FlatTop

"Some People" has "Some Radios" with weak receiver designs that cause them to go deaf or make "weird noises" if you hook a better antenna to the antenna hole of the radio. Not mentioning any specific brand name...but it rhymes with Pooftwang...

Naaah....juice ain't worth the squeeze.

Well shoot. That's the GOOD stuff.

Net control I am fully destinated and have negative traffic...

I find a better antenna works better than just adding wattage. BUT better antenna and mo powuh can be a winning combination as well.

"Net control, this is WABC123 in Miami, checking in. Thanks for calling the Net, Bill. Negative Traffic" What is negative traffic?

Oh so it's not a GMRS radio. Thanks

Isn't the GM-88 a DMR radio for the ham bands?

But but...a net with a focused topic, on a wide area system, is going to draw those that will get pissy about you enjoying your hobby in a different way than they do. The wider the net, the more the karens come out of the woodwork. A prepper net huh? I might have tuned in to that to listen for the sheer comedic value.

Oh yeah...I'm ok with others enjoying the nets. It's a big giant hobby with a million things to do.

The boring, endless monotony of Amateur Radio and GMRS nets, is what keeps me away from nets. I do join local severe weather nets, mainly as a listener, but the check in nets are just too mind numbing for me.

I am an Extra Classy Ham already. My ham fars go real far.

All I can say about this, is this will have some kind of effect on my fars.

We'll have to wait and see.

I'm reminded of "It all depends on what the definition of IS, is."

When someone tells me they are using privacy tones, for privacy, I simply explain that's not how it works and I leave it at that. I just don't care they are mistaken.

No way? Are you sure? (twas a joke)

All they need to do is install some of them there privacy codes.

It's an $11 radio...

They are programmed with the right frequencies. Just not in the order you'd like them to be. I see this all the time in FRS radios. Example: Midland Channel 11 might be Retrevis Channel 17 - but both are on the same freq.

I know of at least one instance where the HOA pays for the repeater, the power, the tower, and maintenance. Or I should say the HOA reimburses the licensee for the gear and assorted costs that go with it. They pay the cost, not cost plus. The small repeater covers the housing addition and serves the residents that choose to be part of any crime watch, or chatter, that may happen.

Are the GM15s you have from Baofeng too?

I imported 30 million grasshoppers from Iowa....not a problem with leaves and foliage now.

I got my Novice in 1988...back when only 5 wpm CW was required. Passed that thanks to the Indianapolis Red Cross amatur classes. They taught us enough theory to pass Novice and enough CW to pass 5 WPM. Got my Technician license about 5 months later....decided I wanted to get into 2m Packet real bad. That was my motivator. Me and the boys joined the Boy Scouts...laid radio down for the next ten years. Got back into amateur radio in September 98. Built a CW transceiver from a kit (NorCal 40a), built a dipole, built a antenna tuner from a kit (ZM-2) back then Novice and Technician had a sliver of 40m for CW (7100-7125 I think....Might have been 7100-7150 I just don't remember). So I got on the air, made some QSO's was shocked I remembered CW as well as I did. Took my General and 13 wpm test in early 99 and BARELY passed....but hey...I passed. I think I pass my extra just before they ended the 20 wpm CW test. 200? Advanced class had already been eliminated. I've been a QRP CW op since 1998. No barefoot in the snow, no uphill both ways... I upgraded to Extra so I didn't have to remember where I wasn't supposed to go.

Belated congrats! From a fellow Extra class amateur.