WRXB215

This is untrue. Your disagreeing with my statements about GMRS’s primary purpose didn’t bother me at all. What bothered me was your need to take a swipe at all hams with derogatory nicknames. 
And what I said was barely an insult, but apparently it got under your skin. I’m just not going to waste my time attempting to appease people who lead with insults and then whine repeatedly because someone implies that their abrasive talk will result in being ignored. As you have seen there are some very welcoming hams who are interested in helping you. I was at first. I’m proud of them; I’m sorry for you. 

@Rulander welcome to GMRS.

Some radios have S-meters which display the signal strength. For most people there is a somewhat noticeable audible difference between each number. 
Although radio S-meters are not precisely calibrated, generally speaking (and a question on the ham test 😊) one unit difference on an S meter correlates to 6 dB. 
What that means is that if 40 watts gets to S9, 10 watts gets to S8.  

No, not at all. 

The signal is line-of-sight and travels mostly horizontal. If there is a window in the attic you may have better luck putting the antenna there.

Do you have a layer of that foil barier in your roof?

The signal is line-of-sight and travels mostly horizontal. If there is a window in the attic you may have better luck putting the antenna there.

I love GMRS and I am also a "HAMster". My name is Will nice to meet you, I have started a ham radio club at the jr high school I work at and I have already led one student to earn his technician license and have about 10 more in the works. I have about a total of 20 kids that I brought into the hobby. Check out the blog that Bridgecom Systems put out on the ham club that I created for these kids. 
With that being said, please do not assume that all amateur radio operators are a bunch of hermits that keep to themselves and do not share this hobby with others, because there are a lot of teachers like myself out there that are doing the same at their schools. As well as countless hams that teach their family and friends. I am sorry that you may have had a bad experience with some people. I hope we can talk more sir, I am always up for a good chat   

Emergency comms is not the focus of GMRS, nor is GMRS particularly useful for E comm; that is why it is little used as such. 

GMRS is good for what it is good for.

Like @N6CST I have a Tundra and went straight to the battery. The grommets on each side of the truck have a nipple top and bottom. I used the bottom nipple on the driver's side. Top was already used. The install was very easy. Running the wire from the cab side made it easier to see where to fish the wires.

Like @N6CST I have a Tundra and went straight to the battery. The grommets on each side of the truck have a nipple top and bottom. I used the bottom nipple on the driver's side. Top was already used. The install was very easy. Running the wire from the cab side made it easier to see where to fish the wires.

They'll start talking when SHTF and other forms of communication have disappeared.

At which point you reply to either and BOOM there’s your conversation.


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GMRS is a good service and I see it as the evolution from the old CB days.

Where Amateur Radio is filled with people who enjoy making contacts for the sake of meeting new people and making contacts, GMRS is often called a “bring your own friends” type of service, in that its often used within families, hunting / hiking groups, off road groups, etc. You’ll typically find fewer folks just looking to connect, but that does happen on occasion. Where I’m at there are regular net sessions, a Ham study session, and we even had a recent picnic to meet up. I’m still not as well known, but that’s fine by me as I have other stuff going on. You should investigate to see if you have local GMRS groups near you.




You are entitled to whatever opinion you wish to have, but that doesn’t make it accurate. Many folks who use GMRS are also Ham operators. While we have fun with “Sad Hams” the truth is there are people here who simply enjoy radio and use Ham and GMRS.





My dad used to say “it’s not what you said but how you said it”.

Instead of complaining and insulting established members here, maybe consider taking a breath and getting a sense of how things flow.

There seems to be a thing with new folks around here lately….

Or for group recreational activities such as Jeeping out on the trails. I don't normally see Jeep Creeps using HAM radio while on the trail.  99.98% of the trail comms are normally simplex. Although, occasionally, I will hear some CB traffic on Ch. 16 AM during a Blue moon situation way out in the boonies on the trail.

Might be meeting the wrong people, just about everyone I have ever talked to about radio has been very welcoming to the hobby. 

Gee, I can't figure out why people don't want to make pointless small talk with you.  Best wishes!

@LeeBo I've heard of people doing exactly that.

The Baofeng web site now has programing software for the GM-15 pro available.
Download - Baofeng (baofengradio.com)

What Digi said is exactly right. Gain in one direction is stolen from somewhere else. 
What are you using the antenna for?  Do you expect to turn it to point in a particular direction, such as pointing it at different stations? Or do you want to just receive every station in a circle around you? Wil they all be at the same level as you or will some be higher and some lower?
Personally I’m satisfied with a 6 dBi gain antenna on my roof. The repeater that’s 3000 ft higher is still easy to reach. 
 

Hrm, a WTF beep. That would be nice. I hope my radio has that feature. 🤔

This is what I come here for.

Ok, stay vigilant and be safe.

No, we were a few blocks from the closest evacuation line.

Well, with all of this super advanced technical information that has been bestowed upon me, I have decided to leave my Roger Beep in a state of perpetual WTF. Thanks for all of your opinions 🤣🤣🤣