WQYC236

I frequently scan through the VHF/UHF business band frequencies in my area and I have yet to hear any station or any individual use call signs or identify themselves. Does the FCC exempt them from using call signs or is that world a complete free for all like CB?

The two dual banders that I own are Tera 505's at about $90 and a Baofeng BF-F8HP at around $62. I like both and use them for different purposes. If the quality holds up on the BF, I will probably go that direction with my next purchase due to all the capabilities and features.

In a perfect world some boy genius would market a repeater package with the bugs already worked out. IMO the "perfect" repeater for many GMRS applications would be a weather resistant package consisting of the repeater and hardware hooked directly to an antenna with a short lead and a water proof AC power cord. It would be designed in such a way that it could easily be hoisted to the top of a 100 ft tree or mounted on a tower with the power cord trailing behind. No line losses to worry about but the equipment would need to be of a rugged design that can thrive in an outdoor shelter with no heat or cooling. The light weight exterior would be water proof but allow air flow for cooling. I've seen transceivers build into water proof packages with additional instrumentation and speakers, why not the whole repeater assembly? I'll bet that if someone builds it, they will come.

Thanks!

Thanks!

I recently purchased two of these radios, one for my base station and one for my Ford Explorer. Can any one point me to some good PC programming software for these? The company that I got them from programmed the first 16 of the 160 channels (14 GMRS and two repeaters) so I am operational, but I really want to become comfortable with my own programming. Any thoughts or suggestions from you Motorola gurus out there will be appreciated. Thanks and Merry Christmas!

I really wish more manufactures would offer a 5/2 watt, GMRS/MURS simple radio at a reasonable price. I'm using my two Tera 505's and they seem to have most of what we are all looking for but could be a little less expensive although the build quality is good. Maybe there's a business opportunity for someone to buy up a bunch of refurbished Motorola hand held's and set them up with the GMRS frequencies at a reasonable price. Just a thought.

I got my base antenna up approximately 40 feet last weekend before all the weather and wind blew through. Strangely, I don't seem to be talking any further than with the mobile on the ground, however I'm talking "better" if that makes any sense. What I mean is within a five mile circle, I've filled in a lot of "dead zones". These were areas that I barely had a signal or had no signal at all. Some were explainable like low areas crossing a river bridge where you might expect to lose the signal, others were just places you couldn't talk for no apparent reason. Most of those have disappeared so I guess you could call the effort a partial success. So far I've been able to push the signal out 12-14 miles to a mobile but only in certain places. Line of sight terrain models are usually reasonable predictors but not always. I have a clear line of sight over all terrain features to a small community 13.8 miles away and could not even break the squelch this morning.

I own four different magnetic mount mobile antennas, three are dual band GMRS/MURS antennas and one is specifically for the GMRS band only, tuned to a mid point between 462-467 MHz. All of the antenna systems give me different results when I put a meter to them. The single band antenna seems to have a slight edge over the others. If you have a good antenna on your car, over average terrain you should get 10-15 miles. With a five watt hand held with a good antenna about half that range is "normal".

Thanks to all for all the information and suggestions. So far I have had two (made in China) 16.6 foot antennas fail me on this project so I switched to a "DPD GMRS Vertical Outdoor Base Antenna". It's pre-assembled, weather sealed, and only 26" long. Right now its just hung on a cord off the porch roof but is performing very well with out a hint of SWR on 462-467 frequencies. Hopefully it will be up about 40 feet by this weekend. My base station is now a refurbished Motorola CDM 1550 LS+ ,with power supply, cradle/speaker, and desk mike all from Motorola. This radio really seems to be solid and I'm loving it already.

Thanks to all who replied to my questions! Always an education on here.

I also use the 19" Nagoya UT-72 on my vehicle and it works great! It actually gives me more power out than my other three mobile antennas.

Thanks! So some where on the FCC web page a private individual could get a Part 90 licence for the 29-36 MHz band...or do you have to be a business?

I ran across this refurbished (CDM750 Lowband 29-36 60W 4Ch) radio that operates on the 29-36 MHz band. I have searched the internet but still can't get a clear understanding on who uses these frequencies or how one might get a licence to leagally operate this type of low band radio. Does anyone have any information? Thanks! https://www.used-radios.com/p-109-cdm750-lowband-29-36-60w-4ch.aspx

Thanks for the information on hard wire...sounds workable.

Good to hear from you! Hows the radio clutter in NYC?

I was impressed that they seem to be listening to what people want and I agree that the emphasis on getting a licence is great.

I have 128 of the 200 channels programmed into my radio: HAM, GMRS, MURS, FRS, Fire & Rescue, Police, School Systems, Hospitals, EMT's, Business bands, Marine Band, and anything else I can think of or learn about. I want to be able to have the best possible chance for communication with someone during an emergency. I also plot the location, height, frequency, and power of every transmission that I listen to on a daily basis (except the pirate radios). What use are empty channels in a radio?

Here's a couple of comparisons using LMR-400 & LMR-600. Larger, surplus cable is another thought (anybody know a good source)?. Also, an all weather repeater on a platform up near the antenna with only a short coax lead needed. Now the shortest I can get away with is 128 feet to the house. (LMR-400) Cable Loss per 100 ft at Operating Frequency = 2.725 dB Cable Length = 128 Ft. Calculated Loss = 3.5 dB Power into Cable = 50 Watts Power out of Cable = 22.4 Watts Gain of Antenna = 11.9 dBd ERP of Antenna System = 346.9 Watts (LMR-600) Cable Loss per 100 ft at Operating Frequency = 1.746 dB Cable Length = 128 Ft. Calculated Loss = 2.2 dB Power into Cable = 50 Watts Power out of Cable = 29.9 Watts Gain of Antenna = 11.9 dBd ERP of Antenna System = 462.9 Watts

For about two weeks I haven't been able to hit .675 near DC or the repeater near Charlottesville, VA. I'm wondering if both are down or it's just conditions. Anybody else use these?

Love all your data!! In one of the Slim Jim pictures you show a pretty substantial coil of coax secured to the mount. Have you ever tested that antenna without the coax loops? Just a thought