Leaderboard

Nothing is over your paygrade, it's about finding what you enjoy the most. Do some research and ask questions and you would be amazed at how much you can do with little money and effort. Buy used gear and learn how to make your own antennas and you'll get addicted to learning more and more. There's way too many avenues to take within ham and GMRS.

If I were you, I would take look at your question. You can basically use all 22 simplex channels with the appropriate power level setting for communicating with friends or family. The majority of GMRS radios the no need to go into the settings of the radio. You just pick any channel below channel 23 for those that have been in radios for a while. For those that need clarification channels 23 to 30 are RPT 15 through RPT 22.

The charging bases will not interchange. There is enough differences between the 935 battery and the Q10 battery to keep this from working. The 935 battery is thinner and narrower so it will not lock into the Q10 charger. The Q10 battery is too wide and too thick that it will not even fit into the 935 charger. Yes I own the Q10H and 935G and tried. It's a no go. The nice thing is that both radios can be charged using a USB C cable.

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.

They do, but you have to be clear when you speak to them about what the issue is. You have to state that "you'd like to lodge a GMRS radio complaint".

Glad that I was able simply things for you! Sometimes I'm not sure about was my advise right on or was I pitching into left field. Anyway, I may stray from the topic, but I try to understand what reading. Take Care..

I have never seen this type of marine antenna using a ground plane. Most smaller boats are wood or fiberglass; the antenna would be an absolute freak if it needed a ground plane.

Perfect. Thank you. I realized what I thought was an issue isn’t an issue at all as the channels I was referring to using aren’t “designated” repeater channels to begin with. Although as I understand it these channels can sometimes have active repeaters on them. So I need to be aware of that. Thank you.

I realize now, that the channels 15-22 are not pre-programmed gmrs repeater channels. When I made my initial post I for some silly reason thought they were repeater channels set with an offset. So essentially this ENTIRE thread is pointless.

I get a SWR of 1.8 or less with the SBB1 on 2m, 70cm, and GMRS. That is fine and won't hurt. Though I do use a separate antenna for GMRS on my Escape. I tuned a Tram 1174 antenna so that I get 1.4 on 467 MHz and 1.2 on 462 MHz. @WSEM262 check your setup and make sure the antenna does not need a ground plane. Also pull the boat out of the garage to test. You might have something, like garage door tracks, that is interfering with the antenna when you tested. Most antenna analyzers can also test coax cable. If you don't have an analyzer then you can check the coax with a multimeter to make sure there is no continuity between the center conductor and the shield.

FlDigi is way more than just text messages. It's used by our ARES group for a weekly digital net using MT63-2000L with a 1500 passband, and at the end all the announcements are sent back via the same mode.

Sending text messages from one radio to another can be done easily using Rattlegram. It’s an app that resides on your phone, converts text to sounds which you play into your radio microphone. Another person with Rattlegram places their phone near the speaker of their radio and the app decodes the text.

"Sir, we're not falling for that one again."

no, because it does not exist.. Contrary to "some people's", wishes, hopes and dreams, there is no generally accepted or FCC-designated emergency channel for GMRS. There may have been one, long, long ago, but not anymore. "Some people" claiming otherwise should be ignored, laughed at, and called names.

What confuses you? Icom does not come with an internal power supply, you must provide your own 12v (13.8v) power source that can provide enough amps for the radio. 7300 requires over 21A, 7610 requires over 23A and the 9700 requires over 18A. I'll revise my statement, the 7851 has an internal power supply.

Did I read somebody mentioning 6m? I used to love 6m before digital came along. Nobody talks on 6m anymore. I did a grand total of 15-minutes of FT8 on it and moved on. Lets get back to using phone again.

Hey, once you start down the rabbit hole that is RF, you never know where it'll lead ya!

This is way over my paygrade! Right now I'm just learning about radio waves, antennas, and how things work. That being said, I'm not adverse to getting a tech license in the ham radio world. However, I have so much more to learn before I open that can of worms!

Very possible. I just ordered the one they recommend. I'll know more Friday when it arrives. Thanks for the help!

I have a table of interoperability from NOFIG of the DCS codes, and which normal means an invert (i.e. 023N = 047I). It is in excel format. It also has CTCSS tone to P25 NAC for what it's worth. One heck of an OST (operator selectable tone) list.

I use Fldigi quite often, but only on HF and 6 meters. I use it for RTTY, PSK31 and a slug of the other digital modes, as well as copying Naxtex and SITOR transmissions around the HF dial. I do not use CAT control on the FT-450D, I've never gotten it to work correctly. Not an issue as I'm more of a hands on manual guy anyway. When operating from the truck (not while mobile) on my FT-891 it works very well, both the program for TX/RX as well as the CAT control working. I don't see it really having a GMRS application, per se, but I guess it could be configured for short digital messaging with an HT?

Anyone interested, I found an updated version with the revision date 2023 that works on current android versions: https://bitbucket.org/VK2ETA/andflmsg/downloads/

Your question is a bit confusing. Channels 15-22 (462.xxx) are normally without the offset. But if your asking if you can transmit simplex on the "repeater" channels(467.xxx), according to the rules, no, it's not fine. Part 95.1763c 467 MHz main channels. Only mobile, hand-held portable, control and fixed stations may transmit on these 8 channels. Mobile, hand-held portable and control stations may transmit on these channels only when communicating through a repeater station or making brief test transmissions in accordance with § 95.319(c). The channel center frequencies are: 467.5500, 467.5750, 467.6000, 467.6250, 467.6500, 467.6750, 467.7000, and 467.7250 MHz.

Go to the website or GitHub to get the older releases

I redid the calculations using the kv5r calculator using 0.05 watts (50mw) and 9 feet of RG-58 coax. I don't know the actual dBd gain of the yagi antenna so I just put in 3 dBd of gain. Here is a screen shot of the results. As you can see, with power in at 50 milliwatts and an antennas with 3 dBd of gain you get an ERP of 100 milliwatts. Now if you are getting 5 dB of loss when checking with Rig Expert then I would be double checking the coax and antenna setup. Did you check the coax by itself using a dummy load and open? If so is that when you saw the 5 dB of loss or was it with the antenna connected? I redid the calculations using RG-213 and LMR400. While both have less loss at 100 feet, there was no difference in the ERP using 9 feet of coax.

Yes, according to the calculator I posted earlier, the loss should be about 2 dB, and my quote of 10 in and 7 out would then be correct according to the calculator. If it IS actually a 5dB loss, then some other info is missing, or the cable is bad.

RigExpert Antenna Analyzer.

How did you determine you have 5db of loss?

Just got my new 935G Plus the other day. It appears to be the most robust and solid GMRS radio from my research. Display is super bright compared to my Q10H and in some ways has better features. I think anyone with the cash should get it if you do a lot of GMRS. Still wondering if the desktop charger on the 935G will charge my Q10H batteries and vice versa, seems nicer then the on that came with my Q10H.

Like my memory - slip sliding away

-5 db is a loss of 68% of the signal. Almost any cable is better than RG-58 at 900 MHz. You could do better with CATV RG6, even with the impedance mismatch. RG-6 has 6.1 db loss per 100 feet at 900 MHz compared to 21.5 db for RG-58. But the real question is, given the 5 db loss you quoted, is the remaining 31% of the transmitted signal sufficient for the situation?

Yes, it's fine. If you want to use more than 5 watts (5w on 1-7, 0.5w 0n 8-14), it's your only option if you wish to remain compliant with FCC rules. As others have said, try not to use channels that are used by local repeaters. That may be easy, or they may all be busy. In my area, there's only one, and in your area, you apparently won't have difficulty either. However, if you want to use repeaters when you travel, that may not be the case. If you're in an area with lots of repeater use, the repeaters will probably have Tx/Rx tones, so people can set their tones to match the repeater output tone and ignore your traffic if they choose. If you set "privacy" tones, try to pick ones that the local repeaters don't use for their output tones. Anyone with no tones set can still hear you, but at least the repeater users can tune you out if they want. It's really just about courtesy. The Golden Rule applies.

ribbitradio.org

5 dB is more than double what it should be. It should be about 2 dB of loss. I would think something is wrong somewhere along the setup.

They are packaged in the same installer, we will let it slide.....

It's an excellent tool. There is a version for android phones, but it's too old. They published the source code, I just don't know what I'm doing when it comes to recompiling it to the current android, otherwise I would have done it already. It's nice to be able to decode announcements on the go.

Right, just like when using any other channel.

An additional consideration is that the simplex channels 15-22 are sharing their frequency with repeater outputs. If you plan to use simplex on any of these channels, check for repeater activity so you don't create interference. I have two active repeaters in range, one uses 17 and the other uses 19, so I avoid these channels when operating simplex.

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.

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.

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

A friend of mine does. I have the Yaesu FTDX10. It has a “measurably*” better receiver than the IC-7300, but the IC-7300 has what I think is a better user interface and features like the ability to sweep the SWR of an antenna, not just report on the instantaneous SWR while transmitting. Another friend of mine has the Yaesu FT-710, which is the radio that’s closest to the 7300 in terms of construction. I think either the IC-7300 or the FT710 would be ideal radios for a new ham interested in HF. *Measurably - based on the Sherwood Report which tries to evaluate the performance of receivers analytically.

JeezusPhuckingKrist! "some people" are unfuckingbeliveabe.... and you wonder why so many people make fun of the fairy-tales that you and others like you continue to spread.

Please explain how that enforcement has anything to do with what we are talking about, or, just admit that you did not actually read the entire document.

Let us go through the sands of time as best as I can tell and Im sure i got some dates and or specifics wrong. 1930's LMR is created for business use. 1960's GMRS (Class A CB) is created and is very popular among small rural business use. Ie Family Farms etc. Basically as a subset of LMR and then some channels absorbed into LMR (MURS started similarly but thats another story) 1970's GMRS business channel pair licensing rule established. 1987 End of GMRS Business exclusive license's and the channel pair rule 1994 FRS is created near GMRS for people who don't need GMRS and didn't want to pay the fee. 2000's GMRS/FRS combo radio's start appearing and people are using 15-22 unlicensed (who could've possibly seen this coming? ). Early 2010's GMRS begins to become popular among Outdoors enthusiasts GMRS communities start forming Late 2010's GMRS linking starts occurring over the internet. 2012 UV-5R appears. 2017 GMRS/FRS combo banned, free band UV-5R's kinda dealt with from the FCC. GMRS really takes off and starts to become Ham-lite. 2020 FCC realizes the floodgates that they have caused ensuring HAM-lite is an eventuality. 2021 FCC tries to clarify some rules/definitions to prevent it, its too late. Whether GMRS being Ham-lite is bad or good im not going to comment as I believe GMRS provides essential short range communications, but; also always had the power and design to talk at least county wide. GMRS is also being less enforced by the FCC and being self enforced by users playing nice is telling me the FCC really doesn't want to be forced deal with GMRS. As long as it continues to play nice and not have interference/nuisance issues basically how they currently treat Ham. Combining FRS and GMRS led to this eventuality and not re-seperating the channels made enforcement extremely difficult and hard for them to justify. Again im not going to pass judgement besides on the FCC's inability to achieve what they want to whether or not I benefit/lose from their mistakes. TL:DR: Issues stemming from the FRS/GMRS combo era mean that the FCC cannot enforce GMRS as strongly as some people wish and the FCC is hoping that people can be civil on GMRS so they do not have to. Like all things in life: Play nice, Work hard, Worry less.

I just gave away a pair of these Radio Shack Space Patrol walkie talkies (circa 1978) to a thrift shop. I found them in one of my father-in-law's boxes-o-stuff. They worked, but my testing only involved from one end of the house to the other. Predictably, they struggled.

We are all very impressed! .... Now try to answer after actually reading what he posted/asked for.

Not to rain on your parade but not all the "repeater" coverage circles are correct. Until you use it you wont know.