berkinet

If you look carefully at the picture it becomes pretty obvious the car is not drivable.

The usb port is for charging only. You need a usb to dual pin audio cable that plugs into the mic/speaker sockets.

These are also sold under several other names. The pair I have are Zastone Model X6

A) That’s why you use the 20m antenna. That’s why you get an antenna tuner.

Get an antenna tuner and just load it up on 40 anyway. It can”t perform any worse than a random wire.

Well, interesting post! So, here are my thoughts - without any pre-judgement, others may, and will, vary. 1) If GMRS works where FRS doesn't it is just because of the power difference, and maybe the wider bandwidth. But, the downside besides having to talk other families into getting licensed (although, that is probably a good thing in-and-of itself), is more expensive equipment, heavier equipment and shorter battery life. 2) It is not, per-se, a bad idea. But, that does not mean it is a good idea. My guess is the kids will tire of playing radio fairly quickly. If the use of the radios was integrated into some other activity, like board games or online gaming, that might have a longer lasting appeal. But, I do wonder if young kids will take the rules of good operation seriously and not just yell stupidities at each other for 10 minutes before tossing the radios into a drawer. 3) Yes, some other users will be pissed off. But, many won't. You have as much right to the channels as they do as long as you and your family operate in a legal manner. 4) No such thing. But, I would not use PL. That might give the kids a sens that the channel is clear, and they might not hear someone telling them to talk less, yield the channel, etc. 5) FIRST, you need two ask the repeater owner, even if it is an open repeater. But, it is always ok to ask and if the owner laughs at you, well that would be an indication of his/her poor attitude, and no mark against you. Good luck and tell us how or if it goes.

2 points. #1. Consider that many people make their own "Ed Fong" antennas, some buy the kit, other's purchase a generic antenna for their desired band and still others order an antenna cut for a specific frequency. Thus, in addition to any issues about the effectiveness of the design, you have to consider all the other factors as well when evaluating user reports. #2. It is because of the toroidal propagation that the antenna achieves gain in a 360º pattern. Minimal energy wasted by being transmitted above or below the antenna's horizontal plane.

Marc. I think he is saying the FRS radios can transmit simplex on the repeater output frequencies. He is not saying they can transmit through the repeater. However, I think you are right, Like you, I am done with this discussion, and as well, I think this topic is done. Could a moderator please close it.

Are you certain you were talking to him through the repeater and not just directly on the output?

two caveats before you go and order QRP gear... 1. As you note, you are not allowed to transmit. 2. Actually getting a contact is not that easy and may require a LOT of time and effort. It is a little like fishing, some people are cut out for it, others not so much.

Hmmm. Was the first post in this topic edited? When major edits are made, it is usually a good idea to add a comment as to why the edit was made, even better is to add a note below the original text (You can always mark the original text as strikethrough). That way people who find this thread in the future will have a context for the conversation.

Honestly, the only person who can answer that is you. What does the term radio mean to you? Listening, talking, near, far, people you know, people you have never met? Data, voice, TV, morse code? Electronics, designing, building, repairing, tuning, kits? Academic theory, knowledge, understanding? I could go on. But, in regards to the items listed above, GMRS ticks off a lot fewer items than ham radio. Pretty much limited to speaking to nearby people, generally those you already know, about anything you want to talk about. Fiddling with radios is out, though you can mess with antennas. On the other hand, ham radio ticks almost the items, except a biggie, you cannot communicate about anything remotely commercial. So, talk tend to be about: your equipment, the weather, your job/career/interests/politics. I'd sum up by saying if all you want is to talk to your family or a close group of nearby friends, GMRS is probably all you will ever want or need. OTOH, if your interests go beyond that, then go ahead and get the tech license, and start studying for the general - it's not that much more difficult. In fact, if you are taking the tech license test, ask to take the general as well. There is no downside in trying. CAVEAT: I have made a lot of generalizations in this post. Some may be truer for you than ot hers. For example, with linked repeaters, you can talk to people all over the US on GMRS - but, then you can do that on Zello too. Good luck on the exam.

And, Wouxun. Good quality, Good feature set, responsive to customers, and available right here.

Note, stiggs13’s last login was two days after their original post in this thread. Also, as Jones pointed out the call sign isn’t a valid GMRS call sign. Probably a typo, since they were able to create an account. But, still, it would be nice to get it corrected, and know they were still interested.

Are you sure of that? FRS is certainly licensed by rule - you use a certified radio in an approved manner (by following the rules) and you are effectively licensed to use the service. But, I am pretty sure GMRS is explicitly licensed. You must apply, pay the fee, and be granted a license to use the service. You must then follow the rules or risk losing your license.

Best car I ever owned was a '72 Giulia Super.

As you have made clear in several posts. However, I am referring to now, not some possible time in the future. Also, even if/when Midland does address the problems with their radios, there is no evidence that “fix” will be available to upgrade radios already in the field. With all the options out there, other GMRS certified products, used products, and non-certified Part90 gear. I could not, in good conscience recommend that someone buy a Midland radio today.

... and anyone who just found out that their new Midland radio can’t connect to the local split tone repeater or the repeater that uses PL tones Midland doesn’t support.

Well, you could just google “amateur radio band plan.” But, I’ll save you the trouble, this time. http://www.arrl.org/band-plan

that is exactly what I am saying.

Well, as is the answer to a lot of radio questions, it depends. If you are using a 1/4 wave dipole antenna, then you need a ground-plane. You should have 1/4 wave (~6.5") ground around your antenna. If there is less than 1/4 wave ground in one direction you will get some, relatively minor, directionality. If you still have problems after permanently mounting the antenna, you can, as I noted above, switch to a gain antenna. If you really do have ground-plane issues, the gain antenna will likely address that as well. Typical gain for UHF no-ground-plane antenna, without ground-plane, would probably give you ~3db of omni-directional gain - the equivalent of doubling your power. If you have a ground-plane, the gain would likely be higher. Here are a couple of sites listing UHF no-ground antennas... https://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/antennas-191/mobile-antennas-192/380-512-mhz-uhf-196/no-ground-uhf-antennas-215/ https://www.arcantenna.com/shop-antenna-frequencies/400-490-mhz-uhf/no-ground-plane-ngp-uhf-antenna.html

I would guess that your transmit issues are not caused low power, but by a poor antenna or poor installation of the antenna. You note you are using a mag mount antenna, there is one issue already. If you cannot, or really do not want to, drill a mounting hole in your truck, take a look at an antenna design that does not require a ground plane. There are several such designs so I won't go into them here. For a base station you'd have even more options. First choice would be to get the antenna up high. Then, depending on your needs, using a "gain" antenna would probably help, especially a directional antenna.

I think your spelling correction tool got a little hyperactive. I assume you meant “trunked” radio systems. BTW, many such systems are encrypted, but by no means all. Also, many jurisdictions maintain a clear audio channel which just repeats traffic from the trunked system. Where these exist, they are perfect for the purposes being discussed in this thread.

As they say, YMMV. I have been able to program every Motorola radio I have ever tried including old HTs like the GP300 and P1225 with a USB adapter cable and WinXP (running in VirtualBox on MacOS). You just have to get the right cable, and the right version of the software, and... be patient and persistent. I have owned and built so many cables and programming stands I can no longer remember which cables came from where. But, I'd start with BlueMax49ers (ebay and amazon). But, the best way is too email Mark Dunkle, dunklem AT gmail.com. He is a great, honest guy and if he does sell you something that doesn't work, he will take it back. BTW, If you do get one of his cables, get one with the FTDI USB/Serial adapter. All his cables work, But, for a number of reasons, the FTDI cables will have fewer problems.

While n4gix is 100% correct, I would add two notes. #1. The GMRSv1 will only let you transmit on the assigned GMRS frequencies. #2. in a life threatening emergency, I.e. severe injuries, not just a bear ate my food, I would trade a life for getting yelled at or even prosecuted for illegal use of the radio. And, to your other question... There used to be all kinds of "radio listening" guides which listed things like Police, Fire, USFS, BLM, Railroad, etc. frequencies. The is probably something similar on the net. BUT, most public service agencies have moved over to trunking radios systems (a tiny bit like cellular frequency assignment) so there is no one frequency to listen to. However, i many places the Forest Service, Park Rangers, etc. may still operate one or two direct channels. And, one more caveat: there is a good chance that any channels you find will be on VHF.