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I’d have to say, that I’ve been very fortunate. 99% of the hams that I’ve talked to have been very nice and pretty much outgoing, willing to help out with a question whenever they can. Heck, I’d say that 70% or more on the GMRS network here, also have their ham license(s).

I recall my drafting professor saying, "If a drawing can be interpreted more than one way, it's wrong."

Oh well, there are A-Holes in any hobby. Some show up here, unfortunately, from time to time. Hams don't don't have a monopoly on poor attitudes.

Perhaps there are some like that, but all the VEs I know are very welcoming of folks who take multiple tests in one sitting. I got lucky and passed all three and they were very positive afterwards. In fact, shortly afterwards the VEC asked me if I would help as a VE.

I don't get it but, I plugged the cable in to the computer and handheld, went into the Device Manager and I found the connection under the USB connection. I was then able to turn on the handheld, read and write to the handheld. Crisis averted!!

The once was Laird LMR antennae are marketed by T E Connectivity and have been for about a year or two now.

It disagree, it was never clear until recently. No matter what way you put it, the internet is not a PSTN. I see the comments saying "With VoIP, there are no pstn lines anymore, VoIP is the new pstn" etc. It's simply not. They are completely different technologies. The FCC just never kept up with the changing technology and they are 30+ years late to the clarification. VoIP is older than I am, and I am more than 30 years old. Typical government speed.

Using VOX on a bike is probably never a great solution. Beyond the technical issue of getting it to transmit when you want and not due to wind noise is one thing, but from my experience, there are a lot of other things one says and noises one makes while riding that would trigger it... sounds and words you may not want to be transmitting! Think about it... Just saying. Get a boom mic with something to cut the wind noise and a PTT button.. or get a small hand mic.

I agree! The three stand-alones, left up and running as such, would probably be an even greater service to their local areas; allowing for three separate conversations to take place at once time, rather than just one.

Breaking the rules? I guess it's "OK to jaywalk" - until you get hit by the bus. The FCC isn't going to offer you a refund either so get rid of your radios or learn how to use them. Oh, WHY did you get a license anyway?

If they are setup the same you may have a bad radio. Try simplex between the two and separate them by about 1/3 mile. If one can contact the other and not vice versa then you have a bad transmitter.

Is the Elkhart repeater down? It’s been at least a few days when I transmit, there’s no sound that I hit the repeater.

I'm sure someone is going to point out that none of this is in the FCC PRS and/or GMRS rules... and I am aware. That said. it looks like you need to be a lawyer to decipher this stuff. It doesn't help when the FCC doesn't define things like "wireline control link". The only place I can find that the FCC specifically mention a "control link" is in 47 CFR § 97.213 - Telecommand of an amateur station. It says "A control link using a fiber optic cable or another telecommunication service is considered wireline." This is the definition the FCC provides for "telecommunication". Telecommunication Any transmission, emission or reception of signs, signals, writings, images and sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire, radio, optical or other electromagnetic systems. Common Carrier In the telecommunications arena, the term used to describe a telephone company. Network Any connection of two or more computers that enables them to communicate. Networks may include transmission devices, servers, cables, routers and satellites. The phone network is the total infrastructure for transmitting phone messages. Telecommand The use of telecommunication for the transmission of signals to initiate, modify or terminate functions of equipment at a distance. Citations: https://www.fcc.gov/general/glossary-telecommunications-terms https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/2.1 https://www.fcc.gov/wireline-competition https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/97.213

You *might* have a bad programming cable, but it could just be a "driver issue" with Windows. If that is the case, may Xenu have mercy on your soul.. What version of the Windows are you running?

You are right! As a Tech Plus (no longer issued but used to be Technician with 5 WPM code), I finally got my 13 WPM code test behind me. Unfortunately, I had not studied the then current General question pool and failed the written test. I studied the then current General manual and found a VE group about an hour away that was doing testing. Passed the General written test and the VE asked if I wanted to try for Advanced. I hadn't really studied for Advanced but what the hey? Why not? Had I missed one more question, I would have failed, but as it was, I left the session with an Advanced CSCE (Certificate Successful Completion of Element). My plan was to get the 20 WPM code under my belt, then get the Extra written. The FCC had other plans. They dropped Morse for all license classes requiring Morse to 5 WPM. At the same time, they streamlined it to three license classes, Technician, General, and Extra. Some months later they dropped the Morse requirement entirely. I recall the hostility toward Extras who passed only the 5 WPM test, and later, the "No Code Extras". That was one reason I held on to my Advanced for so long. There was no way to have Advanced without having passed 13 WPM and the hostile old pharts knew that. The hostility towards 5 WPM and No Code Extras is wrong. Even if a person studied, practiced, and used, Morse at 30 WPM, there is and has been no vehicle for Morse testing since around the year 2000.

What a lot are missing is the part of 97.1733 (a) (8) (8) Messages which are both conveyed by a wireline control link and transmitted by a GMRS station; The internet is chock full of wireline control links. So it's not the POTS or other networks, but this that is the main point they're following to disallow linking repeaters. The internet is hardly wireless, even in the age of wi-fi and 5G

That sounds very sad ham-ish, indeed. And at this point, it's been 19 years. I imagine that a substantial portion of the Extra class operators who looked with fondness upon the CW requirement as a rite of passage, have already found safe passage into the pearly gates.

Based on anecdotal reports here, about 1 in 4 arrives unable to transmit. It’s simply not probable that all of the other three are “great little radios!” Perhaps some are but it’s entirely possible that any of them has an issue that hasn’t been found. It’s a great radio for a gambler.

Yes now that they clarified. I understand the rule never changed, but the rule itself is so poorly written it leaves room to speculate. It should have been written "Operation of a GMRS station with a telephone connection or other networks is prohibited". Do you not understand that laws and rules can be interpreted differently by people? This is why terms of service for websites are 40 pages long.

When I took the General and Extra exams, that was very shortly after the FCC dropped the CW requirement. I can tell you a LOT of Hams, particularly Extra Class, were upset because the CW test wasn't easy at that level. That was about the only real skill you couldn't sit down and memorize, like the question pool, but really had to demonstrate. Once that was gone so was the prestige that went with being an Extra. It didn't take long before those who passed the Extra exam without CW were being called "Extra Lite" by those who did. After all these years you still hear it on the air at times by those still sour over the issue. That's OK, still lots of other people to talk to on the air who don't care.

You're probably 99% there. 20 miles on a handheld is a long way; I'm lucky to get five miles here in the swamp. As others have said, your answer is a slightly better antenna.

It's what happens when you put yourself up on a pedestal to look down over the little people.

Easy to spot "I've been a ham since..." "Back when I got my license you had to ..." "(insert unpopular ( to them ) FCC rule change here) is gonna be the death of the hobby". "That won't work, the modeling software says so" I have been a ham since 1992, when I got licensed you had to take a test, I think most every change the FCC did to part 97 actually grew the hobby, and my antennae can't read or use computers!

"Some People" I know, and I am one of them, choose not to be a HAM for various reason and spending the money on HAM gear isn't the reason at all for me. You can say that it's not the fact of the hoops that you have to jump through to get your license, it's some of the people that are involved in the hobby. I haven't seen that in the GMRS community.

I'm betting they plan on doing that anyway.

It's possible they misdirected my inquiry. As I dig a little deeper, the Laird TE B4505CN is now made by TE Connectivity, so it sounds like their mobile antennas spun out to TE, while their internal equipment spun out to Enzurio, which I guess is a division of Dupont now. Trying again...

All seven 462 Interstitial channels and the eight main 462 channels are very busy with simplex traffic throughout the West Valley of the Phoenix Region. The 550, 575, 600, 700, and 725 channels have moderate use with repeater traffic and will provide very good coverage throughout most of the Phoenix Region and are high level elevation repeaters. The 625, 650, and 675 channels is mostly light to light moderate repeater use and are mostly low level elevation repeaters. A couple of GMRS channels are used for a lot of off-road activities by numerous off-road groups throughout the entire State. GMRS Channels 16 and 18 are the most used channels along with some trail comm use on FRS/GMRS Channels 5 & 6. I have heard some CB radio traffic, not much, I assume are trail comms because I hear them occasionally off the beaten path way out in the boonies. The CB traffic I've been hearing is AM traffic. I don't know if there is any FM traffic because I haven't been monitoring FM while on the trail.

But how would they charge you for each test then?

The only license that has value to me is the General (given that I can't get to HF with a Tech license) but I'm not going to take two tests to get there. One yes, two no. I'm a registered PE with a masters degree so testing isn't something I find intimidating. I'll jump through one hoop, but not two. There is a better way to do this. For example, I hold an advanced certification in a specialized field. To get that one does not pass a beginners exam, then an intermediate exam and finally the advanced exam. One enters the program by taking an assessment exam which establishes a level of certification -- beginner, intermediate or advanced. I first tested in at the intermediate level, studied more and then passed the same exam at the advanced level. One exam. The FCC should give all applicants the Extra exam and issue appropriate licenses based on performance. If the applicant wants a higher-level license they can study and take the exam again. One exam.

I already tried that Steve to no avail. It's fine just as a GMRS radio. I have plenty of other quality 2m/70cm radios for the HAM bands. Thanks

Clone the good radio to the bad. Before you turn the radio on push the lower button below the 2 PTT buttons. It usually turns the light on. While holding this button turn the radio on. It will display "Wireless Copy" Do the same for the other radio. On the radio that works press the same button again and the cloning will begin. Takes about 30 seconds. Keep the radios about 1' apart with antennas attached. When it's complete you need to turn both radios back off, and then on again to complete the cloning process. This will copy the good radio to the bad. If it still doesn't work then the bad radio is indeed bad.

And there have been several reports on this forum lately where a person has two, three, or four TD-H3 (or similar) radios and one of them doesn’t work.

I am in favor of repeater linking, so long as there is not a lot of coverage overlap, and I know that is just about impossible to regulate (the FCC likely wouldn't anyway). I setup my repeater in Kingman AZ, with hopes of setting up one in Lake Havasu, and possibly Bullhead City to be part time linked together to provide non-overlapping coverage, but I was a little late to the party. The repeater we have covers the Kingman and Golden Valley area, Bullhead can hardly get in, and Havasu is completely in the dark because of the mountains in our area. I see this as a benefit, for myself, off-roaders, and hikers. I do volunteer SAR and I am all over the county, and when I am in range of the repeater, I am able to check in with family. People here that go off-roading or hiking will go from Havasu to Kingman to the Hualapai mountains for example (Because its much cooler in the summer), and may want to check-in with their family at home. What I am most butthurt about is that I bought all this equipment to link repeaters, spent all that time setting it up, then the FCC clarifies the rules lol. Good thing I only bought 1 repeater and linking hardware.

You’re exactly right.

I'm not too sure how to answer this question, but since the FCC dropped a bomb shell about using Telephone Systems or Internet networks to extend or interconnect to other GMRS Repeaters.

That's a bummer it's offline and the repeaters are no longer linked. I got used to listening in the morning for weather and road conditions when I'm going out of town.

I don't understand why they shut them down instead of just unlink them. The NY Reliance repeater system did the same thing months ago and haven't been put back on air. 3 independent repeaters are certainly better then no repeaters.

The Elkhart 550 was shut off on 8.28 when the rest of the Midwest Group repeaters were unlinked as required by FCC rules. It is unknown if that repeater will be reactivated as a stand alone repeater.

Don't mind Randy he is fixated on using Zello to chat with this men friends, but Zello is basically a walkie talkie app. Better explanation here. https://www.tomsguide.com/us/zello-app-guide,news-25805.html

I was going to mention the solar as well. The portable solar chargers and generators are way better than they used to be and are plentiful in the marketplace.

GMRS repeater linking freedom I am writing to you as a concerned citizen and a General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) operator to respectfully request your support in advocating for the reinstatement of GMRS linking, which was recently banned by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Website Petition

Is this complete yet, I just got 4 new radios I want to try out

Howdy all, new to GMRS, planning on adding a mobile/base that doubles as a repeater. Going up near urgent care/Wasilla high, sometimes this August. :)