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You sure it doesn't need a ground plane?

Yes, you are allowed to transmit on 15=22.

And yes being inside a garage can affect the SWR some. Things like a very low ceiling and metal garage door tracks will mess with the antenna SWR. I've noticed that with my antennas. I have a Comet SBB1 on my Ford Escape and it barely clears the garage door and the tracks are pretty low. SWR is fine on 2m and 70cm but high on GMRS when I test with the Escape parked in the garage. The SWR is lower on all three bands when I test with the Escape parked in the driveway.

SWR is a calculation that involves the ratio between forward power and reflected power. It’s very hard to say without putting an antenna analyzer on it, but it could simply be that the directional coupler in whatever you’re using to measure SWR isn’t capable of measuring the reflected power at the lower power setting. That’s not uncommon with external watt/SWR meters. If reflected power cannot be measured SWR becomes nearly perfect. Sweeping the system with an antenna analyzer would help.

Great job reading and understanding the actual question, something I failed to do.

I have a base station, currently, but for more than a decade I would use the crossband repeater in my Jeep to talk on the repeaters. It was kind of a pain to go outside to switch repeaters, but it worked pretty well.

Thank you for your reply. I guess I was kinda confused and now you mention this it all makes sense. I even pulled up the gmrs frequency chart and managed to forget this simple fact you have mentioned. Big DUH moment for me I guess. Thanks again guys.

The answer to your question is yes you can transmit on those frequencies/channels. You mentioned removing the offsets… Typically a type accepted GMRS radio will have 15-22 already programmed without an offset. Offsets are preset for repeaters above 22. They may be labeled RPTR 15 and so on or 23, 24, … and so on or even RPTR 1, RPTR 2… but simplex channels won’t come with an offset so there is no repeater input frequency to remove.

I have not seen this here in Minnesota as far as dimming with age or freezing. When it's well below zero they tend to take additional time to fully display, but they come on fully after at most 20-30 seconds at -20. This on Kenwood, Yaesu and Retivis rigs in the truck.

I also missed that 1 silly little "b" haha

I use cross band repeat on my base radio (Icom IC-2730) quite often when I am working around outside. I can get into the local 2m repeater with my HT but I don't have the best signal doing so. I don't have to worry about where I am standing or which direction I am facing when using the HT when I use cross band repeats on my base radio.

the RX only above channel slot 54 applies only when the radio is operating in GMRS mode. if you are in the unlocked "Normal" mode... there are no restrictions. I am not sure if there are any similar restrictions in HAM mode.

In Chirp, you can turn the Duplex to Off. In OD Master, you can clear the Tx frequency field. I don't know of a way on the face of the radio to enable or disable transmit on a channel

Good day! I apologize if this question has been asked/answered -- I did some searching and wasn't able to find anything specific to this, yet I don't believe I'm the first person to encounter this. TLDR; I can't transmit on a second similar frequency channel with or without a "privacy code" I know "privacy code" usage isn't private. I'm using it as a general term for using DCS/CTCSS codes to reduce hearing unwanted signals. Equipment: I have a TIDRADIO TD-H3 (HAM version) running in GMRS mode The firmware version is GMRS_240817 I can and have programmed it on Odmaster or CHIRP I can do some limited work on the HT itself I just got it this week, so I'm still a little new (Jan. 15 2025) Intent: My younger children have some FRS radios where I used FRS/GMRS Channel 1 plus a "privacy code" to (a) reduce some of the distraction from area GMRS/FRS users (b) potentially reduce the possibility that their ears might hear something inappropriate. I'd still like to be able to switch to a regular "privacy code"-free channel when I'm away. I want to talk to communicate with them from my TD-H3. Situation: I can't transmit out on higher of the TD-HD3's two channels if I have a mixture of privacy code and non-privacy code for the same frequency. The radio prevents transmitting on the higher channel of the same simplex frequency. Example: If I use GMRS freq. 1 and put the "privacy code" on HT radio channel 1. I then use a "privacy code" free GMRS freq. 1 on the HT radio's channel/slot 100. I can transmit out and be heard on the FRS radio when I use HT slot 1, but can't actually transmit (and hear a rejection tone) when I use the HT radios slot 100 on the same frequency. If I make HT slot 1 clear of codes and make HT slot 100 the same frequency as channel 1, but use a "privacy code", the radio blocked me from transmitting on slot 100. I discovered this after several hours of troubleshooting and hand-wringing. It didn't matter whether I used DCS or CTCSS. I then tried using "privacy code" on the lower radio channel and put the privacy free* on the greater channel and saw I could use a privacy code successfully. What's a little weird is that I have a repeater setup with a CT tone and the radio will transmit fine. I don't know if this is by design or a limitation of the TD-H3 and similar firmware. For all I know, it might be a general phenomenon of TIDRADIO products. Comparison: I have a brand new pair of Baofeng 5RMs that I would like to see if they exhibit the same phenomenon, but there are issues with the programming over the cable preventing me from quickly programming them. Maybe I'll figure out how to program them on the keypad. Observation: I get the feeling that Baofeng and TIDRADIO are basically the same manufacturer but simply different brands. Kind regards, Jim Woodleaf, NC USA WSGP797

Oh man, don't do it!! Many years ago I had a life altering experience with the mattress police. I didn't heed the "Do Not Remove Tag Under Penalty Of Law" warning and they broke my door down and beat me savagely like an Eskimo beats a baby seal. Lesson learned, I'm too frightened to mess with the chip police when it comes to lifting resistors. You were warned!

With all CPS software: Make sure you load the driver first, before ever plugging in the cable. Most require you to select the correct com port.

You can try messaging @Quantum8 using the private messaging features of the forum or you can write them using snail mail.

I have crossband repeat available in the cars. At home I use an analog hotspot for home coverage when I don't want to jump on the base. It's simplex and connects to other repeaters with allstar. I have tossed the idea of building a small repeater that I could connect to one of the base stations, but haven't gone down that road yet.

Welcome from this Army Security Agency/INSCOM Vet here in the Twin Cities! Depending where you are up there in the North, some decent coverage repeaters. I use a few of them that are strategically located near a couple of the OHV Parks I like to off road the Truck in. If you get down to the Cities, there's a decent group of us on Ch. 19 Simplex, as well as some good repeaters that sometimes have traffic on them. Otherwise, you will find that GMRS can be a bit of a "bring your own" radio service. My wife and I use it up north where cell phones are spotty, as well as around the spread at home so as to keep in touch without having to yell!. Enjoy going down the rabbit hole! 73 de WRJG283

My mobile radio has crossband repeat capability. It's a nice feature, but TBH, I'll probably never use it. There are so many repeaters in my area that I can hit with an HT that I doubt the issue will come up. I suppose it might be useful when traveling to other parts of the country. My days of camping out in the wilderness are past. Still, I think the capability is cool. To answer the OP's question, I don't see any reason why that wouldn't work. If it's only you using it, the duty cycle probably won't be high enough to be a problem. It would not be working any more than if you were using it as a base station in your house. Still, because you won't be able to see it when it's in use, you might consider putting a small fan on it. If you want to get fancy, you could set it up so that the fan comes on when the radio reaches a specified temperature, or you could just set it to blow all the time. I can't imagine any downside to having a fan on it all the time except the negligible cost of electricity to run it.

For GMRS I use a mix of Motorola LMR gear and Midland for the KISS method. Ham is mostly on Motorola gear but APRS is on the TMD700 and FTM400 in my vehicles. Work truck is only MSI gear so use it for all.

Ive never had issue but all my gear is commercial LMR other than my HAM radio. I run a TMD700 in the wifes JK and for 10 years in upstate NY had not one issue.

Good evening to all. I want to take this opportunity to offer you a salute (of respect) from this retired Master Sergeant (U.S.Army). I retired in 1991, after serving 20 years right out of high school, and returned to my roots here in Northern Minnesota. Never really dabbled in radio communications (other than squwakin’ on a CB once in a while). The Mrs. & I kinda “hybernate” in the winter months and I thought getting into some GMRS activity may help pass the time until the snow & cold are replaced by the warmth of summer. Then I can uncover the Harley (trike) and get back on the road! Plus, one never knows what other GMRS adventures could develop. In any event, I look forward to learning much more about the airwaves while gleaning whatever I can from the wealth of wisdom I suspect lie within this forum. Thanks for the invite and I appreciate the opportunity to join.

This was my 1st CB radio, my parents bought me one for Christmas just before the CB boom hit Channel 1 was CB channel 14, I borrowed crystals for channel 10 for a weekend trip to Ontario, Canada so I could listen to the truckers [this was obviously before channel 19 became the nationwide road channel]

Usually when you have a 141.3Hz tone that means it's usually designated for travelers and an open repeater.

Just don't set the TX to any frequency.

Apparently if you program the channels higher than 54 they’re all RX only. But most of the software used has the ability to inhibit TX on a per channel basis.

I've got a concrete ready-mix company in the Mid Atlantic area with over 100 trucks using M1225 and PM400 radios in their fleet. They've been a customer since 1998, and they're still using some of the original radios that we sold to them. They go through palm mics & external speakers (which get clogged with concrete dust) but the radios sit in trucks that are parked outside all the time. They see temps from Zero to 90 every year. They get about as much use and abuse as any radio I've ever seen, and the M1225/PM400's are nearly bulletproof in my experience. The M1225 is Part 95 type accepted. The PM400 is not, but is just the updated version. Either one can be bought used all day long for prices similar to any of the CCR models listed above. Many sellers will program them for you.

The published operating temperatures are -20°C ~ +60°C, which is -4F to 140F. You were definitely outside the operating temps. Most of the commercial stuff is rated for -22F to 140F or better. I've never had an issue with my Kenwood stuff, and that comes on when the car starts.

That's the style of display that I've had bad luck with. Any of those orange dox matrix style displays. Yes, they freeze in the cold and slow down... After about 3 years of winter cycles, I find, they start to die...

I live in Southern California so I cannot speak to the cold, but I often go off-roading in the low desert/leave my jeep parked in direct summer sun where the outside temps reach 120°F and the inside temps much higher. With all the mobile radios i've had installed (Btech, Wouxun, Motorola), i have never even given it a thought.. I get in, start the Jeep, and turn on the radio. That is how you should use your radio.. USE it, don't worry/overthink it. Just use it.

Here in Maryland, we're pretty much tropical with winter temps dropping into single digits. So, that might not help you, but high heat is the biggest killer here. I never had any issues with radios crapping out in over 35 years with heat or cold. Even the extremely fragile Yaesu FTM-400 has survived many years of heating/cooling cycles. You really don't have anything to worry about unless you're getting high humidity, which will cause issues. Here's where I have my 400 mounted. I can tell you it gets very hot since there's no insulation behind it. Same with winter freezing.

I had one on a four foot RG-8x jumper I built just the other day. I didn’t do the repetitive checking you correctly recommend. I knew it was almost certainly just a single strand, and I was even tempted to connect the shield and center to the two posts on a battery to see if I could just zap it like a bug zapper. Instead I cut off the end and replaced it, being more careful that time. I had checked the other end before crimping so I was certain which end it was in.

Six months with mine, favorite GMRS radio. Considering the new 935H as well.

You can use either a MacBook or a Linux operating system.

Okay...get ready to laugh... After I changed the coax connector and tested the SWR...I forgot to put the antenna on. I replaced the antenna and tested again and got SWRs mostly in the 1.5 +/- range all the way up and down the 70c and 2m bands. As I got to the upper end of 70cm and the lower end of 2m, it went up but still was acceptable, which I expected for a dual-band antenna. I'm going to call that good enough.

I will help enable others some more. If you are looking for a good IP rated 20 watt mobile radio then go with the KG-XS20G. The XS20G pairs well with the 935G. They actually use the same screen and have the same menu layout. So if you can program one, then you can program the other without having to learn a new menu system.

There are 2 different radios being discussed here: The M1225 LS model was built by Motorola as a UHF Trunking radio that had the ability to program conventional channels in addition to LTR (Logic Trunked Radio) channels. There was no add-on board in that radio. The standard M1225 UHF mobile radio only did conventional channels out of the box. You could use an add-on Option Board (most made by Scholer-Johnson, but sold by others) to add LTR Trunking capability to the standard M1225. Removing the board (or just disconnecting the flex cable to the LTR board) would revert the radio back to conventional mode. The Scholer Johnson add-on board would be in the top left rear of the radio under the housing & secured with 3 nylon screws.

Bad connector installation on the coax. You are most likely shortening/grounding out the cable with a little itty bitty braided wire strand with the connector.

Look for a damaged coax.

@LeoG, that might have been the issue. I may have overlooked it in the owner’s manual about the transmit channel slot limitation. I will have to find it and confirm. But I was able to program GMRS 1 on slot 43 on the keypad with some CTCSS tones and it appeared to transmit. I’m out on the road and can’t test thoroughly. Thank you for the tip.

Instead of “work” I would say “transmit”, if that’s accurate. “Won’t work” doesn’t provide enough information.

That's pretty succinct, @SteveShannon. thanks

Regency XL2000 UHF Part 90 mobiles - company I was with had a bunch of these on a Part 90 repeater for many years.