WRXB215

Actually, there is.  Contact the local ham club, tell them about the interference. See if they will help find the location of the jammer and then turn it in to the FCC.

Those 8-14 channels are limited for good reason, they are very close to the Repeater input freqs for GMRS. Narrow band and the watt limit prevent interference on the repeater inputs its why theyre called interstitial theyre between channels. Its not that FRS is dragging GMRS down its that those channels are designed not to interfere with GMRS (GMRS came way before FRS).

It depends on the channels. There’s one set of 0.5 watts, one of 2 watts, and then the two “main” sets which are 50 watts, except for fixed stations. 
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/section-95.1767

I very well could be wrong on that. I will have to look that information up again. I thought that FRS was limited to 2 watts and GMRS hand held were limited to 5 watts.
 
Okay straight from the FCC: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-95/subpart-E/section-95.1767#
It only states that the 5 watt limit is for the interstitial channels AKA channels shared with FRS.
 

I believe there is not a 5 watt regulatory limit on handheld portable GMRS stations on either the 462 main channels or 467 MHz main channels.  
 

A couple weeks ago, I mentioned about the performance of my glass-mount antenna and the fact that it is not tunable. Again, I made another second mistake in life by stating incorrect information.  I stated that the Larsen Glass-Mount Antenna did not have a pot to adjust/tune the antenna like the yesteryear glass-mount antennae.
In fact, it is an adjustable antenna.  Since, I didn't notice an adjusting pot screw on the side of the coupler, I assume that it was not tunable.  Just the other day, I noticed that the rod was being held by a set screw thus, the rod can be trimmed for better VSWRs.
And to my surprise, and after 4 months that my Bird 43 and several slugs were being held hostage by Bird Instruments for recalibration, it appeared on my door step a couple days ago so I decided to trim the antenna this morning.
I did notice some difference in the readings before and after the recalibration.  
Today, as it turned out, the VSWR for a 467 MHz freq was 1.12:1 and for the 462 MHz freq the VSWR was 1.23:1 throwing 57 watts at it.  At the lower power setting (24 Watts) the reflected power barely flinched the needle.  So, I adjusted the transmitter high power setting and ended up with 49.7 watts.  
So, I have to say "NOT TOO SHABBY"

20 kHz is 0.02 MHz.
200 kHz is 0.2 MHz.
I don’t know if that helps at all or just demonstrates my pedantic nature. 🤓

Actually the lightning arrestor goes on the coax right before it enters the structure. in that hand drawn picture you have it up at the antenna end which is wrong.

The NEC begs to differ, and this is just a small bit on what it has to say. 

This is all covered by the NEC (national electric code). It is worth looking the regulations up and reading them. 
As mentioned your coax shield is grounded to your radio which in turn is grounded to the home ground at the outlet. That is why one should use lightning arrestors on the coax before it enters the structure and also to have everything grounded and also bonded to the service ground. That gives the electric a shorter path to ground. And the lightning arrestor should also keep the electricity overload from entering the structure.
Grounding can be a touchy subject and people will always argue about it. I prefer to be safe than sorry and have ground rods at each antenna mast/tower along with a ground rod right at the wall passthrough where my coax cables enter my house. They are bonded together and to my service ground..

Almost everything about this post is wrong. 
 
Whether you like it or not your radio is connected to a ground. Lightning travels miles through the air to get to ground and your antenna and tower are just a convenient path for it. Current will follow your coax (either the shield or the center conductor or both) until it finds ground.  That’s why you place surge arresters outside the house and connect them to your house ground system, to give static charge an easier path to ground. You don’t have to open the electrical panel or hire an electrician to do any of this.

 

I agree that antennas don’t create power and I understand gain. 
I use my radios with the antenna vertical. For me, having a spherical pattern, like an isentropic antenna, would be wasteful because I don’t typically communicate with something directly above or below me. But I understand your point that having a high gain antenna with the radiation directed in the wrong direction can be even worse.  I also agree that a low efficiency antenna is a bad thing. Unfortunately most of us (definitely me) don’t have an easy way to assess efficiency. Real world testing like I conducted are the best I can do. 
 

I am in the beginning stages of putting together a Connecticut GMRS club.
 You can learn more on our Facebook Page. 
 
kind regards,
WRQF883
Steve

No chop-busting needed. 🙂
Welcome here!
Are you sure there’s anything to receive?  In some places there’s just not a lot of traffic.  Are you scanning?  If you have any tones set on Receive get rid of them so you hear everything.
Yes, it’s possible that your antenna isn’t optimum, but it should work well enough.

It's also possible no one is talking.  I live in the capitol city of my state and I never hear GMRS traffic.

Can you say that one more time? I didn't quite catch that. 🤣

Can you say that one more time? I didn't quite catch that. 🤣

No need to shout, really.
Have you successfully programmed the Cotre ‎‎CO01D with a K-type cable that uses a chip other than the CH-340? 
If so, then that is different than the model that I purchased (‎CO06D).
I always thought that all those cables were interchangeable too.  Even though the Amazon listing called out that particular cable, when I ordered the radio I didn't bother ordering it, since I already had several other K-type cables that were known good and working.  Much to my surprise and annoyance, none of those cables would work with the CO06D.  And yes, I had the proper driver, and could program a different radio with the same cable plugged into the same USB port on the same computer.
You don't know me, you don't know my level of technical expertise and experience programming radios, and you weren't here when I tried using other cables to program a Cotre CO06D.  I offered that information hoping that I would save someone from the annoyance I experienced.  If you think I'm wrong about a particular cable being needed I'm obviously not going to change your mind.

@RogerCarper Repeater channels start at 23 and go from there. 1-22 are simplex channels and will not transmit on repeaters. Also, some GMRS radios will not let you do certain things in VFO mode so make sure you are in Memory/Channel mode. Programming with a computer is almost always much easier than programming directly on the radio.

Sadly many repeaters talk out better than talk in. With a portable you may be able to hear but will not be able to talk. Its normal. 

First, make sure you are transmitting on a repeater channel. They’ll be labeled either 23-30 or RP15-RP-22.  If you’re on one of the Simplex channels (15-22) you will be able to hear the repeater but the repeater will never hear you. 
Second, make sure you’re transmitting using the correct access tone, whether CTCSS or DCS. Otherwise the repeater will filter out your transmission. 
Finally, it’s entirely possible that you can’t transmit that far from inside your house on a 5 watt handheld. 

All it does is temporarily (while pressing the button usually) disable squelch for receiving. It does nothing to remove the tones for transmitting . 

I must be lucky, I've never had any problems with my CCRs.

It's just fine. I used my first initial and last name,but most places I use my first name and last name.

I agree. I intend to get my ham license soon and have no desire to use that to police or otherwise screw up GMRS.