Templeton

Well, I just tried that. One message went through, but, with other person, I got an error message, Boz cannot receive messages. Did he block his ability to get direct messages? Does that mean that repeater will be essentially unavailable?

Ok, I might try that. Thanks for the reply.

I am in the Midwest and have put in a few repeater usage requests. With all except 2 of them, I got approval, which is all good. But on 2 of them, I didn't get any reply at all. And this was over 4 months ago. I can't send a 2nd request via myGMRS, so what is the best way forward to get a reply, approval or denial? Thanks.

Yeah, so far, I have left receive tones off so I can hear what else is happening on the freq. It is not hard for me to wait until the other transmissions are over, I was just more curious what the burst of beeps was.

Makes sense, I will try that! Thanks for filling me in.

Ah, interesting. How often does that typically happen? Or how often is it required (by FCC ?) for that to happen?

I don't want to derail this topic, but I am occasionally on a GMRS repeater near me (in IL). I often hear a short burst of a series of rapid beeps on the freq, kind of sounds like morse code, but it seems way too rapid to be that (I think, but I don't know morse code). What is this?

Excellent document, and thanks for the help and input.

Thanks for the help. If I want to put a gmrs antenna on my house roof (like maybe an Ed Fong J-pole), is there any good guidance that I should consult regarding grounding the antenna? We get summer thunderstorms, so I don't want to burn my house down!

Ok, good to know. Making a new hole is not a big deal. Also, if I use appropriate antenna cable, does the total length of the cable make a big difference, or small difference, in the effectiveness of my base station antenna? For example, I can run a short cable to an antenna on my roof (but house is just one story). Or, I can run a longer antenna cable (25 to 50 ft longer) and put an antenna up on a considerably taller tree (more like two stories). The taller tree wins out for line-of-sight, but it would require a longer antenna cable. Any way of knowing which way should I go? And, if I need to buy some antenna cable, what kind of specs or impedance am I looking for? For this kind of home base station set up? Thanks!

I am looking at setting up a temporary "base station" GMRS antenna at my house with a handheld. I notice that I have a Comcast (xfinity) traditional cable TV (also internet) coaxial cable junction going through my household wall, but the junction is unused on both sides (using ATT fiber for internet). So here is my question: if got one of these antennas (link below) mounted on a metal ground or on a steel vehicle roof, would the antenna cable essentially be the same (or be compatible with using adapters) to the standard traditional coaxial comcast cable junction? This would make it easier to run the antenna from the outside of my house to the inside of my house without adding a new hole to my wall or floor. This is the antenna I am hoping to connect to the comcast coaxial cable junction: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09TPZ221K/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?smid=A3KP78Z860PGLG&th=1

Interesting. So, in my theoretical example, let's say that the ridge that I have drawn in my OP, for all practical purposes, is infinitely long and there is no other terrain other than what is pictured (so no terrain reflection). If the radio behind the ridge is, say, 100 or more ft below the ridge peak and simplex communication is possible, then pretty much all of the signal received/transmitted between the two radios is from atmospheric reflection? Is atmospheric reflection so significant that one could have two handheld radios on a low flat plane but completely separated by a high ridge and yet they could still communicate? Is there any way to roughly predict/estimate how much terrain occlusion is (or would be) tolerated by GMRS 2 way communication? And if there is more dust/smoke in the atmosphere, is atmospheric reflection of GMRS radio waves improved? What about if there is fog? Or rain? No ironclad answers are expected, just rough estimations based on your knowledge and experience. Thanks!

Thanks, is there a more extensive thread somewhere on this site or forum that explains all this in more detail with lots of examples?

Thanks, good info. But, going with doing the optimal thing for the fcc and for good etiquette too, if there are 2 members of the same family communicating with one another (so both of them are on the same GMRS certificate), do both members just say the identical call signs when they do those 'short and spread out' transmissions?

I live in a pretty flat area, but I was interested to try my future (still in the mail) basic GMRS handhelds in the mountains. If I take them to the mountains at some point, I am curious about the general limitations of line of sight in simplex communications. So, in the not-to-scale drawing below, if I have two GMRS radios, say, about 1/2 to 1 mile apart in a completely treeless area, and one of the radios is on the very top of a ridge 500 ft above the other radio, it seems that 2-way communications should work fine. Or, for this example, lets just assume that it works great in that situation. So, the question involves the radio on the top of the ridge: if I move that radio down the back side of the ridge, how far in elevation does the antenna of that handheld radio have to be below the top of the ridge to make communication difficult or impossible with the other radio? Will placing that radio just 1" below (and behind) the ridge stop communication? Or 1 just foot below/behind the ridge? 10 ft below/behind the ridge? 100 ft below/behind the ridge? More? This is assuming that there is not a significant change in the distance between the radios. I know that there always specifics behind effective simplex range, but I am just curious to know how rigidly the "line of sight" rule applies when there are no other real obstacles other than terrain (i.e., earth).