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I'm surprised you didnt "throw it into the trash" like you and "everyone you know" does with all their other sub-perfect radios.

If you are asking, its already too late.

I have done a search before, but I prefer just opening the map on this site, zooming in to my "area" and looking at repeaters around me. I look at the green halo range and if it's close enough I enter the tones for the repeaters and try them. That's just my prefered method. Also I do this for travel. If I know I am going on a trip and plan my route, I look at repeaters along that route and get them programmed.

Obviously if it comes up more than once per week it’s too frequent for you to remain civil. You do well for a short time, but then you go back to acting like you have to debase yourself to help others. Changing your screen name obviously didn’t help. Now you’re inviting PMs rather than having us criticize your hubris nature.

This is a very good alternate method in the event that the OP cannot figure out how to fix the settings on his device.

Well no, the only response to his request for help yesterday was your snarky comment which wasn’t helpful. It’s pretty hard to understand how you could scold anyone for asking something twice when you say the same thing in nearly every post with the same shitty attitude towards others.

In the above case you might want to look at the this antenna. It will handle both Ham and GMRS. Also if you have a VHF MURS enabled radio it will work with that too. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/268-ca-2x4sr/?context=new The antenna is available in UHF and NMO type mounts. There is an optional spring loaded bottom element which will save you some possible roof and or antenna damage if it hits something like low tree branches. A number of people on the forum have had good results using it. Note it is a BIG antenna and does require a good ground plane to get the claimed gain and SWR match range.

One of the best antennas that works on 2m, MURS, 70cm, and GMRS is the Comet 2x4SR. The only reason I don't use it all the time on my vehicle is the fact I park in my garage all the time. My 20" Comet SBB1 just barely clears the 7 foot garage doors and the garage opener. There are a few shorter dual band antennas that will also work for GMRS. The Comet SBB1 is one of them. The Midland MXTA26 is hard to beat for a GMRS only antenna. Again it is about the same size as the Comet 2x4SR. Yes it is ideal to get the antenna centered on the highest point of a vehicle. But that is not always possible. Plenty of people run antennas on the hood, tail gate lip, Jeep spare tier mount, or bed rails right behind the cab on trucks and they all get out fine. I do run two antennas on my 2023 Ford Escape just because I do like having separate radios for 2m/70cm and GMRS. I am using the Comet SBB1 dual band and a Tram 1174 for GMRS. The setup works for me since I am restricted by height requirements. And I still get out just fine. Yes I hit dead zones on 70cm and GMRS in valleys and/or locations with a lot of pine/cedar trees. But that is how things go with UHF. As far as radios go. The DB-20G is popular where one can get by with a 20 watt radio. There is really only 4 main choices when it comes to off the shelf Part 95 certified 50 watt radios. The choices are; the B-Tech GMRS 50V2, The Midland MXT500, Midland MXT575, and the Wouxun KG-1000G Plus. The Wouxun is the better radio out of those choices. And don't listen to the Negative Nancies. The Wouxun KG-1000G is a good radio and plenty of people use it over any other 50 watt GMRS radio.

Do you see getting an amateur radio license in the future too? That will change the antenna recommendations a bit. Those that do usually ask if there is one antenna that will work for both services. Some other important info would be the usual application, like just around the town use, off roading etc. Also do you need to park in a garage, need to pass through drive-through windows etc.? Some of the nice mobile antennas are rather tall and don't like low over head hanging obstructions.

Apparently Nautel uses this tool as well and provided this legend: from video:

What are your criteria? What does “better deal” mean to you? Cheapest? Works on most different services (ham, MURS, and GMRS?), easiest to use on GMRS?

I live most of the time in Chandler (East valley) and part time in Show Low. Who else is out there? AZGMRS is the big state-wide organization. They run their own repeaters for members. It's $36 per year. SWCRS (Southwest Community Radio System) covers AZ and NM. It's free to join. We have some great repeaters and nets for members. WMVCRS (White Mountain Volunteer Community Radio System) covers northeastern AZ. They ask for a $5 monthly donation to help support their repeaters, which I believe are all open. I gladly contribute.

What's wrong with being a radio dork? Takes intelligence to be one.

Unfortunately I don't have anything reported in SINAD. Or at least I don't think I do.

In the FM radio world, a full quieting signal typically refers to a signal strength level where the background noise is minimized to the point of providing clear, noise-free audio reception. From a human's perspective, any noise from the RF environment (like static) is eliminated. Full quiet is often referred to as Q5. Frankly, its subjective and many people will dispute the answer. There are also opinions of what the technical values would be. While opinions on the specific signal level varies, generally accepted technical values are 60 dBμV or higher. This typically translates to 20-30 dB SINAD ratio. Again... indicating good audio quality with low noise. To try to translate to something a little easier to understand... 20 dB or 30 dB SINAD means the audio is 20 dB or 30 dB over the receiver's noise floor (no detectable audio). This is a cool table provided by an AI search. Per the AI results...

When the radio's you have in your vehicle cost more than the car did. When you put a second mortgage on your house (rental property) to buy a 240 foot tower site. When you are spending 200 plus dollars a month on running your own tower site. (taxes and electric) When people drive by your house and know that you own the tower site down the street because of the antenna and microwave dish array you have on your roof. When you still enjoy operating radios socially (HAM and GMRS) after 15 years of working on radios professionally. When you have decided that you would rather do radio work after having a job offer that was 40K more than what you are currently making.

You have to be knighted by the Queen @OffRoaderX.

Considering 7300 is an SDR radio you gain a pan adapter and maybe a hair more sensitivity. Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

When it becomes "you know, xxxxx would be nice to have".

Yes the SBB1 just clears the garage door opening. It occasionally will hit during the winter when the driveway heaves a little. But it has not been harmed (yet).

The screen color was one of the changes made on the X version. So no it can not be changed on the older version.

And if you are using a Mac, it is in pretty much the same place.

Nice to find this thread. Im needing another external antenna since im going to try and use my H3 and the Comet SBB5-NMO or Comet 2x4SR which look like good options. It will allow for more versatility than just my Midland MXT275 with MXTA26 6db or ghost antenna. The Midland MXT275 with MXTA26 is a really great simple option for off roading but i'm finding i want to play with some more options. Will probably end up with a Wouxun KG-1000G. My midland set up in my 4Runner. Though not the best by any means its really good for off-roading use.

Have you enabled access to your location from your web-browser/computer?

I just ordered this tri-band from Larsen. My buddy has one on his truck and it works great. From what I can tell, this model was specifically designed for public safety, so I expect it to be durable too. Only 16.5” tall and a spring loaded NMO base. https://www.magnumelectronics.com/shop/nmo150-450-758-pulse-larsen-nmo150-450-758-tri-band-vhf-uhf-7-800-mhz-antenna-123105?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADuEBTPH5MCDpTMdLEZC0hCe_v3Fz&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6ZPigsbQiQMVYHNHAR1ggwP3EAQYBiABEgIiE_D_BwE

I will say since the storms, I have seen a lot of new people in the GMRS areas of social media I follow. This seem like an amazing time to grow and help these new people getting into the hobby. I would say, like me, the new crowd found myGMRS and are just going through requesting all the repaters close to them no realizing they don't have do all the requests unless they are labeled "request permission". SO, if any of our new GMRS people see this post is a repeater is listed as "Open" you are free to use that repeater without permissions. If it labled "Request permission", then please do so. I hope the new influx of users enjoy the hobby and stick with it.

Good catch, Gil. I was wrong. He has 1-8 set as repeater channels. 9-15 are set for simplex. I would clear out tones at first though.

That's correct

Edited: 1-8 would only work through a repeater. If you want to transmit directly from one radio to another you must have the transmit and receive frequencies the same.

I wish I did. I only have a couple of Motorola XPR-6580's for 900MHz and just got a used Kenwood NX-411. Both are hand held radios that do maybe 2.5 to 3 watts on the band. Neither one takes direct programming of frequencies in the Ham 33cm band without doing some hex editing of the programming software for the Motorola or the code plug for the Kenwood. I published a manual how-to for the NX-411 on another group. A fellow Ham there is writing a custom utility to automate the code plug hex editing based on what I discovered how Kenwood encrypts the code plug contents. https://groups.io/g/AR902MHz/topic/hex_editing_kenwood_dat_files/108936914 The main issue with a 900MHz mobile radio is the significantly higher losses in the coax cable. You think it's bad on GMRS/Ham 70cm, wait till you see the numbers at 902/927 MHz. For example if I used the typical 17 feet of RG-58, usual for mobile antenna installs, I would see a 41 percent power loss at 902 MHz. My 2.5 watt HT would get 1.46 watts to the antenna.

That’s pretty cool. AircraftSpruce is where I get my fiberglass lamination supplies and I really like their products.

Some great responses. Wish there was something like this thread 4+ years ago. If you are learning and just playing, then a cheap RTLSdr is more than adequate. Paired with even rabbit ears it can be fun. If budget allows, it active/passive antennas and discones expand its capability and can be re-used. I had mine set up with the usual recommendations with omni rig for a while as a psedu waterfall. Ended up switching to a rsplay1 for more HF versatility, at the same time switched to SDR console, liked the cleaner interface and book marks. Also got tired of the winamp look, heheheh. Future want/plan is to ditch it all and go straight to an Apache labs or Flex style SDR radio. Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

On my Ram with a tall topper I use a Midland magnetic base NMO mount (MXTA12 I think) and a Midland MXTA26 antenna for GMRS. It’s a great combination. I place the mag mount on the center of the roof, but I wouldn’t hesitate to move it to the back or to use a hood mount or 3rd brake light mount to avoid a moonroof. My radio is a Radioddity db20g, which is inexpensive and fairly easy to use, but has an abysmal software package. Fortunately the software is free, because it’s not worth more. But the MXTA26 is worthless for 2 meter vhf. So, for ham I use a Comet SBB5-NMO which is easy to place on the Midland mount. I use the same radio. The software sucks for ham also.

We have all asked or heard the questions before; “What kind of coverage can I expect” and “how far will those radios reach?” And we have all also heard the exact same text book answers; things like “It depends” and “that is not an easy question to answer.” You’re asking valid questions, and you’re getting valid answers. The only absolute way to know what your coverage is going to be, and how far you can reach is to test it yourself using your actual equipment in the exact area you intend to use it in. That said, technology being what is, there is a better way to get a more realistic estimate. Professionals RF engineers use software to assist them; software that will get them close. An RF Engineer in Quebec (whom is also an amateur radio operator) has a website with a free online calculator that will help the knowledgeable radio user visualize an estimate of what there coverage would be based on many of the fundamental factors that affect radio coverage. Having now contrasted its calculated results with my personal radio experiments, I am gaining confidence in its ability to “get me close.” better than any other way. For example, in some of my tests of base to HT and base to mobile coverage, the software predictions correlate with many of the spots, even along mostly level ground, where I experience complete radio dropouts, where I experience marginal reception, and where I experience highly reliable communications. Here are some of the user supplied factors that go into estimating one’s coverage: Location of Tx antenna. Transmit Frequency. Tx antenna height. Tx antenna gain, tilt, azimuth. Tx output power. Signal loss in Tx cable Rx antenna height. Signal loss in Rx cable. Real-world receiver sensitivity (which may or may not be published accurately). The calculator can be found here: https://www.ve2dbe.com The software takes into account the actual terrain around the antenna. It appears as though it may be adding factors related to ground coverage, which I assume is based on some statistical information. More detail about what goes into the calculations can be found here: https://www.ve2dbe.com/rmonlineinfoeng.html I have been wresting with determining whether there would be real-world benefit to me adding another 20-40 feet of height to my proposed GMRS antenna mast/tower. What I really wanted to know is if I would experience tangible or zero benefit from increased height when it comes to simplex coverage around my property. I feel much better informed now. I would be most curious to hear from those of you strong technical types regarding how predictions from the software align with your real-world conditions when it is configured accurately. Here is an intro to the software from a user of it: Moderators, I think this would be a useful sticky post. Happy Calculating! Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

In the LMR world we use 1/2" LDF for jumpers at the antenna regardless of size of feedline. Then from polyphaser to repeater/combiner/duplexer 1/2" superflex or 1/2 LDF depending on the PIM rating needed. My 7/8" feedline terminates with 7/8 din, then 1/2" LDF to the DB408 on one of my towers. Most antenna jumpers are 6' long but that all depends on the side arm needed on the tower. My DB408 is on top of tower so I use a 3' jumper.

I run 3 of my repeaters as narrowband repeaters. They are out there.

With money being tight you can try visiting the local dollar store and see what they have. You won’t be spending much. You might find something you can use with some modifications to allow quick mounting to a window still, hand rail etc. and take down quick when done. I’ve used a number of things when I had to live in an apartment for some years. Even tried a magnet mount on the air conditioner mounted in the wall. Put the antenna on the outside and routed the cable through the case to inside of the unit.

I have a Midland MXT275 and its been good for my off roading with all the standard GMRS features. Not great with repeaters but unnecessary for off road prepossess in most cases. Has NOAA too. The display on the Mic is really nice and its super easy to use and i have an upgraded MXTA26 6db antenna as well as the ghost antenna when i'm not off roading so my 4R will fit in the garage. But now that i have revisited upgrade options im thinking of going with Wouxun KG-1000G Plus.

Here is a novel idea @Socalgmrs, if you don't have anything positive to add to a conversion, maybe you should just NOT reply. No one likes a Negative Nancy @RayDiddio hopefully you won't have to wait too much longer.

When PG&E first started putting in “smart meters” they had a frequency that was tripping early GFCI breakers (Zinsco to be exact). Some homes had to be fitted with newer GFCI outlets to replace these breakers. My understanding is they later changed their operating frequency. There were RF issues with early arc fault breakers as well which the breaker manufacturers addressed in second generation arc fault breakers. While some GFCI outlets have been installed in non grounded homes it is not and does not provide grounding but rather for ground fault protection, nor should it be used as such. The GFCI looks for a difference of current between the hot and neutral and trips if it becomes too much (I believe around 3 milliamperes). I have seen surge suppression plug strips catch fire when they were hit with a surge but had no ground to suppress to. Energy has to go somewhere. So just a note of caution there. I would not plug a surge suppression into a non grounded circuit.

Disable the Rx tone is troubleshooting step #1. It's not necessary for using the repeater (but for filtering out, ideally, non-repeater traffic on your radio's end). But if it's set wrong for some reason, it'll also filter out your repeater.

Think I Would Check "Sources." Most GMRS Repeaters Are On Wide Band. Might Be Watching Too Much "You Tube."

I agree, you can't go wrong with a Mossberg. I have a 590 Now that we have derailed this thread, the question is whether to start a Radios/Jeeps/Guns thread or to continue to mutilate this one.

I have not seen much as far as posting about any GMRS/HAM communication assistance in the Western North Carolina regions where the hurricane flooding was so bad. Does anyone have any news or stories if radio operators have been able to help out in that area? Would be nice to hear some good news coming out of Ashville and surrounding areas if radio operators have been able to make a difference.

Hi Josh, Please check the format of the callsign. It must be 4 letters and only 3 digits. You probably have an I not the number one.

Nooelec makes the HackRFOne, which starts around $320 and transmits at up to 15dBm (31.62mW, .032 watts, which is less than 1/10th the power of an FRS radio on channels 8-14. Any meaningful transmission would require an amplifier which will carry its own separate cost, and would mostly only be permissible on amateur radio frequencies (with appropriate amateur license).

Right... calling bullshit on that for SURE. I have a VHF repeater that belongs to NARA (Newark Ama.... ) and that thing has not less than 3 separate IDer's connected to it. They claim to run multiples because if one fails the others will keep them 'legal'. The one is set for every 9 minutes. I have a logging recorder that shows this, 24/7/365 it ID's every 9 minutes. Then there are, as you mentioned, TWO additional 'busy only' IDer's that run. One only announces when it's made busy, by time. But will react to any PTT of the system. The other announces when busy in 15 minute increments based on the actual time so, top and bottom of the hour and 1/4 past and 3/4 past. So, if you key it, it will immediately ID. Then you key it again the second IDer will ID. If it's in the quarter hour, the THIRD IDer goes active. I get on there from time to time... throw my call, wait on the first ID. Reply, WHAT YOU SAY??? Second IDer. COULD YOU REPEAT THAT??? Third IDer. THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT YOU SAID,,, or YOU JUST GONNA KEEP REPEATING YOURSELF, WHERE'S THE AI CHAT BOT TO KEEP ME COMPANY? And the NARA people then get on the air all pissed off at me. Of course I explain NO ONE wants to use the dumb thing because you can't have a conversation on it because the IDer's don't polite ID or fall back to quiet CW. They just changed the call sign on the repeater, and it's still like that..... with a new call. Hammies, at least the local ones what their repeater controller to tell time, weather, frequency, PL/DPL, current price of ass wipe. AND the repeater call sign. And it's annoying as hell.

That’s the receive frequency. You must transmit on 467.650 MHz.

Bear in mind that the majority of Amazon reviews are from regular people, whereas if you look in online radio forums, youtube reviews by "radio experts", etc, they will have very different views, based on stuff that normal people never think about/don't care about.

We are bumping up this announcement once again as a refersher to all members. MyGMRS is one of the fastest growing GMRS and alternate radio service forums in the US. As a result of it's popularity, we are being "scanned" by countless 'spybots' from all the major search engines as well as some from other countries. We have seen as many as 30 search engine 'bots' collecting data here at one time. We would just like to remind everyone that this forum is PUBLIC and if you don't want the world to see your personal info, don't post it.