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It’s hard to beat the db20g for functionality and price and although it can’t be programmed with Chirp it can be programmed using RT Systems which is superior to Chirp except for price.

That's due to the American attitude that one can buy accuracy when it actually comes from practice over time. Much the same as buying health and strength with supplements and exotic fruits. Strength comes from work, not pills or powders. You and I both know that most even when they do buy a product that is actually better, if they lack the skill to use it properly, it doesn't work any better than a tool of lower quality and price. I have a couple of expensive Snap On screwdrivers that really are special in my hands, but in my son-in-law's hands they are no better than those from Harbor Freight.

I believe Parallels has a 30-day free trial.

If you have an older Intel Mac, BootCamp might do the job for you. If you have a Silicon Mac then Parallels will be your only option - the CPS will probably run just fine but there is a high-chance that you wont be able to connect & send program to the radio.

RT Systems has a cable for this radio for $30: https://www.rtsystemsinc.com/USB-76-Programming-Cable_p_2323.html Or Radioddity has one for $20. https://www.radioddity.com/products/radioddity-pc005?_pos=5&_fid=b7d4551e2&_ss=c

I'm in the call Radioddity camp. Get one connection wrong and you have a bright and shiny new paperweight.

Hello..I'm new to gmrs . I've been a listener to scanners for 30 years so I've heard National Guard chopper, U of I air care, Police, Fire, Ambulance, etc. as well as HAm, CB and gmrs on my Whistler 1040 scanners connected to a Diamond antenna at 54' on a fiberglass telescoping mast for the past 30+ years. I bought a pair of Btech 50v2 radios and I monitor Ch 19 mostly. I've heard traffic on Ch 1 young kids, CH16-17-18-19 adult conversation. Just got my Surecom SW-102 SWR meter today and tested all channels - both radios, home base and truck 1.0 - 1.4, so now I'm ready for some gmrs conversation WSHI503 Waverly, Iowa 73s Doc out.

The only thing I've bought to circumvent the tariffs is 3 solar panels to bring my total to 10, which was my target.

Plenty of people do pay that and more. Prices go up once you start adding digital modes such as D-Star, DMR, and System Fusion.And being tri-band also increases the price a little. The Anytone AT-D578UV III Plus is a tri band 2m, 1.25m (220), and 70cm radio with DMR. Radios with D-Star or Fusion from Icom and Yaesu are similarly priced .

or Bootcamp

Sounds like you need Parallels for your MAC

You will have to ask Baofeng that question. Out of the box they will only work on GMRS channels.

Budget,, yeah the BTECH or even Midland will be your best budget bet. Don't wait around though, get her ordered up, prices are going to sky rocket and sooner than latter. My preference would be the Midland. Good luck

Do not mount antennas with 50 watts or more ERP inside the cab within inches of your head. Read up on Specific Absorption Rates and RF safety. Also realize that transmitting at 50 watts to someone who is holding a 4 or 5 watt portable is overkill.

Hi: I just messaged you. The PC version of this website is easier to use than the iphone app

Welcome from another newcomer!

Welcome! Not a bad handle. I think we're all learning new things continually. Like the old saying goes, if you're not getting better, you're getting worse. Welcome, fellow scanner enthusiast!

I have five mobile gmrs units and several handhelds. The skid steer really blocks the signal from a handheld and I need an external antenna. I have reservations that a ghost antennae will survive and was hoping someone has already fought this battle.

Unfortunately the Bridgecom repeaters do not have that feature. The easy solution for us is to connect the Bridgecom to the Arcom RC-210 controller.

To update this: friend ordered the same antenna as me(gp9nc) from a different comet dealer. Both antennas come with the ham band paperwork and show the working frequency as 155mhz to 465mhz(close enough for gmrs of course) Both antennas had paperwork that stated "Ham bands only". Not a big deal at all but as a new buyer you would be slightly concerned thinking maybe you got sent the "other" gp9n available rather than the nca. Anyhow carry on. Thanks guys ya'll always offer tons of info to me so paying it forward with this post if anyone else comes across a similar concern.

First off blueloctite ALL threaded connections. Mount and antenna! My opinion is an antenna on a spring hard mounted to an nmo directly to the machine somewhere would be my reccomendation. Even if you have to weld a mount tab to the machine. The antenna will be able to bend and deflect alot of impacts that way at least until the very base of it gets smashed. Im currently running two mxta26 antennas on heavy iron, one on a 390 size trackhoe, and another on d6 dozer. Both of which have held up fine but concrete dust is starting to corrode one of them pretty badly. I'm a big fan of the mxta26. My two have been going for about 3 months now no issues. But I really like the idea of a ghost mount as well as that would be easy to fit on a skidsteer but I feel like if it hit something it wouldn't be resilient at all.

If the magmount sticks to something metal you should be ok. But, you do need to check the antenna VSWRs along with the forward and reflected.

Hi Frank, I can understand your frustration but try to not get discouraged and stay excited. Things will get resolved. A random consideration: In many areas, depending upon the number of GMRS / FRS users in the area, communicating via simplex can be a real challenge. The 462Mhz/467Mhz frequencies used for GMRS channels are typically only capable of line-of-sight communications. Factor in buildings, trees, foliage, terrain and other things that tend to absorb signals in that frequency range and distance for 2 respective ground stations becomes quite limited. Obviously, this is why so many GMRS users tend to focus a lot on mountain/tower/building top repeaters. But in terms of getting an accurate signal check and test of your equipment, you are, IMHO, probably better off using simplex because when you do, people will be hearing your radio signal directly and not the signal of some presumably higher-powered, elevated repeater. If you can hear people talking on the non-repeater channels 1 thru 14 then you are almost certainly hearing simplex radio transmissions and chances may be good that if you are in range to hear them, they would be in range to hear you! If you hear someone on a simplex channel and attempt to communicate with them but do not get a response (assuming they are not just ignoring you!) the issue may be the other operators are using CTCSS or DCS sub-tones. IOW, it may not be your radio that is the issue, it may be the other person's radio that is the issue. The use of these sub-tones or "privacy codes" as they are often improperly called, restrict the user's radio to only hearing (breaking squelch) when that specific matching sub-tone is detected by the receiving radio. This creates the illusion that the conversation is private because unless the transmitting radio is sending out the correct matching sub-tone the receiving radio won't open squelch and play any audio. The majority of repeaters require a specific CTCSS or DCS sub-tone. So, your radio may be transmitting just fine in terms of distance, but the other GMRS users are not hearing you because of a specific setting on their respective radio. While the use of CTCSS or DCS codes on simplex is routinely discouraged many people do use them because they think it makes their conversation private. Additionally, some radios ship from the factory with CTCSS or DCS codes pre-programmed, so people just take the radios out of the box and start using them having no idea that these sub-tone codes are in use. So don't get discouraged too quickly. Some GMRS radios or scanners have the ability to display if a CTCSS or DCS tone is being transmitted by another radio and if you can detect this, it may allow you to set your radio to use the same sub-tone and make it "heard" by others. Doing tests of your mobile equipment with another handheld radio and a friend where you control the settings is the easiest path to take. If you need to rely on the assistance of other random people, then you must consider how the other person's radio might be configured. Good Luck! BTW, there is nothing wrong with talking to random people via GMRS! A random person may turn out to be a friend you just haven't met yet.

Hi Paul, Many radios on the market, including the Tidradio H8, ( I own one too) have the ability to receive on frequencies or bands that they do not have the ability to transmit on. This is why you were able to program frequencies into the radio that you can only receive and not transmit and it allows the device to be used as a frequency or channel scanner. At the risk of stating things that you may already know, here is a bit more explanation. The transmit frequency range(s) are locked by the manufacturer in the firmware or software of the radio. This is most often done so that the radio remains compliant with the certification for that device which has been granted by the regulatory agency for your country under their respective rules. I am not familiar with the regulatory entity in Australia so I cannot speak to that entity or their rules, but for example here in the USA frequency allocations and things such bandwidth, as how much transmitting power may be used etc. are defined and regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, aka the "FCC" and often radios sold here in the USA are FCC certified for use in a specific band that is defined by a "part" or section of the FCC rules code. For example, a GMRS radio here in the USA would be authorized under part 95 of the US FCC code and in order for the device to be Part 95 compliant or certified the radio would be required to adhere to certain frequency restrictions, band widths and power levels, etc. In many cases the radio might be capable of transmitting on other frequencies or bands or use more power etc., but these software imposed restrictions prevent that from happening so that the device can be compliant with those rules associated with specific uses. Some devices can be "Unlocked" to remove these artificial, software imposed, restrictions. You mentioned that you were considering getting your HAM radio license. In the case of the Tidradio H8, if you purchased the HAM version of the radio and not the GMRS version, that specific device does have the ability to be unlocked (Google it). However, while unlocking the device may allow it to transmit on the HAM frequencies and GMRS frequencies (or as you referred to the CB frequencies) that does not mean that the device is certified or authorized for such use by your communications regulatory authority, and you may or may not be licensed to use all the frequencies that the device is capable of working with, so be sure to do your homework about your local rules and requirements.

Last week we got 8-10 inches. The highlands are still solid white, as is the continental divide about a mile east of me. Rivers went out a month ago. Two pictures to demonstrate how quickly things change.

Yea, it's one of my 2 major pet peeves with GMRS and the two are linked by those who claim to understand but don't really know any more than the rest of us. There are some differences in equipment. Handhelds are even defined by equipment, and per FCC as Steve also suggested, handheld is a sub-type of mobile where regulations don't specify separate rules, Base stations have an antenna in a fixed position. Mobile is normally straight forward but can get a little fuzzy in some circumstances. To me, their clarification indicates it's the linking itself that is not intended, not just use of phone or internet. Linking by any technology has a lot of the same drawbacks (tying up channels, potential for interference, etc.). It's not just PSTN or internet but the linking itself that is a concern. True that they didn't update the regs, but interpretation by FCC is a lot better IMO than interpretation by Billy Joe and Bobby on the internet. For those who want to challenge it because the clarification wasn't incorporated into the wording in the regs, y'all go ahead and see what happens.

Ma'am, this is a Wendy's...

As others have mentioned, there is no difference in physical hardware as you move from one station type to another. Station type is established based on how it is used, and can be classed as any other station type simply by changing how the radio is used. Thise use cases are explained in the rules, as mentioned by others. @UncleYoda you're kind spicy today! LoL For what its worth, ther is absolutely zero regulations and zero statements of clarification that was released by the FCC that says GMRS repeaters can't be linked. The rules contradict themselves, which is why the FCC released a clarification that repeaters can't be linked over a network for the purpose of expanding coverage. As it stands right now, there is no prohibition on linking repeaters for the purpose of extending range over an RF link, because an RF linked is not a network under any definition.

I've hurt plenty of feelers when talking about BMW and Mercedes Benz's vehicles. They are the Ford and Chevy of the German auto market. I've seen plenty of beat up and worn out jalopy BMW's and Benz's going down the autobahn at 150+ mph that looked and sounded like they should be in a junk yard. Yeah I'm not impressed by overpriced German engineering. I've also made people cry when their $2000 + custom 1911 jams constantly while my $300 1911 made overseas works like a champ. I've shot those $2000 + pistols and they didn't shoot any better than the $300-$500 pistols from a ransom rest. And don't get me started on the whole "Mil Spec" is best line. I've had to use them $500 hammers while I was in the Army years ago. And the same hammer at that time cost $10 at the local hardware store. The term Mil Spec is over used and also not understood by most outside of the military and contractors. Military specifications is a minimum specification that an item needs to meet. And always made by the lowest bidder that cuts corners where they can after contract approval. It really doesn't matter what type of product we talk about, most things are designed to be thrown away after they stop working no matter the brand name or cost.

I was going to mention this but I was afraid that too many heads would explode.

I just received my new KG1000G+ UPS TODAY!!

You obviously have no idea what you're talking about. Hams can't use radios in exactly the same circumstances as GMRS because the test requirement is a barrier to entry for a lot of people -- which is why a lot of us have GMRS licenses/radios as well. Hams tend to be older, often somewhat debilitated, so we're not going to be using our radios while mountain biking, but by no means does that mean we just sit around and try to contact Italy. I participate in a stormwatch net, I monitor my city's emergency sirens and report how well they function, next week some of my club will be teamed with medical personnel to respond to emergencies at a marathon. Recently, during tornadoes and fires, members in the affected areas provided ongoing, real-time information on the events to emergency responders. It's not the same as running the marathon, but it's not endlessly calling CQ either. Next week, I'll be part of the staff of a regional cavalry competition. Guess what? I'll be pulling out the GMRS radio because many of the people who will be there are GMRS folks, and it also gives us the ability to talk to people with FRS radios, which some of the staff will be using. If you saw me there supporting that event, you'd think that was evidence that only GMRS people do that kind of stuff, but you'd be wrong. I go back and forth between the two modes as appropriate to the situation. A lot of us use radio to support hobbies, but also as a hobby in itself. There's a certain allure to the challenge of building an 80 meter antenna from scrap wire. It's true GMRS is most often an adjunct to some other hobby, but that doesn't mean there can't be a subset of GMRS users who want to build that antenna and a subset of hams who see the radio mostly as a means of supporting other activities.

The advertisement for the GP-9NC shows it as a GMRS antenna and covers 460-470MHz. The GP-9 and GP-9N (no C at the end) are ham only. The letter "C" is Comet's designation for the commercial band (kinda where GMRS resides) - not ham. The letter "N" means it has a "Type N" connector and the straight GP-9 is ham only with a SO-239 connector. When I got mine, the bag it came in said it was GP-9N and they put on a tiny sticker with the letter "C" at the end of it. My guess is they didn't want to print up new packaging to add a letter. I don't remember what paperwork it came with though (ham or GMRS) but I didn't have to tune it.

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!

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

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?

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.

Do you have a GMRS radio? If so, set it to scan channels 1-22 with no privacy tones. If people are using GMRS and they’re within range, you’ll hear them.

He's referring to the RT97L, 50W GMRS repeater. I'm curious - was your 40Watt repeater new, with a warranty, is it FCC Part 95 compliant, did it come pre-programmed with the GMRS repeater pairs, was the duplexer pre-tuned for GMRS, is it portable, and water proof, and does it automatically heat up to remove snow/ice when used outdoors in cold weather?

I can see that working okay, but it's certainly not cheap. For that price, you could come close to the new Retevis 25 watt repeater, which is almost certainly more rugged. It made sense when the only commercially available package options output 5 watts, but I'm not so sure it does now. Two radios designed for that purpose probably work pretty well, but the "two Baofengs in a can" stuff I've seen on YouTube is over-hyped.

I've made an "ammo can" repeater, and it works...kinda. IME, you need about 30' of horizontal separation and 2' of vertical separation to get a result that's noticeably better than simplex. With a pair of UT-72 antennas I got pretty good results, but then it won't fit in an ammo can. They don't weigh much, so it's still packable, and if you're driving, it's no big deal at all. I've seen guys on YouTube claiming good results with antennas about 6" apart, but I haven't seen anyone actually demonstrating that. A pair of roll-up antennas should work, but you'd still need to carry a couple of 15' lengths of coax. The coax and roll-ups would fit in a large-ish ammo can with the other stuff, so it can be done, but it's not as easy, compact, or cheap as the YouTubers make it look. The range on the ammo can repeater didn't impress me either. Until now, the two common commercial ones were 10 watt units (actually probably ~5 out of the duplexer), which can still be useful if you position them advantageously, but vegetation definitely limits their range -- one of the few cases IMO in which adding more power is the solution. I've ordered one of the new 25 watt repeaters from Retevis and I'll be interested to see how it works. They claim 22 watts post-duplexer. We'll see.

SWR in a handheld antenna is nearly meaningless because there’s no transmission line. All the power still exits the antenna. In an antenna system, a portion of power is converted to heat within the transmission line between the transmitter and the antenna. High SWR results in power reflecting and traveling back through the transmission line to the radio where it reflects again and incurs more losses before it gets back to the antenna. Each time more power goes out the antenna until all of the power has either been converted to heat in the transmission line or RF radiation in the antenna. In a system with virtually no transmission line virtually none of the power becomes heat. For that reason handheld radios (including cell phones) have virtually no transmission lines and so SWR has very little importance.

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 also have permission to this repeater and based on my settings you are missing a few things. Send me a message and we can trouble shoot.

Welcome to myGMRS. First, seven miles distance is very doable, even at low power, if the antennas of both stations are sufficiently elevated and minimum obstructions between them. Every single obstruction between the antenna degrades. In my location, semi-rural SE Cincinnati, 60% Trees, mostly-level to mildly rolling terrain, I can just reach my mobile from the home when home antenna is at 56’ AGL. You YMMV because of obstacles in your area. There are four blocks of frequencies in GMRS as you can see in mack jack’s post. (7) 1/2W simplex, (7) 5W simplex, (8) 50W dual purpose repeater/simplex and (8) 50w repeater only input frequencies. The two groups of 8 are referred to as the GMRS “Main” frequencies in the FCC regs. When and if you really need high-power simplex communication, you use the main frequencies in the 462.xxxx range. You can use any of those frequencies. In my case, my home simplex channel is 462.6500 (19). I use that one because there is not a high-profile active repeater in the area that is using it. And if one showed up, I could merely move to a less active frequency. I have 14 others to choose from. I run 5w normally on simplex for normal comms. Seldom do I need or benefit from more. But I do kick it up to high-power when needed. BTW, I am using a KG-1000G in the home, a Comet 712EFC GMRS antenna, real LMR400 coax and a heavy-duty 46’ push-up fiberglass antenna mast attached to the house. Multiple pictures of it on this forum. Rest easy my friend. Yes, you can operate at 50watts simplex on GMRS if you really do need the power. Regards, Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Good explanation Corey. Its also important to note that even repeaters have some form of duty cycle and that the duty cycle can change depending on output power. A great example is the motorola 1225 series repeater. At full power, 45 watts, the repeater is limited to a 50% duty cycle. In low power, 25 watts, they are 100% cycle. Luckily, good repeaters have protection in the form of a Time Out Timer (TOT) and usually a ReSet Timer (RST) When set up correctly, the TOT should cut off the TX BEFORE the duty cycle is reached, and the RST should prevent transmissions until the appropriate rest period has passed. This helps extend the life of the repeater even when your not there to monitor it. Almost ALL radios now-a-days have a TOT as well. Typically I set mine for 2 minutes which is more than I need to transmit for, but is less than the duty cycle permits thus protecting the transistors. I've had people tell me its dumb to do as no idiot would want to talk non-stop unless they are in a net or special operation. That's when I give them this story: A while back when I was on the first aid squad, I was getting ready to go to sleep. Turned out the lights, laid my head on the pillow, then came the sound of a soft moan from a woman. Now, this would have been great, if there had been a woman in bed with me. The moaning continued and a bit confused I began looking for the source. Didn't take long to find my squad radio was receiving, and after turning it up a little, yep you guessed it. Turns out, the LT's portable radio had fallen between the bed and the night stand and as they and their lover were going at it, it was all transmitted quite clearly to the repeater, then retransmitted for the ENTIRE COUNTY to listen to. To make matters worse, the radios all had ID numbers so we knew whos radio was transmitting, and even worse, the LT had shut their phone off, so calling them to tell them their private session was public was not doable. Finally, the radios did not have TOT's at the time and so for a good while (I just shut my radio off but a friend at the county said they heard every minute of the 15+ minute incident. When the portable finally cut out, either from overheating or a dead battery or from falling loose of the PTT button, there wee quite a few catcalls to let them know everything was public including a few repeats of nick-names used during the session. So folks, learn two things from this story. A: TOT's work, especially when a mistake is made or you don't realize the transmit button is pushed, it will work and save your radio from damage and possibly you from some embarrassment. B: Someone is always listening, so keep in mind what you say or do on the radio, especially if you work for a public safety organization because if you say the wrong things you could find yourself in quite a bit of trouble.