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It can take a long time for some owners to respond. Some never respond; people are busy, I get that. Unfortunately, it looks like the one closest to you is "Permission only". When did you submit your request(s)? If I were the owner I would be fine with someone keying up and 1) IDing themselves, 2) verbally requesting permission and then 3) remaining silent. But that's me.

If they are type certified they will have all that baked in automatically.

I agree with Steve. Especially since the FTM-500 is a crossband repeater already. I was using two FTM-300DRs as a repeater for EmComm purposes, but I had two radios in two different vehicles and only set them up as a same-band repeater for emergencies and training. Even then, it's not practical and I ended up getting another DR-1X repeater.

Technically it’s possible but it’s not really very smart. The FTM-500 is the top end price wise of the Yaesu mobile radios. You’re paying twice for features that simply aren’t needed. You would be much better with a purpose built repeater like the yaesu dr-2.

I’m new to GMRS but curiosity has me wondering what is the purpose or why would someone want to stay hidden? (I’m probably going to regret this question)

If you know the frequency of the repeaters you're interested in gaining access to, you might try keeping your radio tuned to one or two of them (if it's dual-watch) in the evenings. Popular "net" times in my area seem to be evenings between 7pm and 9:30pm, and Sundays around 4-8pm. I know that's a lot of time to cover, but if you can just leave the radio on as you go about your day, you might hear a net start up. It's common during weekly nets for the net control operator to ask if there are any visitors wanting to check in. That's your invitation to state your call sign and introduce yourself, even if you haven't officially been granted access. And at that point you can ask what is needed to gain permission to use the repeater. If there are no nets, and the owner never responds to your request on mygmrs.com, but you DO know the CTCSS or DCS tone for the repeater, you can listen for traffic, and if you find someone having an idle conversation, wait your turn, and then state your call sign and ask how you might gain approval to use the repeater. If they tell you you're not welcome, you just apologize and go on with life. If someone announces their call sign and states "monitoring", that's also a way that people say they're looking for conversation. You can say "<your call sign> here, my name is <first name> from <city name>. I wanted to inquire about how to get approved to use this repeater.", and just see what happens. If you are polite, they may get you hooked up. Or they may tell you to not use the repeater, but it's worth a try.

There is nothing really to "configure".. Assuming you have a well placed and well-tuned antenna with no obstructions between you and the other radio a mile away, my guess is that the duplexer is not well-tuned for whatever channel you are using. I would try testing on all 8 repeater channels to see if one works better. If you still can't get any better than one-mile, and assuming it is not an antenna or terrain issue (ie; if your handheld or mobile radio can reach 5 miles from that same location) then I would contact BTech support and tell them to send you one that works.

I would hope so.

I heard the electromagnetic waves come sweepin' down the plain in Oklahoma.

Howdy Folks! The family does a lot of mountain off-roading in SXSs and FRS just doesn't cut it anymore. So we have moved to GMRS for greater range and repeater use. I've been in Comms/IT for 30+ years. I was a green suit Tropo/SkeeterLOS microwave radio repair guy for Uncle Sam for 6 years back in the day. But it's been a minute so I'm back into learning mode with GMRS. Also, as a private pilot, I'm on the air bands while flying PIC. Note: If anyone needs help with a Home Internet/IT issue? Let me know. IT is my daily gig. Perhaps I can help. I'm also an avid VR pilot in DCS (its way cheaper than flying the real thing). I have a full motionless VR simpit setup. I can answer questions and help with that as well. V/R Del (WSDN287) Now.. How do I land this thing?

DPL is the same as DTCS, DTCSS, and DCS. If you hear the courtesy beep then you are hitting the repeater. Maybe they just aren’t listening when you’re talking.

The short answer is that I was looking for more radio activity. I started with a pair of walkie talkies made by Lafeyette in the early 70's. I would talk with other kids in the neighborhood. Then, my dad got a CB for his truck during that craze in the mid 70s. I had one in my car later on as a teenager, as did my friends, in the early 80s until activity on that band dried up. I got my ham license in the early 90s when 2M / 70cm was big. I joined a club and got to work on repeaters which I enjoyed learning about. It was fun, but the club dwindled and ham radio activity really dropped on VHF/UHF. I got my GMRS license a couple of weeks ago thinking it was the newest craze. Sadly, I can hear two REACT repeaters in another state and that is about it apart from some kids on FRS.

Windows 11 has “Selective Suspend”, which disables ports when unplugged to make battery life longer. You might try turning that off. Here’s an article about that: https://www.kapilarya.com/disable-usb-selective-suspend-in-windows-11

The FTM500 is not a GMRS radio anyway. I assume you want a ham repeater ? If so many better options out there but to stay Fusion the DR2 is all ou can use.

I have the Retevis RA25. It has been terrific.

I do a lot of rag chewing at the edge of my fars.

Possibly a Standard Horizon HX300.

There are very few people in my area on the radio, the ones I have talked to are people I don't know. I just figured it would be good to know if I have talked to them before .

The TYT TH-8600 and Anytone AT-788UV are both amateur band radios which are not Part 95 certified for use with GMRS. That being said, yes they work quite well on GMRS when opened up. If you are wanting to stay with a Part 95 certified radio then I will suggest the DB20G or Wouxun KG-XS20G. If you aren't worried about Part 95 then the TH-8600 and AT-778UV are good choices once they are unlocked. PS: No need to argue about using Part 95 certified radios versus using unlocked amateur band radios. That horse has been beaten until pulverized into ground meat.

Rb86/th-8600, at-778uv, at-779uv/DB20G. could also try the db25g

I use a Radioddity DB20-G. As others have noted, it’s the same radio as the AnyTone 779UV; and Retevis makes a virtual clone. I’ve never tested its power output but I’ve heard some say it’s slightly over 20W and others that it lingers at around 12W. All I know is that, for my own purposes (family travel communication and repeater conversations), it gets the job done very well. Unfortunately, due to its Chinese origins, quality is hit and miss. I have bought three of these units…one works like a charm and has never given me any problems; the other two both had the same issue of sporadic received audio muting: when listening to the NOAA channels, even with a strong signal, the audio mutes itself sporadically for no reason, causing the listener to miss parts of the transmission. I am still in communication with the Radioddity Customer Service team to resolve this issue. The programming software for the DB20-G is cumbersome and no where near as intuitive as CHIRP; but it’s not unbearable. The strengths of my working DB20-G make it my favorite GMRS radio (though I’ll note you can also make it a dual band ham radio through a simple unlocking process, as I have done). However, the jury is still out on the model itself…if Radioddity can resolve my audio issue, I can recommend it even more highly.

Laird also offers the C27 series of antennas. C27: 49" NMO, chrome/silver C27S: 49" NMO, w/ spring, chrome/silver CB27: 49" NMO, black CB27S: 49" NMO, w/ spring, black

Get on your local repeater and call out every 30 minutes or so asking if anybody is monitoring and wants to have a chat. Usually it works. I'll have a chat with you.

He may consider that a challenge. Don’t encourage him.

6 negative votes?! That may be a new forum record!

Welcome to the forum! But watch out for "some people" that will try to grossly over-complicate things when answering even the most simple of questions in sad attempts to show you how smart they think they are. Superhet receivers are generally "better" than cheap SOC type radios - but most people would not notice any difference.. I would worry more about features/what the radio can do more than the receiver type, but thats just me. On wattage, unless you are looking at a huge difference like 25W vs 5W, you aren't going to see much difference in range - for example, the only thing you would notice on an 8W radio vs a 5W radio, is that the battery will go dead faster on the 8W. For the antenna, almost anything will work better than the rubber ducky on your 5Gs. You didnt say if you wanted to upgrade to another HT or a base/mobile type radio - if you post what you're considering we can give some feedback on the exact model.