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To avoid taking over the other thread (more than we already did), I know a few have this radio @marcspaz @Sshannon. Mine is going to be mobile in the car, using my Little Tarheel II and the Tunematic (891 pigtail is on the way) for 6m-80m. That being said, any tricks/tips on programming and use? I picked up RTSystems for it to get it programmed more easily. I still have to look into the memory groups thing again.

Back in the 70's I tackled my power noise on my CB using a pi filter. It's an axial feed capacitor with bleed resistors on the input and output leads of the capacitor. Fixed all the power issues,

It does, but in most cases most normal people would not notice.. It is MUCH better at filtering out noise/static/bleed-over though, which you WILL notice.

Here’s what I can report from my personal experience: The FT-891 works very well. It doesn’t have a sound card built in so if you’re interested in digital modes like FT-8 or VARA HF (email sans internet), you’ll need a sound card interface. I used a DigiRig and it was very easy. You end up with three cables: 1. one USB A to USB B that runs from your computer to your FT-891 for CAT control. 2. one USB A to USB C that runs from the computer to the DigiRig. The DigiRig serves as an external sound card controlled by the ham radio software you choose. 3. one special cable that has a 4 conductor plug (Tip Ring Ring Sleeve) on the DigiRig end and a mini-DIN that plugs into the FT-891. A few different YouTube channels (especially N4HNH) have really good videos about settings for the FT-891. I have a private playlist that I can make public if you like. I don’t have mine in a vehicle. I got it to use in a bag or box for portable operations. I also don’t use scan. I’ll be very curious to hear how you like the RT Systems software. I loaned mine to a friend while his FT-991a is on its way to Yaesu for warranty repair. That has given me an opportunity to hear how it sounds to others. My friend lives 5 blocks away and he and I both tune in to the LSB phone Montana Sheepherders Net on MWF at 10:30 MST on 7214 kHz. It sounds good when I hear him transmitting and he has had no problem being heard by others on the net, from Washington state to Canada. He has figured out the menus well. He uses websdr to provide a full-color waterfall since the FT-891 radio doesn’t provide one. He likes that feature on the FT-991A. I like it too on my FT-DX10. It’s not a QRP rig. Although it can be turned down to 5 watts output, on low RF power it is not as low electrical power consumption as something designed for QRP, but at higher power output it’s just fine. I think you’re right to use an external speaker with it. I think it will sound better.

Recently we have begun holding the National GMRS Net once per month on the last Sunday of each month. This is due to reduced interest in holding a weekly net, and due to quickly running out of fresh topics to discuss. We will still link each regional hub together nationally each week during the same time period, but won't hold the net on the other weeks. Feel free to chat on Sunday evenings and make distant contacts during this time, but also please be mindful to not hog the repeater system so others can jump in there and participate as well.

After recently programming a ham radio with a few sets of frequencies for listening, as it came with none pre-programmed, I decided to export the sets I made and post them here to save others the duplicate effort. Just download these files, then from CHIRP go to "File > Import". A few things to keep in mind: These files use Windows/CRLF line endings (hopefully this never makes a difference). I don't condone transmitting on these frequencies on with a ham radio (especially on the weather radio frequencies as they are for public safety), but am providing relevant notes should you dare do so. On this note, CHIRP does not export or import the "Power" column, so be sure to set power levels manually as noted (should you dare use a UV-5R on, e.g., GMRS). In a similar vein to 2.1., the "Comment" section you will see when importing describes settings you may have to set manually. I hope you find these helpful! I have only been able to test these files with several Baofeng models: UV-5G, UV-9G, UV-5R+, and UV-5RTP. Regardless of make and model, please let me know if you run into any issues. GMRS Channels gmrsChans_20220706TZ.csv Taken from a Baofeng UV-9G's defaults with tweaked names. NOTES: Channels 1–7 should be set to no more than 5W. Channels 8–14 to should be set to no more than 0.5W. Business Channels (UHF, Motorola CLS Series Enumeration) motoCLSBizChans_20220707TZ.csv Taken from the manual for the Motorola CLS1110 and CLS1410. This channel numbering scheme of 56 frequencies is used by several business radios, such as the aforementioned Motorola models, Advantage AWR series, and to my vague knowledge, some Kenwood and Midland business radios. NOTES: All channels should be set to no more than 1W. Business Channels (UHF, Motorola CLP Series Enumeration) motoCLPBizChans_20220707TZ.csv Taken from the manual for the Motorola CLP series. This channel numbering scheme of 90 frequencies is a superset of that used by the Motorola CLS series. NOTES: All channels should be set to no more than 1W. Weather Radio Frequencies (in order of allocation) wxAllocs_20220707TZ.csv Weather radio frequencies, with the first 7 numbered in the order in which they were allocated over the decades ("WX" order). This differs from, and includes more frequencies than, the numbering scheme used by most weather alert radios made since the early '00s; these tend to use the main 7 channels in ascending frequencies, available below. NOTES: Never transmit on these frequencies. These are for public safety (especially during severe weather events and other natural or man-made hazards). If you cannot disable transmitting on these frequencies on your radio(s), set power to the lowest setting possible to mitigate an accidental transmit should it occur. I have disabled scanning on these channels because weather radio stations operate 24/7/365. Weather Radio Channels (the main 7 in order of ascending frequencies) wxChans_20220706TZ.csv The 7 main weather radio frequencies, numbered in the order of ascending frequency ("Channel" order). I believe this channel order is mandated for weather radios wishing to be Public Alert™ certified. This differs from the numbering scheme used by many weather alert radios made before the early '00s, many handheld radios, and many handheld transceivers; these tend to use the "WX order", available above. 162.000MHz, 163.275MHz, and the 161MHz frequencies are omitted because they are not official weather radio channels in the United States (nor part of the Public Alert™ standard to my knowledge). NOTES: Never transmit on these frequencies. These are for public safety (especially during severe weather events and other natural or man-made hazards). If you cannot disable transmitting on these frequencies on your radio(s), set power to the lowest setting possible to mitigate an accidental transmit should it occur. I have disabled scanning on these channels because weather radio stations operate 24/7/365. Midland's "Extra" FRS Channels midlandExtraChans_20220706TZ.csv Based off-of a table on RadioReference's wiki. Channels 23-36 tested against a Midland T77A and confirmed working; channels 37-50 do not exist on this model so those are untested. MURS Channels mursChans_20220715TZ.csv Based off-of the text for Part 95J. NOTES: Make sure your radio's bandwidth does not exceed MURS' odd (with respect to GMRS) maximum bandwidths. For a Baofeng UV-5R, this means you can only transmit on MURS channels 4 and 5, and you must do this on narrowband mode. All channels should be set to no more than 2W. Keep in mind FM is not the only transmission mode allowed on MURS. (MURS is weird.) Changelog (dates and times in UTC): 2022-07-06: Added Midland's "Extra" FRS channels (only channels 23-36 have been tested and confirmed working as the only radio I could test against was a T77A). Added MURS channels. Populated the comment field in all rows of all files. These contain information on bandwidth and max TXP (transmit power), and other relevant information (bascially each row's respective "NOTES" bit). 2022-07-07: Introduced a set of business frequencies used by the Motorola CLP series, which is a superset of those found on the CLS series. Renamed the original business channel set from "bizChans" to "motoCLSBizChans". Removed redundant set of asterisks from "wxAllocs" for WX01. 2022-07-15: MURS channels 4 and 5 shared the same Location column value in the CSV, causing channel 4 to be ignored. Fixed.

No such thing as a stupid question. And being a machinist, you're probably smarter than half the people here. Describe for us, if you will, your setup. Radio make and model, antenna make and model, how it's all mounted, wired, that kind of thing. More info from you = better answers from MyGMRS.

I would agree that your power appears to be noisy. Whether it’s the ground or the positive or both is difficult to know from here. My conclusion is that you’re doing all the right things!

Hi all, this is one of my first posts on this forum. Please keep in mind that a longer antenna, such as advertised 5/8 wavelength, is of no added value on a handheld. The reason is that ANY antenna longer than 1/4 wavelength requires a ground plane of 2-3 wavelengths (yea, like feet) for the true advertised "gain" to be realized. The standard method of measuring mobile antenna gain in a real antenna chamber is to mount it on a 1 meter diameter metal plate. The GMRS handheld is no where near that. You are better off, usually by quite a bit, by going with a good 1/4 wave antenna. Fortunately at 462MHz that's about 6 inches, which by chance happens to be the length of many handhelds. So this combination makes for a 1/2 wave dipole type mode. This is as good as you can get in the real world on a handheld. Oh, this is the reason that I choose the larger, ie 6 inch tall, handhelds and stay away from the really small ones. In those cases the radio is just too short to resonate properly at 462MHz. I replaced the OEM dual band antenna on my GM-30 with a simple 6 inch long (single band) whip I took a chance on Amazon. It works phenomenally well, better than the OEM antenna noticeably. Not that the OEM antenna is a bad design, but it is dual band so there are compromises needed to make it work outside of GMRS. I only want the best GMRS performance I can get. Here's the link if anyone is interested: 1/4 wave GMRS antenna I know there are a lot of opinions on this topic, and some people make claims to the contrary. All I can tell you to about this is that I worked for a US cell phone manufacturer for 30 years as an antenna design engineer. We used the above philosophy utilizing the radio/phone as the bottom half of the dipole numerous times, it works, really. Enjoy.

There is no such thing as privacy in the digital age. Especially with cell phones and tablets, etc. Even newer cars are just computers on wheels that track you all of the time (just like your phone). And most of the cameras seen at intersections, etc also have license plate scanners built in. If you served in the US military since 1993, then the government also has your DNA on file. And don't think for a minute that your information is safe on all the different DNA ancestry websites either. If you have ever had any type of security clearance to work with the federal government then they have your life story on file. What I am getting at is it is quite easy to track people down and/or get their personal information now days. If you are that worried about it, then throw away all of your electronic devices, to include phones, tablets, computers, and newer vehicles. Then you need to go off grid an not use any banks along with paying for everything with cash only. PS: Yes Missouri released the entire list of conceal carry permits to the feds years ago without permission. And yes those that released said information did get into trouble.

None are 100% fail-safe.. If you want to 100% fail-safely hide your information from any person, agency or situation, then the only way to accomplish that is to go off-grid, not get a license of any kind, and do a whole lot more stuff. If all you want to do is prevent the average lazy radio-stalker from easily and quickly finding your home address when all they know about you is your callsign, then a PO Box or HamRegistry is plenty good enough.

@Sshannon I'm not too concerned with running digital modes while mobile. I did buy used, and it does come with a DigiRig, not sure how to set the cables up so they are accessible though. That is a spring problem. I've used RTSystems for most all of my ham rigs (9700, 7300, 705, DJ-G7, TH-D74, VX-7, FT450D, FT3D) and its a nice simple way to program things, and copy/paste memories. Yaesu radios tend to have great nearby rejection and great filter sets. I would expect the 891 to be the same. @marcspaz Already started. Unfortunately it is 1 slot short to allow for 10m FM in scan. Excited to get this in my hands and get it installed.

We bought GM-30's in February last year. Very happy with them. I live about 20 miles south of the Indy 600 repeater and we can't hit it reliably with them....even with the better RD-232 antenna. But that's OK, we're out on the edge of the repeater and lot of stuff between us and the repeater site. I fish a lot in the summertime, at a pond that is about a mile from home. I can talk with my wife and she can talk to me on the GM-30's with no problems. When she takes her daily walk around the block, she is about 2.2 miles away and we can still converse with little difficulty. These are the only GMRS radios we use currently. I do have a TK-880 Kenwood that I hope to set up as a base radio and I hope to get an antenna up 20-30 feet....should have no probs hitting Indy 600 then. 67 days until Spring...

Welcome Ric! Hope you enjoy myGMRS.com

feel free to chat here.... I plan on having a mobile as a base station in my house but also wanted to listen while in my garage. So I took what I already knew worked in my truck and put that antenna on the garage. I did not want to buy another power station to run a mobile unit for the little I will be in there. That is why I used a handheld comes with power cable. I was amazed that I was hitting repeaters as far as I was and as clear as I was being told it was. Wanted to share, that's all not saying it the best set up just saying it was CHEAP and WORKS.

Just for grins I went ahead and ordered the Radtel RT-470X. I figure for $36 bucks it'd be worth getting to mess around with and to use as a truck radio. Plus it covers so many different bands that it'll let me see if I'm actually interested in a multi-band radio or if I should just get a really good dual or tri band radio. I hope to do some reviews for my YouTube channel on both it and the BTech V2 if I can stop procrastinating.

I haven’t built a repeater from two transceivers. I know people have and I also know that desense must be overcome for some transceivers. To me it’s a waste compared to a purpose built repeater because you end up with an unused transmitter on one transceiver and an unused receiver on the other transceiver. If you have access to transceivers that have the capability built in it’s easier. The GMRS Wouxun KG1000 and its ham radio counterpart the Wouxun KG-UV980 are sold with the capability incorporated and a 15 foot cable to connect two of them. i would recommend starting a separate thread. I predict you’ll have a popular thread.

That reminds me of a saying we have in the South. "Some folks could break a crowbar in a sandbox." I've watched a lot of Randy's vids on YouTube and Wouxun seems to be a pretty solid radio for the most part. At least I'm convinced enough that my "Good" radio will be a Wouxun. P.S. I'm also 62. LOL

It's the type that is designed for tailgating where folks put the vehicle tire on the base plate to temporarily hoist the flag. I mounted the foot to the bottom of my trailer tongue for a permanent mount that just takes a few seconds to deploy the flag pole. The flag pole is sold by a veteran owned company called Service First. They have several versions to choose from. The one I bought was a complete kit with flag and hardware. There's a 3/8-24 threaded socket at the top of the pole for the round finial. I plan to use that thread to mount and NMO antenna base with ground plane radials. It should just take a minute or two to install the antenna before extending the mast to full height. Here's a link to the flag pole I bought. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BG6NBVC6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And LMR400 has 1dB of loss for the same length.

Definitely a grounding issue. My suggestion is to also ground the bases of the NMO trunk lip mount. I have a 2013 F150 with the EcoBoost lawnmower engine as well, but I punched holes in the roof, so no issues. The Lincoln had the NMO trunk lip mount on the front hood and I had all my wires and cable in the engine compartment and no noise. The strap will eliminate the noise.

I've heard you can use a PO box to register with the FCC. That's the only way I know of to prevent your personal address from being listed in ULS.

We mounted a 25' telescoping flag pole to the front tongue of our travel trailer. It collapses to about 5' and the pole mounts in a stub that stays permanently attached to the trailer frame. Takes less than five minutes to install and extend the flag pole for setup or tear down. I'm considering installing an NMO antenna mount at the top of the pole for GMRS comms. When traveling the flag pole stows in the bed of the truck. In my case the coax will stow under my propane storage cover when not in use.

I run a KG-XS20G in my SXS because it is dust and water resistant. The KG-XS20G is IP65 rated. And it works just as well as my KG1000G in my car to access the repeater 21 miles away when parked in my driveway.

One thing to keep in mind with the KG-1000G is that being a 50 watt radio it has a fan to cool it. A fan draws air into the radio and in dusty conditions like off roading can pull dust into the radio and that kind of dust has minerals that can possibly cause corrosion. The KG-XS20G may be a better choice for off road use. It is 20 watts and is the mobile version of the KG-935G plus. It is passively cooled with heat sinks instead of a fan. It's an excellent radio as well. Less expensive as well. https://www.buytwowayradios.com/wouxun-kg-xs20g.html?___SID=U

One thing I have noticed is that there are a few different threads asking about the issues they have with their GMRS 50V2 radios, including one where the radio said 50V2 on the case but the boot screen said 50x1. But I don’t recall seeing any complaints about the KG1000G or plus model. People who have them seem to be happier. The difference wouldn’t be noticeable in range as much as ease of use, quality of build, etc.

Nevermind. Are y'all sure this isn't a hoax/joke?

I can honestly say that as a GMRS and ham radio license holder, I want exactly no part of this proposal to ever see the light of day. The FCC has already made a mess of the FRS/GMRS portion of the UHF band, and is contemplating even more mayhem with Midland's digital nonsense. Also, us hams have enough work to do already, what with posting reams of FCC regulations, technical service bulletins and doctoral dissertations for simple questions like "How do I ID" on MyGMRS. We can't be expected to police GMRS+ too.

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.

If the S really does HTF, I'll be using my repeater to transmit AC/DC Highway To Hell on an endless loop. Like the guys on Titanic who played while the ship sank. Only edgier.

Your videos are why I'm here, man! However, it took me like 30-40 hours of watching your videos to get comfy, and even then, I had to come here asking stupid questions for months. I'm just looking to boil things down as an introduction, so newbs like I was two years ago have a smaller hill to climb. Of course, any introduction would *have* to mention your exalted poobah-ness!

When you are off-road, nobody is going to be monitoring CB or GMRS to save you.... If there is nobody near you listening with a radio, then yah, you wont get a response.

Unfortunately all the Midland handheld radios are simplex only. They know there is demand for repeater-capable handhelds and they said it's something they eventually plan on doing, but they haven't announced any new models with that functionality yet.