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I wouldn't overlook the use of a magmount. It is an antenna and it can be quick to get on the air. It's better than no antenna.

We got a QSO!

This! Use logging software that makes use of CAT to automatically log everything other than the call sign. I use Ham Radio Deluxe Logbook. All I have to enter is the call sign and click log this contact. But FT8 is even easier Also, depending on the software I can set alarms for call signs, states, counties, grid squares, countries, continents, etc that I want to watch for. Today I’m going to create my own contest: “Worked mygmrs members!” using these ham call signs for folks who are MyGMRS members: KF0NYL KC8LDO KE8OWX KO6BIK KD2TWM K4BJW N0TXW

I would NOT want to clean that cat pan

I use N1MM to log anything I log, then I don't have to deal with frequency or mode at all, only call sign.

If that's all that's stopping you, there are workarounds... I use the QRZ.Com logbook function and it's very easy. If I'm on the radio looking for contacts, I start out by logging in to QRZ and opening my own logbook page. When I hear a station I might want to contact, I look up their call sign on QRZ and decide whether to try them. On their QRZ page is a button that says "Log a new contact with _____". If I try them and succeed, I click that button and the contact sheet that pops up is already populated with most of the needed info. All I need to fill in is the frequency and signal report, hit 'enter' and it's done. I used to use a paper log. I have a dedicated clock set to UTC, a formatted spreadsheet with required info blanks and would write as much info as possible. Using QRZ is a lot faster and their logbook function is pretty flexible for sorting. I think one can even upload directly to LoTW, but I don't bother going that far.

Don't let Negative Nancy and his very negative waves bother you. Most of us either ignore him or laugh and make fun of him

I bought this radio in January and after 3 months, I still really like it. This radio gives you what you need. High power of 50 watts, mid power 20 watts and low power 5 watts. Using a dummy load, the outputs have been right on the button. It is super easy to operate and easily programmable from the front panel, I have no need for software The transmit and receive audio are very good and, YES, you can choose wide band or narrow band. It does, however, lack a cooling fan and can warm up pretty quickly in a longer conversation. I can only hope that Midland took this into account when working out heat dissipation in the design. It IS expensive, but having fond memories of using Midland gear back in the 70's, I chose to go with them again. Pete WSGL709

I am not using a GMRS radio for GMRS freqs and the radios I do use for GMRS freqs are not nor are they made in Pandaland. Although, I do own a GMRS specific radio, but I just keep it as a spare for my Jeep Creep radioless friends to use on the trail. At least, the radio is an American Corporation owned company.

As @OffRoaderX said, sometimes it works that way. Let’s say you’re hiding behind a rock. Someone 100 feet away is pointing an elevated spotlight towards your rock. At that range the beam spreads out larger than the rock and you can see it reflecting off your surroundings. But you shine a flashlight directly at the rock in the direction of the spotlight and they don’t see you at all. It’s very common for radio communications to propagate asymmetrically.

The FTDI or Prolific chips that are in programming cables emulate serial connections. So yes when you plug in a USB programming cable it does create a virtual serial port. Windows likes to default to a baud rate of 9600 and some radios will use a different baud rate. I haven't had to mess with the IRQ settings but I did have to change the baud rates for a few different radios. Changing the baud rate is mostly for connecting HF radios to a computer though some mobile VHF/UHF radios do use a baud rate that is different from the default 9600. I have not had to mess with the baud rate when connecting any of my hand held radios to a computer.

Yes that is what I did. You can also go into the regular grid tracker settings under audio alerts and check callsign

One of the hardest parts is getting coax that won't have too much loss on GMRS and still keep it light weight. A lot will depend on how high you are planning on getting your antenna up in the air and also what type of antenna being used. Using a sturdy mast will allow you to use heavier coax. Some of the cheaper telescoping masts are thin and won't support the weight. Go with the lightest coax with the least amount of loss that is acceptable to you. I actually have a couple of clothe roll up j pole antennas made with faraday cloth. One is for 2m and the other is for 70cm. The 2m j pole works fine for both 2m and 70cm with a SWR of 18 or less. And the 70cm j pole works fine for GMRS with a SWR of 1.7 or less. I am using 30ft of LMR400 equivalent coax along with a Sotabeams 7m/21 ft telescoping fiberglass mast. I hang the clothe j pole from the top of the mast and run the coax down, attaching it with velcro straps to keep things from flopping around in the wind. 30 feet lets me get 9 feet away from the mast. I normally will use some type of stand or 3 guy ropes on the bottom section of the mast to hold it upright on calm days. I will add three more guy ropes towards the top on windy days. I also have throw line and throw bags incase I want to just hang either antenna up in a tree. I can throw my dual band or GMRS radio into my go kit along side my G90 HF radio for any type of portable use. I am also setup for sending emails with Winlink on HF and VHF if needed. My go kit is one of the Hart rolling tool boxes from Walmart. I have a couple of 50 AH batteries in the bottom case and everything else (besides telescoping masts, fits inside the other cases. I can also throw a radio or two, some throw line, and the clothe/wire antennas and 1 or 2 10 AH batteries into a backpack and go light.

You'll find affordable models used. New will likely exceed your budget. I would look for Kenwood radios. Personally I've had far better luck finding programming software and support for many Kenwood models. I've hard much harder time finding stuff for Motorola. Some here might have have better luck with Motorola than I've had, might know where to get the software etc. If you're looking for a Motorola radio I do own a few of these. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/261-motorola-xpr6550jpeg/?context=new A number of the older Kenwood radios had FCC Part 95 certification so they are legal on GMRS, so long as they are properly programmed. The one I usually carry around is the TK-3170. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/417-tk-2180jpg/?context=new https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/263-tk-3170jpg/?context=new If you don't care about FCC certification this one is a nice radio. It's currently manufactured and available new, but it's going to cost you a lot more than the other ones. Even used they're not exactly cheap. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/290-nx-1300duk5/?context=new

I ended up just adding you to my watch list on grid tracker. I'll definitely try to work you when I see you on.

Hello again folks, I wanted to report back on my stick on glass antenna that I have been trying out. Wide-Band Adhesive Glass Mount Antenna | 400-470MHz Frequency Range | Taoglas it works just fine and checks out great with SWR! I am hitting repeaters that are 20 to 40 miles away and communications have been clear. This antenna sticks on the inside only, there's nothing on the outside. I'm not saying an external antenna wouldn't do better, I'm just saying this antenna works great for what it is. If you would like to check it out you can visit Taoglas.com and look up I-bar 400-470 Adhesive glass mount antenna. They can be purchased through ProLogic ITS for 15 bucks, contact is Lance Bullock, 931-212-9048 Mine came with SMA connector so an adapter to PL259 would be needed which I got off amazon for a few bucks.

Try AtlanticRadioCorp.com https://www.atlanticradiocorp.com/

You won't find them new anymore. TK-3140 was a great Kenwood that has Part 95 certification. They used to be $70-110 used, I still have a handful of them, used the KNB-55 battery, which is also used on the NX-3000 radios. These guys check the radios out before selling them, for $150 its fits your budget https://used-radios.com/kenwood-tk-3140-uhf-450-490mhz-250-ch-4w-portable-radio/?srsltid=AfmBOor3hXfzNg6frpl6zsTfAzixQGKZJjih1N4fJGGRJn8_YKKdad4w

That is because they don't make GMRS radios - You might find some Motorola GMRS or FRS radios, but those are the cheap/low quality type radios, not the high-quality non-GMRS radios he is referring to. Basically, just ignore him because he is rheet-hard-ed.

True, but you might notice and appreciate better functionality, programing, ease of use, screen viewing, better receive sensitivity and last but not least, a prettier wrist strap

HF, often 15 or 20 meters. I have to add your call sign also!

open device manager, see what port the cable is. I can't remember if KPG-49 limited which com port you can use, you may have to reassign the cable to a port 1 thru 4. You also have to set the com port in the software.

All antennas are a compromise. Go with what works best for your situation. I know most do not want to drill holes for an antenna mount into their Wrangler hard tops and I don't blame them one bit. Though it can be done. People install NMO mounts on fiberglass truck toppers (camper shells for us old people) all of the time. They will put a piece of sheet metal on the underside of the shell for the needed ground plane. And glass mounts do work. Though I will caution that some factory tint can have negative effects on them due to the metal content of the tint. The only way to know is to try.

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

Contesting is just too fast paced for me and I don't find any enjoyment in it. I'm not much on long rag chew sessions but I also don't want to feel rushed either. And I do use QRZ at home for logging along with HAMRS for logging POTA contacts. My chicken pecking is not fast enough to keep up at times. Plus my arthritic hands don't always cooperate. I have to edit my posts frequently do to spelling and grammar errors,

People buy these cheap Chinese notch-duplexers to use for home brew repeaters. This is the data sheet I found for one and some real world test data. SGQ-450D-N.pdf Chinese Mobile Duplexer Measurements.pdf

Used to be a guy locally that kept a gator. Sadly he tired of it and dumped it in a nearby lake. To save it the local authorities finally caught it a few years later. Then it died and the zoo has had a "stand in" since. Yep, the environment was so bad that the gator had the audacity to grow once it had space and all the food it wanted.

He probably won't respond, since he Knows when he's been called out.

As a confirmed TARD ( Total amateur radio dork) I can confirm. The Midland 500 is an excellent radio but not great for long winded blathering. Fortunately I found a fan on amazon that moves about 25CFM that when positioned about 1/2 inch or 3/4 behind the heatsink on the back of the radio transforms the radio into a long winded beast. It is an excellent performing radio on receive as well as transmit. Out of the box, not ready for a TARD. But a cheap amazon fan fixes that. The entire case is a heatsink and for a low duty cycle is fine on 50W. But if you need to pontificate for long periods forced air cooling does the trick. The top cover might look like sheet metal in pictures but it isn't. It's an aluminum casting like the bottom. Addition of a fan makes it completely dorktastical and you too can enjoy great performance and be the bane of all repeaters by getting one. Highly recommended radio. It's easy to program from the front panel and has power to get the job done. The only downside is that it does not have tone scan built in. FAIL. Fortunately as a TARD I have equipment that scans very fast so no sweat. And a notebook and a pen to write frequencies and tones down is ideal for grid down situations. https://acinfinity.com/equipment-cooling/axial-8038-muffin-120v-ac-cooling-fan-80mm-x-80mm-x-38mm-low-speed/ Don't use the included grill..it increases the noise.

Start playing with them cats using a laser pointer. My smallest cat is 6 pounds and she won't hesitate to take on the 96 pound dog. She is my ultra feather weight golden gloves champ. And she is vicious when it comes to lasers.

My present feline stockpile is worthless. I used to have one that would run toward the door and growl when someone approached, better than any dog I ever owned. His size helped too.

Maybe? It would probably help if you told us the name of this particular group.

Because sometimes that's just how radio-waves work. Not sure what other answer your looking for.

When the radio is set in VFO mode, and you turn the knob on the right, it will move up or down through its frequency range. Step is how far it jumps with each click. If you set up the radio for GMRS, you probably wouldn't use this setting much. But it's there in case you want to move around through the frequencies to listen to things, such as in the 70cm amateur band.

@WRPL700 Below is the ARRL Contest Calendar which, globally, leads to the heaviest use of the bands during contest days. All of the rules are posted in the individual event pages as well. If you want to try your hand with it or avoid those days, the calendar may help. https://www.arrl.org/contest-calendar

Step(KHz) stands for how much of a Step the radio takes when manually tuning to the next frequency. Ie; .5khz, 25khz, etc.. It does not really apply much to GMRS unless you are using your radio to manually tune-around to find non-GMRS frequencies to listen to. My guess is you will not need to change it.

Yea got it in and my dogs destroyed the box and the instructions so here i am!! LOL

Well, no; that $20 retail price was probably $6 when purchased by the importer. So a 25% tariff would be $1.50 which could easily be absorbed or partially absorbed rather than passed through. A 100% tariff might add $3 to the price.

Looks like it the same radio as the Anytone 868, which I have found to be reliable.

I have the original and the Pro , both for DMR on the ham bands. They are great radios.

Now try actually reading his post, then try again.

He has been asked what radios he uses multiple times and he has yet to answer the question. I think he's up to 999 or 1009 reasons why one should not buy certain brands of radios.

This ^

Just checked - back online this morning.

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.

The Midland MXTR10 and the Retevis RT97 will work just fine. Compare the specifications on both and also the prices and go with which one suits your needs at the best price. PS: Ignore Negative Nancy, he hardly ever has anything positive to say.

I had one and it worked fine.. but unless it has some feature that you need that the Retevis RT97 does not have, you should consider it also.

I know a few members do emergency volunteer work. Anyone have a legit portable repeater setup? It's been about a year since I setup my portable "shack". Since the weather was nice today and I have a new repeater to field test, I figured I would do a dry-run at home before I setup in an actual emergency. It takes about 3 hours to deploy the portable setup with HF, VHF, and UHF amateur radio and GMRS. So, needless to say, unless it's a multi-day drill or real emergency, I'm not going all out, but it was time for that dry-run. I have a dedicated mast for the homemade 80m/40m/20m/10m OCF dipole, and then an additional mast for the VHF/UHF antenna(s). In these pictures, there is a Yaesu DR-1X and a Icom IC-7300.

I've heard that story before, but the Harvard Radio Club history says nothing of it: http://w1af.harvard.edu/php/history.php Wikipedia has an interesting page on the etymology of "ham". A couple different versions of that story appear there, but nothing truly definitive. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology_of_ham_radio

Thats why the CORRECT way to write it is: H.A.M. Anyone that thinks otherwise obviously does not even have a H.A.M. radio license.