Leaderboard

Or... you could have just replied 'no'.

Pro tip for newbies regardless of which can you choose make sure to empty it first

No, we are unlikely to settle this debate, regardless of how many times the question is asked. But there are lots of other posts about it. Line A is one reason. 12 million people live above Line A and thus are prohibited from using 19. Second, GMRS really isn’t used by most people to “call out on”. It’s primarily for use between people who know each other while pursuing other activities. It works very well for that. Don’t worry, you didn’t start the debate. It just has some dormant periods. Welcome to the forum!

Full cans act the same as a dummy load.

No.

Just wanted to share my experience with the folks at repeaterid.com as they were a first class act start to finish! I recently purchased a Retevis RT97S and was looking for an ID'er option and discovered the RepeaterID which had good but limited reviews. An initial email to the folks at repeaterid.com was promptly and thoroughly answered. I ended up purchasing the RepeaterID, Handydapter, & Passthrough Power Supply for my RT97S. Setup and installation were truly a simple plug & play that retained all original functions of the repeater without a rats nest of wiring/jumpers. Once everything was verified as up & running I wanted to load a slightly longer ID audio file to the device to help with beaconing coverage of my new repeater. This file was actually a self-created stitch of two separate MP3 files that sounded great on my PC and phone, but had distorted audio when TX by the repeaterid through my repeater. Totally a 'me' problem (user error) that I couldn't figure out, so I hesitantly emailed repeaterid.com for advice. Jeff promptly answered my email and went above & beyond in troubleshooting the issue. Definitely top-tier customer service! You'll have to decide of the RepeaterID is right for your application but in my case it was and I have had nothing but positive interactions and satisfaction with making this purchase.

At least the cans that carry spam are labeled. (Even I groaned.)

Yes - my thought is that within a few weeks this thread will be 10 pages long with nothing more than a bunch of verbal-masturbation and social-defects trying to prove to everyone how smart they think they are.. and, nothing will come of it.. then, a few months later someone will come and ask the same thing again and it will start all over again.

That was already taken by a wiser person.

Cue Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start The Fire… This debate has been here since before some YouTube hobo declared it to be 19. That of course ignores the millions above line A. It goes on and yet I doubt it will ever be resolved. Most of all it does not seem to matter. No one seems to use a call channel for GMRS I suspect because it’s largely a bring your own contacts service. The channel that seems to be used most for a call channel will most likely be the one your local open repeaters are on. That is the one place I do hear call outs. Lots say they use 16 for off-road but still I don’t know that that’s used as a call channel. GMRS Chart 1-22 = push button-talk-listen 23-30 & > = set ctcss/dcs, push button talk through repeater-listen to response through repeater

Welcome to the forum and enjoy. Great post about the usefulness and benefits of radio communications. My feeling is radio is radio no matter it be GMRS, Ham Radio, or CB and they are all useful and are intertwined. Make the best of all radio platforms and enjoy the forum.

Everyone knows Progresso cans are higher gain give you more fars.

I’m guessing it was invented by a wife whose husband doesn’t pay attention.

I thought used MRE packaging is what they are making FRS radios from now. Recycling and all that... <j/k>

C-Rat cans use to work great. But that age is long past. You can't make any coms with MRE packaging like you could with C-Rats.

I wish I could like a post more than once.

Oh thank goodness some pioneering spirit came along and thought of this topic. It's about time! I'm shocked. SHOCKED. that no one's ever discussed this before! Now, I have some new and unique thoughts on Linked Repeaters I'd like to share with the class

It would be great if they posted a sticky titled "GMRS Radio Frequency Chart," and just listed channel uses like CB. I would imagine if it was posted on a sticky where a lot of people can view it like on this platform it would stick. Not to mention if anyone asks, you could point to the link.

Yeah It's working again now. I guess I just need to slow my roll...

Man.... this thread has gone to the birds. Literally.

This is not the appropriate forum for the above posting. This is a GMRS forum and you should be posting this on a Amateur Radio Forum or Radio Reference.

I'll start the debate......I believe I have heard/read that channel 20 was the GMRS national call and or travel channel, but have heard and seen many people mobile using channel 19 as there travel channel, can we settle that debate, maybe with this site most likely being the best known site for gmrs info we can get everybody on the same page so a channel is established, either way, I would like to start calling out on some channel rather than listening in hopes of spurring some activity in the many quiet radios out there thinking this will NEVER take off. Thoughts?

I believe this was something the British experimented with for listening for approaching aircraft before RADAR became the best way to watch for attacking aircraft.

Have you checked the SWR? A high SWR can cause more heat which may result in a thermal-shutdown (no transmitting).

Best response of all time but so true.

Forget the debate - you won't get much here that could be considered useful comments. And forget "national". Scale the idea back to your area first, then try to get it used statewide. I know this won't be satisfactory if you're traveling across the country, but it's a way to start that actually has some chance of working. Having a club that backs it would help but GMRS doesn't have many clubs like ham does. You could try to get CERT or some other organization to adopt it (local CERT here does direct traffic in emergencies so there is relevance). One thing that helps with all types of radio services is actually using it. People listen to and join in on channels/frequencies that have activity. So just do it.

You did a very nice job and did it right by going with the NMO mount. A permanent install is much more preferred over magnet or trunk lip mounts. I'm glad that you paid extreme attention to details when it comes to airbags and other safety accessories. While it generally and rarely isn't an issue, running your coax close to the airbag isn't a good idea. Fortunately, most four door cars use airbag curtains above the doorjamb and in the roof so fishing the wire through the pillar is an easy and safe route. Again, nice install and enjoy.

How much must I pay to be convinced to post LESS?!?

Yes, and transmitting using the tone (or code) required by the repeater.

That’s right. Premium members have unlimited reactions. I don’t know what the reaction limit is for standard members. But as I recall it’s not midnight to midnight. Maybe it’s based on Zulu time? Anyway in the afternoon or evening I was able to add more reactions.

I believe there is a limit on how many daily reactions you get as a non premium member as far as I know. Premium members do not have the restriction and I often react to a lot of posts when I am reading around here. At least I somehow remember reading that.

Well just don't exceed the number of fars allowed or you know who might come around and tell you - "NO SOUP FOR YOU!

Here is a good video from KM4ACK and his thoughts on why Hams need GMRS. And I have to agree that it is always good to have as many modes of communications as possible. Why Hams Need GMRS

By leaving, not by stopping the person from talking.

I'm sure that birds dancing around on the wire will change the SWR. Now if a person dances on the wire you will probably need new wire.

Even though my signature says I'm one of those. I'm not on of those

I made a special EmComm rig with two Campbell's soup cans from the '70s and 5,000 feet of Spider Wire.

How dare you sir, HOW DARE YOU!! Those guys are on the frontlines every day and are saving lives!!! (yah, an actual quote from a Certified Ham Radio Operator) ....

Get rid of the FCC Volunteer Monitor program...those guys are some serious douchers.

You expected me to read the entire post?

I must not have had enough coffee yet. Is today April 1st?

Old news since both services require separate licenses. And yes you can use cross band repeat on an unlocked amateur dual band radio to transmit on GMRS to 2m. Though I do not suggest doing that since it is against FCC regulations. Plus you will have a bunch of people get on you if you give your GMRS call sign on 2m. I only mention this as it can be legally done only in case of an actual emergency.

That’s exactly why we work in decibels. You just add them together. So rounding off all to -3 db per 100 feet for lmr400, 1.40 x -3 db = -4.2 db. -4.2 db + 11.9 db leaves you with 7.7 db gain. I assume the 11.9 db you quoted for the antenna is dBi. So, compared to an isentropic antenna you’re radiating a little better than four times as much power horizontally. If the antenna gain was actually expressed as dBd you add 2.15 db to it and the result is 9.85 db gain which is about eight times as much power.

A group on this forum? Join first, and discover what is already here. If not here, then where, and what kind of group, in person group, or forum? And if forum, wjhy not simply take part in what is already here, and other places?