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What about Target? “Transmitting In Target Stores”

I listed my original first edition Baofeng UV-82 on eBay for $350 since it's now a pre-tarrif classic..

Stop with the negativity. We all know that you are just a hateful rude person with no friends. You really need to pull your head out of your forth point of contact and then see a doctor so that your headspace and timing can be reset. And to answer why someone would want to listen to the NOAA channels, the internet might go out during a bad storm or the person might be somewhere that there is no internet or cell service.

Interesting. I have a DB-20G and 2 UV-9Gs, and never had a single problem with any of the 3. Well, aside from my own mistakes programming.

Wrong, Wrong & Wrong..... This Is Not A Squelch Tail, It Is The Repeater Hang Time Where The Transmitter Remains Open, But The Receiver Is Closed Waiting For The Correct CTCSS Or DCS To Reopen The Receiver For Retransmit. It Is Normally Set To 2 to 3 Seconds, Not Minutes. The Intent Purpose Of A Repeater Hang Time, Is To Enable Users To Reactivate The Repeater With The Correct "Tones" So As Not To Have A Repeater Drop Out Completely & Restart The Transmit Cycle. Squelch Tail Is Something Completely Different, & The Repeater Hang Time Is In Place To Help Continue Convos & Should Be Used For It's Intended Purpose To Save On A Complete Restart Of A Repeater..........

Welcome @EternalNoob, may you outgrow your forum handle and enjoy. Feel free to ignore SoCal desert dwelling control freaks that can’t help but tell you how you have to use your radios, should such a person come along… oh look there’s one now.

shoot, i took that sticker off

What about all of those junky/crappy radios (Midlands, TidRadios, Retevis, Wouxun, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc) that were "junk" - and you "threw straight into the trash can" ? Are you staying that instead of taking advantage of the warranties on ALL of those radios that you seem to know so much about and have told us you purchased, and "threw straight into the trash", you never even once considered getting a replacement instead?

No, but you would be surprised by how many old computers I've picked up in past years sitting by dumpsters in the apartment complex I used to live in. Grabbed a few parts out of one and stick in another, a cheap hard disk from the computer store down the street and I was all set. Loaded up a Linux system and put them on my network. Ran them for years until the power supplies died. Then took out the drives and dumped the dead carcasses in the trash bin.

I'm thinking the radio manual should describe Busy Channel Lock Out as: Busy Channel Lockout - You may think this feature might be useful, but except for a few special cases, you will be wrong.

No don’t use it. I just listen. But what you’re experiencing on a repeater is squelch tail. No one should be talking before the tail drops. If you start talking before the tail drops your lumped in with the previous station on the talk out timer. Usually 2-3 min. If everyone just waits for the tail to drop it shouldnt be an issue. I also leave it off because if I need to break in for an emergency or priority I can.

Oh yeah, okay. Yeah, you know… he shouldn’t drink.

As a lifetime avid outdoorsman; hiking, camping, hunting, rifle matches, fishing, boating, and other activities, even a little 'off road', holder of several commercial radio licenses, licensed GMRS operator, NWS spotter, an FCC Volunteer Examiner AND a relatively seasoned ham radio operator, my opinion is that your statements above are not a true picture of either "hobby". Learning more about ham radio may be of benefit...if nothing else, perhaps you would know what you were talking about. Ever notice all of the talk here on this GMRS forum about clubs and nets and linking repeaters and setting up repeaters? Those aspects of GMRS have "ham" written all over them. Not being critical at all, but simply pointing to the elephant in the room. I think they are more closely related than some care to admit. In spite of the denial, I believe a lot of members here DO look at GMRS as 'ham lite', a low-tech shortcut to radio commo - I think that's great, and if the interest persists and deepens, there is a lot that can be done if one decides to move on to amateur radio. Yeah, yeah, there's a test. So what? As a VE, I work with a small group that gives the exams and I assure you that it's not near as bad as rocket surgery...we have kids as young as 8 or 9 passing the Technician exam. I am new here, but even then have seen MANY people asking questions indicating they have bought the license and the equipment, and would like to use it to find active repeaters, some with nets and clubs, in order to make contacts with people outside their social circles and caravans. That approach in no way takes away from the fact that many, maybe even most, GMRS users use their radios during their other activities, or those users that simply want to stay in touch with family members while they're out and about. Perhaps unbelievably, ham operators also use their mobile radios during their activities and to chit chat with acquaintances while commuting. I will say that with ham radio, the equipment and technical knowledge actually IS the hobby. If one is interested in electronics, it can be quite interesting. Almost everything about ham radio is geared toward learning about radio operation, propagation, building your own antennas and other technical aspects, and the results are measured in contact quality and distances. I am a former radar repairman and also built and serviced surveillance receivers and test equipment for a manufacturer. This ham radio hobby is an extension of that and right up my alley. Like GMRS and CB, simply another face of the radio hobby. Electronics and radio science is not for everyone and I get the idea that many people just want to use the radio as a tool without having to learn any more than necessary. I know a lot of people like that and that is one factor that led me to setting up GMRS - this radio service allows me to talk with my brother and sister outside the infrastructure, neither of whom wish to be ham radio operators. Many members of my ham radio club are also GMRS operators. No one hides it and we simply look at it as another tool in the box. Sorta the same with CB, although most of us avoid CB due to it being a zoo here. That didn't stop me from installing a CB here at the house and wiring an antenna in my truck for when I want it on the road. Civil uses of ham radio include operating safety checkpoints for marathons, races and organized hikes, weather warning/monitoring like the National Weather Service's dependence on spotters to help calibrate equipment (radar sensitivity and resolution) and to provide instant warning of severe weather developments. There is overt emergency response via groups like RACES and ARES. Our county emergency services work with us and even sends the commo truck out for our field day events. Our repeater covers a tremendous footprint and in the event of an emergency or severe weather becomes dedicated to public service. It runs on a generator and then batteries when power drops out. Our club is one of several in the area and just between our members contacting members (we can just go simplex on the repeater input frequency), we can cover a tri-county area. The maligned "POTA", "SOTA" and other temporary activations like "Field Day" are as much about determining how to operate in austere conditions and how to make solid contacts under tough conditions. Oddly enough, I see some of the same goals with my fellow GMRS licensees, "portable ops", "emergency contacts" and other terms are interchanged between these closely related radio hobbies.

So far the folks getting into our neighborhood network just use the appropriate call sign and first name. That way no one has to memorize all the call sign. We pretty much know who Sal is even if we have three.

Make sure if using “Unit number ___” that you’re wearing a shoulder mic, a black basket weave belt complete with flashlight, knife, and keys. Also helpful if you drive an ex-cop car, as this helps complete the picture. [emoji16]

Hiking, tromping around... hunting to the extent it's legal to use radios. Been out of the saddle for a long time, unfortunately, and I wouldn't trust my truck to manage a puddle these days, lol. I'm not a hard-core prepper or anything, but one excuse to get them is for emergencies.

Welcome from another Montanan! I’m in Butte.

Rolling in from the N. Idaho/NW Montana area to say hello! Brand-new to GMRS and radios in general. Have yet to program in my first repeater, and have had to watch several YouTube videos to figure out how to turn the power-on knob on my new HTs. Looking to learn, but I'll be comfortable with my forum handle for a while!

What is "warranty"? I've never heard of it.

Based on your input and input so far there is little use, outside of very special cases, for BCL and, in fact, can impede comms on repeaters. Also based on input so far, good practice is to manage the talk out timer by letting the repeater's squelch tail to drop. Lastly, if the channel is noisy or congested select a channel less so and switch to it. Thanks!

Gives me something else to look for when out at night trash picking.

I've never used it on any of my radios. As mentioned previously on a repeater you can experience hearing the tone when the transmitting party's carrier drops, but the repeater's hang time keeps the repeater in transmit mode, thus blocking you when the BCL is active. Then you get another station jumps in and you still can't get on the repeater. If someone times out the repeater, you'll know quick enough. They get cut off in mid transmission. The other parties will let the guy that got cut off know soon enough. Experienced repeater users, randomly between themselves, will occasionally let the repeater's carrier drop, thus resetting the timer. I have even heard a user specifically mention they will wait for the repeater's carrier to drop for that purpose. I rarely hear a repeater getting timed out. On simplex, yeah one might use it. But if the simplex channel is busy the other stations likely will just switch to a currently unused channel anyway. Any interference would be temporary.

I know it's weird, but I kinda want one... LOL

Not usually, but I do when I'm in the race car and, even with molded earbuds, can't always hear whether or not my spotter's done transmitting. Other than that, no, no busy lock.

What brand and model of radio? What’s the frequency? What channel is it assigned to? How did you program it?

They are activating a park. If they receive a certain number of contacts (10) while operating from that park they have activated it. It’s all spelled out on POTA.app. https://docs.pota.app A successful activation requires a minimum of 10 QSOs from a park in the designated list within a single UTC day (Zulu day). Courteous activators will still submit logs for unsuccessful activations to ensure their hunters get credit for the QSOs. Multiple activities at the same park in the same state/province/entity and the same UTC day count as a single activation, provided that the ten or more QSOs combined were made.

Draw schematics, answer unanticipated questions AND send/receive Morse code AND travel to the nearest FCC office to take the exam. I could have never done it. It is taken for granted that the exams these days, especially the first one, are essentially a "license to learn" and one really doesn't start really getting into it until they start working with it. I agree that memorizing the answers is really the most expedient way to get licensed. It's a large pool of questions and they are not the same on every exam. We have a least 4 exam versions for every license level, might be more. Studying the test questions actually does provide a bit of education. There are several online study sites with practice exams and flash cards, so studying now is easier than ever. To pass the Tech and General exams, one has to answer 26 our of 35 questions correctly.

He is that weird cousin that everyone shuns at all family reunions. I'm seriously thinking he was dropped on his head too many times as a baby. And if that isn't the case then when brains were being passed out, he thought they were passing out trains and said no thanks he would take the bus. And he is the poster child for the type of people that would most definitely get multiple blanket parties in the military.

Why are you here? You don't seem to like any radios anyone has, only have negative things to say. Do you come here to bish at people because your life is so sad?

One major reason a repeater hangs for a short time is "picket fencing". When a mobile unit is traveling and experiences a short dropout, the repeater doesn't immediately abandon the signal and stays engaged. This both provides unbroken coverage benefit for the mobile and provides a bit of a safety delay so the repeater doesn't get hammered with rapid on/off cycling. @HHD1: The expression "squelch tail" describes the "dead air" hang time after an incoming signal drops and has released the repeater. This delay is often followed by a sound signal ("beep") as the repeater ceases transmission.

Howdy, neighbor! While I currently live on the Idaho side of the state line, I spent the past decade in TC and still have family (and property) there. Good luck with your build! My step-kid graduated from Noxon High just a few years ago. Big state, small world! Edited to add: I only have the pair of Baofeng UV-5G Plus HTs. For now. God help me.

Yeah, the manufacture says the same thing when your radio thing breaks.

Welcome 'Aboard'

Does yours come with a signed COA from Harry S. Chung, the Minister of Commerce? This document greatly increases the value of the UV-82.

It's on... The Black Market is gonna get hot

Trump just announced the following: From ABC: “BREAKING: President Trump has announced that countries subject to reciprocal tariffs will have a lowered 10% rate for 90 days. This does not apply to China, which Trump says is now subject to a 125% tariff rate following their retaliatory tariff on the U.S.”

My cheap radios have like 50 menu options. You could say that about most of them.

Gil (WRUU653) found the right answer. A club can assign different numbers to each member to make it easier to tell them apart. I have not noticed anyone taking advantage of that.

Was that you pushing the shopping cart and wearing bunny slippers the other day?

Hell, you don't have to pick the trash. I'll give it to ya

Yep, pretty much. Or if there's an environment with a lot of traffic and you may not notice you're stepping on someone who started transmitting just before you, I guess, but at that point, pick a different channel.

Or if the name has "Peoples Republic" I know the reason for Baofeng releasing the GT-5R was to clean up the SE on the earlier UV-5R radios. The UV-5R radios prior to the release of the GT-5R were pretty dirty. Though the front end was not improved on the GT-5R, it is still susceptible to front end overload. I have both radios and the GT-5R does a better job overall and is clean.

Sounds like they took a nice radio and really screwed it up. I have none of those issues with the original. Worst issue is you get a dead transmit radio every once in a while, and they replace that. Ya, if you get in with them through email they will treat you right. I deal with Luxi and she hasn't lead me wrong yet. Gave me a UV26 to test and review. I like the H3 better.

What's not awesome about it? I think the TDH3 is pretty awesome for the money.

Well, it's take a few weeks getting all the bits and bobs to complete my mobile radio setup. This involves (for the present) one radio, Radioddity DB20-G, cup holder mount, four antennas, one mag mount, an NMO mount (permanently installed on one vehicle), a AC to DC power pack and an old unused Max Expedition Fat Boy pack. My primary vehicle is a Toyota Tacoma. So, the NMO mount is permanently installed on the rear of the truck. The other two vehicles '82 Jeep CJ and '78 Ford LTD II Sports Touring Edition will use the mag mount as will the "base station". Four antennas because I couldn't find a satisfactory way to carry one, so those live in each vehicle and my den. Although I likely will install some sort of permanent antenna at the house. With this setup I can simple grab the bag and have everything I need to be up and transmitting in just a couple of minutes. I'm in the programming phase with the radio. Currently using factory software. Frankly the programming is a heck of a lot simpler than what I used to do with process control equipment, just repetitious as all get out. But, I have tested tested all of the installations and my SWR ranges from 1.01 to 1.03.

Most of the hams I know are also GMRS users. It’s about fifty fifty on which license they got first. Some like me got their GMRS, got the bug and decided to expand. Others had their ham and I think saw value being inclusive for people in their own family, friends and community that aren’t interested in getting an amateur radio license. It isn’t two teams, it’s two tools.

I missed the hat. That’s a classic!!!

Sure there are. I would consider all repeater channels DIY channels. You have to program the radio to make them work if they are tone encoded. You have to do that yourself. The other simplex channels are all programmed to work as is.

YOU ... ARE such a Moron, but then you already KNOW this.

And Walmarts on the air!