WRPL700

So, are end fed half waves directive broadside like center fed half waves?

Very nice. Since I am new at this..... these are end fed correct?

That's pretty cool. Is that a BNC connector? This kind of tinkering is beyond my current ability or patience...

Yep, that is what I am using, a G90. Great little radio. Love the tuner.

That is for sure. I am all about home made as much as possible. Attached are a couple of pictures of my 10 meter antenna on a 30' pole. Made from two 102" SS whips cut 2" inches shorter and attached to a Procomm DP4MFPL dipole mount. I have been able to talk to guys in Italy and Germany, all with 20 watts out. This is a great hobby.....

Thanks guys. Very much appreciated.

The hamexam.org flashcards were a really big help to me (I just passed my General class test this Saturday). Thanks for the tip!!!!

Well, After studying my butt off for several weeks, I took the test Saturday for General class and passed (35 out of 35). I do have to say thanks to the guy who gave me the link to hamexam.org where you can do flash cards of the questions, it really helped!!! Now on to new bands... maybe I will try out 17 meters or 20 meters in the coming weeks.

I had a blast this weekend on 10 meter dx. I was able to talk to people in Italy and Bavaria and a lot of contacts to Texas as well. All on 20 watts and a dipole at 30 feet high. What a fun hobby.

Thanks to all of you for the kind words and encouragement. I am studying for the General test and will be checking out the two links provided by you guys. Thanks again!!!

When I passed the Tech test (35 out of 35) they did offer me to take the General test but I chose not to because I had not studied for it.... Kind of wish I had taken it just to see how I would have done.

As I remember it, I was originally an O5B-A4, but then they changed us to 31V??? And then to 18E. We used a lot of wired half-wave dipoles. I still remember using the 468/frequency to get the ball park length. We used metal audio tape reels to roll up the extra wire and parachute cord thrown over a tree limb to lift up each side. The radio was a AN/PRC-74B 15 watt. Good memories.

Hey, thanks. This was a long time in coming....... 40 years ago I was an Army radio operator (18E) so I was pretty good with morse code back then. The guys were always after me to get my Ham license, but I never did. So fast forward: a few years back I got my GMRS license and played with that and then last fall convinced my wife to allow me to try for the Ham license. I still need to work on dusting off my CW skills again. My hand isn't as steady with a straight key as it once was. But this is a lot of fun.

Oops.

Thanks for the HamStudy.org heads-up. I will check it out.

I also bought the General book about a week ago and I think I will take that test next month. I don't think I need the Extra.

Nope. Just bought an ARRL book on the Tech test and studied it for about two months, then scheduled an in-person test. Having the GMRS license for several years actually helped learned some things that are in common with both.

Yes, I finally did it. I got my Tech (KD3AKT). Had a lot of fun on 10M on Sunday. Got 2 contacts from TX, one from OK, one from ND, one from OR and one from CA. All on 20 watts. What a fun hobby.

I did not see this covered in previous posts: I remember seeing in the 5RM manual (toward the back of the manual-page 36) that there are two versions. M version and L version. Could this be the problem?

I have one of my two DB-20Gs in a go box with 12ah battery. Mine puts out about 18 watts. It is a great little radio for the price.

Anybody seen or ordered the new Retevis NR30S GMRS HT? https://www.retevis.com/retevis-nr30s-long-range-noise-reduction-gmrs-two-way-radio-with-display-us Looks kind of like the HA1G. Some of the features: High / Middle/Low Power Adjustable Two-way Noise Reduction VOX Hands-free Group Call Monitor Scan Roger Emergency Alarm Low Battery Alert 30 Channels (GMRS) Power Save/Low Power Alarm Squelch Weather Weather warn TOT（Time Out Timer） Talk Around Also says it has a 2800mah battery and IP67 waterproof.

That is a great use of GMRS radios. That is one of the main reasons I have the radios that I have, for when SHTF. I am glad they were useful to you.

I just downloaded the manual and did a quick scan of it. I cannot say what it does. The manual is pretty skimpy on details. I am thinking that maybe it has to do with allowing channels 15-22 to be enabled to use a repeater (+5Mhz)??? That would be very non-typical. Just not sure though.

Probably not likely. What repeater capable means is that if there is a repeater near you and if you set your radio up correctly, you can use your radio to talk through the repeater to another radio. What radio do you have?

I kind of did the same thing with buying a pair of Midlands. I then bought better units, but kept the Midlands for when I am out working in the garden so the wife can call me and tell me it's time for supper................