Jones

You need to have the RX programmed to the HIGH SIDE on a repeater - 467.xxx. The transmitter will then repeat what it hears on the repeater's output frequency, which is the 462.xxx that your radio is listening to. You WILL need to have the duplexer re-tuned regardless. :...not sure I completely understand how having each M10 programmed to the same Rx and Tx between units works: Both units are programmed to the same RX (high side) and TX (low side) so that the units can be swapped out if a final amp blows out or something. One unit is always the receiver, and repeater controller. It never transmits. The other unit is the transmitter, and is NOT used for receiving or control of the repeater. ...but the 2 units are swap-able for service purposes.

He said he was running DOSBox. If you're not familiar with it, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOSBox -or- https://www.dosbox.com/ It is VERY good emulator software. I have not had problems, but that is not to say that this particular bug might not exist. I don't even try to use the built-in to Windows DOS "Command Prompt" boxes anymore, unless I am trying to command something in Windows.

Circular polarization does work to make RF cut through difficult areas. I have not seen any commercially made circularly polarized antennas for UHF, but I can say that almost EVERY radio station on the VHF broadcast band (FM 88-108MHz) uses a cycloid, or other type of circularly polarized antenna system. The science is well proven for transmitting. The question would be: Can they receive as well? https://www.eriinc.com/product/1105-series-circularly-polarized-fm-antenna/ http://www.progressive-concepts.com/transmission-equipment/---Progressives-PCP-Circularly-Polarized-FM-Antenna_PT729.html

This could very well be noise caused by PWM variable speed motor controllers in your vehicle. Try installing a 1000uF 25V electrolytic capacitor right across the motor wires of each of the offending motors. Make sure you get the pos-neg correct. Electrolytic capacitors will EXPLODE if you hook them up backwards. Also, be sure to put the capacitors as close as possible to each motor. Putting filter capacitors 5 or 6 feet down the power line will do nothing for radio noise. You might also try putting large ferrite chokes on the leads where they come out from the motor controller modules. I also do NOT recommend hooking the ground wire of your radio straight to the battery negative, or to some random point on the chassis. This just by itself can cause noise from the vehicles onboard devices. Don't listen to what the "old timers" blab about this. That sloppy installation worked in the 60s and 70s, but not on modern cars. There is always a "Common Ground" point somewhere on the car that has a lot of different circuits all grounded to that one central point, usually within a foot or two of the battery. THAT is where you should hook your radio negative wire. THAT point is where the engineers designed your car to have the minimum noise for electronic circuit returns. Also, do NOT put a fuse in the black wire in a negative-ground auto installation. Argue with me about that later if you must. The red wire can go right to the battery, BUT there is most often a good power distribution take-off point to hook that up as well, right at the end of the main positive cable. It won't corrode over time if you hook it up to the power distribution point instead of messing with the battery. (DO put a fuse in the RED wire, as close as possible to the power source.) I just don't EVER hook anything but the car itself up directly to the battery. The engineers who designed your car made it that way on purpose. AGAIN: That old garbage of "just hook it straight to the battery" is just that... garbage. It is NOT 1960 anymore, and you are NOT running a 235 inline 6 cylinder with points and a condenser.

In the old days, almost all transmitters had pi-network outputs, and would transmit into anything without going into fold-back or shut down. We would simply tune cavities by transmitting through them into a load. For a set of pass cavities, transmit on the desired frequency, and tune the cans for maximum power throughput. For reject cavities, transmit on the unwanted frequency, and tune for greatest null. You can't really do that with modern transmitters, as they will just shut down.

In a related note, I have recently purchased a new, un-programmed TK885. I have looked online, (briefly) and can't find legit software to program this. I have the correct 8-pin Kenwood cable, as far as I know. Yes, I know the 885 is the trunking version, but I got it for cheap. The manual says it can be programmed and operated in conventional FM mode. Anyone have any input on this?

Ideally, you wouldn't want EVERYONE to be trying to communicate at once during an area-wide emergency. Let the communicators do the communicating, and get the message to another party who can let everyone else know what to do and where to go. Let's see, what type of service could reliably do that??? BROADCAST RADIO, particularly a LOCAL live-staffed AM radio station. No one wants to lug around a TV set for emergency information, so forget them. Most FM stations in California (and the rest of the US for that matter) are automated music stations with no one actually live-on-duty, so forget them also. Cellular phone service in most cases will be DOA. Find a local AM station, make a plan that includes them, and tell EVERYONE that in times of emergency, they need to grab a portable AM radio, and tune to whatever frequency to get continuous updates on the emergency. The local hams and GMRS operators, as well as first responders and government officials can all be in contact with the radio station to give them updates, and they will tell everyone else... many times with live on-the-scene audio actualities. That local AM radio station has between 1,000 and 50,000 Watts of transmitter power with backup. You don't. They have hundreds of miles of relatively high-fidelity audio coverage. You don't. Between emergency updates, they can tell the audience where to find help, and keep them calm with a few music selections. You can't. If you know how to use a 2-way radio, then great, but most people only need the radio that they are most familiar with. Broadcast. Just let them know in advance what station to tune into if there were to be a local emergency.

Perhaps you should contact an area ham, or the ARRL, and ask about local clubs. A quick search shows 148 licensed ham operators in ZIP code 98671 alone. There must be SOMEONE to talk with.

Must have just been a one or two day case of sporadic E layer activity.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll check out 10 later today. I usually hang out around 28.450USB, or 29.000AM.

This is a myth. There are still a LOT of TV stations using low band with ATSC digital transmisions, and there will continue to be. What was freed up is everything above UHF channel 36. All of that area has been re-assigned - mostly to cellular services. TV channels 2-6, 7-13, and 14-36 remain unchanged in frequency allocation.

Looks like another big company cheating the rules in the name of profits. This company as a very well designed website, advertising over 1,600 employees with a fleet of hundreds of trucks, working over 500 active job sites per day. They even publish a monthly employee newsletter. I guess they will have to drop a few hundred grand on a license and new radios. ...or just go true FRS.

I'm not trying to endorse any specific battery, and I am not affiliated with the company in any way, but I have had very good luck in the past with Rayovac brand alkaline batteries. I can usually find them at MUCH cheaper prices than the Energizer or Duracell brands, and they work every bit as well. This statement is based on my experience and opinion. As always, YMMV.

Since the license holder claims they are now digital, you might ask them to whom they sold their old analog system when it was taken out of commission back in '09. It is possible that it was purchased by an individual, re-programmed to be a GMRS repeater, but the old ID was never re-programmed or taken off.

151.625 is known as "The RED-Dot Channel" in the part 90 world. Radios with this frequency are usually noted by a red-colored dot on the back somewhere, or in the battery case. Every radio company, and their pet dogs, have sold radios on that frequency since the mid 1970s. Midland, Motorola, Johnson, Ritron, Job-Comm, Uniden, Kenwood, Icom, Yaesu, Pace, GE, hundreds of off-brands.... even Radio Shack sold a set of hand-held radios on 151.625. This is one of the only part 90 frequencies that is grandfather-claused in the law for wide-band operation. There is just no way to replace the hundreds of thousands of radios already in use on this particular frequency. A lot of businesses that move place to place use this as their default channel. I often hear, radio and TV tower climbers, road construction crews, trucking companies, crop harvesting companies, carnivals and circuses and other show production companies... basically, any business that moves around a lot from place to place that needs quick, legal, licensed, short-range 2-way communications no matter where they are in the USA. It is a fun frequency to keep in your scanner, to see who is in town.

I also have a Larsen NMO27B on my work van for CB. About 2 feet in front of it is a 48" Hustler VHF antenna, and a foot-and-a-half in front of that is a Browning 5/8 over 5/8 UHF mag-mount antenna. No problems with them interfering with each other.

If you want maximum range and sensitivity, don't use tone squelch at all... but be prepared for interference. CTCSS is the original tone squelch system designed by Motorola, and trademarked as "Private Line" or "PL" tone. Everyone else copied it. DCS or "DPL" and Motorola calls it, is an improvement over the original, with more codes, and less false-triggering on receivers. If you are just wanting to talk to your own group, and not get outside chatter, I would go with DCS, and pick a 3 digit code that means something to you so you can remember it. It can't be just any 3 digits, it must be a valid code in the drop-down list of CHIRP, or in the programming functions of the radio. Make sure all radios are set to the same channel, and that they all have the same DCS code programmed in for TX and RX, and you'll be good to go with minimal interruptions or interference.

Here in Nebraska, CB never went out of fashion with the local short-haul trucking community. All of the local guys still use channel 19, and we now have an expanding population of immigrant truck drivers in the area using channel 22 in Spanish. I live 5 blocks away from a grain elevator, and 4 miles from a feed distribution site, so I hear a lot of CB traffic every hour. The elevator uses either channel 19, or sometimes channel 12 to instruct drivers how to back around to the loading/unloading areas etc. I live in the middle of nowhere, so the only thing I ever hear on GMRS is my own family, and some occasional ducting from a grandfathered business-licensed system on .625 that is used by a concrete company east of me about 70 miles. (They have a phone patch. Not sure that's legal even on a grandfathered system.) On FRS channel 1, I quite often hear the little girls across the street playing with their walkie talkies, but that's about it.

I agree, it is high-speed Morse. I also copy WQDK421. I'll bet since you are hearing this on a scanner, it is an IF image. A lot of scanners have an IF frequency between 10.7 and 11.3 MHz, and don't have really great rejection. A lower image would get you close to 451.400. Also of note: Using the PARIS method of Morse speed calculation, this code is being generated at exactly 60 WPM.

While they will both TECHNICALLY work in the GMRS band, I believe the type 1 is Part-95 certified for use on GMRS, but the type 2 is not. Check the FCC ID numbers of both. Source: Type 1 https://fccid.io/K4437313210 Type 2 https://fccid.io/K4437313220

I own several Baofeng radios - (3) UV-5Rs, (6) BF-888s, (6) GT-1s.... and the one thing I notice is the transmit audio is absolute garbage when using the Baofeng or Pofung branded handheld speaker-mics. Those things are just junk, and you will get bad audio reports every time - "Muffled", "Boxy", "Muddy", "No clarity", "Cotton-mouth", and even "sounds like you're talking out of your ..." are ways I've heard describe it. The built-in mics on the handheld radios themselves seem to be much better, just talk 'across' them at a 90 degree angle... not straight into them as most people seem to do. Also, those little "earpiece" things with the mic in the cord are very good sounding, and work well, though uncomfortable to wear. No, drilling the mic hole out will NOT help your audio on these things. That is crap information from the CB-Good-Buddy world that people should stop repeating. It will only make them pick up more wind noise, and make them sound "Boomy-er". The mic hole is SPECIFICALLY small to help block wind noise, and limit excess bass response. That tiny mic hole is for all intents, an acoustic filter, and Baofeng is NOT the only radio company to do this. ID-ten-T error... "yep I drilled out the mic hole, and got so much more modulation out of it that I had to tape a chunk of foam on the front of it to keep the wind noise down." As for the original post question: "Best Dual Bander"... the answer is: There is no answer. One size NEVER fits all. There are many different radios that may meet or exceed your needs, depending on what your needs are.

I think the GMRS-powered base (setup for narrow-band) on an FRS shared channel is a great idea, but I do not think running FRS and GMRS at the same site is a good idea. Keep in mind that true GMRS is a wide-band service, and the channels are interspersed with the FRS channels. If you were to put a wide-band high powered GMRS repeater on .... let's say 462.700 (21R) - That would render FRS channels 6, 7, 13, and 14 all useless in the same area due to splatter-over. Just follow the KISS principle. Don't try to over-engineer something.

I do have one of those smaller Midland Micro-mobiles, (5-watt version) and they are not really a bad little radio. The weak link in the chain is the crappy little antenna that is provided by Midland. Even Midland's "Upgrade" antennas are junk. I am using a cheap Tram-Browning UHF antenna on my Midland, and it works vastly superior to the Midland stock mag mount. I think the biggest problem with the Midland antennas is the fact they use that small-sized RG-176-type coaxial cable. I have not measured it, but I'll bet the loss is somewhere around 60-70% of your signal. You can get a solid signal out with a cheap radio and a good antenna, but if you put a crappy antenna on a 100 Watt Motorola, you still can't talk anywhere. Antenna and coaxial cable quality is VERY important in radio communications. One size does NOT fit all applications. Make sure you are using the correct type of antenna for your vehicle or application.... such as a half-wave no-ground-plane type antenna for that ragtop mentioned earlier.

One thing I might suggest... Since (I assume) you will have a GMRS license holder at the central command office of the camp, why not set up a 5-watt, narrow band UHF base station on 462.6125 MHz, with no CTCSS tone. Put a small UHF antenna on your 40 foot pole, (use low-loss coax like LMR-400) and you will be able to cover your whole forest on the frequency known as FRS Channel 3. Tell everyone with FRS radios to stay off from channel 3 unless they have any emergency or need to get in touch with the camp headquarters, then just call on channel 3 with no privacy code. Even if those cheap bubble-pack radios can't talk to each other through the trees, they likely can be heard at the base station with the 40' high antenna, and with licensed 5 Watts at 40', they will hear you. Forget about a UHF repeater. NOTE: I'm just using channel 3 as an example, but any channel 7 or below could be used at 5 Watts. You could use higher power (50 Watts) on channels 15-22, but remember, a lot of older FRS-only radios don't go past 14, and channel 8-14 are low-power only. If there is any GMRS repeater within 50 miles, pick a channel 2 or 3 away from its output frequency, so its wide-band transmitter doesn't splatter on your narrow-band base receiver.

I asked an FCC enforcement officer about this matter in person at the Kansas Association of Broadcasters convention last October. He said he would ask his people, and get back to me. I called his number back and left a voice-mail in December. I still have heard absolutely nothing. I also sent a detailed email to a communications law firm in Washington DC about this, and got nothing from them either. As of this time, I am still using a Sage Alerting Systems EAS box on my GMRS repeater. I have it set to ignore all tests, watches, announcements, statements, and all the other useless stuff that gets sent over NOAA radio, but it does auto-forward severe weather warnings for my coverage area, state-wide AMBER alerts, and National Emergency Activation Notification messages. (...and there have never been any of those) EAS timeout is set to 2 minutes, but many of the alerts are shorter than that, and the thing will re-set when the end-of-message tones go through. It is enough to get my attention, give me the basic facts, then I can go find another radio to tune in, or get online if I need more information.