Leaderboard

A great example of the loss you are talking about with bending... for those who have longer steel whip antennas on their vehicle, if you are outside the edge of 100% coverage of a repeater (or a friend you are talking simplex to) listen to how broken and scratchy the receive sounds, and then pullover an see just how much the signal improves. Some of it is because varying obstacles between the radios is no longer occurring, but most of it is because the antenna is no longer moving around in the wind.

Ya think?! Are you certain that you are selecting the correct radio-model before trying to read from it?

I'd listen to both.

Nice! I knew you would like it.

Any CERT team should not be using the cheapest radios they can find. In that case, stick with cell phones or zello. For a club, why wine, just use FRS radios for $15/each and not worry about licensing. For GMRS, you are required to use a GMRS certified radio, not a MARS ham radio. I've bought plenty of Kenwoods for what a majority of those certified CCRs cost. There are too many places that people want to be cheap where they absolutely shouldn't. CERT is working with someone's life. Motorcycle clubs, you are riding a $45,000+ bike, and won't spend a few hundred bucks on a decent radio? I just don't get it. It's not like you won't spend money, you just won't spend it on the appropriate radio communications because there are $11.99 radios on amazon and "that's such a deal, it just has to work well enough". The options are there, you just won't hear it: 1) Stick with FRS, and have no licensing, 2) Have every member responsible for their own GMRS license or 3) get appropriate LMR licenses and radios, which in the long run doesn't actually cost more when you drag it out over a 20+ year lifecycle.

It is true about Midland radios. All of the models with everything built into the hand mic cannot be programmed with software. You can't update the firmware without sending the radios back to Midland either. The MXT500 can be programmed with software and you can update the firmware yourself.

Power issue. Yo udont have enough current for the radio to stay on. What kind of battey are you using and is it a good battery ?

I dunno.. Never seen/heard that error before. i would try a factory reset. if that doesn't fix it, unless someone else has any better ideas, you might have to call the Radiooddity man.

I'm a ole CB person (whom got a license in the day) but was told to get a GMRS radio or no more comms with my Jeepin buddies... Purchased the Midland MXT 400 (about three yrs ago or, just before the 500 came out) and it is has been a pleasure to operate (easy to understand instructions). Only gripe I have is that there are few Repeaters in my area locally and almost as few people with GMRS. GMRS was designed for a different purpose, I get it. Cell phone takes care of about all the other calls I need to make. When I switch up it will likely be with the MXT 500 or the Wouxun KG1000 so I won't have to increase the volume button.

That link I posted has both pieces, for the antenna and the radio, for both genders combinations. But I’ll point out just once that most people don’t add an adapter to the very cheap antennas Baofeng attaches to their radios. They buy the BNC adapter so they can use a better quality antenna that comes with a BNC connector.

Indeed Midland is. Design and engineering, not so much.

King of marketing!

I know.

Another nail in the Midland coffin!

Listen to 2m repeaters in your area in case they have a Sky Warn net is a good idea too. Another good source is your local sheriff department and county road crews. Here is a good site that lists all of the county frequencies for the state. https://www.radioreference.com/db/browse/stid/29

1. It's needed for transmit. You can always leave the tone for receive blank. 2. You might hear a courtesy beep from the repeater right after you cease transmitting, or even an occasional ID. The best way is to ask someone for a radio check. Or give your second radio to someone and have them go a little ways away and listen. 3. Your presumption is correct. Welcome to the forum.

The other day a contractor was doing road work near me on a mountain road. They had the traffic down to one lane with guys holding signs at each end of the construction zone. I scanned GMRS while sitting and waiting, finding the flaggers on GMRS 16. The two men couldn't see each other or the work area and were MFing the foreman up one side and down the other. I scanned for the tone. When one flagger told the other that the last car in line was a red Honda I waited and noticed the last car was a Hyundai not a Honda. In a short break in their diatribe about the lead man I told them "The last car is a Hyundai, not Honda". Total nervous silence. As I passed the sign guy I gave him a wave with my handheld. He smiled and told the other guy what was going on.

Check the ground. Check the line voltage, and the power draw in amps, when you key the radio. Your radio will probably draw somewhere near 6-8 amps keyed and a little over an amp receiving and about a half of an amp on standby. If the voltage and power level doesn't change when keyed, the radio is not transmitting. If the voltage drops below 12 volts, the cause maybe the power source or connection. The power should never drop below 12 volts at a minimum and is looking for 13.6 volts. Also, check the codeplug and make sure there is something entered in the transmit section and correctly. Do you have in-line RF watt meter connected to verify that the radio is keying or not if the voltage/amp level does not drop. After you check the above mentioned test check points, let us know what you find out.

I'll add a +1 to a power issue.

A true non profit can get a part 90 license pretty easy and depending on the organization pay no fees to the FCC. The issue in the end is people dont want to put in the work. CB, HAM, FRS, and MURs is more than most really need to be honest. CERT can easiliy be a non profit or work under a county umbrella to get licesenced. I guess it really depends on the organizational needs but the other simple mode is VOIP apps. Zello or other apps are jsut as good as radio comms 95% of the time. Using a combination of FRS and voip for an application can work well.

This sure looks like a power problem. Set output power to low and see if this helps. What power supply you are using? Anton

Hey folks, a few months back, I discussed providing a presentation on the introduction to GMRS, to just cover the basics. We held the presentation a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to share the video with everyone. Fair warning, I'm not a pro YouTuber and my collar mic dropped with a few minutes left... please be gentle. LoL This is geared towards people with little to no experience. Hopefully it helps some people. The PowerPoint presentation is available for download, here... https://marcspaz.com/gmrs/GMRS101.ppsx Thank you to those who helped with content ideas.

Dude.. just... duude... Either you are one of the worlds greatest trolls, approaching even my troll-status, OR you are seriously broken inside and should seek help and medication.

People come to forums to ask questions. That’s perfectly normal. In fact it’s good that they have someplace to come and ask questions. The OP may have been confirming his own understanding of the regulations. Responding like a total buttplug every time someone asks about the regulations is abnormal.

Says the guy who claims you can’t use inverted tones.