Leaderboard

The OP stated that the damage to the previous repeater and antenna was $2000. They’re only seeking $1,000 in their gofundme. The repeater they’re seeking to purchase is currently on sale for less than $600 including a built in duplexer, which seems very reasonable. A decent antenna plus cables and associated components could very quickly consume the remainder of the targeted funding. This seems like a very reasonable request and a reasonable solution. I would urge that we not get distracted by our reactions to the town drunk.

Please tell us where we can find a new, 40W, single-case/chassis, weatherproof Motorola repeater with a warranty, and weighs only 4Lbs, for 1/2 the price.... We're waiting....

I DID put up a GMRS repeater and I used the Tram 1486. I chose it because of its low price, low weight, very low wind-profile and because it does not look like a space-ship antenna. It's also very simple to tune.

It is my personal opinion, anyone, especially someone that is unknown and pops up with no previous history on this forum, and there first posting is an "Oh Whoa/poor Me" request for money by using the GoScamMe page is suspect and just doesn't smell right. Donaters be aware!

Here are the two actual rules: § 95.1733 Prohibited GMRS uses. (a) In addition to the prohibited uses outlined in § 95.333 of this chapter, GMRS stations must not communicate: (8) Messages which are both conveyed by a wireline control link and transmitted by a GMRS station; § 95.1749 GMRS network connection. Operation of a GMRS station with a telephone connection is prohibited, as in § 95.349. GMRS repeater, base and fixed stations, however, may be connected to the public switched network or other networks for the sole purpose of operation by remote control pursuant to § 95.1745. I know it’s not what you want, but “Staff Opinion” doesn’t seem to exceed the wording of the actual rules.

When I ordered my DB20-G from Amazon, got a bundle deal with the GM30 HT added that I did not see offered on the Radiodiddity Website. Buyer protection and a better deal, Yes, please!

They’re only required to use the call sign, but if it helps you to identify each other you’re allowed to use something like a unit number as well. Personally, I like to use first names or familial relationships, “John, this is grandpa.” Understand that you only need to identify using your call sign once every 15 minutes and when you end a conversation, so if you talk for 2 minutes or 15 minutes you’ll only need to ID once. If you talk for 16 minutes to 30 minutes you are required to ID at least twice. Each time you ID it resets the 15 minute clock. So, if you’re concerned about compliance, just throw in your ID when it’s convenient and at the very end and don’t worry about it.

While the Comet CA-712EFC is a good antenna, it might be overkill and too big for what the OP needs. Especially since he is using a 30 foot telescoping flag pole. Plus we don't know what the local terrain is like where he lives. He might be better suited with something with a little less gain than the CA-712EFC. And yet again, not everyone lives in a flat and wide open desert where they can tx over 200 miles. That kind of distances is quite rare for most of the country.

And it must also have a 200 mile range any time, rain or shine.

I can program it for you providing the freqs are conventional and are not for public safety. All freqs will be programmed with the appropriate emissions and power levels in accordance with the FCC Rules and regs. You just pay for the shipping both ways.

I'm waiting to hear what his Senator has to say. I don't see them being much help. Again, fun to watch but I don't have any need for this service, like to watch Don Quixote in action though...

@SteveShannon I agree that $1000 seems like a fair amount to request for a repeater, coax and antenna. And they should be able to get good coax and a quality antenna to go along with the Retevis RT97L repeater. I wish the them luck in getting what they need to get back on the air.

As Gil said, that’s correct. When GMRS is used to communicate with people you already know an introduction isn’t necessary and nothing in the regulations require using a call sign at the beginning of a call for either GMRS or ham radio. Ham radio operators usually will use their call signs at the very beginning of a contact as a matter of courtesy to introduce themselves but they are simply required to ID at the end of every communication and every 10 minutes. Now, something I don’t honestly know is whether every communication means every time we push the PTT. A lot of times I’ll give a short answer without using my call sign, as do all the other hams I know.

I like my H3. It has been a good radio for over 1 year now. I like the longer battery life, the USB-C jack for charging, and the sound quality of the audio. Mine works well on both repeaters and on simplex.

Can confirm .. This is why i always recommend purchasing via Amazon when possible because Amazon protects against this exact thing - even if you have to pay $6 more, it's worth it.

[Edited March 19th, 2025] Introduction: My name is C. Ryan, (KE0SKN). I am a member of Kasson Skywarn & Dodge County Minnesota ARES group. In April of 2024, Our group repeater was hit by lighting. The total damages were $2,000.00 to the repeater and base antenna system. We are looking for funding to replace the repeater. We are not approved for any local government assistance for replacing the repeater. The main reason is that the repeater is privately owned. The repeater system we are looking at is the Retevis RT97L 25W Repeater Kit with FRP Antenna and Coaxial Cable. This system will get us back on the air for our area, till we can save up for a better system. If you can help, we have a GoFundMe page with the link below. Again Thank You. Group: Kasson Skywarn / Dodge County ARES | Minnesota Website: https://www.kassonskywarn.x10.mx/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dcares/ GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/007b7312 Email: KC0CLC@arrl.net Pres: Marvin - KC0CLC

I have three Tiradio H3 Handhelds and one H8 I was wondering if anyone uses them? Mine works great

If by bad habit you mean announcing your call sign at the beginning, I think that is fairly common and I wouldn’t consider it a bad habit. Rather when conversing with family or friends I would say you shouldn’t feel obligated. I like to think GMRS is a little less uptight. I wouldn’t give you a hard time either way.

Thanks for the replies! Thinking over the years I have picked up a bad habit. SO it is, just at the end of the conversation. I like that better!

No it's not but the name does fit him.

That's not Rheet-Hard Ralph's real name..

A few of us let Negative Nancy distract us. As far as the OP, I'm sure that he would have better luck doing a local fund raiser instead of asking total strangers on the internet.

I was going to say the same thing but then I got all wrapped up in responding to the rheet-hards post, and forgot all about that.... I agree.. dont give any money to some random dude that shows up and the VERY FIRST thing he does is start asking for money.

I'll be standing by to hear where these mythical Motorola repeaters with warranty can be found for $1000 We recently replaced an older Motorola 2m repeater with a used Motorola Quantar 125 that was $1100 and it sure did NOT come with any type of factory warranty. And $1100 was on the cheaper end of the price range that used Quantar repeaters go for. You can find even older Motorola repeaters for less but you will need a Windows 3.1 or MS-DOS computer to program them. Plus those are quite a bit bigger than a 1U or 2U rack mount repeater. The Bridgecom and Baofeng GMRS repeaters are 3.5" tall which is 2U while the Quantar is 5U. A single unit for rack systems is 1.75" or 1U The 5U Motorola Quantar weighs 55 pounds while the 2U Bridgecom repeater (no internal duplexer) weighs 18 pounds.

Yah, I'll standby too!

All of the new ones ship with the updated firmware - BTech gave me a choice of updated or not updated and I choose NOT-Updated so I could go through the process myself and complain about it if it was difficult/failed/whatever.

https://youtu.be/AuCT-pSaCuw

Some of the chinese variety of talkies will transmit a "fake" MDC1200 signal, which emits a squawk sound, merely for attention getting.

Looks great!!! I lost a camo Zippo in basic training one night when I dropped it. LOL!

This ^^^ keep it simple I think is the essence of GMRS.

Correct.

Every 15 minutes and, as you say, at the end.

I take the to mean identification isn't necessary at the beginning of the transmission, just the end, correct?

Socalgmrs a question. What brands do you own? Or did you build it yourself like Hams of old did? Pardon me, that was two questions. Maybe that is causing his lack of response.

I’ll beat this drum forever. Don’t buy that garbage from any retailer. Retivis and radioditty are just junk as witness but the constant and continuous problems noted just in this site let alone others. This is another reason to ad to the list. Why oh why would any one continue to buy them.

I have several and they all work just as great as all the others in the same price range - but i find the H3s to be too tiny for my very manly hands.

Or whack off the UHF Male and replace it with an Amphenol Male N Connector. N Connectors are actually easy to install.

I can confirm that it is true.

That didn't come up in my google search. Thanks Steve

Generally, This forum has a lot of people willing to help and answer your questions. So no harm in asking. Another, and additional, resource to help you in learning is to enter the keyword you are interested in the search bar of this forum. Everyone comes here with different experience and their own knowledge base. So it's very likely someone already started a thread about a topic you may be interested in. And, great answers are already posted on the forum. However some topics have not been addressed and asking the question never hurts.

Desense is short for “desensitization” which is what happens when the very sensitive receiver circuits are exposed to a very strong transmitter signal. Because a repeater must transmit at the same time as it receives the receiving circuitry is overwhelmed and deafened, just like forgetting to wear ear protection when shooting. In a professionally designed repeater the transmitter and receiver circuitry is isolated from each other to prevent desense.

@WRTC928 I am in the same situation with my 2023 Ford Escape. The maximum antenna length I can use and still fit into the garage is 20". Anything taller and I am either tearing up the garage door insulation or taking a risk of damaging the antennas. While I can use the Comet SBB-1 for 2m, 70cm, and GMRS, it is just as easy for me to use a separate radio and antenna for GMRS. I did have to put the main radio units under the seat and have the remote heads on a Lido seat bolt mount. I also have a couple Icom SP-35 speakers right below the steering wheel. Everyone's situation and setup will be different. Go with what works best for you.

And not everyone lives in the wide open desert where it is flat. Our GMRS repeater antennas are at 400 feet above ground and our 70cm repeater antennas are at 900 feet above ground. We get around a 30-35 mile radius range on both. Again due to local terrain and lots of forested areas. In comparison, our 2m repeater antennas are on the same tower and also at 900 feet above ground. We get around 80-85 mile radius range on 2m. This clearly shows the difference between UHF and HVF. If it was a height issue then we would see better coverage with the 70cm repeater than the GMRS repeater. But both have the same coverage. We actually encourage that type of use on our repeater. Most families won't "rag chew" for hours on end so it's not an issue. Most of us get a big kick out of listening to one of our member's grandson when he gets on the repeater to talk to Grammy and Papa. The kid is only about 8 years old and does a great job with using proper etiquette on the repeater.

It is in this part of the state. Heavily wooded. Rolling hills.

Ahah! Only if the repeaters already share the same frequency not two separate on different frequencies. Do I have it right?

I'm not sure about the software he has but I've run across some that still use 16 bit installers. Those don't work on Win 10 at all. Setting the compatibility mode is useless. The solution he used is a good one, running Win XP in a VM. https://www.virtualbox.org You can get a Win XP VM in Win 10 but you have to pay for the much more expensive Pro version to get the VM subsystem, "Hyper-V". https://www.download3k.com/articles/How-to-add-an-XP-Mode-Virtual-Machine-to-Windows-10-or-8-using-Hyper-V-00770 VirtualBox does about the same thing for zero cost. However you're left with finding a copy of the Win XP on your own. Virtual Box is a good opensource VM package. I've even run Windows 3.1 in it. Even managed to find a copy of IBM's OS2 Warp 4 and got that to install and run too. If IBM and Microsoft had their act together we would all be running OS2 instead of Windows. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OS/2 Remember "Windows is a pane in the glass".

Wow 30miles? That’s a HUGE coverage. Hehe