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The GMR2+ is a GMRS radio so you dont have to worry about, or even think about offsets - you just select the correct "Repeater Channel" and enter the TX tone and (optionally) the RX tone.. Steps for that are outlined in your user-manual. HOWEVER - To use a repeater the radio must be GMRS repeater-capable, and based on the Rugged Radio Product page for the GMR2+, it does not appear to be repeater capable - and if that is the case, then you bought the wrong radios. EDIT/UPDATE: After reading the user-manual for you i can see that this radio is repeater capable.. I can also see that this is probably the most confuckulating to use GMRS radio I have ever seen. I give it two thumbs down and would NOT recommend this radio to someone that does not know anything about GMRS, Tones, or repeaters..

I'll add to what Steve posted. Here is a link showing the only authorized channels for GMRS. https://www.buytwowayradios.com/blog/2022/11/list-of-gmrs-frequencies-and-channels.html You can't just pick any frequency between 462 MHz and 467 MHz and use them on GMRS. You have to stick with the designated channels. Midland radios will not transmit on anything other than designated GMRS channels. I have yet to see anyone hack a Midland radio.

Those are not inclusive endpoints to a GMRS band. The only frequencies you are allowed to transmit on with your GMRS license are specified in the regulations: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-95/subpart-E/section-95.1763

It's because it really is irrelevant. Unless they give you height above terrain, it means nothing. Even then, unless you're familiar with the topography of the land, it can mean very little. My antenna is 40 foot above ground. However my elevation, while not bad for 'the area' is bad for my exact area, as everything around me is taller. Found a house we loved, if only it'd been on a mountain, or at least not in depression by a river. I can run 40 watts, or 100 (only in testing) and my distance is maintained. My next hope is to buy an old tree trimming truck, and turn it in to a tower lol.

Well, i got the so called unlocked UV5R today.. It's not a UV5R but rather a BFH6.. I contacted the seller and he said i requested a unlocked radio to 520 and that is the model he can ship for my request. $29 bucks.. I aint gonna complain. it is unlocked and i think it's a tri band.. No manual either. I never heard of this model but it looks decent..

The original post said you want to find a way to edit the firmware so your MXT500 can transmit on 463.200 Megs and receive on 462.700 Megs as a channel pair. 463.200 is a Business Radio Service freq in the Part 90.35 subpart C in the Business/Industrial Pool. You can not do that legally with that radio and you need a Radio Station Authorization to transmit on 463.200 Megs

OK got it - I was using some info from a local radio club but it specified the repeater info incorreclty. Thanks

i had a plate that came with my Surecom and lost it somewhere. Never used it. In fact, i have never bothered to check SWR on my HT's.. They are designed to withstand high SWR in various conditions.. I wouldn't worry about it. You would probaly spend more for a plate than another Baofeng Radio anyway

Welcome! and, just FYI - if you plan on using that plate for measuring the SWR on handheld antennas, dont bother. Even with the plate, you will never get a true/accurate SWR reading that reflects how the antenna will perform when used on the handheld. Some say this is why they stopped including the (virtually useless) plates with the meter.

Yes, but it’s not crucial; use whatever thickness he has.

It's and ancient Chinese secret and we are sworn to secrecy. You don't need to know what's in the dumplings you enjoy. Why do you think you have the right to know what someone's antenna height is?

I told the people at work that 'I identify as WSEL330' spoken phonetically. HR hates me.

When it comes to radio electronics nothing is impossible as long as you have the funds and the know how. It is really basically manipulating electrons and passing audio from one device to another device. Crossbanding in-band and out-of-band multiple radio devices can be accomplished in several ways, audio tie with a logic controller, voting comparator using COR, console patch, or an interoperability gateway. I've designed several crossband package configurations back in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s and some of them have been written up in various trade magazines. Back in the early 80s, I designed an airborne repeater package using a GE Porta-Mobile II Low-Band Radio and a GE MPD Portable with a Sweet Electronics Logic Controller and put it in an Airplane so two vehicles (car on a VHF Highband Channel and a motorcycle on a Lowband VHF) can directly communicate over 15-20 miles apart in hilly terrain while in motion traveling across the State for a special event. "Some People" not in the know couldn't figure how in the hell I was able to make a Lowband radio talk directly to a Highband radio. My answer to them was "I used the "PFM" technology method. I truly missed those days creating solutions like this to make the impossible possible.

I Would Have To Disagree. Think His Story Has A Crack In It..........

The butt-prints smell fresh so your story checks out.

I dont publish the actual/*exact* elevation of my repeater antenna because its connected to my house and knowing its exact elevation would make it easier for all the mentally-ill people that send me threats to locate it.

I sign on and off with my callsign and use it frequently throughout the conversation. I don't know why people refuse to believe my callsign is BR549.

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.

I am so glad that people don’t act like that here in Montana.

That's certainly one definition of "business"

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..."

to sticky the thread, right?

What

I stand by my last statement: It doesn't matter/the FCC, based on their enforcement record, does not care. I know.. Everyone does.. The ones that claim they don't are the ones love them the most.

"Technically" ? No "Does it matter one little bit?" Based on the number of non-Part 95E GMRS repeaters in use for the last ~10+ years and looking at the number of FCC enforcements for simply using a Part 90 repeater on GMRS in the last 10+ years (zero enforcements), also, NO

Well not exactly a haunted radio tower (although there is an early 1900's radio antenna on top of it), but the old Pacific Theaters building on Hollywood Blvd. is definitely haunted on the roof. Story is someone jumped off the buildings roof to commit suicide. I got the contract to take care of the cooling and heating systems located on the roof. Stuff happened. Things moved without obvious external effect. Sounds (including a scream) would burst forth without cause. Then there was the just freaky way you felt up there. Maybe if there are abandoned radio tower around, they are abandoned for good reason.

Duh! Obviously would be because its haunted!

But the box said they have "Privacy Codes"!!

They definitely are not legal for GMRS. Every time I try to use mine on GMRS frequencies the FCC helicopter lands nearby to write me a ticket.

I have a Baofeng UV-5R that has a PTT/mon/call button assembly that looks a lot like your AR_5RM. Maybe its the same? Like your AR_5RM, I can accidently key my UV-5R by just picking it up. I thought I would take the chance to see if I could increase its PTT pull weight hoping it is a fix to our shared problem. Good news, maybe? I was able to increase the PTT pull weight from 14oz to 1 lb 6oz without taking the radio apart. All I needed was a small thin flat screw driver and a 5/16 x 7/16 x 1/16 nitrile O-ring (available a Harbor Freight assortment box). Can't say its a super solid fix, but I tried it a bunch of times and banged the UV-5R around as hard as a dare, with no ill-effect. Providing your AR-5RM has the UV-5R's construction its a simple modification that is quick and easily reversible. How is works: Underneath the plastic PTT button you remove there is a thin sheet of silicone and under that is the REAL PTT, a membrane button on a PCB. The internal diameter of the O-ring you are adding is larger in diameter than the membrane button. With the O-ring in place, the plastic PTT button will have to overcome the additional resistance of the O-Ring before it comes in contact with the membrane switch. What I'm hoping that will make this fix reliable are the legs on the plastic PTT button that holds it in place will also prevent the O-ring from moving. Step 0: Verify your AR-5RM looks like it shares the same PTT button as my UV-5R. Step 1: Gently and carefully use a small blade or flat-screwdriver to pry out the plastic PTT button. This is just a piece of plastic that when pushed, in turn, presses on the real PTT button, a membrane button covered by a silicone sheet. Step 2 - Put the 5/16 x 7/16 x 1/16 nitrile O-ring in place centered vertically. Next gently and carefully re-install the plastic PTT button, PTT label down, being especially careful not to displace the O-ring. It is helpful to use the small screw driver to assist in the installation. Done! Give it a try and let me know what you think.

I've used it mostly with my Amateur license recently. I don't tell anyone what radio I'm using and they always report a good signal. Not true of everyone, of course, but some Hams can be pretty snooty about "cheap Chinese junk". The way I see it, the purpose of a radio is to enable conversation at a distance, and if it does that, it's "good enough" for most purposes. Sure, I'd like to have a top-tier radio, and maybe someday I will, but for now, the state of my bank account dictates that I must use "cheap Chinese junk". In that category, this radio is probably the best bang for the buck. TBH, this radio is working so well that I probably will keep using it until it quits working, since right now it's performing as well as radios costing 10x as much.

I cannot explain why your experience with Chirp would be so different from mine, for the same radio. I have the vendor set to Baofeng, and the radio set to 5RM. I set channel 193 to 121.300, named it AirGround1, and immediately the software selected "AM" as the mode. I set Duplex to "off" which disables transmitting (though the radio won't transmit, regardless). I saved the image. I uploaded it to the radio. I turned on the radio and selected channel 193. It has AirGround1, and it can hear ground control traffic. That's with Chirp next-20240919 on Python 3.12.3. Could you try with that configuration? My radio is firmware version v0.14. Hardware version v01.

Possibly the wisest thing ever said on any radio forum.

Don’t overthink it. Buy one and use it. Your hands-on use will tell you more than our analysis ever could.