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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.

There is a class of hams, old and young, who feel the need to feel superior in some way because they had to pass a test. Since the exams are all multiple choice now, with all the possible questions published with the correct answers, it’s no big deal. Spend some time memorizing the questions and answers is not impressive, which is what many end up doing. In years past one had to draw schematics etc. and answer questions with no published answer guide. Im not diminishing what people who have passed the various ham exams accomplished. I’m encouraged by those who want to go beyond simply memorizing the questions and answers, but want to know the underlying theory. We get those people here on this forum. We should do everything we can to make them feel welcomed and politely answers the questions they have. Snarky attitudes should have no place here.

I stand corrected. I went in to profile to edit said “Unit Number” and it said this underneath.

I think that “Unit Number” has been there for a while, but I know Rich changed the site so multiple users sharing the same call sign could register. But I don’t think it uses the Unit Number. I could easily be wrong.

My enabling Busy Channel Lock (BUSYLOCK) on my radios seemed like a simple courtesy to reduce the chance of accidentally stepping on others. Before enabling it I did receive good advice that BUSYLOCK can disable a radio's ability to transmit in noisy or congested environments. I thought this risk acceptable risk since BUSYLOCK is easily disabled. What I didn't anticipate was the effect of BUSYLOCK had on my participation in repeater based events. The owner of my favorite repeater hosts a weekly event were participants start by checking-in. With a list of participates complete, he calls upon each to respond to the week's topic. It provides lighthearted discussion and opportunity to check out equipment. After enabling BUSYLOCK I found my attempts to check-in resulted in the BUSYLOCK error tone, even when I was sure the previous participant was done and no one else was attempting to talk in that moment. In my ignorance I did not consider the repeater's use of carrier delay (hang-in timer) on BUSYLOCK. With the repeater's carrier delay longer than it takes for participants, including the host, to realize the current speaker is done and there is an opportunity to talk I was effectively blocked. Now slightly less ignorant, I have disabled BUSYLOCK on my radios unless I find some future special case use. Does anyone have use for BUSYLOCK?

Welcome. What got you into gmrs? What activities do you do with family and friends that you need comms for? Great hunting in Montana? Hiking? Horse back riding? Camping? Off roading……? Repeaters are the extra but gmrs is for comms while doing something fun out doors

Welcome 'Aboard'

Never have used it. Reading about the intent of it, I understand the idea.. but this seems like a "feature" that no one really every asked for, and I am not surprised that it does not work well.

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.

It means everyone is leaving Ca, mostly the Bay Area

Reminds me of an eBay ad once. The guy was selling a used Kenwood TK-2170 VHF radio for about $10. Normally they go for $50 to over a $100. The ad copy said the radio beeps, shuts off, the boots back up when trying to transmit. Seller thought it was defective. I had a few an knew exactly what the issue was. So I purchased it. Yup, it was a nearly dead battery pack. Radio worked perfect with a fully charged one. That was a supper good deal I just couldn't pass up.

Thanks! That is a special case, indeed. To your point and more generalized, BUSYLOCK is useful with simplex comms in noisy environments?

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

I have no idea if it’s related, but BTECH posted this notice: Monday, April 7, 2025 ARLINGTON, SD – If you own a GMRS-PRO or UV-PRO from BTECH, the new 0.8.3 firmware update is worth your attention and comes packed with fixes and improvements. One of the biggest highlights is the UV-PRO’s refreshed display, which is much easier to read in direct sunlight. Both radios also get a fix for a stubborn receive problem that showed up when NOAA alerts were enabled. This bug sometimes caused weaker reception and odd scanning behavior. It’s finally gone, and the radios now handle NOAA alerts the way they were always meant to. Below, you’ll find a full breakdown of what’s changed and why it matters.

They have 1035 transmitters. Currently 20 transmitters are down.

Resonant antennas are always going to be more efficient and work better. The G90 can easily tune all kinds of metal objects such as shopping carts, metal bleachers, chainlink fence, etc. But I would rather not have to even use the tuner if I don't have to. Using resonant and efficient antennas are more important when running QRP at 5 to 10 watts and is a big help even when running 20 watts. I have worked stations with my G90 and a resonant antenna where others using 100 watts and an external tuner could not.

I don’t see why not. The NOAA stations TX 24/7 using wide band FM so any radio that can receive the frequency should work. Also you really don’t need a squelch setting if you’re close enough. Plus you shouldn’t be using any kind of tone either.

Decided to sniff around once I was home. WSHI569's in Somersville, CT. 162.475 appears to be the closest one, and isn't reporting as degraded or as an outage. So the question is: can he receive it on another radio and this one's misconfigured / goofy?

Is that what you kids call it these days?

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.

SOCAL with Bigger issues Again !!

No, there’s actually an event called “Walmart Parking Lots On The Air” where people operate from Walmart parking lots as a way of introducing people to ham radio. https://wmplota.org/

Here is the main website for Parks On The Air: https://parksontheair.com POTA can be fun and it's good practice for just in case situations where you might have to go mobile/portable in real life emergencies. Some guys will use 100 watt HF radios for POTA while others will use 20 watt radios and some will only use QRP radios (10 watts or less). I use a Xiegu G90 20 watt radio and do have the Xiegu 100 watt amp that I can use if I want or need to. My brother likes hauling his Icom IC-7300 with him. Other guys in our club use QRP radios only. And I have also seen guys use 400 + watt amps for POTA. But the bigger the amp the bigger the batteries you need to run everything. Portable quarter wave antennas with telescoping whips and wire end fed half wave antennas are probably the most popular antennas for POTA. You will see some use a telescoping mast for their EFHW antennas while others just throw one end up into a tree. Different parks have different rules on that. Then there is also SOTA - Summits On The Air and IOTA - Islands On The Air. The SOTA guys pretty much all use QRP radios.

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.