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No. Getting a bigger/better antenna and/or getting it higher will help more.

I don't understand what the confusion is. 95.335(a) clearly says that an exception must be listed in the applicable subpart and Subpart E for GMRS does not have any exceptions listed. How is this a debate?

Which reminds me of the people who want those "High Power" HT's claiming 10 watts plus output. I don't have a link to it but there are some FCC specifications for specific absorption limits based on frequency. Hams are "supposed" to do basic RF exposure calculations above certain power levels at various frequencies per the FCC for RF safety.

As @SteveShannon, certified & anointed H.E.R.D. mentioned, there is no limit specific to handhelds. And if you look hard you will find several 8W units, and if you really apply yourself, you might even find a 10W or two.. But it is important to understand that in most cases, on-average, usually, most of the time and in most situations, most people will not notice any difference between 4 or 5 watts and 8 or 10 watts other than noticing the battery draining much faster.

..we will reserve judgement for now. With a UV9g, you dont need to think about the offset - these are the basic steps: Put the radio on the correct REPEATER CHANNEL - Probably listed as either "Repeater 20" or Channel 28 Go into the Transmit CTC menu and enter the tone IGNORE/REMOVE the Receive tone as it is optional and at this point its only going to add to your confukulation Be sure to save all your changes (you may need to resort to the manual) Push the talk-button and talk, let go of button and listen for the Kerchunk/Static back from the repeater, or someone responding If it doesn't work then either you have the wrong channel, the tone is wrong, you are not close enough to the repeater (just because you can hear it does not mean it can hear you) or the repeater is down/broken/offline. The fact that you said you "have the offset" leads me to surmise that you've done it wrong.

Found some!

Now if you wanted to put a repeater in that trailer we’d line up to engineer the shit out of it!

If the trailer gets loose, you've got much bigger problems than damaging your coax.

I thought that when you buy a UTV/SidebySide it was in the purchase contract that you must turn up the over-powered stereo volume to full-blast whenever within 5000 yards of other people trying to enjoy nature.

O I get that. those days don't happen for me. Been sober for 2 years and plan to stay that way.

Yes.. and throw in your callsign once in a while.

The hill is going to do what it does. Where that additional power sometimes can help is if you’re transmitting through vegetation. Vegetation attenuates the signal so more power can make a difference. Hills block the signal and power won’t overcome that. But a high antenna can. In fact the single most effective improvement most people can make is to get their antenna up in the air. The second is to feed it with a cable that doesn’t convert the signal to heat. Power is way down in priority.

Recognized.

Correct; they’re only called out separately when regulations apply to them differently.

When i had my Jeep i had a Midland MXT 575.. It stayed with the Jeep.. I loved that radio and i want it back. I even like it over my current Hytera HM782.. Well almost.

Ha! I just wanted my pedantry to be recognized.

Many people use the Midland models that are fully water/dust proof and have the built-in intercom port/plugs in them. They also have a simple screen and simple controls (only 1 or 2 knobs) - which is useful when plowing through vegetation and animal habitats at unsafe speeds while drinking beer with the music blasting at full volume.

Under FCC Definition, handheld radios are mobile radios. Straight from § 95.303 Definitions. Hand-held portable unit. A physically small mobile station that can be operated while being held in the operator's hand.

You are absolutely correct. Although, Part 95.335(a) gives an exemption for Part 90 LMR radios to be operated in Part 95 radios services and there no rule or regulation saying differently in writing. There are no expectations that any rule, regulation, or statute to have any e.g. and e.g.s are not binding or make it regulatory to the rule where examples are giving. As I previously stated, certain exceptions are given in each subpart regarding how a Part 90 LMR may be operated on the respective freqs. Also, listing the two e.g. references was a mistake and should never have been written in 95.335(a).

Unless specifically called out a handheld is regulated the same as a portable or a mobile. Thus, while not practical, you could have a 50 watt handheld on some of the channels.

You think that's bad? Try reading technical patents! What would take a few simple sentences in engineering speak to describe takes a couple of paragraphs once all the legal mambo-jumbo is added.

We were in silty mud this past June.

This is why you need stupid people to write the actual regulations. They'd spell it out instead of referring to this which refers to that which in turn refers to something else. Reminds me of reading the NEC regulations where you need to look at the whole book every single time because nothing is stated in a sentence that doesn't refer to some other part of the book.

YES. Unfortunately the FCC allows a bunch of other crap to operate there as well. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-15/subpart-C/subject-group-ECFR2f2e5828339709e/section-15.240 Some examples: https://hackaday.com/tag/433-mhz/

I don’t agree. Although the numbers of two examples of exceptions are listed, one from subpart C (RCRS) and from part E (GMRS), the actual exception belonging in the GMRS subpart no longer exists and thus cannot apply. 95.335(a) clearly says that an exception must be listed in the applicable subpart.

It does not say that it is permitted. It says if there were exceptions, they would be listed, and they aren't. Insults from people like you are meaningless to me.

My license was granted on 2025-07-22 and has no mention of Line A or any frequency restrictions.

I'm sure any of those will be nicer to use than my old boat anchors.

It's exciting. Almost like getting to the prize in a box of Cracker Jacks. I can't wait to find out what it is.

..this section of the forum is so dead, I didnt even know it was here.. Anyway.. I just setup my Spec5 Trekker Bravo, so, i'm IN !

Maybe change your post title to New to Interwebs message boards?

Here is another example of how changes in the atmosphere effects UHF radio waves. My bother and I both have Allstar nodes and both were set to the same frequency and PL tones. These nodes only put out about .05 to 1 watt of power on transmit. And we have our radios set to 5 watts or less when using the nodes. We are 19 miles apart and 5 watts is normally not enough for us to hear each other. The other day there was a storm cell in between us and we could hear each other. My brother was using his Allstar node to talk to guys in Texas. I could hear him but not the other people. He could also hear me when I was using my node. The storms and low cloud cover was bouncing the 5 watt signal 19 miles. Granted neither one of us had a very strong signal as the signal strength meters barely moved, but it was enough of a signal that we could hear each other. We both ended up changing the frequency that our Allstar nodes use to stop this from happening.

Yes.. LJ...

Probably not allowed here, but I find gunfire generally tends to drive those folks away. Not in their direction mind you.

Of course. Depending on the trailer and what's in it, it could be a REALLY bad day. It'd be worse if it takes your headliner or half your dashboard with it, depending on where the radio's mounted and how the cable's run. I'm just saying that, in my opinion, the juice, what of it there may be, just ain't worth the squeeze of dealing with a remote antenna.

"As I mentioned in my previous missive on the matter..."

No lies detected.

Copy that. I’ll try that.

Yes.. Get at least 50 feet apart and try again, then report back.

Copy that! What sparked my confusion was in section (b) & (c) when talking about the interstitial frequencies it specifically mention "hand-held portable" radios but in section (a) when talking about the main frequencies it didn't say "hand-held portable".

Sounds funny, but it's a real thing. Some Ham 70cm repeaters had to be dialed down in power level to stop interference to Pave-Paw radars. https://www.arrl.org/news/new-70-cm-coordination-agreement-reached-for-new-england https://sites.google.com/site/arrlsacvalley/pave-paws

Yes, part A applies to all of the other subparts. Part A says that radios must be certified specifically in accordance with the requirements of the subparts but that there may be exceptions to that requirement. Part A goes on to say that the exceptions must be listed in the subparts and gives two linked examples. But if you click on the link to the example of the exception listed for GMRS, that exception no longer exists. Thus, there is no longer an exception that allows transmitters certified for other services, such as 90, to be used for part 95E. For example, a newly manufactured transmitter for part 90 may be used for part 95E if and only if it has also been certified for 95E.

Radio specs are submitted by the manufacturer to the FCC and the FCC issues a certification. Look and see if the radio has been certified. A certification identifier should appear on a label attached to the radio. However, you’ll soon learn that as long as you make any attempt whatsoever at following the rules the FCC will never know or care.

I do, though. Everyone in this thread is henceforth banned from using GMRS. Banned, I say! Edit: ah, dang it.

This is the way I do it on both GMRS and ham. I give it in plain old alphabet first and if the other party doesn't understand then I give it again with the NATO phonetic alphabet. However, when someone uses the NATO exclusively, it doesn't bother me a bit.

@OffRoaderX went far beyond sharing an opinion. I genuinely cannot imagine why anyone would be annoyed by use of the phonetic alphabet unless it's because "some people" think it's a symptom of trying to be a ham in a GMRS community. I think part of the reason hams use the phonetic alphabet so much is that amateur radio is international. It can be pretty hard to understand someone whose first language is not the same as your own, especially the pronunciation of some letters. Just think of how much "B" and "V" sound alike in Spanish. GMRS users almost never talk to someone in another country, so being understood is not as much of a challenge (unless you're in California). Furthermore, shorter wavelengths have higher frequencies, which typically improves clarity in voice signals. Even the difference between 70cm and 2m can sometimes be discernible. If you're playing around on 80 meters, you're going to repeat yourself quite a bit. GMRS, being at the higher end of the spectrum, rarely suffers from poor quality of voice signals. For the most part, if you can punch the signal through, you'll be understood. Simply put, GMRS users don't use the phonetic alphabet because we don't need to. It's easier for me to say "WRTC" than "Whiskey Romeo Tango Charlie", but sometimes I'm going to use the phonetic anyway. I have 33 years of using the phonetic alphabet in uniformed service and I also participate in amateur radio. It happens. I just don't understand why anyone gets their undies in a wad over it.

I don't get it (sitting back nawing on crayons) Tick, tick...Am I a Retard or am I being controlled by the man, I mean the HAM...WOW, my life just shuttered like an old truck on ice. Man, this site is tipping my flat little world!

So, really it’s not the call sign, it’s that someone is trying to chat with your wife? Maybe he’s intrigued at hearing a female voice on the radio. Try using CTCSS or DCS so he can’t easily interrupt.

You are looking for 1225LS_RSS_V3.0.zip. I have a copy of it which is about 5 meg in size. It's designed to run on WinXP or Win95. For best results, it should be run on an older machine which has a true serial port (COM1). If you open the radio and it has an LTR Passport accessory board made by Scholar-Johnson, you can simply remove the board and the radio will revert to a standard M1225 which can be programmed with the version 4.0 1225 HVN9054 software. The Scholar-Johnson board is desirable by some hobby folks. I sold one on Ebay in less than a week.