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Happy April Fools day.

They are. It depends are what point of view you take. The minimum length for a radiating element used as an antenna is 1/2 wavelength. Obviously a 1/4 wave alone won't work. That's where the ground plane come into play. The easiest way to understand how it functions is place your finger at a right angle against a mirror. You see a reflection of your finger so it looks twice as long. The same thing happens with a ground plane. It "reflects" the 1/4wave element making it look like a 1/2 wavelength long. By bending the radials it changes the feed point impedance so it's closer to 50 ohms, a good match to the 50 ohm coax cable. A true 1/2 wavelength dipole antenna is closer to 70 to 75 ohms with the feed point at the center. That results in an SWR of about 1.5:1, which is perfectly acceptable by just about any radio out there. A 1/2 wavelength antenna is used where a ground plane, or room for radials at the base of a 1/4 wavelength antenna, is not possible. The draw back is the antenna is now twice as tall and the bandwidth is reduced since a special matching section is required at the base of the antenna. Also high gain antennas are multiple sections of 1/4 and 1/2 wave elements with a "phasing" section in between the sections. Those are the small bulges or tiny single loops you see spaced along the length. The down side to high gain antennas is the gain is HIGHLY concentrated in a direction perpendicular to the antenna. Works great for relatively flat open terrain. Not so good in hills or mountainous areas. People who like to hit the trails often carry two antennas. A high gain one, these antennas can be rather tall, used when on the highway and a low gain, usually a 1/4 wavelength, when hitting the trails. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/259-ca-2x4mb-jeepjpg/?context=new https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/268-ca-2x4sr/?context=new https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/338-cheap-14-wave-gmrs-antenna/?context=new

On Friday, I received my order of: Baofeng GM-15 Pro Extra batteries Solar panels The radios seem to be working well so far. Still more testing to do here. Have only tried a short test with the stock antennas but sound quality was good. Friday evening, using the wall charger, I charged the batteries that came with the radios. I didn't time how long it took but wish I had. It seemed to take longer than I thought it would. Saturday at 10:00am I set the extra batteries outside on a table with the solar panels. The day started off partly cloudy. I was busy but checked them when I could. There were times of bright sunlight when the charge lite was red and times with clouds when there was no light at all. I thought this test was going to be a complete failure especially since it gradually became more cloudy/overcast. At 3:00pm I gave up and brought everything inside and decided to put the extra batteries on the wall chargers to go ahead and charge them up. To my surprise they were completely charged. Next step is to run the batteries completely down and try the solar panels again. I hope it will be a sunny day when I do that. But charging without complete sunshine is a more "real world" test. I will give an update in a week or so after I have more info to share. Special thanks to @Lscott, @Sshannon, and @WRXP381 for their input on solar panels. P.S. Someday I plan on getting the stuff I need to charge a UV-5R with solar.

Rumor has it that Anytone is buying Motorola's land mobile radio division too.

They are skipped during scan by default since there's no output tone. Any activity on the channel will cause the scan to stop and what you're hearing may or may not be that repeater anyway. This way, if you get the tone information, you already have the channel programmed, you can set up the tones and add to the scan list, and you're off to the races.

You don’t need a receive tone. If you leave it empty you receive everything on that frequency.

And Midland filed for bankruptcy. Production and shipping of all models has been halted.

Radios seems to attract a certain type of person, often with similar personalty defects...

Sometimes I buy radios on the DL without running it by the spousal unit.. I do the purchase in PayPal “pay in 4” so the charges don’t stand out as large on the statement and I’m a ninja about grabbing that package off the porch on my way in and having the item in my pocket by the time the back door opens . Is there a help group for me?

What does that number mean? Is it just a unique identifier for the site or does it have other meanings too? Ty!

You will fine extremes on both sides of this discussion, and actually, some feel that the SAE connectors have better high-current-handling properties and a more secure, water-resistant connection than the ever-popular Power Poles. As BoxCar said, for current draw under about 6-8 Amps the cigarette lighter plug is fine, and if you do not foresee many rig/power connections, (using the rig in more than one car, or in car and home) then the SAE should serve you fine. If you want the ability to use your equipment along with others then the PP might be a more universal consideration.

Being a 20W transceiver it won't draw more than 8 amps so the cig adapter is fine for temporary installations. If you are planning on mounting the radio permanently, then my preference is for the Power Poles.

A week is a pretty good turnaround...

@WSCD723 Welcome to GMRS. I'll second what @WRUU653 said about HamStudy. That is what I used and I was able to pass the tech and general in one session. I like that explanations they give, it's better than just memorizing answers.

This is great! Thanks!

thank you WRUU653! i'll check it out! oh... a member on here who runs a repeater in my home town just granted me access to it

Welcome Martin @WSCD723. If I may I can recommend the HamStudy app for your amateur license studies.

I "lost" mine in a fishing accident.

You can now download a Google Earth KML file for each state from the Reports page. Please let me know if you have any feedback!

@rdunajewski would have to do this.

Possibly because copper tubing slim-jims are also sold on KB9VBR’s site: https://www.jpole-antenna.com/shop/uhf-440-470-mhz-slim-jim-antenna/ What distinguishes a slim-jim is the folded dipole design, not that it’s made from flatline.

The KB8VBR gmrs antenna that the OP said he is using is a copper tubing type of J-Pole style and mounts to a length of pipe or tubing. https://www.jpole-antenna.com/shop/462-mhz-land-mobile-gmrs-j-pole-antenna/ If he were using a twin-lead type "slim jim" antenna, (like the N9TAX antenna ) then yes, it must be hung from the top and remain in the clear. Not the easiest thing to do for a permanent installation. (I am not sure why the OP used the term "slim jim" along with the KB8VBR antenna description, since the link clearly shows it is not that style of antenna!)

Talk to them just like you would on a phone call. "WRVM969 <Person being called's name> are you on?" As you are both under the same call sign, only one needs to give the call sign.

It is the remainder of the frequency for your receiving frequency and transmission frequency: after the "462" and "467" respectively There are only 8 GMRS repeater frequencies, so typically they will list: 550, 575, 600, 625, 650, 675, 700 or 725

According to Repeaterbook there are 2 GMRS Repeaters in Clarksville channel 18(462.625) and channel 20(462.700 both have coordinated repeaters through SERA. I have at times heard a few people chatting away on GMRS. I know the Amateur Radio side has several different 2m and 70cm repeaters along with DSTAR and fusion digital coming on line in the near future...I live in Montgomery County and feel Free to ask any more questions I'm willing to help

Although I can’t speak for the downside of linked repeaters because I am not exposed to any in my direct area, I do like the idea of Zello linking. It could really add to the functionality of a repeater without adding to the interference factor. Zello can hear all activity on the local repeater same as having RF including the simplex only side depending on how you have it set up.

Well, this sort of nonsense is a result of a non-engaged repeater owner. As a repeater system user, paid or not, you have no real say in what that repeater carries for traffic. Ultimately, if you don't like it you can make a comment about it if you choose to but your final say in the matter is when you change the channel or turn off your radio. You have NOTHING else to do when it's not your gear. If the repeater owner allows that sort of conduct, then that's how it is. But an engaged repeater owner that pays attention to what's going on with his / her repeater should be dealing with that. Telling people that they are NOT going to argue, cuss and act the fool on the repeater and to either stop or go kick rocks is the way it needs to be handled. And if they refuse, you shut off the repeater for a while. And the repeater owner can record the traffic, get call signs if the users are actually saying them and file a complaint with the FCC. If it's a common thing for these people to act up and break the rules (causing interference) then the FCC might get involved. But end users really have no say in the content. And people shouldn't just throw up repeaters that they don't pay any attention to and let others act foolish on them.

For a J-Pole type antenna a coax line choke at the base of the antenna is HIGHLY recommended.

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

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 doubt that Ohio has any desert area or that type of terrain.

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.

From the Guest forum introduction: Note to Guest Users: To participate in all Forum threads, you must be registered at the main MyGMRS.com website listed below. In order to register at the main website, you must have a valid FCC issued GMRS license and call sign. It can sometimes take up to a week for the FCC database to sync with the MyGMRS.com database, so if you try to register at the main website and get a note stating that the license listed in your application is not valid, please wait a couple days and try again. Once you are registered at the main website, THEN you can also register here at the forum. Thank you.

50W is good, especially when you have a long-run of that leaky coax, to get more juice squirting from the antenna. 50W is also good to step on the other guy that is irritating everyone but only has 20W.. all else being equal.

The first thing that comes to my mind is that you can always dial the power down on a 50-watt radio, but once you hit the max on the 20-watt there is nowhere left to go.

Welcome @Jbailey and @Millimar and any other new members I missed! There are many helpful people here, and there are no stupid questions.

@Jbailey welcome to GMRS. If you have any specific questions, just ask. Also, don't hesitate to do a search. Most questions have been asked and answered.

I get it. The wife goes shopping. Sees an item that costs $2 but it's on sale for $1. So she buys it. You go shopping. See the same item on sale. But you decide you don't need it. Later you both can legitimately claim you "saved" a $1. The difference is you still have yours.

This hobby is like my other hobbies. They all can get quite expensive quickly if you aren't careful. Firearms, model trains, radios; they are all expensive hobbies. I am lucky that I have an understanding wife as long as all the bills are paid each month. A big bonus is she likes to go fishing so I can buy her sparkly fishing lures instead of expensive jewelry.

The struggle is real.

Unfortunately, during wildfire activities in my area I use the FlightRadar24 app while listening to CALFire Air to Ground frequencies. I can hear the command aircraft directing tankers and helicopters making their drops. Last September I sat in my front yard and watched and listened to two tankers and two helicopters containing a fire 1 mile from me across a canyon. Due to the critical nature of the activity I can't call it fun but it was very interesting. Those pilots are amazing. They sounded very calm as they fly low and slow that close to the side of a mountain.