Jones

If you want something lightweight that folds down for "just grab-and-go" temporary use, I have had good luck with PA system speaker stands such as:
 
https://www.parts-express.com/peavey-tripod-speaker-stand-ii-56-102-black-100-lb-capacity--248-8586
 
Add a 5-foot mast pipe to the top of this, and your antenna is instantly 12-15 feet in the air.  Add some rope and tent stakes for temporary guy wires if it's windy.

Separate conductors also are much better at heat dissipation. Important in the event of a long-term overload that does not trip the breaker.  

As a contract radio broadcast engineer, I am on the road a LOT in Nebraska and Kansas.  I very rarely hear anything on GMRS other than my own family, but I did just a few weeks ago hear a couple of truckers on 462.675 (Channel 20) on hwy 81 north of Salina.
 
I usually monitor either 462.675 (20) when I'm on the road, or 462.625 (18) when I'm around my hometown, since my family uses 625.
 
Channel 20, with a CTCSS tone of 141.3 (Midland "privacy code" #22) is sort of the "official/not quite official/depends who you ask" traveler's channel for FRS/GMRS, so that is where like-minded people should hang out if they want to have a chance at talking to someone else on a road trip.
 
So, one-way to Kansas?? Where in Kansas, and why?

Calm down, have a beer.  .....Yes, I'm OK now.

As a contract radio broadcast engineer, I am on the road a LOT in Nebraska and Kansas.  I very rarely hear anything on GMRS other than my own family, but I did just a few weeks ago hear a couple of truckers on 462.675 (Channel 20) on hwy 81 north of Salina.
 
I usually monitor either 462.675 (20) when I'm on the road, or 462.625 (18) when I'm around my hometown, since my family uses 625.
 
Channel 20, with a CTCSS tone of 141.3 (Midland "privacy code" #22) is sort of the "official/not quite official/depends who you ask" traveler's channel for FRS/GMRS, so that is where like-minded people should hang out if they want to have a chance at talking to someone else on a road trip.
 
So, one-way to Kansas?? Where in Kansas, and why?

At its heyday, CB was a social event, the Internet of its time. People bought CB radios because they didn't want to miss out on what was happening. CB was the end, not the means to an end.  I would guess that a huge percentage of CB radios were trashed within a month of purchase.  As you summarized from the responses to your original post in this thread, people get into GMRS to support some end that exists outside of "radio."   So, the picture to me is any group of people engaging in some activity, which could just be their daily lives, who have a need for simple, reliable communications to support that activity.

Thank You Jones that does make it pretty simple. Ive always loved radio communications of all types and how they work.

To make it real simple, and Midland friendly, Yes.  You may talk between your FRS radios and your Micromobiles on channels 1-7, and 15-22. 
 
(NOTE: To make this even simpler, channels 8-14 are not even included on the Micromobiles - it skips over them.)

Wow, pleasant, accurate and polite exchange of information? Am I still on the Internet? I would have asked the same question in a few days Scarleton. I'm new at this and would love to see a follow-up here on how your radio works with the repeater. 
 
And Mr. Jones, thank you for the polite and information-packed response.
 
Happy Fourth of July everyone.

For a small part of the path to the repeater... that's it.  That's not real contact.
 
I had someone bragging to me about a 2m C4FM contact to an operator in Japan over a digital group and he logged it as a JP contact in his log.  I told him to give me a break.  If using my radio to go 2.5 miles to an internet-linked repeater and digital chatroom counts as a JP contact, I may as well just call a random person in Japan on the phone and count that as a JP contact, too.

I'm not an old Ham... but if you're talking to someone over the internet, that isn't radio, in my opinion.  The whole point is to use airways to talk.  If you are using the internet, you may as well be on a computer or smartphone.  I especially feel this way about people using their smart phone to get into a group and they aren't even on a radio. 
 
If 2 people are using their smartphone to talk to each other though a Fusion or WiresX web app, how the heck is that Ham radio?  If that counts, anyone who talks on a cell phone may as well consider themselves a Ham.  LOL

I hear DTMF tones all over Nebraska on MURS.  I looked into it a year ago, and found out that several farms in the area use MURS for a remote monitoring and telemetry system for their crop irrigation systems and water wells.  There is also at least one company making MURS remote alarm systems for farm buildings and gates.
 
MURS is legal for all of those kinds of things, so that's likely what you're hearing.
 
Most people using MURS for these types of operations do not even know what frequency or band they are using.  All they know is that they purchased this wireless thing that lets them know back home when someone opens the pasture gate, and they have another wireless thing that tells them how many gallons per minute the pump is flowing.

To summarize WPXM352’s excellent response to your question… One of your club members is an expert the other is not.

Yeah while field day is centered around amateur radio, I feel its a great opportunity to expose folks to the utility that GMRS offers. I've found a great community of like minded people around GMRS that may have never delved into amateur radio otherwise. I plan on activating 20 meters mainly and calling on the local GMRS repeaters for general conversation to learn what others are doing across the US. WQYM541 good luck on your trip! I hope to hear some of you on the air.

I'd be concerned with anyone who let a repeater go out the door & didn't check the duplexer the first time. If he didn't get it right then, what's the chances he's going to get it right this time? It sounds like you bought it from the seller as a working package.
 
Before you send it back - make sure you've got the cables hooked up correctly  - the High side should be to the Receiver, low side for the Transmit. I've seen too many jumpers crossed up not to ask.

If all the parts come in, I'll be traveling across northern Kansas this weekend trying to get a 30,000 Watt signal, and two 100,000 Watt signals back on the air in the 3-Meter band. (a.k.a. FM Stereo)
 
I might try some simplex on 146.520 in the 2 Meter band while I'm on the road, but unfortunately, I won't be able to play with amateur radio much during this year's field day, since I'll be busy with commercial radio.

Run 4 watts.

Midland GMRS radios are not programmable.  They are fixed with GMRS channels, and that's it.  Also, you can find MUCH better antennas than Midland's junk, and for a better price.
 
That link is for Midland Biztalk series business-band part 90 radios.

I don't think he is talking about the signal actually being repeated, I think he means the signal comes in on his radio on both channels - in which case his receiver is not alligned properly, or it is a CCR with a lot of unknown IF leakage.

One mag-mount solution that I have had good luck with (for not very much money) is the Tram 1235 NMO mag-mount with the Tram 1126-B 1/4 wave antenna.
 
You should be able to pick up a set for $25-35 on eBay or Amazon.  I'd look on Amazon, since if you don't like it, you can return it.

The long recognized GMRS "Travel Channel" is 462.675 with a CTCSS Tone of 141.3Hz.
 
On a Midland MicroMobile, that would be channel 20 with a "Privacy Code" of 22.

Once again, for some reason the original post has been edited, but in this case, the subject line sums up the original question, and several posts agreed on a valid answer.
 
There is already a well established "Highway" or "Travel Channel" for GMRS, and it is 462.675 with a CTCSS Tone of 141.3Hz.
 
Again, on a Midland MicroMobile, (and many other GMRS or Combo radios) that would be channel 20 with a "Privacy Code" of 22. (However, check your radio's owner's manual for the privacy or quiet code that matches 141.3 Hz.  Not all radios are mapped the same for these codes.)
 
This frequency can be used in repeater mode, or simplex if a repeater is not available in the area.
 
...and if you don't want to miss any possible action, then use WRAF233's suggestion, and just set the radio to "SCAN".
 
Also of note, just yesterday, I was traveling on US HWY 81 in North Central Kansas, and heard 2 truckers using channel 20-22.

If his Fox News is on Cable channel 64, then you can't do anything about it.  CATV Hyperband channel 64, no matter whether it's NTSC analog or ATSC QAM Digital, covers a 6MHz wide bandwidth between 462 and 468MHz.  If you transmit anywhere in there, (GMRS) it will overload the TV or converter box.
 
Likewise, if you are transmitting in the 70cm ham band, depending on what frequency you are using, you will wipe out Cable channel 59, 60, or 61. the 2-Meter ham band rides on the same band as Cable channel 18, and MURS will wipe out channel 19.
 
NOTE: Cable channels above 14 are NOT the same frequencies as over-the-air TV channels above 14.  Also note that with digital TV, the station can display whatever "virtual channel" they want you to see.  Perhaps your local CBS affiliate still advertises themselves as "News-4", even though they switched to RF channel 27 over 19 years ago.  Cable systems like to call digital channels much higher numbers such as "Hyper-tier 653" because it makes them sound bigger than they actually are - makes you think they have more channels out there that you just don't pay enough to get.
 
Here is a list of actual frequencies vs. channel numbers for Standard, IRC, and HRC type cable systems, along with standard over-the-air broadcast.
 
https://www.jneuhaus.com/fccindex/cablech.html
 
The visual carrier frequency is shown in this chart. TV is transmitted in Vestigial Sideband mode, meaning a full carrier and upper sideband, but the lower sideband is rolled off 1MHz below the carrier. The lower edge of the channel is 1.25 MHz below the visual carrier and the upper edge is 4.75 MHz above the visual carrier.

First, check the tone squelch settings, and make sure you haven't messed them up in the programming.  If you are hearing nothing at all on the weather channels, then it is likely a tone issue.  If you still do hear the FM white noise with the squelch control down, then you have an antenna problem, or a bad receiver.

If his Fox News is on Cable channel 64, then you can't do anything about it.  CATV Hyperband channel 64, no matter whether it's NTSC analog or ATSC QAM Digital, covers a 6MHz wide bandwidth between 462 and 468MHz.  If you transmit anywhere in there, (GMRS) it will overload the TV or converter box.
 
Likewise, if you are transmitting in the 70cm ham band, depending on what frequency you are using, you will wipe out Cable channel 59, 60, or 61. the 2-Meter ham band rides on the same band as Cable channel 18, and MURS will wipe out channel 19.
 
NOTE: Cable channels above 14 are NOT the same frequencies as over-the-air TV channels above 14.  Also note that with digital TV, the station can display whatever "virtual channel" they want you to see.  Perhaps your local CBS affiliate still advertises themselves as "News-4", even though they switched to RF channel 27 over 19 years ago.  Cable systems like to call digital channels much higher numbers such as "Hyper-tier 653" because it makes them sound bigger than they actually are - makes you think they have more channels out there that you just don't pay enough to get.
 
Here is a list of actual frequencies vs. channel numbers for Standard, IRC, and HRC type cable systems, along with standard over-the-air broadcast.
 
https://www.jneuhaus.com/fccindex/cablech.html
 
The visual carrier frequency is shown in this chart. TV is transmitted in Vestigial Sideband mode, meaning a full carrier and upper sideband, but the lower sideband is rolled off 1MHz below the carrier. The lower edge of the channel is 1.25 MHz below the visual carrier and the upper edge is 4.75 MHz above the visual carrier.