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Showing content with the highest reputation on 08/04/25 in Posts

  1. Oh sweet summer child....
    3 points
  2. WRTC928

    "Illegal" radios

    That's why I don't get worked up over anyone using a ham radio on GMRS. If they keep to appropriate power and bandwidth, I don't care what radio they're using. I'm not the radio police, and if FCC doesn't consider it worth enforcing, neither do I. (TBH, I don't get worked up over someone in the mountains of Montana using 5 watts and wide bandwidth on FRS 10 either. They're not going to interfere with anyone else. Before I could get worked up about it, I'd have to be able to hear it. )
    3 points
  3. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
    2 points
  4. Now that I have my HAM Tech Lic. I'm thinking of 6M and maybe 10M to start with. I'll DMR later if I feel the need but thanks for all in info and posts here guys.
    2 points
  5. Would they "work"?: YES Would they "work" the way you want/the way you are wishing they would to extend each other's coverage?: NO
    2 points
  6. Don't waste your time or money on an HF HH. Bite the bullet for a true HF base or a "shack-in-a-box" radio. General is almost as easy as Tech and it opens almost all the frequencies. Check with a local club before making any purchase, but don't overlook used radios. There are some good deals out there if you know what you want and can be patient. I bought my HF with extras for about $300 less than new. "
    2 points
  7. I was surprised at how easy the Technician Test was after only 3 days of studying on HamStudy.org. That really is an awesome resource for anyone wanting to get their Amateur license. I ended up with a 34 out of 35 and it makes me wonder why I didn't do this sooner.
    2 points
  8. Not yet anyway. That could change at some point. People are doing it now regardless of the rules. If the practice continues, expands and no FCC enforcement action then we could see the FCC just throw in the towel again, like they did in 2017 rule changes with FRS/GMRS combo radio, and make it legal. Then the question will be what mode(s), power and where. Some have pushed the idea to add more channels to GMRS. Very likely won't happen. As it is the service has 7 nearly useless interstitial channels, 8 to 14, limited to narrow band, 0.5 watts and handheld units only with fixed antennas. Finding a better use for those, at higher power and use on mobile radios, would be equivalent to adding 7 additional channels, no extra spectrum required. I posted an opinion paper, based on a suggestion made in an old thread on this forum, these nearly useless channels could be the location for a dedicated home for a digital voice mode. Some won't like the idea of digital voice on GMRS, but hey for example, the FCC finally got around to adding FM to 11M CB radio. Took them long enough.
    2 points
  9. DMR is digitized voice and reception depends on if the D to A decoder can receive the digital string with enough good bits or not. So, it's an either/or situation. You either decode the voice or you don't. The advantage is there is no fading as the transmitter moves away from the receiver.
    2 points
  10. WRYZ926

    Baofeng DM32 encryption

    I played with encryption enough while in the Army. We used both SINCGARS and commercial radios from Motorola. All permanent party units other than 11th ACR/OPFOR used the commercial radios when I was stationed at NTC/Ft Irwin.
    2 points
  11. marcspaz

    "Illegal" radios

    Rugged Radio got a NoNo letter from the FCC for selling 6 different radios that RR advertised as being compliant and were not. Even with such gross disregard and massive exposure, they still did not get a fine. I don't know how bad you have mess up before the FCC gives a damn about GMRS violations, but the bar is obviously very high.
    2 points
  12. Just finished my test, 34 out of 35. I'm a HAM, LOL.
    2 points
  13. Why does every new license holder want to setup a repeater? I would like to shed a little light on some of the important things to consider if you recently got your GMRS license and now want your own repeater. First thing to consider, are there any open well placed repeaters in your area that you are able to use? I can assure you most repeater owners want people to use there repeater. Owning several repeaters I can assure you all are welcome and encouraged to use my machines. Do you have access to a location to host your repeater? If your answer is your garage roof you should reconsider. Your garage roof will give you about the same coverage as simplex. Unless you’re on top of a mountain and all your users are at the bottom you will never be happy with this setup. GMRS is not as popular as one would like to think, unless your repeater covers 20 miles or more you may find you only have 1 or 2 users in the area. Unless you already have a group of friends together you may want to consider this before spending money on a decent well positioned site to install your repeater. So you found a nice high site and the price is right, all you need to do is get the repeater installed, sounds simple right? Some thigs to consider first and foremost are the costs because they can add up quickly. Are you on a commercial tower that requires a license and bonded climber? If so this could be by far your largest expense depending on your area. I have spent $600 to $1200 on a climber; I have had quotes as high as $2500 depending on the amount of work and heights involved. Keep in mind commercial sites require certified mounts, hard line cable, cable clamps, engineered grounding solutions and commercial grade antennas. No tower owner is going to let you install a comet antenna and 200’ of braided shield coax. This brings me to my next point, the antenna. Because of the costs involved with climbers you will want to expend your budget on the antenna. Remember a $2000 repeater on a $200 antenna is going to work about as good as a $200 repeater. Whereas a $200 repeater on a $2000 antenna is going to work like a $2000 repeater. On my first repeater I was gifted use of a 150’ tower, I installed a DB-420 on the top and 160’ of 7/8 hardline. Total cost of equipment for the antenna install was $2500, with the climbers labor coming in at an additional $800. This left me with enough to purchase an old Motorola R100 repeater running at 25W. To my surprise it had 30 miles of coverage, all due to the cash spent on the antenna and waiting for a decent spot. Things happen, more so if you have an antenna 200’ in the air with a conductive cable connected to sensitive electronics. Antenna issues, feedline issues, repeater issues all cost money and I promise at some point you will have issues that need repair and require your money! It is my opinion that the GMRS community does not need another 2 to 5 miles repeater as it just becomes background noise. What use is a public listed repeater if somebody in a mobile can’t use it 5 miles away while moving or the portable coverage is only a mile? If after reading this you are still going to build a repeater for your garage more power to you, just don’t expect 20 people to show up if it only reaches a mile. As the owner of several GMRS and Commercial repeaters I can attest to the amount of money and effort go into my repeaters. I have only touched on the basics, if you add in any kind of testing services, duplexer tuning, addition of a combiner channel to an existing tower system, RF engineering, rent and insurance your costs can sky rocket. The best advice I can give any new licensee is to try and use the available systems in the area. Take the time to learn a little about what you’re doing and to assess the usability of the service before investing in a repeater for the sole reason of saying you own one.
    1 point
  14. Did you write that opinion paper? If so, are those preferred modes something that users have to register for like DMR? I'm against giving some unknown group that authority, which is one reason I would not use DMR on ham.
    1 point
  15. Its cute that it's taken you this long to realize this fact.
    1 point
  16. Do 10 meter SSB and FT8 before it goes dead with the collapsing of the 11 year solar cycle.
    1 point
  17. A repeater can't "repeat" to another repeater, because the output frequency from one repeater (462) won't match the input frequency (467) of the other repeater. Obviously, they need to be linked.
    1 point
  18. Two advantages of DMR you overlook: 1) point-to-point QSOs 24/7/365 2) the 11 year solar cycle is now heading downward, leaving DMR as a consistent means for international QSOs
    1 point
  19. NOT True, Digital modes such as Dmr, P25, M17, TGIF and C4FM are Alive and kicking Hard ! For example, there are nearly 290,000 Dmr users on the Brandmeister network alone !
    1 point
  20. The FCC just recently made it officially legal on 11M. I guess it's popularity all depends on equipment availability and any real world advantage it might have over AM/SSB. Some people have no interest in digital on GMRS. That's OK. However there are apparently enough who do that a few threads have commented about the proliferation of digital voice signals in some areas, and it's not even legal! Oh well. The point of digital voice is the ability to have reasonably clear communications out to nearly the limit of the traditional FM UHF signal range. FM can get really ratty and noise polluted at extended ranges. One other reason to use it the digital signals, using the right mode, can fit between the main FM repeater channels with the likely hood of not interfering at higher power levels, unlike the narrow band FM currently allowed at 0.5 watts. In areas with substantial GMRS usage this opens up the service for much better coverage without begging the FCC for more spectrum we're very unlikely to get. GMRS Digital Voice - 20250723.pdf
    1 point
  21. While it’s still fresh in your mind start going through the General material. It builds on the technician test and adds more technical detail. I really enjoyed the studying experience. Upgrading your license doesn’t require additional money to the FCC.
    1 point
  22. Using anything other than FM on VHF/UHF is sort of a specialty, including digital voice. Most of your digital voice operations you'll typically find on UHF, normally the 70cm band. There is some on the 33cm band but it's done almost exclusively with new/used commercial radios. There is some activity on VHF. Other modes, like SSB can be found on VHF and UHF by a small number of stations. Where it really explodes is on the 6M band during an opening. The SSB section of the band goes from nearly DEAD to wall-to-wall signals at that time. You also might find the occasional AM station on 6M too. The 1.25M band is a bit spotty. It can see significant use in some areas and almost nothing in others. There aren't too many radios with 1.25M TX/RX. Before investing in expensive equipment for that band do some monitoring and see what the local activity level is like. If 2M and 70cm is crowded in your area then the 1.25M band might be attractive if you prefer talking to a group of friends and don't want to hunt around for an open frequency/repeater to use all the time. Some also claim 1.25M has the propagation characteristics of 2M and 70cm making it a good choice when indoors or outside.
    1 point
  23. I have a buddy at work here that keeps saying he wants to get his Ham license but claims he doesn't have time to study. This has been going on for several years now. I don't bother to ask him anymore. If he wanted his license that bad he would have put in the effort. As you discovered it doesn't take that much. Congratulations on getting your Tech Class license. Now you get to spend even more money and buy more radios.
    1 point
  24. Lscott

    Skip On GMRS

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropospheric_propagation
    1 point
  25. WRYZ926

    Skip On GMRS

    A big change in atmospheric temps like in spring and fall mornings can also cause ducting. Low cloud cover during storms is another example. I live in Mid Missouri about an hour east of Columbia and 1 1/2 hours west of St Louis. When atmospheric conditions are just right we can hear the Pacific. Mo GMRS repeater just as strong as our GMRS repeater. Both are on the same channel and use the same tones. There has also been times that I have talked on the GMRS repeater 50 miles west of me with a guy around Springfield Il. Conditions have to be just right for that to happen. And that usually happens in the spring and fall due to temperature inversions. Another example happened last week. My brother and I both have UHF Allstar nodes. We were using the same frequency and tones since we live 19 miles apart and never had an issue until then. We use no more than 5 watts when using our nodes. That day there was a heavy storm in between us which was bouncing our low power signals so that I could hear him at 1 watt and he could hear me at 5 watts. We couldn't hear each other once the storm moved out. And yes I changed the frequency my node uses after that.
    1 point
  26. SteveShannon

    Skip On GMRS

    More likely tropospheric ducting which is caused by an atmospheric condition and affects UHF signals.
    1 point
  27. WRUE951

    Baofeng DM32 encryption

    do you know how many scanner folks that would love to crack encryption......
    1 point
  28. We are in the process of removing the DMR capabilities on our 70cm repeaters since no one uses DMR. You will find that DMR and even the 1.25m band use will vary in different regions. This is true. It seems like you either get in with decent audio or you don't get in at all. Now that could be how the DMR was setup on our three repeaters. But it never impressed me. We are in the process of adding Allstar nodes to all three 70cm repeaters and our 2m repeater instead. The 70cm repeaters will be linked full time and we can link them to the 2m repeater as needed once everything is done.
    1 point
  29. Sadly, DMR and pretty much all digital modes are a passing fad. Way to many radio checks and people kerchunking. Plus, the audio quality isn't as natural and pleasing as anal-log. All this in an effort to save bandwidth. Thank goodness the FCC did something right and not allow digital on GMRS.
    1 point
  30. And if he needed to he could create a Repeaterbook account using his GMRS call sign.
    1 point
  31. Just to clear some confusion, channels and frequencies are often interchanged but they are not the same in all cases. A channel always contains a frequency - GMRS is an example. Frequencies can be assigned to a channel but they are also free-standing. In the amateur world we talk frequencies, but use channels when any other service uses them.
    1 point
  32. Repeater Book is a good place to look for local repeaters in your area.
    1 point
  33. Here is a good band plan that shows what modes can be used on each band. Icom band plan And the ARRL band https://www.arrl.org/images/view//Charts/Band_Chart_Image_for_ARRL_Web.jpg The ARRL band plan does better at showing what portions you can use per each license.
    1 point
  34. I can do 10M with the Tech License but I don't have any radios that'll do that band. The test team said they'd summit things today any I should be processed tomorrow or next day. I'm going to reprogram a couple of my radios for HAM use. I just need to figure out which frequencies to use.
    1 point
  35. TNFrank

    Passed my technician exam

    Congrats. I just passed my Technician License test with 34/35. It wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be. Now I need to set up a couple of my radios for HAM use so I'll be ready when I get my call sign.
    1 point
  36. WRYZ926

    Baofeng DM32 encryption

    I'm well aware how SINCGARS works since I used the system when I was in the Army. One still has to input the security keys every 12-24 hours depending on SOP.
    1 point
  37. SteveShannon

    Welcome!

    Welcome!
    1 point
  38. OffRoaderX

    Welcome!

    If you pull that sadhamkrap in these parts you will get laughed off the repeater.
    1 point
  39. SteveShannon

    Welcome!

    Crazy Eagle, if you don’t have the repeater input codes set correctly people listening on repeaters won’t hear you. Take a look at Notarubicon videos. They’re the most complete videos that explain GMRS. Calling CQ isn’t really a thing on GMRS. Welcome to the forum!
    1 point
  40. GrumpyGrunt

    Welcome!

    Thanks for the welcome... WSDR581 is in the house! LOL!
    1 point
  41. I used to set up a trailer with 40 ft crank up tower, solar panels, and outriggers. We used it for oilfield PTP communications and also for MotoTRBO demos. All we needed was an S-10 pickup with a hitch ball to drag it around. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
    1 point
  42. Good post... Nice read to let new-comers know what the reality is. As far as "mobile repeaters" go... to do it right, its much more expensive and difficult than a fixed-station repeater, with nowhere near the performance advantage. I built a portable repeater system for a government emergency response team. It cost a bit over $16,500. The antenna alone was a massive project. It was on a 10' tall tripod (mast mount centered half way up) with a 30' fixed mast and a 30' crank extension, for a total of 65' of elevation. The equipment and batteries were extremely heavy and had to be installed in vented enclosures to keep them dry and cool. The repeater had to be trucked to a location and dropped at a high-point. Setting up the portable tower took a huge amount of labor and real estate to get it stood up and staked out so it was straight and wouldn't fall over in 20-30 mph winds. And unless you have a babysitter, you need self-contained GPS tracking and local alarm on the transceiver in the event that some knucklehead finds your repeater and decides to leave with it.
    1 point
  43. That's not a mobile repeater in that pic, its a HAM operating HF. As far as a mobile repeater it really is a waste of time. I have done this already and it was a total disappointment.. Unless your car is at a substantial height advantage you will not have any better coverage then simplex. Again you can and will try to explain or reason away my logic without listening to what I and others have been trying to tell you. I have tried the mobile repeater, the setup was a 50W Motorola SLR 5700 with a 4 cavity BP/BR duplexer connected to a 5.5dB gain antenna on the top of my truck. After testing for about month I realized it had no practical use and only offered slightly more range than simplex, best part I ended up needing a jump after a day at the fair. Mind you this was a $2400 repeater, $800 duplexer with an antenna that was tuned using an Anritsu S331D. I promise I nor anybody on this site will try to steer you wrong, I hold a Commercial, Amateur and GMRS license, own and operate several large repeaters and have all the gear for building, testing and maintaining these kinds of systems.
    1 point
  44. Staff Memo - The subject of this thread is important enough, for newly licensed user reference, to pin it to the top of this posting area.
    1 point
  45. I am fortunate that a local amateur radio operator has a repeater available. It is done properly on a 400 ft tower. The repeater covers the entire county and portions of adjacent counties. My initial itch for my own repeater was because I live in a low lying area and needed help getting over a hump to reach my wife’s mobile when she is at work. Once I discovered the local amateur radio club, I joined and got access to the repeater. It eliminated all desire to set up my own repeater. Like you mention, GMRS is not wildly popular. For the most part it is only we two who use it, with the occasional visit from one of the hams. If the repeater owner ever decides to stop maintaining the repeater, I may very well become interested in building my own again. Fortunately, my coverage needs are modest, about 10 miles. We probably could blast through most of that distance on 40 Watt simplex, except for the hump right in the middle.
    1 point
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