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There's almost always someone on the air around here. They usually stay quiet until needed. I was trying to get a hold of my wife on a repeater I don't use much. Tried a few times and then went to another repeater channel and got her that way. But on the original channel someone broke in and told me he heard me fine. The base has a great connection to that repeater so it was weird my wife couldn't hear me. Got home to find out the PL had been changed somehow. So obviously she wouldn't be able to hear me.

Something appears to be lost in quotation...

Sounds like a group from a Stephen King novel!

No one is born knowing anything. We all have to learn somehow. I'm glad you're here an asking questions. You are absolutely on the right track and asking the right questions. There are a bunch of ground plan kits for sale that are tripod mounted for portable and base station use, which sounds like what you really need. As someone mentioned earlier, you could also use a magnetic mount and a large (for stability) pie/cookie sheet as well. Have fun! Experimenting and finding what works best is a big part of the fun for me.

An RF ground plane is a conductive surface that serves as a ground reference point for radio frequency signals in antennas. It provides an electromagnetic reflection of energy to complete a portion of a radiated signal.. and is often an electrical ground, as well.

General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS). A mobile two-way voice communication service, with limited data applications, for facilitating activities of individual licensees and their family members, including, but not limited to, voluntary provision of assistance to the public during emergencies and natural disasters.

Probably some couldn't afford a baofeng if it drops - be thankful for what you got. Radio 'class warfare' doesn't work for me....I have moto's and bao's -- they both work as intended. It's how the operator uses the radio that means more to me.

Lets keep this thread going.

Absolutely. And I agree, either the guy doesn't know what he is doing or he was being a jerk. Every time I have given a traffic report, if anyone was listening, they were grateful for the heads up.

Hacked by emojis.

I stole this.

I hate it when that happens.

That would be me I think.

In a GMRS radio, just choose one of the pre-programmed repeater channels, 23-30 (there are 8 of them) and set the necessary tone to get into the repeater.

We use to mess with the ID10T's all the time. My favorite was to fire up the PTO driven generator on my 5 ton machine shop truck. That generator would jam all comms equipment within a 150 foot radius. And we can't forget the good old classic of sending NUG's for a can of squelch. On subject. Any good 15 -25 watt radio will work just fine when good coax and a good antenna is used. The best thing is to get the antenna as high as you can for a base station. And try to get a good ground plane under your mobile antenna. This even benefits the no ground plane type mobile antennas too.

My money is on number 3. I bet the RT22 has an RX tone set. Seems like we are seeing more and more of these FRS radios being shipped out with tones already set.

Without knowing more about what you actually tried, it really boils down to this: 1. Try different channels; it won’t be the first time a radio doesn’t work on all channels. The GM-30 is capable of transmitting on eight repeater channels that the RT22, a FRS radio, cannot receive. Stay away from those. They will be named RP15 - RP22 or they will be numbered 23-30, but they are frequencies intended to transmit to repeaters which FRS radios like the RT22 don’t do. If the GM30 is set to one of those channels, it will hear the RT22 because they share the same receiving frequencies, but the RT22 will never hear the GM30. 2. Make sure both radios are on the same channel. 3. Make sure you don’t have any “privacy tones” set for either, for transmit or receive. 4. Don’t just stand right next to each other when you test the radios; separate yourselves by several feet. Some radios go deaf in the presence of strong signals. That’s commonly called “desensing”. Welcome to the forums!

I would put the antenna where its not obvious from the street if possible. It's also best to mount it while doing something else such as hanging lights or cleaning gutters. People don't pay attention if they see an expected task.

I just purchased the Btech GMRS 50 V2 mobile unit and I'll be putting it together as a base station . I have six handheld radios as back up incase of power loss so I'm glad to prepare for severe weather. 73s WSAE510 NH

I recently reread the FCC rules regarding certain communications allowed. One example is that I gave a warning of a motorcycle accident. one person tried to tell me that it was a violation of the FCC rules. as it would be, I read to them what it says and that I was in right plus I called the FCC to have them verify that I was in the right. FCC said that I actually prevented someone from arriving to a hazardous situation and to have them rerouted for safety So this ruling of what I did was legal

Interesting how so many are talking about how repeaters are dead and not much simplex use because modern tech such as cell phones has become the norm. The school I teach at has gone completely cell phone-free. Meaning the kids can not have their cell phones from the time the morning bell rings to the last bell of the day. We have issued to all students Yondr Pouches, which are little bags the students have to put their cell phones in when the morning bell rings they magnetically lock and the kids can not get them open until we put the "keys" out at the end of the day. With that being said, I have been able to use that to recruit more kids to ham radio. I have been showing the kids all the ways that radio can be used like a cell phone, such as text messaging, sharing pictures, and emails, and just plain ol talking with each other. Most of these kids all live in the same neighborhood or close enough to do simplex. The big thing when telling the kids this is that cell phones may be banned, but the principal never said anything about ham radio lol. I know there are caveats to all of these, but generally speaking as some of you already know these things are not difficult to do. I told them that even if they are grounded from their cell phones at home they can still use their radios to communicate with their friends and even share each other's locations etc. lol. Teaching these things to the younger generation has been a big hit and the school admin is all for it and super supportive of the kids using radio tech instead of their cell phones. Please guys, and gals, don't give up on our younger generation. These kids are smart and catch on quickly, they just need more people showing them how to properly utilize ham radio and all the benefits it has. Man, I can go on all day on this subject as I have been working hard integrating ham radio into our school. The ham club I started at the school has been a big success to my surprise and has fired me up to know that ham radio is not dead and is alive and well in our kids, as long as WE do the work to show them. Sorry, rant over lol.

YES! and the FCC has really been cracking-down and issuing more fines lately. If you want to talk that far you should get a H.A.M. license, but if you are willing to take the risk of a major fine, go for it.

Thank you WROM258 and WRXP381 for your responses. Steve, I just went into my search criteria, made some changes, and low and behold, I have my list of 20 repeaters back. You were right! I've been a ham operator for 28 years and got into GMRS about 3 years ago due to some of my non-ham friends getting their GMRS license and buying radios. I really enjoy it. There's more activity in my area on GMRS repeaters than there is on ham repeaters. Anyway, thank you guys again. 73 as they say, Mark.....

Reuters seems to know more about this than Massad

No, there is not. Each mic is wired to its own radio.

Channel No. Frequency Power (ERP in Watts) 1 462.5625 2 W 2 462.5875 2 W 3 462.6125 2 W 4 462.6375 2 W 5 462.6625 2 W 6 462.6875 2 W 7 462.7125 2 W 8 467.5625 0.5 W 9 467.5875 0.5 W 10 467.6125 0.5 W 11 467.6375 0.5 W 12 467.6625 0.5 W 13 467.6875 0.5 W 14 467.7125 0.5 W 15 462.5500 2 W 16 462.5750 2 W 17 462.6000 2 W 18 462.6250 2 W 19 462.6500 2 W 20 462.6750 2 W 21 462.7000 2 W 22 462.7250 2 W

Why can’t you listen to the output frequency? No tone or permission is needed to listen.

My understanding of the regulations leads me to believe that profiting is not allowed. Recuperating costs is though. The cost of establishing and supporting 25 linked repeaters seems like it would be pretty high though. Are you sure they’re taking a profit? They might just be pouring money back into their network and accumulating some for unforeseen future use. If they’re organized as a non-profit that’s probably what they’re doing.

Here in North Georgia we have a 25 linked repeater business. And yes, it has turned into a lucrative business charging almost 100 bucks a year for access for 1 user. On their face book page they have stated that they are operating within the regulations and they are not going to unlink the repeaters until they are forced to.....Interesting that gmrs repeater owners are allowed to use the service for profit.

I am just using a midland MicroMobile MXAT04 6.6dB Gain Highland Tall Bullbar Antenna as a mobile basestation antenna. My ignorance is showing. Just goes to show that I have alot more research to do. I appreciate the info and suggestions. If there are any other suggestions, I am all ears. Thanks all!

I'm kinda partial to the two Boofwang AR-5RM's I bought. They do what I need them to and also let me listen to GSP (Greenville Spartanburg SC) airport. Plus they're.......well......cheap.... and easy to program. But work pretty well. And I'm currently working on getting my wife to use one. Says the man who's only been licensed a couple of months.

The joke is that the FCC web site is tougher than the H.A.M. exams. Just getting through it should be enough for a license.

The General Mobile Radio Service isn't a hobby. It's a public service.

Back to the original question, I am noticing some of the same. I made my private repeater public over 2 years ago, it didn't take long for some people to start using it, proving there were people around my area interested. This past Spring, there were probably 12 guys chatting on a regular basis, I would get in there now and then as well. Since about July, it's been oddly quiet. Now and then there's a kerchunker, now and then one guy calling (I answer if I happen to have time) but all the usual times they were talking, it's just quiet. I am probably going to sell my repeater, I don't need to maintain it or pay the electric if no one is going to use it. I am a HAM and can talk to people that way when I want to.

Was talking with a bunch of guys on this repeater tonight. The LI East End repeater on 575 The tropospheric ducting was phenomenal tonight. I wasn't talking to them on my base station with my antenna 40' in the air. I was talking to them on my TD-H3 HT pushing about 4 watts because the battery is about 2/3rds full. The guys were telling me I was coming in 5x5, frik'n amazing. I first noticed that I kept getting interference on my HT in the living room on the 575 in Holyoke. Then I recognized the double tone beep the repeater has as a courtesy beep. So I went outside and called for a radio check announcing I was in Connecticut up north. Was able to talk with several people for over 20 minutes. We could have continued but it was after midnight plus I wanted to check on the base. Still 5x5 down there, but it was coming in better on the HT than the base, weird. Had to tell my little story. Not many times you get to talk 70+ miles on an HT with a repeater that has a mountain in the way.

I want to say thank you for the owner of putting the York repeater up. I really enjoy making contacts

That's awesome. Most of the traffic in my area is on a repeater over 40 miles from my house. I only have HT's so I can't hit that repeater from here. I did however get my new 45w mobile unit in the mail today. I can listen to most of the conversations on that repeater, but I feel left out. Our local one sucks. I'll get my mobile setup either as a base station, or in my truck. I just want to join the party

He wasn’t expressing interest in becoming a Ham, he was simply whining.

Way back my then Elmers taught me that a good signal report is not based on what you see on a meter, but what your ear holes hear or can't. Similar to my Army days, you either got a "read you 5 by 5, Lima Charlie" or a "say again, you are weak and unreadable" (one we used a lot when doing Electronic Countermeasures on ID Ten Tee's). Or, just go Contest Mode, where er'body gets a solid 59!

Yes and Yes, I only need about 6 more mounts. lol I agree, these are great mounts and I have had no issues in 2 years with phones. I will put the iPad mount to use this weekend in Ga.

Some radios have S-meters which display the signal strength. For most people there is a somewhat noticeable audible difference between each number. Although radio S-meters are not precisely calibrated, generally speaking (and a question on the ham test ) one unit difference on an S meter correlates to 6 dB. What that means is that if 40 watts gets to S9, 10 watts gets to S8.

And oh how easy is it for that $100 billion dollar system to fail. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It is disappointing that the service is so underutilized. I got in to GMRS in pursuit of my other hobbies. Camping, hiking, off roading, boating, etc.. In my opinion, one critical use of GMRS is emergency communication. Cell phone services have failed in various areas of the country during civil emergencies. Best practice is to be proficient with the system before an emergency arises. Using the system with some frequency, and networking with other users in my area seems like the best way to become proficient. Cell service does inspire a "why bother" sort of mentality when it comes to radio Comms. So far, for me, GMRS radio seems to be a depreciable skill. Manual programming, and management of the various features on the radio takes regular use for me to remain proficient. If I set it down for a month or so, I need to refresh my knowledge a bit.

I think you’re being a bit too sensitive. Take step back, breathe, relax.

The Nagoya 771 was a little tight on my 9G, but someone here suggested twisting the base in some sand paper to thin it down a little tiny bit and I could get an extra turn in when tightening. Worked great.

I guess I am a bit ornery, I will turn the Roger beep on just to trigger some people. I normally don't use the Roger beep but it doesn't bother me one way or the other.

And that's why I keep it off when on my favorite repeater, which is populated with some skilled H.A.M.s, some of whom may be easily triggered.

Oh, "some people" would VERY strongly and VERY vocally disagree!

I have found that new users like the beep because it is a positive indication that the other party has stopped transmitting. The radios I hand out for family simplex all have the beep turned on. Radios I use for repeaters have the beep off. Either way, it's just not a big deal. Edit: Added "simplex" for clarification.