WRUX266

If you can only talk 200 ft, I would venture that you are talking off the driver only and that the final transistor is blown. The usual culprit is super high SWR, coupled with long key-downs. High SWR can be caused by a bad antenna, pinched coax, failure to properly install the coax connector on the radio, or transmitting without any antenna (load) attached.

Really? . . .

When you folks program your radios with the GMRS/FRS frequencies, do you include a "default" PL encode tone? I have seen some GMRS basic info pages that talk about using encode PL 67.0 on channels 1-14, since if an FRS radio comes preprogrammed with a tone, it is probably 67.0, or Tone 1. Likewise, they also suggest programming encode PL 141.3 for channels 15-22, since (as they argue) this is the defacto PL most used by GMRS users. For amateur radio work, I never program PL tones for simplex channels, although I see why GMRS users might do so (decode) to keep the FRS blister pack kids out of your receive. I'm just of the mindset that if I can hear it, I want to option to talk to it (or ignore it). Thoughts?

Thanks, Marc. It's as I suspected. And since it only affects one frequency for me, I've just locked it out from the scan. I was just curious if others had this issue in other areas of the country.

Here in the SE suburbs of Cleveland I have noticed a constant interference signal on 462.6250 (Ch 18). On my daily commute, my radio will stop on this frequency while scanning throughout my entire drive, encompassing parts of I-271 and I-480, between Bedford and Twinsburg. The signal sounds like a constant carrier and fluctuates between an S-5 and S-9, depending on where I am as far as terrain goes. I know it's not a birdie coming from my vehicle as it's there when the vehicle is off, and I also confirmed it with a hand-held radio while nowhere near my vehicle. There must be some sort of service/equipment either using this frequency, or some multiple of it causing this interference. Has anyone else encountered this, and if so, have you been able to pinpoint the source? Not that I can do anything about it, but curiosity has me intrigued.

When it comes to the standard bubble pack FRS radios, is there a default CTCSS tone that is pre-programmed from the factory, or is that feature generally turned off until the user defines their own tone?

The simple answer is a lazy MRI tech. It's not unusual for a tech to scan a patient with the MRI suite door open. This defeats the purpose of the RF room shielding. If the resulting RF interference isn't causing an issue with anything else within the facility, no one would be the wiser or find keeping the suite door open unusual.

Greetings to the group. Recently licensed GMRS user here, longtime ham operator. My family has vacationed on the outer banks of NC for almost 20 years. In the past I have programmed local VHF/UHF repeaters in a HT and had some fun chit-chat with local operators. I've also done some low power (QRP) HF work from the OBX using a simple temporary wire antenna. My question is has anyone else visited the OBX and brought along a GMRS HT? If so, did you encounter any activity? I'm sure there is plenty FRS activity with families keeping in touch on the beach and such, but I'm curious about any GMRS-specific activity. Just wondering if it's worth it to pack a radio/battery charger for my trip this summer, or if it would be a disappointing waste of time. Thanks! WRUX266

In an earlier life I hid a J-pole in a oddly tall PVC waste stack on the roof. Worked great.