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By misquoting @H8SPVMT you very obviously define yourself.

One week ago I attended a four hour course on safety and lithium batteries. We saw some very alarming videos that highlighted how dangerous lithium batteries can be. It was chilling. One in particular showed a young man get into an elevator with the battery from a e-bike. It began smoking and flashed quickly into an inferno that killed him before the elevator doors re-opened. You’re right in wanting to incorporate a charger that protects the battery, but you should also consider where you place the battery so that if it fails it doesn’t destroy your house.

An external antenna would probably remedy your solution over an HT in the car. Doesn't matter if it's the same frequency, other electronics tend to not like transmitting anything near them. Computer screens, computer speakers, etc. all complain when even 2W of VHF, UHF or 6meters is transmitted within a few feet.

Totally agree and the answer is NO they don’t neeeed that many repeaters. It’s turning into a macho thing. “I have more and bigger repeaters then ….” It’s causing many problems and upsetting other repeater owners. Some court cases have even come up about it. It’s getting crazy for something that should be used for family and friends while doing an activity.

As a newbie here but an old fart who dates back to dialup and bulletin boards I can tell you anytime you are a newbie you need two assets. One, thick skin. There are always "individuals" who get off proving they are superior by belittling others. And two, a well developed BS meter that allows you to learn which sources provide good info and which supply BS by the truck load. I've found that the need to prove superiority and dispense BS tend to go hand in hand. Are there such "individuals" here. Of course, they tend to want folks to think a forum is their domain. They tend to repeat their "party line" over and over and over again. But once spotted simply ignore them and it will be a great resource. One way to separate the wheat from the chaff is to start a topic and ask a question. The mentoring type will answer with good info. The self appointed experts usually start with derision.

Maybe you didn’t read the entire Wikipedia article because it says this: Established in 1970 in Osaka, Japan, it also has offices in Tokyo, Takatsuki, manufacturing facilities in Toyama and Hyōgo in Japan, and one in Suzhou, China.

While they are based in Japan the model you mentioned (Alinco DJ-G46T) curiously seems to have gotten its certification testing done in China according to the FCC which can be found here. So it sure seems like it may have come from China. Not everything on Wikipedia is correct. Side note, I don’t have a dog in this fight but do we need to bring Pandas into it? They live where they live and don’t care about economics or radios.

Just like on the other forum. Some will mention Part 90 radios. GMRS radios are not Part 90 certified. Just because a radio will work on a certain band does not mean that it is Part certified for that band. And the average person is not going to go out and buy a Part 90 certified radio for GMRS use. And I have to ask about what Steve posted since we know Anytone radios are made in China. We can continue to argue all you want. But it is a fact that all Part 95 certified consumer grade mobile radios are made in Chine with the exception of Garmin. Yes there are Part 90 certified business/commercial radios made in Japan that just so happen to work on GMRS but again they are not Part 95 certified. And just because a company has their headquarters in a certain country does not mean that their products are made in that country. Midland is a prime example when it comes to GMRS radios. And again some of the Yaesu mobile radios are made in China even though Yaesu is a Japanese company. Comparing Part 90 certified radios with Part 95 certified radios is like comparing apples to oranges.

WRONG ! It does NOT have to be Only Family and Friends ! It CAN be Anyone licensed to use GMRS, whether it be a company, a bunch of Campers, A Tow truck Driver, A Taxi cab operator, Anyone who happens to be licensed Can talk to ANYONE. Even STRANGE GUYS, like SOCAL !

I'm pretty sure I got the right one. If not, I'll have learned something and also have more parts in my box of trinkets that may be useful later (aka, stuff my kids will have to haul to the landfill when I die).

To make it worse, SMA connectors have 4 different genders: male thread and male center pin, male thread and female center socket, female thread and female center socket, and female thread and male center pin.

Yeah, I had a lot of false starts before I got it figured out. I figured I'd try to make it simpler for others. I don't know if your radio has a male SMA connector (like a Baofeng) or a female one (like a Retevis). Be sure you order the right adapter. Either way, you want to change it to a female BNC connector.

Fire departments pretty much have to let electric vehicles burn themselves out because of the lithium batteries. Lithium is like white phosphorus in that it will keep burning when you try to put it out. I'm not super familiar with putting out lithium fires. I do know the only way to stop white phosphorus from burning is to bury it so that there is no oxygen. And it will reignite if exposed to the open air. Willy Pete grenades are fun to play with and the white phosphorus will burn straight through even some of the thickest armor plate. White phosphorus grenades are great for when you have to destroy equipment and vehicles.

There really isn’t, but there are enough new people here and hopefully kindly experienced people that you shouldn’t feel uncomfortable asking questions. Yeah, there are always some people who attempt to display how knowledgeable they are simply by emphasizing others’ lack of knowledge. Please don’t let them win. Ask whatever you want.

its fun and entertaining at first, then it just gets old.. I've found it more productive to add him to my block list.

As of CHIRP next-20250328, zone entries are: Zone 1: row 1 - row 100 Zone 2: row 101 - 200 Zone 3: row 201 - 300 ... Zone 10: row 901 - 1000 Zone names are editable and located under Settings > Bank Names

You can look at some of these. https://www.bioennopower.com/collections/battery-chargers

I found this on Reddit, but I have no way to test it:

Don't poke the troll, best to ignore him.

The Alinco MD5XT that I have says “Anytone” as it boots and in its firmware, leading me to believe it’s made for them in China or perhaps they buy the electronics from Anytone and assembled it to their cases elsewhere. Part 90 certified. It is capable of being programmed for GMRS frequencies.

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.

My handshakes have often been described as both cold and icky.. and sometimes... moist..

It’s working for me.

yes, earlier this afternoon the site was quirky.. I had trouble pulling some DB data down. Had about a 20 min window when it seemed to work well.

Repeater search: Everything is working fine for me. MyGMRS free membership. Windows 10 Machine. Brave browser.

Also, i had to emulate Windows 10 when i installed on my Windows 11 machine. If i remember, you right click on the executable and choose Windows 10 emulation. but i honesty can't remember. something to google.. also might help to run your zip extraction in Admin Mode,, another right flight, run as administrator

Agreed. For my handheld radios all of the cheapest ones use female threads and male pins. My expensive ones all use male threads and female center sockets.

Ask away! Most of the knowledgeable people here are extremely helpful. There's no place on the internet which doesn't have some jerks, but there are fewer here than in most places.

Yes we have some even here that are that way. Negative Nancy AKA Nana NoNo aka Mr 200 Miles is one of them. You will find that most here are more than willing to help new people and answer their questions.

We had our weekly 2m net and our monthly GMRS net last night. We always have the 2m net first. One of our members tried checking into the 2m net 2 or 3 times last night but he was on the GMRS repeater. We gave him some trouble once he grabbed the correct mic to check in on the 2m repeater. It happened from time to time when you have both licenses. Most of us have done it a time or three.

That's good to know. I was not aware of that.

"He said Hymen..." -Butthead

With how horrible lithium is for the environment both when mining and later and how dangerous they are I won’t have them any place near my home or cars. Even at work we will not carry them in our trucks. We work with 48v lithium and we let ups deal with that. We have had many trucks and vans burn to the ground with lithium. Especially bad while driving on The freeway. you can get some very nice, however heavy, agm battery’s for much less money. One of my radios in the house runs off a 100amh agm and a trickle charger and in the truck I have a hard mounted 80amh agm mounted under the hood that is isolated from the truck batteries but charges off the alternator.

Yea, all my LiFePO4 batteries are bioenno, and I bought their charger with the battery. They do stop charging (LED goes green from red) when the battery is full.

As a bonus, a simple magnetic mount antenna on the roof will give you significantly -- sometimes dramatically -- improved range and clarity over using a stock antenna inside the vehicle (aka Faraday cage). However, if you're going to regularly use the radio with an external antenna, I recommend you get a BNC adapter to reduce strain on the SMA connector. You'll also need a BNC to SO239 adapter to attach the radio to the antenna. SMA connectors weren't designed to have antennas screwed and unscrewed too many times and they can break with frequent use. BNC connectors were made specifically for a great many antenna swaps. I have BNC adapters on all the radios I use frequently so I can quickly change the antenna according to the mission. For example, most of the time, I can use my favorite repeater with an 8" antenna, but if I'm going to be a little further away, I change to a 15" whip. There's a 1.25 meter repeater in Oklahoma City, but I can't reach it from my usual places, although I do go there sometimes. I don't want to have a 17" antenna on my HT all the time, so I can quickly swap the shorter antenna for a tri-band when I'm near the city.

You're not getting it right, get it right. You're just discrediting yourself and demonstrating that you are a perfect example of a certified genuine "Sad Ham".

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

What is this Horse's name?? NAME IT!! it keeps pestering the hell out of a dead subject

We. Don’t. Want. Your. Linked or networked. Repeaters on gmrs.

To operate on Facebook or community group pages you need a computer right now these days not everyone is Tech Savey or have ways of getting on the Internet that's why Radio communications are essential to have and if there's a way to do it legally then go for it.

They need a banana for scale?

You will see zero difference.

The best radio, for your use, is the one you can afford. There are people on this forum who spent 4 figures on a hand held radio because it had the features they needed.

You will get many replies for and against, so it’s really a silly question. How about doing some research on your own, read reviews, watch YouTube videos, and form an opinion based on that. Consider using the search function here, where you’ll surely find more info. One thing is certain; Wouxun isn’t “the best”.

By the grace of mine own self-worth and sarcasm and by the bounteous authority vested in me, THE QUEEN OF ALL THAT IS GMRS, I doth hereby decree, with much pomp and stupidity, that one @SteveShannon, a stout fellow of questionable repute but unquestionable GMRS knowledge, be forthwith and forevermore dubbed a member of the Most Esteemed Order of the HERD (which, perchance, standeth for “Higher End Radio Dork,) Let it be known across the static-ee airwaves of the peasantry to the lofty frequencies of the saddest of H.A.M.s that Sir StevenShannon, clad in naught but his wits and an FCCs permission slip, hath stumbled bravely and fortuitously into the fray of tomfoolery and emerged victorious—or at least not entirely trampled. With this proclamation, he is granted the sacred right to put the title "HERD" after his name, to wield a UV-5R on GMRS channels, and to confuse all who inquire as to what a “HERD” truly be. So sayeth I, THE QUEEN OF ALL THAT IS GMRS on this fifth day of March, in the year of our Lord XENU two thousand and five-and-twenty. Let the roger-beeps blare, and may the Sad H.A.M.s tremble in his presence ! So it is written, so shall it be done. Arise good Sir @SteveShannon, member of the HERD!

SILENCE! You have no permission to speak! This prestigious award has already gone straight to your head!

I am humbled by this honor. I’m not sure I’m worthy so I will try a day at the middle level first. Thank you, Queen.

That's what forums are for.

I hate when that happens. I have to deal with that myself. It gets so bad at times that I can't even keep my call signs straight.