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Sven, I think you’ve lost your marbles, That’s exactly why we have call signs and why we’re required to use them: to identify ourselves to others and have a way to look them up when we engage in the personal or business activities of “making contact”. Although it’s not explicitly encouraged like ham radio it’s absolutely not discouraged in any way, explicitly or implicitly.

I wish it was that boring around here. We have the most uncouth people on the radio around here. One lady got on the repeater (not simplex) to tell her husband to go break-up the kids from fighting because she was taking a crap and couldn't get off the commode.

"Well, you see, little Timmy, sometimes a man buys a radio so he can meet other men and exchange signal reports and talk about antennas." "What about talking to friends and family?" "Yeah yeah, they do that too, but first, let's talk about mag mounts and ground planes..."

Post a screenshot of the channel settings in Chirp. It's easy to set things wrong in Chirp. [Whenever you want help, give as much detail as you can.]

Offset +5MHz use a channel that allows transmit you could post all the relevant menu settings so someone might spot what's wrong

There are only 3 possibilities: You're on the wrong channel You've entered the wrong code(s) You're too far from the repeater The repeater is no longer online

What I hear is that one guy is going into town to get parts for the tractor or a load of feed. He and his friend get together on 70 cm DMR for maybe 10 minutes every day just to check in with each other. It’s nice to hear.

If you and your family member are both holding the radio at five feet off the ground, and there are absolutely no contours to the earth or other obstructions between you, you'll get about 5.5 miles range. This is because even lacking contours, at 5.5 miles the curvature of the earth will block your signal, if both antennas are at 5' off the ground. If you can get both antennas 20 feet off the ground, the curvature of the earth will attenuate the signal at just under 11 miles. So, again, if there are no contours to the terrain, and there is nothing else between you, the curvature comes into play at just under 11 miles. If you can get one antenna 30 feet off the ground, and the other is 5 feet (base station to handheld, for example), you will get 9.44 miles of range. To get ten mile coverage with one handheld radio (antenna 5 feet) and the other radio a base station, the base station's antenna needs to be 36 feet off the ground. Here's a formula you can use: range[miles] = 1.22459*sqrt(height[feet_antenna_A]) + 1.22459*sqrt(height[feet_antenna_B]) But that formula applies if the earth doesn't have any variations in the terrain. This is Kansas, but it's not *that* flat; there is some variation. That variation can help you or harm you. If you're able to take advantage of slight hills to get the antennas higher, great. If the slight hills block your antennas, not great. As for a repeater, it doesn't change physics, it just adds a third antenna to the mix that, if placed in a location between you and your family members, or if placed high on a hillside that all of you can "see" at the same time, is able to be the antenna you talk through. Repeaters make a lot of sense where I live; there are mountains around me, and everyone lives in a valley below the mountains. So if someone has the ability to place a repeater 1000 or 1500 feet above the valley, everyone can access that repeater all over the valley. But you're in flatter terrain, and may not find such advantaged repeaters. Also, this isn't a power issue. A 50w radio can't blast through the curvature of the earth. And if you all could "see" an antenna elevated a thousand feet over the area, you could all hit it at 2w from many miles away, until you reach the curvature limit again. A theoretical 1000 foot high antenna communicating with a handheld at 5 feet would have 41 miles range. The farthest repeater I can hit is 64 miles away, and I'm at 5000 feet elevation, the valley floor is 4200 feet, so we're both well above the obstructions around us and the curvature probably wouldn't eliminate our "line of sight" until we get to a distance of about 75 miles.

Both MURS and FRS lie just above the Ham 2M and 70cm bands. The ratio between the mid point of the 2M band frequency range to the mid point of the MURS band is 0.953. The ratio between the mid point of the 70cm band frequency range to the mid point of the FRS band is 0.946. It's an almost identical ratio so a simple reduction on the element length would likely work just fine for both to modify a Ham dual band rubber duck antenna.

It would be easy to make a dual band antenna that covers MURS and FRS/GMRS. It's done all of the time for 2m and 70cm dual band radios. Tri band and quad band hand held radios generally require two antennas: one for 2m/70cm and another for 1.25m and 6m. The cat's out of the bag when it comes to actually separating FRS from GMRS. I doubt that will ever happen. But I could be wrong on that.

"Making contacts" with anonymous men certainly counts as a personal activity... Very.. very personal..

My understanding is that if the radio itself is branded as BTECH, it is contract manufactured for them to their specs (by someone other than Baofeng). If the radio itself is branded as Baofeng (regardless of whether the box only says BTECH), it is a customized model from Baofeng which is usually (always?) exclusive to BTECH. For example, the UV-82HP is a BTECH exclusive, although there are generic tri-power UV-82s. My work on the BF-F8HP Pro (a BTECH exclusive) shows that BTECH is listening to customer feedback (many requests from Facebook, here, and other places) and it has been incorporated into the two firmware updates released so far, with more to come). It is also quite ahead of other analog Baofeng handhelds in terms of features, bug fixes, and programming software (Disclaimer: I write the Windows CPS programming software for the BF-F8HP Pro and co-manage firmware development, as well as dabbling in documentation. However, nothing I post should be considered an official statement of BTECH.) Speaking of the BF-F8HP Pro, if you use coupon code "CPS" at checkout you'll get 20% off (on that model only, and only on the BTECH website, not on Amazon). I should point out that the BF-F8HP Pro is not type approved for GMRS use, but since the equipment reviews rules were relaxed a while ago to allow discussions of non-GMRS equipment due to the overlap between the GMRS and ham communities, mentioning it here should be OK.

Had a nursing home near me using Channel 1 and 67.0 PL. Occasionally, usually late at night, I would say something like, "I just crapped my bed again. Can someone please come clean me up and change my sheets?" There would be several "Who said that"'s and confused chatter between the staff for a while. It helps if you can do a good "elderly person" voice. I could do that since my teens. I AM elderly now so it just gets easier.

Does the radio work on other repeaters? That is as good as a watt meter for testing if the repeaters are similar distances away or the one that does work is farther.

Make sure you join our weekly check-in net on every Wednesday at 8pm on the Brentwood Grasslands Repeater at 462.650. The tone is 123.0. Normal +5 offset.

ok.. so you have NOT confirmed the tone is correct.. CHIRP looks good to me, but see what the experts have to say. Have you ever tested your radio with a power meter?

Fine... I'll allow it.. Mr @WSFM218 please provide an update!

Exactly! Because this advice is WRONG!! To "get caught" someone must first be looking for you.. and for someone to go looking for you, they must first care... TL;dr: You can't get caught by the FCC because the FCC isn't looking for you because the FCC does not care. SOURCE: The record of enforcements over the last 15 years as reported in the FCC's public enforcement database

It's not fun... and I shared a significantly cleaned-up version of what was actually said.

My 5RM variant came open and I use it for ham but there's no way to lock it to only those frequencies. If you only have a GMRS license you would need a GMRS version to be strictly legit and these models are typically for HAM.

The Comet 2x4SR definitely does better with a good ground plane underneath. I have one mounted on a small metal plate that is bolted down to an expanded metal rack on my SxS and another mounted on the center of the cab roof on my 2010 Ford F150 Super cab. I get an SWR of 1.8 and below on 2m, 1.25m, MURS, 70cm, and GMRS with both setups. It's hard to find a good spot with a large enough surface for a good ground plane on a Jeep Wrangler. Going with an antenna that doesn't require a ground plane will work better.

That's certainly one definition of "business"

But it is vitally important, if not imperative that they first discuss their recent Bunionectomy and the status of Myrna Mae's Hernia prior to getting into the nuts an bolts of antennae...

I believe bubble-gum is the standard...

You only need to post the query once. Having the same question in multiple places makes it difficult for you to learn of good suggestions/answers to you issue.

I've never heard the likes of such behavior. No ID. Well. How uncivilized. I bet they use DCS tones too. What has this world come to?!?!?!?!

No. Totally different companies Sent from my SM-S911U1 using Tapatalk

A better antenna, mounted as high above your roof as possible (and the same on their end) might work.

For GMRS Wyoming designated 307 (channel 3, CTCSS tone #7) because the entire state has 307 as its area code. I don’t know anything like that in Montana. Here it would be 406.

Uh huh.. Then... Why do I hear FRS radios every time I'm on any of the GMRS repeater channels? and, why can I hear all of my locked/legal FRS radios on the GMRS repeater channels ? I am very confused.

That's why I made my comment about people needing to eat a Snickers Bar as they seem to be very hangry over stuff that doe not matter. In the end it doesn't really matter how you use GMRS as long as you follow the FCC regulations and guidelines. Same goes for amateur radio too.

Make more. It's not going to end soon.

Hey folks! Had a great time at the Meet-N-Greet. Just wanted to thank everyone for coming out and share a few pictures! Talk to you all soon!

Could Have Fooled Me......LOL "Some People" Have A Different Opinion On That - Many Folks Enjoy Your Comical Videos......

At least with BTECH, you know you're dealing with a real human in South Dakota.

Terri, Again I want to express my appreciation for your calm and thoughtful comments and informative posts in response to curmudgeonliness. Happy Independence Day!

The battery isn't - the contacts are on the inside face. It's a 5RM or 5RH variant not a UV-5R.

Are the accessories on this model compatible with UV-5R accessories, specifically the higher capacity UV-5R batteries?

Maybe instead of thinking of this as a "One band can't do both those frequency ranges" *problem*, it should be looked at as a "maybe GMRS should have cross-band repeaters, and maybe they could be used to build networks of repeaters with "not public network" connections..." *opportunity*.

Guess what ?? 6 meters was open yesterday and Today !! I made 11 new contacts on usb , and 4 on fm @ 50 watts !

Wanna have some fun? Belch a couple of times and listen as there is a panic to verify possession of all radios by the teacher they are assigned to. They think a kid has one of the radios. Orrr...after hearing names of teachers or administrators (Mr Jones, Mrs Smith, etc) in the school for a while, if you can get your voice high enough to genuinely sound like a kid, say something like "Mr Roe and Mrs Doe are sleeping together." Pandemonium will ensue. Don't ask how I know this.

The local nursing home that is about 600 yards away from me has decided to start using FRS radios. And they picked channel 17. I bet they love it when we talk on the local repeater that uses repeater channel 17. We use both TX and RX tones on the repeater. I kept seeing my signal meter move but wasn't hearing anything. At first I thought maybe there was atmospheric ducting and we were picking up another repeater, That does happen on occasion. But then I switched to channel 17 and heard the nursing home staff. I know they are using FRS since their signal isn't very strong even as close as I am. I've been tempted to call on the radio for a clogged toilet in room 13 but have refrained from doing so for now.

Fed

Oh please people, just relax! Let them give it to us and then we worry about what we do. I am sorry, may be I am the only one with the body of an adult (a sexy one, if you must know, ), but the wonder of a child. They haven’t given them to us and I am already thinking about all the possibilities. Like a child about to get a new toy. Even though, I am sure that the FCC in their infinite wisdom will ruin it but coming up with some crazy restrictive regulations. Our government doesn’t like it when we have too much fun and freedom. Oh well, sometime is better than nothing.

Amateur radio spans almost the entirety of the RF spectrum, and LW, MW, and HF propagation are vastly different from VHF, UHF, and other much higher frequency band propagation. GMRS uses 65cm, which is very close to amateur 70cm. For those, propagation will be virtually identical; UHF 70cm and UHF 65cm GMRS will be identical. GMRS doesn't extend into VHF. Amateur radio has bands in 2m and 6m that can be described as VHF. VHF requires bigger antennas than UHF for similar gain characteristics. VHF suffers less from attenuation by foliage. But UHF is a little better at getting through walls. Both are "line of sight." Amateur offers 10m (a lot like CB propagation -- pretty long range during periods of high sunspot activity, line of sight at other times). Amateur offers 20m, 40m, 80m, 160m. These are the bands people use to talk all over the world, but they're subject to seasonal changes, day/night changes, sunspot activity, and so on. They achieve these long distances by bouncing the radio waves off the ionosphere -- layers in our atmosphere. Requires knowledge and good technique for knowing when to use which band. Very large antennas are common, and high power levels. Not entirely reliable. You're probably asking about 2m/70cm amateur vs GMRS. And again, there, 70cm vs GMRS there's no practical propagation difference. 2m vs GMRS there can be some advantages to 2m if you have comparable gain antennas, which will be bigger. But the advantages are subtle. The fine print: I skipped over the following amateur bands: 1.25m, which is less used, but close in propagation to 2m. I skipped 900MHz and GHz bands because they're uncommon for simplex over any distance. And I skipped LW/MW, as well as 17m, 15m, and 12m amateur. 17,15,12 are going to share characteristics of 10m and 20m, but are less common bands. LW and MW require much larger equipment and are relatively niche bands. 160m is pretty close to MW though. I also skipped over MURS, because its power requirements are more limited, despite propagation being similar to 2m. 30m is useful in the same way that 20 and 40m are useful, but less common. And 60m is relatively niche. I skipped CB because at 11m, its propagation is similar to 10m, but it's a dumpster fire of crazy traffic. However, people do use CB. It's limited to 4w for AM transmissions, and 12w for SSB transmissions.

Giving it to GMRS doesn't really solve anything except the question of what to do with it, but it doesn't really make sense to create a new class of license for that band. I suspect that if it were given to GMRS, users would divide up into "VHF GMRS" and "UHF GMRS" folks depending upon their needs or whims. And, of course, the occasional oddball would "need" to have two radios just because. Yes, repeaters would be expensive to build and maintain, but 6m AM simplex would be great for some things, especially with 50-100 watts. A lot of folks who now need a repeater to talk to the spouse unit from office to home could probably just go to 6m simplex. Farms and ranches that now use repeaters might be able to get rid of them. The easiest solution for the FCC would be to set some basic rules, toss it into the GMRS category, and say, "You figure it out. Or don't. Whatever."

Actually, that would be very interesting considering the proposal is asking for 100 watts and repeater use in the 6M area. Can you imagine the 'FARS' people would get. This would open a whole new game.. I like the idea

Using existing radios, yes. But if the frequencies were given over to GMRS I'm pretty sure someone would find a way to make one radio do both.

GMRS is another tool in the toolbox. Where some people might not have a ham license, the Gmrs license is good alternative. Even MURS is a good choice for people without Any license.

Ok, repeaters are transmitters. Transmitters must be part 95 accepted. Does any manufacturer sell one that is certified?