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There's no one short of you or your banker to tell you to put up a repeater. Just you. Not the FCC, and no one in the city, county, or state. However, if you want to use someone's repeater, you ask permission to do so. I own a couple repeaters, and I ask users so I know who is using my machines. A NODE is a device with an internet address for you to link a radio or repeater to other radios or repeaters.

Hams going out into the field sometimes lay down aluminum screen and place a ground plane antenna on the screen. They also use a product sold as “Faraday cloth.”

There is definitely capacitive coupling. It's not magnetic so the mount won't hold, but electrical it will work just fine.

First off it's odd that the Tx and Rx aren't simply 5MHz apart. Normally I'd the TX is 467.650MHz the Rx will be 462.650MHz, a +5MHz off set which is standard for GMRS repeaters. I know with some radios you need to enter both frequencies and with others you just need the base frequency (462.xxxMHz) and the offset and the radio will automatically raise the Tx frequency to the 467.xxxMHz one. You normally only need the TX or input CTCSS to trigger the repeater. You can enter the Rx output tone if you only want to hear the repeater and cut out other traffic on that frequency. Randy(Notarubicon productions) on the YouTubes has a lot of good videos explaining all of this. If you can check them out and I'll bet it'll clear a lot of things up for you.

I got a kick out of this product.

@OffRoaderX Randy, I think this message is for you

It would be helpful to monitor the repeater frequency/frequencies you are planning to use (with no RX tones set) for a couple of weeks to see if anyone else close to you is already using them. Just because a repeater isn't listed in a database doesn't mean someone isn't using one near you. Some people have repeaters they use for family only. Even though there is no repeater coordination you are still required to not cause interference.

That’s really not “very poor.” 3.0:1 still means that 75% of your power is going out of your antenna.

Make sure that you are CSQ on the receive frequency and that you're on RP16 to transmit on 467.575 for Diamond Point.

@WRQC527 I used to understand all that metallurgy but for some strange reason I'm not into it anymore. @WRUE951 I've seen some mag mount antennas that come with a small round version of that for use on fiberglass tops like Jeep tops.

I couldn't resist. Full disclosure, I don't know the first thing about metallurgy, except that ain't no magnet gonna stick to no aluminium, and this is a shameless copy and paste that is coincidentally ten paragraphs. Aluminum and steel are metallic substances. Aluminum is a commonly found metallic element in earth’s crust, while steel is essentially an alloy of carbon, iron, and other elements. These two materials have somewhat similar applications, but aluminum metal is comparatively softer than steel. Aluminum is a chemical element having the atomic number 13 and the chemical symbol Al. Usually, this chemical element appears as a silvery-white, soft metal. Aluminum metal is nonmagnetic and highly ductile. It is abundant on earth (8% of earth’s crust). This metal is highly chemically reactive. Therefore, it is difficult to find native specimens of aluminum. This metal has a low density. It is lightweight and is able to resist corrosion via forming an oxide layer on its surface. The electron configuration of the aluminum element is [Ne]3s13p1. It has a standard atomic weight of 26.98. Aluminum occurs in the solid state at room temperature and pressure conditions. Its melting point is 660.32 degrees Celsius, and its boiling point is 2470 degrees Celsius. The most common oxidation state of aluminum metal is +3. There are different alloys of aluminum that are very helpful in different industries. Commonly used alloying chemical elements for aluminum include copper, magnesium, zinc, silicon, and tin. Aluminum alloys can come in two types as casting alloys and wrought alloys. Both these groups can be divided into two different categories as heat-treatable aluminum and non-heat-treatable aluminum alloys. The most commonly used form among them is the wrought alloy. Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon along with some other chemical elements. The carbon content in this alloy ranges up to 2% by weight. The most important properties of steel include high tensile strength and low cost. This is the most common material for building infrastructures. In addition, it is important for the production of tools for construction as well. The crystal structure of pure iron has very little resistance to the iron atoms slipping past one another. Hence, pure iron is very ductile. But steel has carbon and some other components that can act as hardening agents. Thus, the ductility of steel is lower than that of pure iron. The crystal structure of pure iron has dislocations that can move, making the iron ductile, but in steel, components such as carbon can prevent the movement of these dislocations via entering into the crystal structure of iron. We can find four types of steel; carbon steel, which contains iron and carbon, alloy steel, consisting of iron, carbon, and manganese, stainless steel, which contains iron, carbon, and chromium and tool steel, containing iron and trace amounts of tungsten and molybdenum. Furthermore, steel can undergo corrosion upon exposure to air and moisture, except stainless steel. Stainless steel has chromium, which makes it corrosion resistant by forming a chromium oxide layer on the steel surface when it is exposed to normal air. Aluminum and steel are important metallic compounds having a wide range of uses in different industries. Aluminum is a metallic element having the atomic number 13 and the chemical symbol Al. Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon along with some other chemical elements. The key difference between aluminum and steel is that aluminum is less hard than steel. Aluminum and steel are metallic substances. The key difference between aluminum and steel is that aluminum is less hard than steel. This is mainly because the hardness of steel is enhanced by adding different chemical elements, and steel can be modified into different forms according to the purpose of its use.

Yes

Some times repeaters are just very quiet. This morning I was on two different repeaters that are usually very active but both were quiet. It just happens sometimes. There are other repeaters I monitor that are quiet almost all the time. Very rarely is there any traffic on them. This goes for both GMRS and ham repeaters.

The offset is 462.700 +5Mhz = 467.700 - thats what you are seeing on the screen when you transmit. Because it's a GMRS radio, you dont have to worry about entering the offset because it's all automatic. The radio is working 100% as it should. If people aren't hearing you it is because you are either not in range of the repeater (just because you can hear it does not mean you cant hit/use it from your radio), you put in the wrong tone, or did something else wrong.

So does the KH-805g have the same issues? Do all Wouxun radios have this issue or only certain models?

Why not just take the logical step from the Radio Merit Badge to earning an amateur radio Technician license?

Here are a few suggestions. First, I would take GMRS off the table. As you know, GMRS is a licensed service, and while your license covers you and your family (including any Scouts that are your kids) that doesn't extend to anyone else in the troop, adult or youth. You could, as has already been suggested, use that as an opportunity to have members negotiate the FCC website, but minors aren't even eligible to get a GMRS license so their parents would have to get one. I'm sure some may read this and think, "no one will care if you let kids use your GMRS radios" but A Scout is Obedient, right? FRS and MURS, on the other hand, are great tools. We used to use FRS bubble pack radios but switched to using MURS radios instead since they work better in the thick vegetation at summer camp. If your troop goes the FRS route then you (and anyone else with a GMRS license) can use a GMRS radio to talk to the FRS radios. We primarily used radios in three ways: 1) Inter-vehicle communication while travelling to campouts and summer camp. Using an HT inside a car or truck is not ideal, but as long as you are fairly close they do fine. Simple things like making sure all drivers have their Scouts and are ready to go after a stop are much easier done with radios. 2) Communication between leaders at summer camp. Radios are VERY useful while at camp. "Hey Mr. Scoutmaster, since you are over that direction can you please stop at the office and pick up our mail?" "Mr. Smith, can you please bring a couple blue cards to the lunchtime merit badge class?" Sure, they can be used in an emergency too, but it's SO much easier to ask if someone is in camp and can grab something rather than having to walk back yourself! We also did a hike one day at camp and the radios were useful for keeping track of the hiking group's progress, and for coordinating between the front and back of the hikers. 3) Communication between leaders and patrols during weekend campouts. Useful for things like, "Hey Mr. Scoutmaster, a bunch of us Scouts want to go play gaga ball until it's time to start dinner" so you hand the SPL a radio and tell him you'll let him know when it's time to come back. Sure, you could just have a leader go fetch them when it's time, but why not use the technology at hand? Hope this helps!

I'm not anymore but, yes FRS could absolutely be used to teach responsibility and organizational skills along with general radio operator skills (Ie if you press the mic button it takes a second before you should start talking). Idk how your troop is set up but basically the way id imagine it is you could assign someone to be the radio operator for a patrol / group. It's actually a pretty good position to give to scouts. It makes them feel responsible for something during activities, they have to use it appropriately etc etc. Definitely train all the scouts on radio usage but scouts love being given a special assignment. Exercise example: During navigation/rescue practices you can have someone be "injured" and need to be rescued by describing their location over the radio while someone else tries to find them based on the directions given by the injured victim. There's a lot you can do it's basically limited by your imagination.

How about menu 9: BEEP? And if not then menu 20 and tell it not to send an ID. You could be sending an ID at the end of PTT. This has several options. You want to turn it off.

Let us go through the sands of time as best as I can tell and Im sure i got some dates and or specifics wrong. 1930's LMR is created for business use. 1960's GMRS (Class A CB) is created and is very popular among small rural business use. Ie Family Farms etc. Basically as a subset of LMR and then some channels absorbed into LMR (MURS started similarly but thats another story) 1970's GMRS business channel pair licensing rule established. 1987 End of GMRS Business exclusive license's and the channel pair rule 1994 FRS is created near GMRS for people who don't need GMRS and didn't want to pay the fee. 2000's GMRS/FRS combo radio's start appearing and people are using 15-22 unlicensed (who could've possibly seen this coming? ). Early 2010's GMRS begins to become popular among Outdoors enthusiasts GMRS communities start forming Late 2010's GMRS linking starts occurring over the internet. 2012 UV-5R appears. 2017 GMRS/FRS combo banned, free band UV-5R's kinda dealt with from the FCC. GMRS really takes off and starts to become Ham-lite. 2020 FCC realizes the floodgates that they have caused ensuring HAM-lite is an eventuality. 2021 FCC tries to clarify some rules/definitions to prevent it, its too late. Whether GMRS being Ham-lite is bad or good im not going to comment as I believe GMRS provides essential short range communications, but; also always had the power and design to talk at least county wide. GMRS is also being less enforced by the FCC and being self enforced by users playing nice is telling me the FCC really doesn't want to be forced deal with GMRS. As long as it continues to play nice and not have interference/nuisance issues basically how they currently treat Ham. Combining FRS and GMRS led to this eventuality and not re-seperating the channels made enforcement extremely difficult and hard for them to justify. Again im not going to pass judgement besides on the FCC's inability to achieve what they want to whether or not I benefit/lose from their mistakes. TL:DR: Issues stemming from the FRS/GMRS combo era mean that the FCC cannot enforce GMRS as strongly as some people wish and the FCC is hoping that people can be civil on GMRS so they do not have to. Like all things in life: Play nice, Work hard, Worry less.

You may have already ripped it out of your Jeep but I have the same radio. When trying to transmit out on a repeater channel make sure to switch the 'talk around' option in the menu off.

I want to see him tell us.

The repeater receives on 467.### and transmits on 462.###. The .### part is almost always the same. I've heard of it being different but I've never seen it myself. You have repeater channels that are already set up like this. You have to use the tone on TX or the repeater will ignore you. You can hear the repeater with the same tone as the repeater or no tone at all. Tones work like this: I set a tone on receive and I only hear signals with that same tone. I don't set a tone on receive and I hear all signals regardless if they have any tone. Hope this helps.

There is nothing wrong with running a 20watt unit. My 20watt mobile units serve me just fine, especially when traveling in a caravan or as a loose-knit group. My 50watt base unit may or may not expand the range at which I can reliably reach those mobile units, as there are impediments, limitations, and points of diminishing returns with all things physical and electrical. but it does have many features that make it handy to use as a base unit (such as scan groups) that my mobile units do not necessarily have...and if I am paying more for those extra features that extra wattage doesn't hurt my feelings any.

You have stated it many times with your interpretation of Fixed Station. You have stated several times that a station that doesn't move is, by definition, a fixed station. That is an incorrect interpretation, as fixed stations are primarily used to transfer data from one fixed point to another. A control station triggers another, usually remote, station to begin or cease operation, while a base station is used to communicate with either other base or mobile stations. Pressing your PTT to trigger a repeater to carry your information automatically renders your station a control station, as it is controlling the operation of the repeater. Simplex between two stations is classified as base-to-base traffic or base-to-mobile traffic, depending on where the remote unit is located.

Kenny, You are flat wrong in stating that a transmitter location defines how it is classified. The use of the station determines the class. If a station only communicates with one other station, then you could consider it a fixed station. Yes, some fixed stations do communicate with more than one other station, but the others are usually receive only. Golf course or farm sprinkler systems are examples of one-to-many, while microwave is an example of a one-to-one system. Radios used under parts 95 and 97 are either base stations, control stations or repeater stations.

First, there is a common understanding in the world that we should only use as much power as we need. So, how much do you need for your reliable communications? Second, there is a common misconception the you have to quadruple your power to make a usable difference. However, the reality is, on any given instant you never know how much or how little more power will really make the difference between getting your message out or not. Last, in my opinion, you can never have too much love, money or power.

Well, they are indicating that they welcome reporting. But the reporting they want isn't of the specific violation, rather the act of the violation causing interference to another user. So it basically reads they don't care unless you are specifically interfering with the operations of another on the frequency. Mind you I am not trying to say it's legal through a lack of enforcement, nor will this cause me to put my repeater back on line. I just banned from my equipment an entire group that owns and manages a repeater to the east of me due to the actions of another operator. He decided to send me this long text about an operator that was using their repeater without permission, then causing issues on a ham repeater. Problem was that I have been friends with the guy he was accusing for over 30 years. He expected me to get enraged about the situation, so I did. I banned him, and his group of repeater owner / managers from using my equipment. And I am about to the point I will be putting up a repeater on a different frequency that will have double the coverage of theirs and try to make daily contacts with the individual that he was complaining to me about, hell I may put HIS call sign on it and turn it over to him once it's operational, just to drive the point home. And I can do that as long as it doesn't interfere with the operation of their repeater and there isn't ANYTHING they can do about it. Of course I will not have he laundry list of demands to belong to their group and have access to their repeater either. Because, yes, I am that guy. Problem with banning all those folks is they / he (no names given on purpose) are the type that will turn me in for interference even when none exists. I have the GMRS repeater with arguably the greatest coverage in the Central Ohio area. And I am not going to risk, at this time getting a report of causing interference placed on me because I wasn't fair when I banned them from my gear. And the person that started all this, well it isn't the first time that he's caused issues. I am pretty certain that he's the one that got all bent a couple years ago when the operator up in the Northwest got drunk and was on the radio. I believe it was that same individual that contacted me then and ask what I was going to do about an operator that was 3 states away from me operating a radio while drunk. When my reply wasn't to his liking, he then got mad at ME for not doing anything about the actions of another operator. So I banned him then and forgot about it. Since I forgot about it, he got back on and I just let it go. Then he pulled the latest thing and I banned him and his group from my repeater. So he got to explain why his entire group got banned from the repeater. Because, again, I am that guy at times.

The pedantry behind the rules perpetuated by the community wanting a straight answer, and the bureaucracy not giving a straight answer, instead opting to encourage reporting if it's needed, tells me that the actual stance on the issue as of this moment is "if it isn't a problem, don't worry about it."

thanks I’ll check it out. I wound up tuning it and it came out SWR 1.2 I put it on a stand outside my house just to try it out and apparently it works. Great people are now hearing me and I was only using a GMRS Pro HT.

It's H.A.M.! You passed a test, you should know better.

Solved the problem after receiving a link from Baofeng support for an updated version of the software

Only if your radio has gold fringe. Then it's an admiralty radio and you can do whatever you want

Retevis rt9000 is a great GMRS 50 watt radio. been rocking mine for a year with no issue or degridation. very reasonable price point too.

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.