
GMRS While Traveling MI to AK
SteveC7010 reacted to BoxCar for a topic
You need to check with Industry Canada (their FCC) for the regulations regarding use of your radios while in Canada. Amateurs are allowed to operate within the Canadian frequency allocations but many other users cannot.1 point -
cool thank you. new to the gmrs thing so im trying to learn all that i can.1 point
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I still don’t see an answer as to motivation. You have 15 channels to choose from to transmit Simplex at 5 watts; 7 of which do not interfere with repeaters. But you want to use the 8 channels that are used by repeaters, with tones used by your nearby repeaters on those frequencies and you want to be sure repeater users can hear you? How many repeaters are within your transmit footprint? How many clear channels are there for you to use instead? Sounds flakey to me.1 point
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Simplex on private repeater output w/ tone
SteveShannon reacted to UncleYoda for a topic
@WRYS709 See, that's the issue; it's all based on perception. Do repeater club members have exclusive use of the frequency and tone? I kind of expect some of the users to feel that way. But nobody owns a frequency. And it ain't interference to talk as long as you don't transmit over someone else.1 point -
What is your purpose: so you can purposely interfere with repeater users use of these repeaters?1 point
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That mountaintop troll is too much.1 point
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Yes, but I don't believe that you have an ERP limitation on 15-22 that you are required to meet. That being said, it's always a 'best practice' regardless of regulation to only use the minimum amount of power needed to establish a solid communications path with the other party. Using power levels beyond that can cause interference for other users of the service. But there is no specific regulation stating that requirement.1 point
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Occasionally a troll in the valleys will pop up when we are on top of the mountains, but even that is rare. Unless there is a big event where we have 600-800 vehicles sharing 3,000 acres, everything is very quiet.1 point
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HYS 11 db Yagi receiving signals from all directions
SteveShannon reacted to WRKC935 for a question
There is just SO much wrong with this. Gonna go full on with the math here so it makes sense. And this is gonna be based on that if the antenna in question has 11dB of forward gain that it has an 11dB null off some part of the pattern, most likely the back side off the corners. Second assumption is the repeaters in question are running full legal limit power of 50 watts minus a standard combined loss of 3 dB for feedline and duplexer losses and a 6dB gain antenna. So conversion of 50 watts is 47.0 dBm for ease of the math. Real conversion of 50 watts is 46.9897dBm so I rounded up to save time. Mind you that a 3dB change is a doubling or halfing of power. So, 47 dBm minus 3dB is of course 44dBm OR 25.11 watts. Getting that out of the way. So we have a 44dBm signal going into a repeater antenna with 6dB of gain. So that's 50dBm or 100 watt's ERP if you want to go that route. ERP is Effective Radiated Power. Look it up for a better explanation. Now we need to consider path loss. Path loss is the amount of signal drop between the two antenna's ( repeater transmitting antenna, and your receiving antenna). The path loss calculator used for these calculations. https://www.pasternack.com/t-calculator-fspl.aspx?utm_campaign=Power_Combiners&keyword=&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAkKqsBhC3ARIsAEEjuJj7ApOIs_PMeM7_yH6hraxqwaoC9i42tDkgTTaSKcF2Q5qN0GSO0coaAtBGEALw_wcB Path loss on a 9 mile path for 462.550Mhz is 109dB. So we take 50dBm and subtract 109dB which leaves up with -59dBm. Your receiver will open with a tight squelch setting at about -110 to -105dBm signal level. So lets add the null to the -59dBm signal level and we get -70dBm. This is when the signal null is the greatest when the antenna null is turned to face the transmitted signal. So your radio will open up at -110 to -105dBm and you have a signal level of -70 dBm at the antenna. Even with another 3dB of signal loss in your coax feeding the receiver, you STILL have a -73dBm signal level hitting your receiver. To put into contrast the difference between -103 and -73 dBm which is 30dB of course. If you have a 1 watt transmitter, and you amplify the 1 watt by 30dB, you now have 1000 watts. It's THAT BIG of a change in signal level. And your receiver is hearing that much more signal than it needs to in order to open the squelch up and hear the signal. So, is your yagi defective? I am gonna say NO. And this is the math that proves it's working. If you ever worndered how the FCC can sit in your neighborhood and gell how much power your CB radio is putting out without needing to walk in and test it with a watt meter, these equations are it. You measure signal level off of a calibrated antenna into a signal level meter or spectrum analyzer and calculate it back. Your antenna of course is clearly visible above your house, and it's design will indicate a reasonable gain number to apply to the math to figure out just how much fire you are putting in the wire. And mind you, don't take my word for all this. There are two RF engineers on this board, One has posted in this thread. If he chooses to pipe up he can verify this math is correct and why you are hearing the signal off the side of your beam. And also verify that even if the repeater output was reduced to 1 watt, you would STILL hear it off the side of your beam. The math don't lie. I would ask him, if he reads this, that if it's the case, that he bump the answer over on the top left of the post here. It makes my numbers look a bit better. And I will continue to do that for him as well. Gonna toss this link in here too, gives a better explanation of a yagi and how it effects signal pattern for both receive and transmit.1 point -
It would be a very good idea to wait a few months on buying a TH-D75A. Let everyone else do the beta testing. By then Kenwood should have a good idea where all the remaining software and hardware bugs are and have a fix for them. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the radio go through several hardware revisions before getting to a stable design.1 point
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Pretty much everyone I know personally... we all use the exact same methods.1 point
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Official/Unofficial GMRS Road/Travel Channel
WRXB215 reacted to OffRoaderX for a topic
I do a bit of off-roading and I dont know of any other off-readers that run any tones, unless/except when in some kind of large event. Many that I know, myself included not only do not run any tones, but also scan all frequencies in case someone is calling for help.1 point -
Not that I am aware of. There is for the KG-UV9PX, the ham version. If I remember correctly it was through Chirp.1 point
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Kenwood TH-D75A Tri-Band Handheld Transceiver with D-STAR and APRS
WRXB215 reacted to SteveShannon for a topic
My next DMR radio will be one of the radios that the Blind Hams version of Open GD-77 targets. A blind/deaf ham friend of mine is interested in the Tytera MD-UV380. He uses implants to hear his radio, so audio hints help him be independent, but on his way to independence maybe I can help by learning the software.1 point -
Channels 23 to 30 can be modified to work with repeaters using the standard frequency shift.1 point
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Or GMRS users simply don't need the feature enough to bother commenting to the FCC about it.1 point
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False positives from Norton are quite common and that's the main reason I stopped using Norton several years ago.1 point
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The virus warning is a false positive with the 935G programming software when downloaded from Buy Two Way Radios. Myself and several others run it without any issues.1 point
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That's where I got it, along with the cable driver. I work in a particularly paranoid sector of the IT field, so I decided to go with the RT software. That sort of trouble, real or otherwise, is something I'd rather avoid.1 point
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Wouxun 935G software - virus?
Raybestos reacted to OffRoaderX for a topic
Many people have reported this with other manufacturers software and it has always been a false-positive, but I don't recall seeing this mentioned with the 935G software.. Where did you download it from? The only safe/trusted source would be from BuyTwoWayRadios.com .1 point -
I'd rather have TWO good well engineered working radios than a sack full of junk handies.1 point
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How to attract more young people into the Amateur Radio Hobby
Raybestos reacted to SteveShannon for a topic
Back to the original subject, I was just telling an unmet friend that one way I think we could attract more young people to ham radio would be to give away FRS or MURS radios accompanied by free lessons on radio rules and etiquette. That could lead to free lessons towards the technician test and maybe even a free or cheap dual band radio (A UV5R in every pot!)1 point