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I want to thank everyone for their help. Mystery solved. I do not understand the mechanics of the whole thing, but when I drove a half mile away from the other radio, instead of walking about 1/10 mile down the road, the radios worked on the repeater. It worked with both an RX of none, and an RX tone of 141.3. Evidentially a block down the road was not far enough. Thanks again!

a better antenna might help, a little, assuming it is properly tuned for 467Mhz. But going outside/getting higher/clear of any obstacles between you and the repeater would help more.

But it was me who quoted the words "victimless crime" and said there's no such thing as a victimless crime. Thus agreeing with you.

You seem angry. I think you need some alone time.

How far away is the repeater and were you standing outside, inside a vehicle, or inside a structure? Being inside a vehicle or structure makes a difference, especially the farther away from the repeater you are. I can talk on my local repeater with good signal reports on my KG935G as long as I am standing outside. The repeater is 21.5 miles away. I can make it into the repeater from inside the house but my transmitions are full of static and hard to understand. Same goes if I try to use the KG935G inside my vehicle with the stock antenna. Terrain, structures and trees will also effect things. I have tried my Abbree 17" GMRS antenna on my KG935G but it didn't make any difference when compared to the stock antenna.

You're doing great!

Thanks @Sshannon @WRYZ926 ! These are useful recommendations. It is appreciated. I'm glad I wasn't too far off the mark with Wouxun. They did seem to be more or less the standard. You do bring up a good point that the higher wattage will work with denser foliage or other obstacles between me and other simplex nodes or repeaters. I guess that's obvious, but in retrospect depending on where I take it that could really come in handy. I do intend to stick to the certified side of things. If I wanted to hot rod a transceiver of dubious capability and origin I'd do it on ham bands. Thanks again. I'll keep my eyes out.

The TYT TH-9800 is FCC certified for 10m, 2m, 6m, and 70cm. They re not certified for use on GMRS or CB bands. And there is enough difference between a 10m antenna and a CB (11m) antenna that one will not work well for both bands. And trying to use a 10m or CB antenna for GMRS will not work very well either. Now some dual band 2m/70cm antennas do have good SWR reading in the GMRS band and will work for all three. The Comet GP9 and Comet 2x4SR will work for 2m, 70cm, and GMRS. The TH-9800 will work fine with a good quad band antenna that covers 10m, 2m, 6m and 70cm but there is no guarantee that a quad band antenna for those bands will work for GMRS. And none of them will work well for 11m.

I would steer clear of the Toyota Camry I had one and couldn't fit tires on it big enough to take it 4x4ing, and the ground-clearance was only 4 inches and it has no low-range gears. While it is cool that it supposedly can drive in dirt when you actually go 4x4ing it doesn't do well.

Let me grab some for this one.

I’ll check back when someone quotes you for the exact opposite proposition that you believe and see how you respond to it. Cheers!

That one yes save your GMRS default codeplug first i will boot up the software later and research deleting information

Where's my tinfoil hat?

I am not trying to argue but trying to learn... Who decides what digital mode to use? Aren't there three main digital voice modes for amateurs? And aren't those modes used by different manufactures? I have an amateur license but don't use digital. It seems like Midland is trying to do in GMRS what Yaesu and the others have done on the amateur side. But, again, I don't know enough about it to know what is what in the digital world. Either way, I am still not in favor of making all of these changes to GMRS. Of course that is just my opinion.

Channels above 39 are RX only. 31-38 (on mine) can only be programmed using the software; 39 can be programmed for simplex from the radio but need software to program a repeater transmit.

Update 1-5-2024 6:48 am NEW! We can connect to the Roadkill network and the GMRS Live. License GMRS users on our network is 223! Welcome to BAMA HUB - GMRS radio linked repeaters network. The BAMA HUB! GMRS radio linked repeater network. The following repeaters are linked. Spanish Fort 550, Spring Hill 675, Mt Vernon 675, Dauphin Island 675, Fairhope VFW 700, Bay Minette 625, Wallace Fl 650. with more to come soon. FREE MEMBERSHIP. SF 550 - TX/RX 141.3 Range 30 Miles. Bay Minette 625 TX/RX 141.3 Range 30 Miles. Wallace Fl. 650 TX/RX 141.3 Range 20 miles. Spring Hill 675 - TX/RX 141.3 Range 40 Miles. Mt. Vernon 675 - TX/RX 141.3 Range 50 Miles. Dauphin Island 675 - TX 156.7 / RX 141.3 Range 30 Miles. VFW Fairhope 700 - TX/RX 141.3 Range 20 Miles. GMRS Live! A nationwide network. If you have a location and Repeater that you would like to link into the BAMA GMRS Radio linked network, we would be happy to help make that happen. We have a lot of stuff that is setting around. Here is the current list of items, 1. 3 Paul units sound cards, 2. 20 Foot section of pipe for your antenna tower 9 3. LMR 400 cable 4. Contactors 5. SWR meters 6. Mini Nano meters 7. lots of other things. please contact Scott at 251-656-1926 or by radio WRVH341. Node assignments. 50170 - SF 550 - Spanish Fort Al. 50743 - B M 625 - Bay Minette Al. 50175 - SH 675 - Springhill Al. 50176 - D I 675 - Dolphin Island Al. 50750 - W FL 650 - Wallace Fl. 50173 - VFW 700 - Fairhope Al. Thank you for your time. Scott Bond WRVH341 251-656-1926

Although his quote lacks context it’s obvious (at least to me) that he was agreeing with you.

Thanks guys, Impressive ingenuity and preps!

Some technologies will never be obsolete.

But with regard to the bright lights from the gas station on the hill. If that lighting is creating a hazard to motorists, then you are looking at your state DOT or possibly NTSB for regulation and enforcement traffic issues.

GMRS like dual band 2m/70cm radios all have a SO239 connector on them. And @Sshannon brings up good points about having radios certified for the bands you want to transmit on. I am running a 16" Comet SBB1-NMO dual band radio with my TYT TH-7800 and a 20" Nagoya UT-72G with my Wouxun KG-1000g on the vehicle. As I mentioned I have the same two radios in the house for base stations. I am using a Comet GP9 for dual band and a Comet CA-712EFC for GMRS. One thing to pay attention to is the fact that the short dual band antennas will not work for GMRS and visa versa. Now if you can use a longer antenna on your vehicle then the Comet 2x4SRNMO will work for 2m/70cm and GMRS. As always, everyone has an opinion on what they like and think is the best. Stick with Wouxun for GMRS, they are generally considered the best for GMRS by most. Icom and Yaesu are the best when it comes to dual band radios. But don't overlook the TYT TH-7800 or Wouxun KG-UV920P-A either.

Welcome! I have and like Yaesu, but Yaesu doesn’t make a radio certified for GMRS. They make great ham radios though. People will say that certification isn’t important, and as you progress you might even decide that it isn’t, but for someone trying to get started it sure makes it easier to use the radio without having to worry about violating a regulation. Others will tell you that it doesn’t matter if you violate the regulations because the FCC doesn’t enforce them anyway. Statistically there is some validity, but I still like to know where I stand with respect to regulations. Wouxun is arguably one of the best GMRS radios made and certified for that purpose. The people who have one like the KG1000G Mobile Radio. It’s a 50 watt radio. As far as I know all mobile GMRS radios have a UHF connector for an external antenna. They have to. Several of us have purchased the Radioddity db20g, which is a tiny 20 watt GMRS mobile radio. It’s small and easy to use, plugging into the cigarette lighter. Like the Wouxun it needs an external antenna. It’s about $100, unless you wait for a sale. I bought two of them directly from Radioddity for $87 each. It’s sold under a couple other names as well. Firmware might vary based on brand. These forums have lots of discussions about what radio is best. There will never be universal agreement.

I highly recommend the Wouxun Kg-1000g Plus and the Wouxun KG-XS20G Plus for a bae/mobile GMRS radios. The 1000G Plus is 50 watts while the XS20G Plus is 20 watts. The Wouxun GMRS mobile radios are better than any Baofeng/B-Tech or Midland radio. I run a 1000G Plus as my base and in my vehicle while the XS20G Plus is mounted in my SxS. The Midland MXT500 is sitting in a box simply because it is not as good as the Wouxun radios. Where a 50 watt radio will benefit is if you have trees and/or other obstacles to push the signal through. The local GMRS repeater is 21.5 miles from me and I can talk to others on it just fine even with my 5 watt Wouxun KG935G HT (hand held). I used my XS20G with my roof mounted antenna and was able to talk to the repeater sight on simples just fine. When it comes to dual band 2m/70cm radios, I have had good luck with the TYT TH-7800 as a base and in my vehicle. You can get them for around $239. There is also nothing wrong with Yaesu or Icom mobile radios. Though those start around $300 and up. If money is a bit tight then look at the TYT TH-7800.

Welcome! I'm new to GMRS as well. I've found this group to be very helpful, extremely patient with the noobs and highly knowledgeable about GMRS -- and other invisible things that fly though the air. You're in the right place.

What do you mean when you say you couldn’t find an antenna that matched? It’s unfair to condemn a product for failing to operate well on two frequency ranges it’s prohibited from operating on, especially when the OP is asking about use on the bands it’s designed for.

The FCC does actually go after pirate radio stations very aggressively - not just the pirates but also going after the people/landlords that own the houses/land that they broadcast from and by definition none of those guys signed up for a license. Source: https://www.fcc.gov/enforcement/orders

@WSAB827 You’re definitely in the right place! We’re glad you found us.

The easier way, depending on your repeater is to directly use batteries to power the repeater. Most repeaters are going to have a 12 or 24 volt power supply and many of them have a specific battery input for backup power. Since I don't know what specific repeater you are running, I can't give a specific answer to this. With a high power (100 watt) MTR2000 the power input is 24 volts and it's a connector right on the back of the repeater. It does require an external battery charger to keep the batteries up, typically these are an ARGUS charger. The low power (25 watt) version of the MTR is 12 volts, also requires an ARGUS charger for 12 volt power. If you have either of those I have chargers and power cords for them. Many kenwood repeaters have a battery hookup that will charge the backup batteries. Refer to the manual for your model. For those units that have neither, there is still hope. There are external modules that connect to a power supply, an battery and the load or repeater. These modules will power the repeater off the power supply and also allow the power supply to charge the batteries. When a power failure happens the load side just reverts to the input with power available, so there is no 'switchover' the unit just keeps going until power returns or the battery voltage drops below a certain value and then the unit drops the load to protect the batteries from being discharged too far. Yes, that's a thing. I have worked with this stuff a LOT. To the point my 5 ham and GMRS repeaters, the network routers and switches, and microwave links I use for Internet connectivity are all running off a large bank of batteries and NOT directly off 110 utility power. The utility comes into the battery charger that in these types of systems is called a rectifier. It powers the 48 volt distribution system and charges the batteries. This rectifier is rated for 260 amps. The batteries consist of 4 parallel strings of 105 amp hour 12 volt AGM batteries. The 48 volt power comes out of the distribution panels and goes to the equipment that requires 48 volts for operation. It also feeds a 48 volt to 24 volt converter that runs to a distribution panel and out to the repeaters and other 24 volt equipment. I am currently working on a 48 volt to 12 volt converter and distribution panel to replace the 75 amp supply and string of six 75 amp hour batteries that power the 12 volt equipment and base radios. I can currently go over 24 hours on battery before I need to get the generator going. But of course it's on a transfer switch and auto starts as soon as the power fails. SO I don't go to battery, except during the transition from utility to generator. I will then fail to battery once the generator fuel supply is expended. So I can go with no power for 72 hours before I need to fuel the generator. It's diesel and I have 8 cans sitting to go get fuel if I need to.

Technically, hams shouldn't respond to folks transmitting without identifying with a valid call sign if they know a person is unlicensed. The reason being that they would be violating FCC regulations the same as the person transmitting. That said, the FCC probably isn't going to do anything about it unless they get complaints. But there are self-proclaimed amateur radio enforcers who will berate and otherwise confront folks transmitting without a license. Personally, my life has no room for such things, and it's easier to ignore them.

I built my own for portable use. It has 2, 20ah Lifepo4 batteries. I can charged by using a regular lifepo4 charger, or by solar. It has Powerpole connectors as well a fast charge usb ports and lastly a cigarette lighter port. I use the cigarette lighter port to run a 300 watt pure sine wave inverter. Cool project. Works really well. I also have a battery bank in the garage by the shack which are connected to a 2000 watt inverter to be able to run the shack for a while if needed. Still saving for a Generac.

I have a 35 Ah AGM battery powering my base station (Amateur HF/VHF/UHF and GMRS) that sits on a 4 amp battery charger/maintainer 24/7. I have a pair of solar panels worth about 15 watts that will keep it charged if needed. All of the components came from Harbor Freight.

Welcome! So there is a hill between you and your son? How far apart are you? That could be a problem. Hopefully you can both reach the repeater. GMRS is UHF. UHF and VHF are basically line of sight however they can penetrate many obstructions such as vegetation and buildings to a certain extent. VHF is better at getting through forests etc so is better in rural areas and UHF is better at going through buildings so is better in urban areas, but hills and mountains will block both. Radio requires a fair bit of experimenting to find what works and to solve problems that will crop up. Lots of good help here. Have fun!

Nobody does that.. There are hams.. and there are asshats that also happen to be hams. Anyone that is unable to understand the difference is an asshat.

Ham test is not timed. You can take as long as your bladder can handle. I’m glad I made the cut. Before I got married I worked in the oilfield. (Filing pipe for the welders at first.) Cussing became second nature. I still way over-do it sometimes. But I’ve been married now for over 44 years and I have worked as a professional most of that time so I have had to learn when to cuss and when not. Sometimes it’s just a struggle. Anyway I’m not offended by it; I mentioned it only because it’s a quick way to alienate people who might otherwise have something helpful to offer.

@WRQC527 The way I see it, Sad Hams and Sad GMRS fight with each other while Happy Hams and Happy GMRS get along just fine.

That Youtube guy is just a shill for Chinese radio manufacturers and has been copying me since day-1.. I assume you are actually running the software in the correct computability mode? If not, you should do that.

Yes.. "N" means "Normal", "i" means inverted. 99.8% of GMRS repeaters use a "Normal" DCS/DPL/DTC tone.

I completely agree with you regarding the "radio police". I also think that the guy who proposed this just wants to turn gmrs into ham on different frequencies. He suggests raising the limit on certain channels to 100w. I could totally foresee the overly obsessed ham guys scolding a gmrs user because they're trying to see how far apart they can talk. IMO. Ham is great and so is gmrs, but they are separate and should stay separate.

This proposal can eat dirt. GMRS is GMRS, amateur is amateur. I don't want to see some powermonger trying to grub up a whole different radio service with the admonition of the FCC because they think being certified in a different one makes someone better. That's a Reddit Moderator level of self-importance.

It can be a “plug and play” if your repeater has an interface to plug an external controller into it. Check out Hamgadgets ID-O-Matic controllers, as an example. Most repeaters have a “controller”, which does a number of things. Primarily, it will respond to a signal coming into the receive section of the repeater, and then turn on the transmit side of the repeater to send out the received signal. The controller can also be programmed to determine the maximum length of time the transmitter section will be allowed to transmit (via a time out timer) to prevent the transmitter from running constantly, in the event something happens to the transmitter. The controller may also have an ID morse code (or voice recorded) generator, which is programmed for the callsign and the interval time it will identify. In GMRS, the ID interval is 15 minutes. As mentioned above, some controllers (or just a stand alone ID’er) can be programmed to ID once the repeater in engaged, and then every 15 minutes (or whatever the requirement may be for that application), until people stop using it. After the last transmission, the repeater will then ID one last time at the determined interval, and then sit quietly until keyed up again later. Some controllers are not this smart, and can only ID every XX minutes, all day and night, regardless of whether the repeater is used or not. This would be annoying in my opinion. GMRS is a shared service, so we may want to only have our radios/repeaters transmitting when actually being used, and quiet the rest of the time. The Hamgadgets ID-O-Matic is an inexpensive controller, that offers a few options. You can program it yourself if you can follow instructions, or pay the man to program it for you. He offers cables that will allow a “plug and play” option for users, if they have the repeaters/radios that are listed on his site. Otherwise you would have to make the necessary connections to the internal components of the repeater yourself. I know Hamgadgets offers prewired controller cables for some Motorola radios/repeaters, and there are some Chinese models as well IIRC. I am not endorsing the ID-O-Matic, I am only pointing out that they may be something for you to look at and get more info.

The CW ID to identify the repeater? Yes, mine has it, it is built in, and set to 15 minute interval, but I doesn't broadcast if there is no traffic.