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GMRS repeaters will have close to the same coverage area as 70cm repeaters. VHF and UHF frequencies will have their advantages and disadvantages. I am lucky that the local club has all of their repeater antennas on a very tall FM radio tower. The 2m and 70cm antennas are at 900 feet while the GMRS antennas are at 400 feet. We didn't notice much of a difference on coverage are between the 70cm and GMRS repeaters while we were testing the GMRS repeater. We are getting around 30 -35 mile radius of coverage with the 70cm and GMRS repeaters. Our 2m repeater has a large coverage area, it covers an 80 mile radius. I say get and use 2m and 70cm along with GMRS. It never hurts to have more tools in the tool box.

By whom? Yes. And some of them were not impressed: https://forums.mygmrs.com/search/?&q=Tidradio h8&search_and_or=or

The FT60r is a very nice radio for use on the 2 meter and 70 cm ham bands, but without modification cannot transmit on GMRS. GMRS is not amateur radio. There are some nice radios available for GMRS and they’re typically easier to use than a ham radio. Personally, I really enjoy being a ham and if that interests you I’d be happy to recommend study guides, but if you’re just looking for a radio to use casually with your family or friends without learning about frequencies and the speed of light, GMRS is very nice. Welcome to the forums and good luck whatever you want to do.

Nothing wrong with getting a new radio. I will recommend the Wouxun KG-1000G Plus over the Midland MXT500. I had both and got rid of the Midland. The KG-1000G is a better radio.

If you are stating this as the problem then as @OffRoaderX has said it won’t. Mobile radios are not allowed to transmit on 8-14 per the FCC. Also when testing between radios make sure you put some distance between them. If they are too close they can cause desensing and won’t work.

Your comments about signal penetration is generally true. The 2M band is popular for general communications. It’s other advantage is Hams are the primary users and enjoys worldwide allocation, typically 144 to 146 and 144 to 148, depending on country and zone. The Ham 70cm band, at least in the US, is allocated frequencies from 420 to 450. There are some reductions in spectrum when close to the Canadian border. Due to the large spectrum allowed you find various experimental modes being used. Also most of the digital voice activity is on this band.

"Skip" means that if you enabled scanning on your radio those channels will be "skipped" during the scan. As to why it's there or who put it there: Nobody can answer that, and it does not matter

This is the way.

Fixed that for you.

As Mr. @Sshannon already said, NO .

Yah, that's the problem.. Right there...

I've been declared a shill and I dont even say that!

The last step is the 'SAVE-MODE" You have to finish with saving your settings. You may have missed this step.

On page 34 of the hand book It says "(Channels 8-14 are only authorized for very low output power and are listen only.)" Channels 1-7 should work.

Good morning, I am very aware of RT Systems software and Tidradio Software, use them daily so I get how they work. As for Chirp, I have programmed 100's of radios and never experienced this so I don't believe chirp has anything to do with it. I have spent countless hours dealing with Tidradio about this issue and it's still a mystery. so my next step is to get a frequency reader and see if the radios are putting anything OUT. I appreciate your opinion, but I do not believe Chirp is this issue as i have 3 other Tidradio H8s programmed EXACTLY like the 2 that don't work, and they are flawlessly perfect radios. Thank you and have a great weekend.

Oh-oh. The recommendations just changed. That’s an VERY important point. For safety reasons, fire and explosion, you would be well off to get what are called “intrinsically safe” radios. This might actually be a requirement for your work environment! They are specially fitted normal commercial grades radios but have been specifically sealed to prevent any arcing or sparking from the radio’s internals which can precipitate a gas explosion or fire. The same also applies to the battery packs, external speaker microphones etc. If you look in the Kenwood catalog they do sell that type of radio for the models I recommend along with the safety rated battery packs.

Yes, i have ideas all the time.

You would be able to use the radio legally on the frequencies it is made for.

Sorry, thought you were talking about the N9TAX slim-jim that has a 6ft long or so pigtail. Here's a SWR plot of my KB9VBR GMRS J-Pole. Around 1.8 SWR on the low end of GMRS and around 1.3 SWR on the high end. I stopped using it awhile back, just didn't work as well as other antenna's I have.

Have you tried checking the SWR on the slim-jim without the additional coax? Just to rule out possible bad coax to the antenna. Here's a SWR sweep of my N9TAX GMRS slim-jim, around 1.3 SWR on both sides of GMRS

For years, my father designed and oversaw development of the top jet fighter IN THE WORLD, and to this day he refuses to read a manual for anything. I just sent him a Blu-Ray player, and he asked me to hook it up next time I visit. IT'S ONE HDMI CABLE. And his planes are still winning dogfights fifty years later. I give up.

I would replace that RG8 with LMR400 or equivalent. You will do a whole lot better with the correct type of coax for UHF.

I was also going to suggest a Business (LMR) license - If you pay a service to do the application for you it is actually a very simple process and most only charge a couple hundred $$ - I just go my own LMR/Business license and 5 authorized frequencies from a place called Kemp Wireless in Oregon (yes, I paid full price) - I all needed was a credit card, 15-minutes on the phone with them, and I had to sign one form. But many radio-resellers can do it for you. With the Business/LMR license, you just use the radios on your assigned frequency(s) - no need for callsigns or anything.

Speak for yourself.

Yes, and some of them are even logical.

The bump in wattage will make no difference whatsoever. Quadrupling your power to 150 watts would only make a single point of difference on the S-meter.

I have the TD-H8... but I am new to the GMRS.

Our club has 2m, 70cm and 1.25m repeaters. The 70cm has its uses, but there are more 2m radios out there and fewer 1.25m. I monitor all three daily.

Then more than likely you will need Intrinsically Safe certified radios, the one with the Green Dot. An used Mototola or Kenwood Intrinsically Safe radio would more than meet your needs for just a few hundred dollars and will last you many years. As for applying for a frequency, it appears you will need to apply for an Industrial/Business Pool IP frequency and coordinate your application with a Petroleum Frequency Coordinator. I think you would be better off to consider the VHF Highband for your operation. As mentioned in the above response, an itinerant frequency for the reasons stated would be easier to apply for and won't require any frequency coordination or other application approvals. However, I believe all the itinerant freqs can only be licensed as a mobile (MOI) with only 5-6 watts of RF power. I'm not sure if a base station, even a Temp Base (FBT), operation would be approved with an itinerant freq. You may have to have that operation approved by a Frequency Coordinator.

If it is not a voltage drop, then possibly RF is getting back into the supply. What antenna and feed line are you using, and how is the SWR? Also, it there are fuses in line, make sure they are making good contact; pull them out and put them in a few times to be sure the contacts between the fuse and the wires is good.

Please don't double post. Mr. Shannon already answered the question in your other post.

It sounds like the voltage drops. Hook a voltmeter to the power terminal right at the radio if you can and watch what happens to the voltage when the radio transmits.

I got the “ham radio” version of this HT, the UV-13Pro for $20 from AliExpress with free shipping and its open to GMRS. i like its “tone scan” feature and I retired my TYT-88UV Chirp recently added the 13Pro

Go to MyGMRS.com and click on "REPEATERS" on the top of the page Click on "Advanced Search" Select the state you want in the middle field Select 50 on the "Rows per page:" option on the bottom of the page if you want more than 10 listed at a time

This is really an awesome project. Thanks for the information.

Your best bet would be a commercial license and commercial grade radios. Almost all the radio dealers can help you decide on exactly what radios and the number of frequencies you would need. My suggestion is for VHF itinerant band radios and frequencies, unless you are going to be in the same area for more than a year or two. Then you would want regular business channels still in the VHF band for coverage. Your HQ or base would need a base station and commercial grade antenna system. Be aware though that just having the radios doesn't mean you'll always have contact with your base or handhelds because of the terrain you'll be working in.

Welcome to GMRS and this forum. Some of the other members on this forum, have levels of intelligence so great, that a newbie question literally makes their brains explode! Don’t take it personally or as an insult. Some still like to Elmer, to borrow an expression from Ham Radio, that is, who enjoy imparting knowledge to those newly arrived to GmRS, and are not frustrated by answering similar questions, many times over. it is surprising, that those with such great levels of intelligence, have still not figured out how to go on to the next topic, without having to give any response. Part of the problem is social media software, that grants points, awards and likes and Dislikes to those that just cannot filter their impulse to “spray” every possible comment with their “scent. Now, as to your question, many HTs label GMRS as Channels 1-30. The first 14 channels are on different frequencies However Channels 15-22, the high power channels of up to 50 watts) are also the same frequencies as Channels 23 through 30, respectively, which are then used in pairs to transmit to, and receive from repeaters. So yes, the repeater output on Channel 23, is the same as a simplex operator on Channel 15. But they may be licated so far from each other that they do not interfere with each other. But you may be located at a midpoint where you can hear them both. Also you may be hearing User-A on the output of a repeater on Channel 23 and then hear User-B’s output on the same repeater but you are hearing them on the same frequency, denominated as Channel 15. It will make more sense as you get more usage experience

Because that's not how people talk when they're in person. The best way to get them to learn how to do it is to demonstrate it.

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, it's gonna depend on the situation. The terrain that you are communicating across, the gain of the antenna's at both ends, the height of the antenna's at both ends and lastly the power at both ends. First scenario. Simplex communications between two vehicles since we are talking about using 50 watts. Antenna heights are roughly the same, and no obstructions between you and the other vehicle. Yes, there is a difference here, being the distance that stable communications can exist. You are not limited by the other end being lower, or having less antenna gain. So it will matter in this specific situation. Second scenario, Simplex to a portable (handheld radio). In this instance the 50 watts is completely useless. The other end of the conversation has neither the ability to match your power or antenna gain. Height may be similar, but they are giving up 10dB of signal level (5 watt radio). They are also giving up an additional 3 to 6 dB of gain or possibly more due to the portable radio having an antenna that has little to no gain. You will loose the ability to hear them long before they can no longer hear you. Third scenario, repeater use, repeater with 200 foot or better antenna height, antenna has gain. Here is where the power MIGHT have some advantage, but typically not. For every time you double the height of an antenna you gain 6dB of perceived gain. It your antenna is at 10 feet (a bit high for a mobile but easier to run numbers) you get to the point that curvature of the earth plays a bigger role in creating an obstruction than the path loss for the distance given. On flat ground, the horizon due to curvature is 11 miles. Meaning that LOS or Line Of Site exists at ground level for that distance. Once you are further than that away, the ground becomes the obstruction. As you raise the antenna up, you regain LOS for a specific distance per 10 foot of height of antenna. It's not really allowing you to 'see' over the horizon, it actually placing the antenna back into the LOS due to the increased height. Remember with this, UHF signals travel in straight lines. Lower frequencies behave differently. But GMRS is 462/467 so we are staying with that. The 'path loss' which is the amount of signal loss over a given distance between two antenna's in open air isn't going to be great enough to attenuate the signal of a 50 watt radio before the curvature blocks the signal. This even applies with antenna's that are significantly higher than 200 feet. Consider that ham operators operate portable radios with modest gain directional antenna's and communicate with satellites that are hundreds of miles away from them in space. With 5 watt handheld radios. SO again, path loss is NOT going to have any effect. And 50 watts or 500 as you stated, will NOT defeat the ground blocking your signal.

I did a recent test on a couple of HTs that enlightened me on that one. A good quality receiver does make a significant difference. Now, when I listen to NOAA, I only do it on the Kenwood. Agreed. I have a lot of trees to punch through so wattage does come into play for me. Still want to get a higher antenna though and get some real results.

Going back to one of my old experiences when I worked for Motorola years ago... A small city police department had a failure of their old GE repeater they had been nursing along for many years, so they needed a new one. Budgets were tight, but they insisted on a 100 watt unit. Now, the repeater was naturally on a hill, on a water tank, and was at the highest point in the city, and no more than a mile from the city limits in any direction. They wanted 100 watts. VHF, carrier squelch mind you...and 100 watts. While they waited for a new repeater, we loaned them a Desktrac (not what you need for public safety, but it'll work in a pinch). Once on the air, the asst chief said, man, that sounds good. And the range is great, can we just keep that one? Is it 100 watts? Sure, it's 100 watts. It was in fact 25 watts..... no one could tell. They later got a new repeater, but we still didn't set it up for 100 watts. Point is, don't get hung up on wattage, use what works for the situation you need it in.

This is exactly true. Unless your intended recipient is exactly matched to your setup, there is no need to worry over power. In fact, most repeaters are turned down for reliability, so a 100W rated repeater puts out something like 50W after the duplexer, often many are 50W rated repeaters putting out 20W after the duplexer, and have ears way beyond their transmit range. It's one reason I don't fret over having 45W UHF decks vs 50W. Now, in my communication plan, obviously, mobile radios in every car are preferred over HTs, but in that case its to get 3 miles simplex.

From tests I've seen on the YouTubes the V2 does get somewhere between 5 and 5.5 watts which is what it's rated at. I'm sure the lesser expensive radios only get 3 to 4 watts or if they're "out of spec" maybe 8 to 10 watts but anything calibrated for GMRS use in an HT should be around 5 watts plus/minus 1 watt. JMHO, YMMV.

Some models are capable of doing between 6-11 watts, never more than that though..

I am a trucker I run a a stryker 477hpc2 converted to 11meter. Fm is dead . Not a sole on it. Mabe in large city's but for the trucking community they stay on AM .

Its not.. i've caught 2 people jamming our local repeater in the last few month.. Turned out that both were supposed 'friends' ... It seems that radios just attract a certain kind of assholery.

Does the 935g do weather alerts? If so, when on it stops scanning every 10-15 seconds to check the weather channel for the alert tone, and it isn't actually stopping on the channel it shows.