Jones

Greetings from the (slightly flooded) cornfields of South-Central Nebraska.

Good question. If they buy the boards from over-seas, and buy the cases from over-seas, and buy the microphones from over-seas, but assemble it all here, then they have the right to say "Designed and Assembled in the USA", but there is a certain percentage of the product itself that must originate from the USA before it can legally say "Made in the USA". (I do not know what that percentage is.) Source: My ex-wife's family is in the industrial electrical manufacturing industry, but they use some Chinese sub-assemblies, which means that on certain models offered by their company, they cannot say "Made in..." or use the little Red White and Blue stickers from the US Chamber of Commerce. Other models, they can and do make the USA claim.

Not so much giving them permission, but selling them the rights via licensing agreements to re-brand existing units... ...or even acting as a contracted manufacturer for the RR or Daystar brands, not at all unlike back in the 1970s when Cybernet was the manufacturer for CB radios for over 100 different brands like Midland, Hy-Gain, Kraco, Formac, GE, J.C. Penny... the list goes on.

This sounds like a possible split-tone issue. This has been discussed before. The Midlands are set up to use the same CTCSS tone on TX and RX, with no way to set split-tones, or open squelch on RX. Remember: CTCSS, tone squelch, tone access, privacy code, quiet code, select-a-call, or whatever brand-name they call it is all the same thing.

Yes, you will be able to hear the repeater with no tone, or with the correct tone. You need the correct tone to access the machine, and you also need to be in repeater mode, so it would be channel RP21 or 21R, not just 21. It could have been a case of your were hearing the repeater just fine, thus loud and clear signal, but the other user couldn't hear you well, since you were in fact still simplex, not through the repeater.

Without looking it up, I would take an educated guess, and say either oil well drilling companies in Oklahoma and Texas, or the US military. Just look for the trucks with 6-7.5 foot-tall whip antennas. (8 foot whip is a quarter wave on the 27 MHz CB band)

A few hundred stations are currently on Channel 14, and will be more after the re-pack of TV channels is completed in a few more years. Two different lists (with some overlap): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_14_digital_TV_stations_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_14_low-power_TV_stations_in_the_United_States

Sorry, but that is not correct. Amateur repeaters (just like operators) are required to ID at the beginning of a transmission sequence, every 10 minutes during, and at the end of the transmission sequence. If no further traffic is repeated, the machine may then sit silent until the next sequence begins. Normally, when a ham repeater is first keyed up, or "cerchuncked", it will send an ID immediately. If no one then uses the machine, it will ID again in 10 minutes, then stay quiet. If someone does use the machine, it will ID every 10 minutes during the conversation. If the conversation ends after 27 minutes, then after an additional 3 minutes, the machine will send the final ID at the 30 minute time slot, then be silent until keyed up again. For GMRS, there is nothing in the rules that require a repeater to ID, but the operators must. Just for good measure, most repeater operators ID their machines as well. I have mine set up just like a ham repeater, except the ID timer is set to 15 minutes rather than 10 minutes. It stays silent until I key it up, then it will ID after the first transmission. If I talk for 3 minutes, then sign off, it will stay quiet for 12 minutes, then send the final ID before going back quiet. By the way, I use Bridgecom repeaters as you mentioned, and they already have this Morse ID function built-in. At set-up, you type in your call sign, and set the ID timer for 10 or 15 minute intervals.

From my point of view, Rugged Radios' target market seems to be "wannabees". They sell over-priced "wannabe" radio equipment to guys who "wannabe" Dale Junior, "wannabe" Rambo, "wannabe" Bob Chandler (Bigfoot), "wannabe" a policeman or a fireman.... ...Whackers

Bird 43 with number 5E, 25E, and 50E slugs will cover GMRS nicely. -pricey though.

What I can't seem to understand is: If a repeater is Private, and the owner does not want to allow anyone to use it, then why even list it? Is it just a vanity thing to have your name on a website as the owner of a machine? Ooohh lookie, I have this shiny thing, but you can't touch it! It can't be about coordination, since there is no coordination on GMRS, and everyone must share the frequencies. I have a repeater. It is private, DCS locked, and for use by my family only, so I just do not advertise it at all.

Yes, I think you are understanding this.

I agree with RCM. As I explained elsewhere on this site, too much gain is not a good thing on UHF. You will wind up with such a narrow beam-width that you wont be able to hit the repeater when you are in close to it. Antenna height is king. You will get better results from a 3dB antenna at 100 feet than you would with a 12dB antenna at 50 feet... especially in hilly or mountainous terrain.

I also ask: WHY? The DB420 is already a stacked phased array of 16 folded dipoles with an omni gain of 14 decibels. Why do you need more?

Hey Elk Hunter, Here's a little more information for you, for when you get your ham license... The standard offset for UHF repeaters is +5 MHz from the receive frequency. That goes for ham, GMRS, and commercial. NOTE: The standard is not always followed, but for the most part, it is. On VHF, there is no standard for offsets on commercial repeaters, and they seem to be all over the road. The standard offset for VHF (2-Meter) ham repeaters is 600KHz, or 0.6MHz. Another tidbit: The standard (again not always followed, but mostly) is that ham repeaters above 147 MHz use a positive offset, and those below 147MHz use a negative offset. Thus, you will see repeaters like 146.820- (in which your transmit frequency would be 146.220) or 147.060+ (which you would transmit into at 147.660). I hope this is useful information for you. -73

Once again, I'll repeat this post: 95.337 No person shall modify any Personal Radio Service transmitter in a way that changes or affects the technical functioning of that transmitter such that operation of the modified transmitter results in a violation of the rules in this part. This includes any modification to provide for additional transmit frequencies, increased modulation level, a different form of modulation, or increased transmitter output power (either mean power or peak envelope power or both). Any such modification voids the certified status of the modified transmitter and renders it unauthorized for use in the Personal Radio Services. Also, no person shall operate any Personal Radio Service transmitter that has been so modified. That rule, combined with this one: ...All frequency determining circuitry (including crystals) and programming controls in each GMRS transmitter must be internal to the transmitter and must not be accessible from the exterior of the transmitter operating panel or from the exterior of the transmitter enclosure. That is why some of us would assume that once you have made an internal modification for FPP, the radio is NO LONGER TYPE-CERTIFIED in Part 95, but may still be compliant with Part 90, and of course Part 97 (ham) which does not require type certification.

Question for discussion... Programming your own Part 90 radios into Part 95 service, and front panel programming... Is this legal? This may be another area that needs further clarification from the FCC, or perhaps I just cannot find the rule that applies, but in the past, all type-accepted radio transmitters had to be set up and aligned by (or under supervision of) a licensed technician before they were legal to use. Radio owners/operators were never allowed to modify their radios in any way. A licensed technician used to be defined as "the holder of a valid Commercial General-Class Radio-telephone Operator's License." Today, we are all programming our own radios for the frequencies we would like to use, and some even modify radios for front-panel programming. Is this even legal? The only laws I can find about this today are: 95.319 (b.) Internal repairs. Internal adjustments and repairs to Personal Radio Services transmitters must be performed by or under the supervision of an individual who is qualified to maintain and repair transmitters. 95.337 No person shall modify any Personal Radio Service transmitter in a way that changes or affects the technical functioning of that transmitter such that operation of the modified transmitter results in a violation of the rules in this part. This includes any modification to provide for additional transmit frequencies, increased modulation level, a different form of modulation, or increased transmitter output power (either mean power or peak envelope power or both). Any such modification voids the certified status of the modified transmitter and renders it unauthorized for use in the Personal Radio Services. Also, no person shall operate any Personal Radio Service transmitter that has been so modified. I had never really considered this before, since I do hold a Commercial GROL, and I am a qualified technician, but what about others programming their own radios with eBay cables? What about those internal modifications that allow the front panel to essentially be used as a VFO? This is fine for ham use, but can that possibly be legal at all for GMRS? Open for discussion.....

In the past, I have used NMO mount type mobile antennas with great luck mounted in the middle of a 14 inch pizza pan. You can buy cheap pizza pans at those Dollar type stores. Get the thing outside if you can, and if you just want to make it temporary, use some kind of C clamp, or vice-grip pliers to clamp it to a railing or gutter, or suspend it from an awning with strings as if it were a hanging planter. NMO antennas on a pizza pan give much better results than a mag-mount.

As WRAF213 said earlier, bandwidth is one of the trade-offs from gain. The higher the gain of the antenna, the narrower its pass-band will be. For best bandwidth, use a 1/4 wave (unity gain) antenna, which will have virtually flat SWR over the entire bandwidth from 430-470MHz. -OR- For BEST, and most legal results, use separate antennas, AND separate radios for 70cm ham and GMRS services. Also said above, but worthy of repeating: You can legally program a GMRS compliant transceiver such as a Kenwood or Motorola Part 90/95 type-accepted radio to use on ham bands, and still be used on GMRS provided no internal modifications are required that would void type-acceptance... however you are NOT permitted to modify a ham transceiver to transmit on GMRS.

Look into the B-Tech MURS-v1, or the Dakota Alert M538-HT. or, for the absolute smallest radio, look for the VHF version of the Helida T-M2d. I know there is a VHF version, because I have used one myself. I own the UHF version, and it is much better than just a toy. It is literally the size of a Bic lighter. The VHF version seems to be very hard to find.

Taiwan CB RadioIt is illegal to use equipment designed for the Taiwan market in the United States. 14 channels, 12.5 kHz spacing, FM: 467.5125 MHz 467.5250 MHz 467.5375 MHz 467.5500 MHz – US GMRS Repeater Input 467.5625 MHz – US FRS Channel 8 467.5750 MHz – US GMRS Repeater Input 467.5875 MHz – US FRS Channel 9 467.6000 MHz – US GMRS Repeater Input 467.6125 MHz – US FRS Channel 10 467.6250 MHz – US GMRS Repeater Input 467.6375 MHz – US FRS Channel 11 467.6500 MHz – US GMRS Repeater Input 467.6625 MHz – US FRS Channel 12 467.6750 MHz – US GMRS Repeater Input

Well, I can help answer some of your questions.... The 452 MHz band is fully used by broadcasting, public safety, and general business radio service. (as is the entire 450-470 MHz band, except for our very generous slice) The 472 MHz band is right in the middle of over-the-air television channel 14, which uses up everything between 470-476 MHz. 476-482 is channel 15, and it goes up every 6 MHz from there until you hit cellular telephone, which is currently 614-890 MHz, and expanding. There is no such thing as an "underutilized slice of spectrum" in the UHF band, or anywhere else for that matter. There is no problem with our current 5 MHz split. It has been working just fine for decades. There is already a filtering solution for this. It is known as cavity filtering. A set of UHF cavities made to handle 50 watts is about the same size as that little toy shoe-box repeater you linked to in your post, and the tuning on most are loose enough to be used on any 2 adjacent channels. You seem to want an 8 channel repeater - I still don't know why you need this. This thing you linked to is only 10 Watts anyway. Just use Simplex. Interesting note: That Retivis repeater seems to be built into a re-purposed cable TV line amp box. Lastly, please refrain from using non-appropriate language on this site.

More info on the T800 from Moto... Link: - https://youtu.be/fTO_jgYxzQU

Not only is this the busiest time of year for the postal service, it is a busy time for most people as well. Keep in mind that the HamGadgets company is actually only one man, and he has a lot going on. Dan Magro, W7RF, is the ARRL Technical Specialist for the Colorado Section, the Rocky Mountain DX club President, as well as NCARC, WARC, past President. He's also a 6-meter band fanatic, and with all of the recent aurora activity, he is probably banging out Morse code DX contacts on 50.125MHz. If you order a kit, he is the guy who counts all the parts, bags them up, and ships them. If you ordered a product assembled and tested, he is the one who solders it together, and tests it. ...then re-packages it for shipping. I've never had bad service from the guy, but I can see how he might get behind schedule a bit.

Correct. ...not FULLY true. The current crop of Midland MTX radios that advertise repeater capability can do it ONLY if the repeater you wish to use has the same PL tone going out as it has going in. Many repeaters do use the same tone in and out, but some do not, thus the Midlands won't work with ALL repeaters.