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I used to come here for information, now I come here for entertainment.

Can you yes. Should you no. They are ham radios. Use radios with the proper certification.

Exactly my point!

Nothing prohibits it. Some people dislike the idea of GMRS turning into a sort of "Ham Lite" service, but if nobody is breaking the rules so who really cares?

I used to feel that way but I gradually realized that it’s not up to me. It is a hobby for many. Just like Citizen Band many people use GMRS as a way to chat with people who they might not know.

I received a written warning for the same thing. My brother did get a DUI on his bicycle. What ever you decide on as far as equipment, make sure to stay safe.

Helene took out most of the towers in western NC because the power was lost. Very few cell sites have any type of backup power.

GMRS is not a hobby. It IS, for me, a tool to assist my actual hobbies. Having said that: This, and several other, forums have taken on the attributes of a hobby. The amount of knowledge and experience shared here is amazing. My hobby has become spending a hour or so every day reading these posts.

Because that is apparently what "some people" do best - its like a hobby.

That's the thing. I'm 100% with you, i started with a TDH3 and loved it and wanted better and got a Q10H and 935G. Every time someone disparages this "cheap Chinese junk" I ask the same question. "What's a good GMRS radio you would suggest? What model?" and i never get a reply. I have a money tree for my hobbies, and yet when i ask a simple question i never get a reply for what's truly the best, US made full featured quality is never mentioned. These "high quality radio experts" really have nothing to say because these cheap Chinese junk radios are kicking everything's ass. If someone thinks an item is bad, give a better suggestion, a solution reasons why its bad and why something is better. That's the whole point of forums. But i also get throwing a shit grenade into a discussion. Why not throw it back. lol

I had a backpack setup of a FT817 mounted to pegboard. HF went through a tuner and would connect to whichever antenna system I brought with me. On the side it had a 2 piece PVC mast where the stock 6/2/0.7m antenna was above my head with a set of 6M stingers hanging down. I was able to hike with 3 bands, and I did take it on a bike ride once. Control was through a bluetooth CAT controller and a phone app. Let me see if I can stir up any photos.

If I remember correctly, most states have laws against having both ears covered while operating a vehicle. That would depend on an officer classifying a bicycle as a vehicle which, technically, it is.

Some people say they only use GMRS radio for communications while pursuing their hobbies. What if their hobby is talking to random strangers?

My last big project before retiring a few years ago was implementing a new large scale repeated public safety / public works radio system for a county. The bean counters pushed hard for cell based communications because they felt it would save a ton of money and was the wave of the future. After lots of research and hiring some really smart consultants we determined Land Mobile Radio (LMR) is still the way to go, for now, Not to say there are not some awesome systems using cell technology along side LMR, there is lots of cool stuff out there. But the last we learned was LMR will probably remain the primary king of the hill for at least the next 5 years. Come the 2030s I am sure cell based comms will start becoming the preferred and primary reality more and more, with LMR being the alternate backup system. Of course this all moves at the speed of money and even more so politics!

Yeah Hurricane Helena proved how reliable cell towers, and even some amateur and GMRS repeaters are.

TBH, I can actually think of a couple of use cases for a radio that works on cell phone towers. For example, dispatching a fleet of vehicles a radio system would be much easier to use than a bunch of cell phones. The preppers who buy them are going to be pretty disappointed if they ever need them, though.

Thanks, all! TrikeRadio and GrouserPad had the correct advice. I did a hard reset and coverted it to GMRS node. 1. Turn it off. 2. Press the * key and PTT at the same time, then turn it on. 3. A menu comes up offering: 1. Ham, 2. GMRS, 3. Normal. 4. Press 2 to get GRMS. All set! Many thanks for everyone's suggestions.

Why does it have to be a repeater? Rapid Radio says their radios will reach someone 1,416 miles away.

There is likely a way to do a factory reset if that is the route you want to take but you would lose things you may have programmed in that you might want to keep. Retevis is the brand, IP67 is a waterproof rating. Do you know what model you have?

I want to check on that. I had a total knee joint replacement done a year ago last August. Wore out the joint, it messed up when I was on the leg press machine doing my usual full weight stack setting, meniscus was half gone per the doctor when I finally went in. I get around OK now and do about 30 minutes on the exercise bike 3 times a week, and weight lifting. The trike might be a good option in case the knee gets a bit stiff and less likely to take a spill.

"Let's have a moment of silence for all those Americans who are stuck in traffic on their way to the gym to ride the stationary bicycles." Funny as heck to see people try to park as close to the gym entrance as possible to avoid walking more than necessary to get in. Then get inside and run for an hour on the treadmill like a hamster in a wheel for an hour. Never could figure that out.

The cell sites in the mid Atlantic area I used to service had fuel for about 26 hours of operation on their diesel backups. My coworkers kept them fueled up during snowmageddon. (I stayed home, )

Thank you, I had to download the manual the one in the box was in another language.. fixed,,, and i greatly appreciate your help.

thank you all for your input. being new means sometimes we ask stupid questions.. 55 years old and prolly my first set of walkie talkies as a hobby

I'll have to find the FCC ID for it, but IIRC the Vertex Standard VX-4207 carried both 90 and 95 certification for both the 400-470 (g6) and 450-512 (g7) versions. No luck with searches, so I'll have to find the ID for my g6 (aka dig one of them out). The g7 is FCC id K6610354740

Yes when I say the storm took out the cell towers that includes everything from losing power to actual physical damage to the towers and/or equipment. The same thing with amateur radio repeaters. I always laugh at the preppers that think they can just pick up their Baofeng radios and use the repeaters during a natural disaster or other major catastrophe. The repeaters can and will go down without backup power or if they are physically damaged. And a good backup power system can get quite expensive depending on your setup and how long you want it to last.

I feel your pain. When asked how far my HT will go I usually reply, "Half a mile, two if you're lucky." My 25W mobile with a mag mount is another story.

When I ran my IC-706MKIIG in a van I used a single sided head set with a boom mic for the exact above reason. The radio was setup for VOX for "Hands Free" operation.

As mentioned, it is against FCC regulations to use a non certified radio on GMRS. The chances of the FCC kicking in your door are non existent, unless you are really messing up to get the attention of our overlords. As for your question. Yes Icom and Yaesu radios can be MARS modded. Both brands require actual physical hardware modifications. You better be good at working with super tiny components if you want to do the mod yourself. Some retailers will perform the MARS mod for you. Giga Parts is usually the cheapest for the MARS mod if done at the time of purchase of a radio from them.

I didn't say hello on the welcome board yet so... Hello from sunny yet frigid northern Wisconsin. Not much for listed repeaters in my area. Maybe I'll stick an antenna at the top of my 50-foot spruce. Looking forward to learning more about my weird obsession, as well as meeting some of you fine folks.

Nice! I have a similar setup for my FT-857 and auto-tuner, but used thin/cheap plastic cutting boards and drilled holes as required.

Yes you can. Go to the FCC Manager Help page and scroll down a bit to the "Contact Information" section: https://wireless2.fcc.gov/helpfiles/licensemanager/commonQuestions.html

I'll look into those. Heil Sound is well regarded. The price isn't bad either. Thanks.

Kemp Wireless is the best! We have been friends for over 40 years, and we worked for the same radio shop when we were much younger, David is a perfectionist, a Motorola specialist plus a genius as well. He never compromises on anything, so anything he says, you can't take it to the bank! Alexis P, Anaheim

If a handheld is acceptable, especially if it can hit a repeater that works for you, bicycle cops get good results with them. If a mobile is required you can probably find what motorcycle cops use, I am thinking if you use a ground plane antenna it could be a challenge. Below was taken from: https://www.k5pa.com/Ham Radio/Bicycle Mobile.htm Just google it.

LOL! yeah... hey My cell phone can talk to people around the world too!

Might as well join and take advantage of the nice distances the network offers. But you may actually get sick of the chatter. Sooner or later someone will drop a dime, rat out, the network operator to the FCC, who at sometime may or may not care. If anyone is left working at the FCC they might send out a strongly worded letter telling the network to stop linking. In the mean time enjoy!

Would a handheld with a good antenna and a shoulder-mic in a backpack or hydration rig work?

Now it's 210 miles instead of 200 miles. The tale grows with each telling. Oh and don't forget to tell us the 796 reasons why every dedicated Part 95 certified radio that is made overseas is total junk. Or are we up above 800 reasons now. You happen to live in the ideal location in the wide open desert of the southwest.Most people will NEVER see that kind of coverage due to location, local terrain, forested areas, urban areas, etc, etc. @WSEZ those repeaters are linked even though linking is against the regulations set forth by the FCC overlords.

CW is allowed for Call Signs. A GMRS repeater is identified by nothing other than its owner's call sign. WSFL951's comment about something not being permitted was directed at the use of a P.O. Box for the license address.

It's not prohibited.

Depends on how complicated you want to get and what you are gonna use it for. Like many others, Midland is my primary base / mobile. Perhaps limited in features and extra programable channels compared to other radios, they are simple to use. Especially for my family members who rarely use radio. I bought the Midland base knowing most in the family just want to key up the mike and talk without touching other buttons, or looking at a information packed screen they find confusing. So if it is simplicity you seek Midland works fine. If you need / want a lot more features, you will find plenty of other good recommendations here. Keep in mind if you buy a combo pack of Midlands the included handhelds are generally not repeater capable. On the other hand I do have some handhelds that only I use which are packed with lots of features and lots of channels. Paid pretty good money for them and in all likely hood will never use more than half their capability, lol.

Don't pay any attention to the haters. That radio is just fine for ordinary GMRS stuff. The guys who rant about "cheap Chinese junk" probably have a money tree or something.

Welcome to the asylum. Now ask about linking repeaters...

"can".. but, based on their enforcement history over the last 15 years, they won't.

As far as I can determine, in the history of the FCC, nobody has ever been cited solely for transmitting on a radio which was not type-accepted for that frequency. Of course, if you were being an ass and causing problems, they'd probably throw that charge in as well "just because". That said, the power and bandwidth restrictions exist largely to keep someone on that frequency from interfering with other users. If you decide to use the 5RM on GMRS, please be a decent human and set the bandwidth (wide/narrow) and power to the "legal" GMRS limits. The 5RM won't go below about 2-3 watts, so you should probably block transmission on channels 8-14, which are restricted to 0.5 watt. You can program them in and then set duplex to "off", then if there's some urgent need to use one of them, you can turn duplex back on fairly quickly from the keyboard on the front.

Correct! Think of it more as an “exclusion” tone rather than a true privacy tone.

Around here at least, you don't have to ask. They'll tell you

I guess I do. Primarily we use them for hiking, on road trips, and at the race track. I'm heading to Vegas this week for a Time Trial with 1 of hte kids coming down to spot for me, so he'll be up in the tower with a headset on. I'll try to avoid doing too much off roading (not that it'd be the first time...)

I'm too old to learn everything but welcome to the wacky world of GMRS users.