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I disagree. GMRS -- by definition -- is for business and personal use. You don't own the airwaves, and you don't get to tell people what "personal use" they can put the service to. If someone wants to talk to someone else about their bunionectomy, they have just as much right to use GMRS as you do. Whether you like it doesn't matter. I hear stuff all the time that makes me roll my eyes, but I don't pretend I have the authority to tell people they can't use the GMRS service to say it. That's one of the reasons I have channels with CTCSS/DTCS tones on the radios I hand out to family -- so I don't have to hear that stuff. I suggest you do the same.

I must be missing something.. I run 300w WB-C4FM on FRS 10 all the time, so when my wife is in the kitchen and I'm in the garage, she can hear my signal okay. Are we not supposed to do that?

I don't think impressing anyone was his intent. But Proven Science is what it is, and L. Scott was correct in that formula.

i just got a DM UV 32.. When i get back from camping I'm gonna check it on the Tiny Spectrum. My experience with some of the Baofeng's I've test is hilarious with with their harmonics. I've seen second and thirds just about equal to main carrier. My Hytera's are pretty clean. The DM 32 sounds good, I'm getting good reports with it.. I like the radio

The bigger (i.e., taller) antenna is likely to help. More power is less likely to make much difference. I'd definitely invest in the antenna first.

I would definitely go with a radio that has an IP rating for dust and water. Everything is going to get wet or dusty even with enclosed cabs.

That's a nice neat installation! I like it when people post stuff like this. Good material to reference for ideas.

Well, in case anyone is waiting with baited breath, I did it. Turns out I had my tones wrong. With a 5w HT and a Midlands MTX-25 stubby attached to the hood of my Jeep with a mag mount, I was able to hit the repeater and get a contact. Repeater is roughly 40 miles from me, as the crow flies. I am absolutely gobsmacked I got it to work.

If it does what you need it to do, then, no matter what anyone else says, YES!

I thought that, too. I'm currently using a Midland MXT-25 Ghost antenna on a magnetic mount attached to the cap of my Big Green Egg. It's on a deck about 15' off the ground so I'd say it's 20' in the air, which I know isn't much at all. I'm surrounded by Army Corps property and pine trees but have nothing but clear sky over head. Using this set up, I can simplex roughly 3 miles, but that's with an HT and a rubber ducky so I'm not really sure how many fars I'm getting as I lose TX from the other person after 3 miles and so they come back. I guess I could get them on a cell phone and just keep driving until they couldn't hear many anymore...but haven't tried that.

Sounds perfectly legitimate to me. I suppose once I've been at it for awhile, I'll be in the same boat. Currently have two HT Baofengs, a President CB, a Midlands HT CB, and a BTech 50V2 that's going in the Jeep. It's not much, but it's a start.

I see that now, thanks Leo!

On the H3 it'll show what mode you are currently in. If you are Rx then it'll show 462 and when you press the PTT and Tx it'll show 467

The rule of thumb is that the tone is always [N]ormal unless specified as [i]nverted.

That is always an option. I would like to keep everything self contained into one case if all possible. I am also trying to avoid any unnecessary holes in the case if possible. I have enough room to mount a 15" portable monitor and the remote faceplate of my radio into the lid of the Apache 5800 case. The 5800 has standoffs in the lid for mounting stuff. I'm still in the planning stage right now with the setup. I did buy some 1/8" x 1" aluminum stock to mount the monitor and faceplate to the lid. I need to get the radio main unit and mini pc mounted and then see how much room I have left. The Beelink S13 runs off of 12v DC. PS; sorry for the thread drift.

Why not use a small solar power station to power your radio? Add a small solar panel to the mix and you'd have unlimited power as long as you could get some sun light.

In 1970 my mom thought One Toke Over The Line by Brewer & Shipley was a church song (we didn't go to church). While I didn't partake back then, and still don't, I had to explain it to her. I really thought she was joking. She was not.

I didn't say I'm going to do it. I have said many times that I think it's important to be considerate. I said I don't consider it my job to enforce things that don't affect me. My point was that someone using 5 watts in the middle of a 12,000 acre ranch in Montana isn't going to interfere with someone else.

Anything under 2.0 is okay. Definitely check the SWR on the repeater channels (467 MHz) as they will have a different SWR compared to the 462 simplex channels. As others have mentioned, there will be a curve to the SWR. Generally 467 will be higher or lower than 462 depending on if the antenna is short or long. The best I did was when tuning a Tram 1174 for GMRS. I got the SWR down to 1.4 on 467 and 1.2 on 462. Yes I could have kept trying for the perfect SWR but it wasn't worth the time and effort. My two Comet 2x4SR antennas are at 1.7-1.8 on 467 and 1.4-1.5 on 462. Again that is good especially considering the SWR is at 1.8 or less on the other bands that the 2x4SR works on. While a Surecom will work to tune antennas, you will have to check multiple times across the frequency/channel range to find where the SWR is high or low. This is where a NanoVNA or antenna analyzer comes in handy. They will do a sweep and show the high and low spots.

In both our SXS on the farm we use them idland mobile. Simple, cheap and just works. They are covered in mud dust and other stuff all the time, I hose off vehicle once month and dont worry. Run 1/4 wave on a pipe mount bracket on both.

It’s so typical on this forum to see the Gang of One, Two, Three, Four dump on the guy making a scholarly presentation instead of the one who suggests 5 watts on WBFM on FRS 10!

As Steve said, 1.75 vswr is Negligible. Getting your antenna UP over the body of your vehicle would likely lower your reading, but 2.6 watts reflected, according to your device is not harmful.

Except for the people a mile or so away using their 0.5 watt FRS radios that’s getting hammered by your 5 watts. You can’t hear them, but they’re very likely can hear you. Does that still make it OK? You didn’t hear it. Given equal radio receiver sensitivity then range can be limited by the square root of the ratios of the transmitter powers. So 5 watts verses 0.5 watts could result in a range increase of 3.16 to 1 in favor of the 5 watt radio.

Try it on different channels. See what the SWR is on the channels you transmit on the most. Don’t forget the 467 MHz main channels. To answer your other question, you can tune the antenna by lengthening or shortening it. Changing the location of the mount can also affect the SWR. Antennas have a dip at a single frequency where they’re tuned best. An antenna analyzer helps you know whether the antenna is too long or too short. There’s nothing wrong with 1.75:1.

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.

I'm pretty impressed with this DM32UV.. The CPM is not too bad. It certainly looks like Baofeng borrowed some programming peramaters from Hytera and Harris CPM. If you've ever used either you will slip right into the Baofeng DMR CPM. For the most part i've been playing with analog on thjis radio and couple digital channels on MURS Both work great.. The Scanner on this radio is probably the best i've seen in a Baofeng. Especially choosing off the Zones.. Programming via the front panel is also the easiest i've ever experienced with a Baofeng.. I did purchase one from RadioDitty before i won this one. Baofeng shipped my prize radio and i received it in two dayx.. I'm still waiting for the one i purchased form RadioDiddy two weeks ago.. Once i get the other radio, i'll put a good test on digital and encryption. I can tell you though, you analog guys will love this radio just for the mere fact of programing and all the options.. The Zones and Scanning features will get you hooked on this radio. And the screen is pretty decent. So far so good.

I definitely will start a new thread and post photos once I'm done putting it all together.

We do check ins to see how your equipment is working and to see who's participating. If you have multiple radios to check that is usually done after all the ID blocks are taken care of. Last winter I found out I was coming in pretty crappy and them more so as the check ins came down further in the calendar. Water in the line or antenna. Never figured out which. Replaced both and all is well. It's not just attendance.

I hope you share photos when you’re finished. I love seeing builds like this.

That makes a lot of sense! Thanks so much Steve. I think at 1.6 on those channels, i'll leave it for the time being. I have a few idea on how to adjust the mount to get it more straight up, but will leave that for another day.

23-30 came in at 1.6 I was a bit confused, as my Tidradio H3 Plus shows channels 23-30 as 462 channels vs 467. So i was basing everything off of that. Thanks!

If a deaf person can't hear you some would say it's OK.

That’s a better choice. When you mentioned HF I figured you meant 10 meters. 6 meters is actually VHF (VHF is 30 MHz to 300 MHz). The Yaesu vx-7 is the radio I would suggest. It’s no longer manufactured but they’re out there. 6 meters, 2 meters, 1.25 meters, and 70 cm.

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I've got a Hytera repeater. My Ham friend that turned me onto the remote switch was over the other day messing with my CPM. He figured out how to set up the repeater to monitor via the web anywhere and also shut it down through Hytera RDAC software he found on the web. The remote shut down via the Phone App is still a little easier but the RDAC offer complete remote monitoring. Cool stuff.

Radios are like guns or fishing poles, etc, etc, you can never have enough. I have two VHF/UHF radios in the shack, one is for daily use while the other is dedicated for WINLINK. I will be putting the second one along with a mini computer into a go box. I also have a 50 watt GMRS radio along with a spare 20 watt GMRS radio at home along with multiple amateur band and GMRS hand held radios. Plus I have dual band and GMRS radios in my Ford Escape, Ford F150 and my Honda Pioneer 500 SxS. I might end up putting one of the G90s into one of my vehicles. I haven't decided yet.

The main reason why I have two of them is that I bough one and then won the second G90 during Radioddity's 12th Anniversary drawing last year. And yes one stays in the shack while the other one is in my go box for portable use. I actually have more HF radios than I need. I have the two G90 radios along with an Ion IC-7300, Yaesu FTDX10 (with bad USB port) and a Xiegu X6200. The X6200 is nice for QRP ad keeping things small and light.

One for a go box and one for the car or one for the house, etc. You can never have too many 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. )

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.

Thank you! I agree that existing regulations should be either enforced or repealed.

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.

It’s simple. If you’re not with a concerned group of people with utility of the GMRS service. Beat it… It’s not a radio AOL chat room. It’s concerned groups and families doing THINGS. Don’t clog up a repeater pair with your money if you’re not with that vibe. The technicians class and the 440 is SOOO available for you guys… And you’re right at home there. You can just pour over your latest dialysis treatments and all the rest, and they’ll hang on your every word. But the GMRS/FRS is just for the groups, friends, and families just trying to keep in touch in the field. It’s wives, 13 year old girls, and dads. If you made a repeater, and this type of traffic isn’t welcome, then actually… YOU need to vacate. Free up that repeater pair for the 5 watt repeaters that actually need to be there..

Yeah it’s label maker taped onto the radios. But when it’s just minutia communications between our party, why is some guy even trying to chat us up? it’s just like, go away,.. lol And to my original post. We could just be like beep beebeep beep bebeep bebeep beep beep bebeep.. That’s my call sign.. it doesn’t MATTER if you know it. The papers are in order with the FCC. Other users don’t really need to police it. Amateur radio users have the culture of self policing. This isn’t that. When I go fishing, I don’t walk the shore checking licenses..

Well I suppose that’s sort of the predicate issue. The general use of GMRS as a social venue. And then expanded from there, the amount of people who want to shout “WHISKEY SIERRA UNIFORM BRAVO”,… Just conjuring images of them with a headset on at a submarine radio station… It’s a practical use band. Like, my wife and kids are camping. I think what most of you guys are MEANING to do is ham radio. And that’s 20mhz south on the dial. So why not just head on over there? You’re creeping out the casual folks just trying to use GMRS (women and children) who are trying to use GMRS correctly. My wife doesn’t need to be asked what her call sign is from some goof while I’m on my way back to the camp site with a bag of ice…

I'm afraid that I am not familiar enough with that topic to make a video about it..

Someone should make a video on Youtube explaining how simple it is to do...

It kind of seems to me like so many GMRS users are eager to police what other people do on the air. Why?

That appears to be a broken link.