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The basic steps are exactly the same.. Also, you have to ensure that you are close enough to the repeater to actually activate/use it - just because you can hear it does not mean it can hear you.

Select the correct repeater channel which in this case would be REPEATER Channel 22 Go into the menus and find the TX DPL/DTC setting and select 365 from the list Ignore the RX/Output tone for now as it is optional and you are already confused enough That's it - should take a total of about 20 seconds. I found this random video on Youtube that explains step by step exactly what you want to do using a UV-5GPlus:

I can understand how that would be confusing. With amateur radio and commercial radio, UHF can have either a plus or minus offset (I’ll clarify that in my previous comment). In GMRS however the FCC has established specific channels and groups of channels. The 467 MHz Main channels are for transmitting to repeaters. Repeaters may only transmit on the 462 MHz Main channels. Other radio types may also use the 462 Main channels for simplex communications.

Well, it's not a "real" Jeep like a CJ but since you visit the range I'll forgive you.

I see that Negative Nancy AKA MR 200 Miles is at it again with spouting off about his unrealistic range that most people will never see. I live in Mid Missouri and our repeater antennas are on a 1000 foot tower. The GMRS repeater antennas are at 400 feet. The 2m and 70cm antennas are at 900 feet. We only get a 30-35 mile coverage radius with both the GMRS and 70cm repeaters. Again this is due to the local terrain and trees. We have lots of rolling hills and river valleys that are forested. Yes the 70cm repeater does not better than GMRS even though the 70cm antennas are 500 feet higher. It's the nature of UHF frequencies. We have one of the largest coverage areas in the state with our 2m repeater and we still only have a 80-85 mile radius with it.

It’s actually fine according to the rules.

Has anyone else here found solar power to be a pretty fun "hobby"?... Am I a weirdo?... There's just something sort of gratifying from harvesting some completely free electricity. Even if it's just on 100 watts worth of panels into a power bank. It's fun knowing that you can harvest and store a functional amount of electricity completely non-reliant on any sort of subscriber infrastructure. Can keep some phones, handheld radios, a laptop, flashlights, and the bare essentials charged if the power were to not be available. I used to be a generator nerd lol. I still have my big 9500 watt generator, but all that those do is convert a stored energy source into another... Gotta have gas, and you're essentially just using jugs of gas as batteries, and the conversion method is a loud mechanical nightmare. So what's better than just harvesting LIGHT and storing that as electricity? The sun will always be around, and if not, we've got bigger problems anyway..

This is what I use for my VHF antenna. The antenna is a Laird non-groundplane antenna. The side bracket is a Rugged Radios bracket for Jeeps. You can substitute the VHF antenna for either a Laird UHF or a Midland MXTA26 antenna. If you're just needing an antenna for GMRS freqs, go with the Midland MXTA26 antenna.

And then what? Radioddity GM-30 plus is not Chirp supported at this time.

Get a programming cable and use chirp.

First: NO, not necessarily - it depends if they are talking through a repeater or direct radio to radio (simplex) Second: If they are using a repeater you need the "tone" required to activate that repeater and you need to enter it into the correct repeater channel on your radio - There are 8 repeater channels - SOME radios list them as Repeater 1 through 8, other radios list them as channels 23 through 30.. So if you do the math, on your radio that would be Repeater channel 2.

WSHG974, If you already haven't figured it out OffroaderX,s youtube channel, "Not a Rubicon" is a good place to start learning if you are new to GMRS

I don't have a Baofeng, but there are tons of how to videos on YouTube on how to use them. I am sure you will get some great info here as well. Best of Luck.

Not to be pedantic, but it's not really "free". Energy is conserved (First law of Thermodynamics). But anyway, I got ya. I think it's cool. Never got too deep into it, but a good buddy of mine does a lot with solar panels. We go camping and can charge batteries that charge phones, run other electronics, etc. Last year, the house he was renting got a "surprise" remodel. It was such a mess that he ended up moving out into the backyard temporarily, living in a tent. Ran lights and the TV off of solar-charged batteries. There are several repeaters (GMRS and 2m/70cm) around here that are running solar.

Guess I completely missed the welcome thread, too. Been around for a bit. Mostly lurking. Welcome everyone and hello. Been into monitoring and radio in general for what seems like forever. Scanning, shortwave, etc. GMRS late last year and amateur radio earlier this year. Was in broadcasting for awhile, too (mostly the 90s).

I was just about to post that i watch a Notarubicon video about using the Secret and Private GMRS channels in some different my giggle hurts, but i like the "Ignore" "some people" button better. And besides following gooberment rules really isnt my thing either.

Just ignore him.. Everyone knows he's reet-har-ded..

Bullshit. We’ve had to correct your fallacious claims many times. This is only true in certain rare situations, like from the hill overlooking a massive desert between you and Vegas. Most people just won’t get that kind of distance before their signal is blocked by the earth’s curvature and terrain. Why lie? Does it make you feel better about yourself?

I've got a Retevis RT97 10 watt repeater hooked to the MA09 antenna that came bundled with it. The antenna is 43' AGL on the highest point of my property. I was able to communicate with a friend on his mobile rig over 11.5 miles away. Having said that, there are valleys much closer to me than that and no communication is possible to those low lying areas. Still, I can get several miles in all directions with this setup. It runs off of a 30 amp-hour battery connected to a 100 watt solar panel. Also, not that you need more power, but, Retevis announced the RT97L which is an updated version of their portable repeater. It is rated at 25 watts. It is supposed to be in stock on April 4 this year. If nothing else this may allow you to buy an RT97/RT97S at a discounted price, maybe even get a used one from someone that is upgrading.

I went wild and did some field testing today. I don't have sophisticated equipment to test antennas, but I set out to answer two "practical use" questions: (1) Which one talks the most farz? (2) How likely is it to damage my radio? The test radio was a TYT TH-9800 in my car operating on simplex and the receiving/responding radio was a Baofeng AR-5RM with an HYS 701 antenna used by my buddy at my house. The answer to the first question was both easy and surprising. I tested all of them in a number of locations in about a 10 mile radius from my house and they all did about equally well, making 6 miles pretty easily, a bit more in some locations, and fading after that. Some of them lost signal pretty quickly on MURS and GMRS, but they weren't designed for that, so I don't hold it against them. The Comet SBB-1 and Nagoya NMO-72 tended to have a little less background noise, but with all of them, the signal became unintelligible at about the same locations. Antennas matter, but terrain matters more. For the second question, I tested SWRs on each antenna on the 2 meter, 70 centimeter, GMRS, and MURS bands. (Don't start. I know the rules. I'm a grown-ass man. I'll take my chances.) I tested each band on each end and in the middle and on a few random frequencies. I assigned a value to the SWR ranges: 4 = nearly perfect SWR 1.00-1.02, 3=pretty good SWR 1.03-1.49, 2=good enough SWR 1.50-2.00, 1=prefer not to use it but probably wouldn't do any harm SWR 2.01-2.50, 0=too high for my comfort SWR 2.51 or higher. The antenna got the score that was highest of the SWRs in that band. Comet SBB-1 2m-1 70cm-4 GMRS-3 MURS-3 Comet SBB-2 2m-2 70cm-3 GMRS-3 MURS-3 HYS 144/430 2m-2 70cm-3 GMRS-3 MURS-1 Comet SB-15 2m-4 70cm-4 GMRS-0 MURS-3 Nagoya NMO-72 2m-3 70cm-4 GMRS-2 MURS-3 Compactenna 2m-3 70cm-4 GMRS-2 MURS-1 Surprise! The lowly Nagoya NMO-72 is perfectly usable across all four bands. The Comet SB-15 is perfect on 2m and 70cm, pretty good on MURS and unusable on GMRS. However, it's a quad-band 10m/6m/2m/70cm antenna. It already has a lot to do. I was a bit disappointed in the Comet SBB-1's 2m performance, since it's allegedly a 2m/70cm dual-band antenna. It was pretty good on 70cm, GMRS, and MURS, but I bought it for 2m/70cm. I probably won't be using it again. The SBB-2 was about as versatile as the Nagoya, but like the SBB-1, I expected a better showing on 2m. The Compactenna did very well on 2m and 70cm, not well on GMRS or MURS, which is to be expected, since it's marketed as a 2m/70cm antenna. Just because I had them lying around, I tested two GMRS-specific antennas as well, the Midland Ghost and the Nagoya UT-72G. Ghost 2m-0 70cm-0 GMRS-2 MURS-0 Nagoya UT-72G 2m-0 70cm-2 GMRS-3 MURS-0 Because the Ghost is a single-purpose antenna, I expected a bit better score in the GMRS band, but it got a 2 because one of the SWRs was between 1.6 and 2.0. Most of them were better. I know from having used it for several months that it punches above its weight in terms of performance in real-world applications. The UT-72G is also a single-purpose GMRS antenna, but the 70cm band is apparently close enough that it could be used in that band. Either of them should work just fine for regular GMRS use. Conclusions: (1) You can do all the fancy antenna testing you want, but in the real world, there's not much difference in farz from one antenna to another. (2) There apparently really is such a thing as a "do-it-all" antenna if that interests you. (3) You might think the manufacturers of a single-purpose antenna would have them finely tuned to that band, but you'd be wrong, at least part of the time.

Well, no, again. The rules do not require that the offset be +5 MHz. They only require that the repeater receive on the 467 MHz main channels and transmit on the 462 MHz main channels. But 5.000 MHz is the usual offset. Some places do not use that offset in order to avoid interference, typically maritime locations. Channels 15-22 don’t have an offset at all. They are the simplex channels. The channels above 22 are sometimes names RP15-RP22, but they are 23-30 in a numbered list. You keep jumping new people about the rules when you obviously don’t understand them. Maybe you should go back and read them before you are a complete asshole to someone on their first post. That’s why you’re the most ignored person on the forum.

I did. But that doesn't mean much. I just posted in a thread about the Baofeng AR-5rm having a hair trigger ptt. I have accidentally tx several times just from normal handling. It's one of the only things I don't like about that radio. Sure, this may not be the most exciting or thought-provoking subject on the forum, for some, but at least its radio related. Now, I'm not trying to put you down by asking this. What are some topics that you do like to talk about here? Maybe I could do a search for threads that you have started. I wouldn't mind getting to know you better. You seem to have very strong opinions about GMRS. So, I assume that it's based on experience. Since I am very new to anything beyond using a "walkie talkie", learning from others is appealing to me. But, if you'd rather tell me to get bent, that's okay too. I'll still try to be nice.

Yes it is. Watch for sales at Radioddity. You should be able to pick up a db20g for less than $90.

The DB20G also wasn’t supported by RT Systems until just a few weeks ago, but now it is and it works very well! I would suspect Chirp support will follow.

I got into GMRS because I needed another layer of communication with my family. I also understood the limitations of FRS, and discovered the possibility of repeaters for GMRS. I stumbled into a working repeater, which will be programmed this week. There are no other repeaters that get into the country I typically venture into. I was just on a mountain top this morning, and am starting the process of the application for a solar site on that mountain with the BLM. I tested my V-1 radios to the house HT to HT and had clear communication at about 15 miles with a friend who lives 4 miles south of me. This repeater, will give an incredible amount of coverage to where I spend about 80% of my time in the hills. Add to that, cell phones and SPOT, and I am set quite well communication wise.

Leaning only kids and children Monday 6:00pm 14 channel channel GMRS Fun two ways radio Lynchburg City End 9:00pm Have fun kids and children Thanks you Fun times

Why does every new license holder want to setup a repeater? I would like to shed a little light on some of the important things to consider if you recently got your GMRS license and now want your own repeater. First thing to consider, are there any open well placed repeaters in your area that you are able to use? I can assure you most repeater owners want people to use there repeater. Owning several repeaters I can assure you all are welcome and encouraged to use my machines. Do you have access to a location to host your repeater? If your answer is your garage roof you should reconsider. Your garage roof will give you about the same coverage as simplex. Unless you’re on top of a mountain and all your users are at the bottom you will never be happy with this setup. GMRS is not as popular as one would like to think, unless your repeater covers 20 miles or more you may find you only have 1 or 2 users in the area. Unless you already have a group of friends together you may want to consider this before spending money on a decent well positioned site to install your repeater. So you found a nice high site and the price is right, all you need to do is get the repeater installed, sounds simple right? Some thigs to consider first and foremost are the costs because they can add up quickly. Are you on a commercial tower that requires a license and bonded climber? If so this could be by far your largest expense depending on your area. I have spent $600 to $1200 on a climber; I have had quotes as high as $2500 depending on the amount of work and heights involved. Keep in mind commercial sites require certified mounts, hard line cable, cable clamps, engineered grounding solutions and commercial grade antennas. No tower owner is going to let you install a comet antenna and 200’ of braided shield coax. This brings me to my next point, the antenna. Because of the costs involved with climbers you will want to expend your budget on the antenna. Remember a $2000 repeater on a $200 antenna is going to work about as good as a $200 repeater. Whereas a $200 repeater on a $2000 antenna is going to work like a $2000 repeater. On my first repeater I was gifted use of a 150’ tower, I installed a DB-420 on the top and 160’ of 7/8 hardline. Total cost of equipment for the antenna install was $2500, with the climbers labor coming in at an additional $800. This left me with enough to purchase an old Motorola R100 repeater running at 25W. To my surprise it had 30 miles of coverage, all due to the cash spent on the antenna and waiting for a decent spot. Things happen, more so if you have an antenna 200’ in the air with a conductive cable connected to sensitive electronics. Antenna issues, feedline issues, repeater issues all cost money and I promise at some point you will have issues that need repair and require your money! It is my opinion that the GMRS community does not need another 2 to 5 miles repeater as it just becomes background noise. What use is a public listed repeater if somebody in a mobile can’t use it 5 miles away while moving or the portable coverage is only a mile? If after reading this you are still going to build a repeater for your garage more power to you, just don’t expect 20 people to show up if it only reaches a mile. As the owner of several GMRS and Commercial repeaters I can attest to the amount of money and effort go into my repeaters. I have only touched on the basics, if you add in any kind of testing services, duplexer tuning, addition of a combiner channel to an existing tower system, RF engineering, rent and insurance your costs can sky rocket. The best advice I can give any new licensee is to try and use the available systems in the area. Take the time to learn a little about what you’re doing and to assess the usability of the service before investing in a repeater for the sole reason of saying you own one.