nokones

"Oh and a question....what the heck is a interstitial?" It means in between two main allocated GMRS channel a.k.a. splitter channel. The two main GMRS channels 462.550 and 462.575 MHzs would have a splitter channel 12.5 KHz off the two aforementioned main channels thus, 462.5625 MHz. That is why the FRS channels are only 12.5 KHz wide.

Posted from other discussion. If the Hams are willing to help others to become Hams, then why don't they help in doing away with the Test that is required to get a license? I can see the purpose in the test for the advance license levels but, for the entry level license, I can see that will keep people in the future from being a HAM and the hobby will eventually be nearly non-existent, maybe not tomorrow, but I feel the future will be on the horizon very soon. That is probably why GMRS is becoming so popular with the younger generations. I know the older Hams won't agree in doing away with the entry level license test because they had to take the test but they better think about the future of the hobby before their frequencies become less crowded with Ham hobbyists as time marches on. It will be interesting to know the stats on the number of people becoming Hams today as opposed yesteryear.

If the Hams are willing to help others to become Hams, then why don't they help in doing away with the Test that is required to get a license? I can see the purpose in the test for the advance license levels but, for the entry level license, I can see that will keep people in the future from being a HAM and the hobby will eventually be nearly non-existent, maybe not tomorrow, but I feel the future will be on the horizon very soon. That is probably why GMRS is becoming so popular with the younger generations. I know the older Hams won't agree in doing away with the entry level license test because they had to take the test but they better think about the future of the hobby before their frequencies become less crowded with Ham hobbyists as time marches on. It will be interesting to know the stats on the number of people becoming Hams today as opposed yesteryear.

Probably, Towers 575 and 600. I believe both are about 7600' in elevation near Crown King. I can hit both of them with a portable from inside my house.

The Southwest Community Radio System (SWCRS) has linked repeaters in their network in both Arizona and New Mexico.

You'll need the EVX-R70 5.5 Build 34 US Version Narrowband CPS, not the International version. Also, you need the appropriate driver. I'll have to check my other computer for thd correct driver. Also, the computer needs to be the 64 bit Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 operating system for the CPS to work with the Codeplug. I doubt that Windows 10 will work but, I know that Windows 11 won't work.

Or three, they try to put a repeater package together on the Cheap with a couple of CCRs and learned that they won't work and won't go to the next level and do it right by investing in a real repeater package. I learned that lesson and did it right? I should've not watched that video from buy2wayeadios.com. That was a good move on their part to help sell lots of radios.

I believe the 54 inchers were for 42 Meg freqs.

Back in the very first back in the day of CB Radios, Channel 11 was the designated CB channel for commercial businesses to use. At least, it was in Southern California in the 60s. Remember the 102" or was it a 108" (can't remember now) steel whip, with the ball and spring mount? Try and find one of those today.

The Cobra FRS radios have factory default tones which is a mixture of both CTCSS PL tones and DPL codes

"73's" was also a CB thing back in the day. As for a "Road Channel", I would like to see a designated channel for the highway. In my opinion, Ch. 19 is just as good as any of the other seven channels. The CB Channel 19 got picked out of the blue by someone for the Truckers back in the CB days so the same thing can happen for GMRS Back in the early days of GMRS, the 462.675 MHz channel pair was a designated channel for only emergencies and that seem to go by the wayside over the years.

I have the FRS freqs programmed in my portables because they are used by a couple of my car clubs at the racing events for operations and I use my portables instead of the Club's little itty bitty CCR FRS radios. For my in-car radio communications while I am on the track, I use Part 90 business radio service freqs, and some of my channels are used in the Astro Digital mode. My mobiles are not programmed with FRS freqs. My portables and mobiles are programmed with the eight GMRS freqs. I do encode 141.3 Hz just in case because that tone being the travel tone but, I run the receiver on carrier squelch. When I travel I do scan the eight GMRS freqs.

Great, a step in the right direction and a plan in place for people to use in case of an emergency while enjoying the backcountry in that area. They should have designated a CTCSS but, since the FRS radios can't split the use of CTCSS or DPL its best just leave it carrier squelch. My thought was at least the portables should encode 141.3 and leave the decoder carrier squelch.

A new Mesa repeater popped up today and is called "East Mesa 700". Did you see that on the weekly update?

Cottonwood probably won't reach you. Give Towers 600 a try. The Shaw Butte repeater shares the same channel pair with the Mesa Repeater. The Mesa 725 repeater is not online at the moment but, will be shortly. The Mesa Repeater is part of the AZ GMRS linked repeater system.

The DPL code is for Directed Net Operations a couple times a week. I never tried the Travel Tone. I always used the 100.0 CTCSS tones for local operations. During Net Operations, the Towers 600 repeater will also provide identical coverage to the Shaw Butte repeater and then some. Both repeaters are part of the Southwest Community Repeater System. Swcrs.org

The antenna is an omni 7 dB gain 460-470 MHz antenna perfect for the GMRS freqs. The antenna will perform very well. I have the FG4605 5 dB antenna.

A good high end radio that will cover all bands is the Motorola APX8000 radio.

Always plan to have a means of alternate communication with you when venturing out. Cell phones are not absolutes in case of an emergency or during castistrophic events. The Cell phone system coverage is subject to be not available in remote areas or online or over saturated.

The good ol' atmospherics

If it isn't the PL on the decode side the problem, it may be a scan feature setting. I've seen this before.

Send me the actual codeplug file and I'll take a look at it and I'll give it a try in one of my XTS3000 radios. My email is nokones@kenmitchell.com

Motorola installation instructions for mobile environments state ground the controlhead and radio ground wires to chassis ground and not at the battery for better performance and the appropriate power wires to the battery, of course with the exception of the ignition sense yellow wire unless, you want constant power bypassing the ignition switch sensing.

Oops sorry, my mistake.

I paid $700 for a brand new still in the box Vertex Standard EVX R70 G7 40 Watt UHF Repeater Station still in the box. This repeater is actually a Motorola XPR 8400 and this repeater performs very well with great selectivity. The station can operate either Digital or analog. The seller I bought my unit from had 2 or 3 other repeater stations for sale at the time. I am really impressed with the portable coverage from this station and the mobile coverage has been great on flat terrain. I was not happy with the two non-American mobile radio units tied together as a repeater station. I couldn't get more than a 3/4 of a mile distance from the portable and the station because of the poor shielding between the two radios and I was using a quality American made duplexer with an American made antenna system. Although, the Repeater was made in Malaysia, at least it is owned by an American company.