berkinet

That will be a very long wait. UHF does not skip, it just keeps on going.

VritualBox is free and works just fine.

According to their web site: Terminals w/ recessed hole DIA. 0.16” (4 mm) with set screw And another review on eHam.net said they were push terminals. You might need solid wire, and then use Anderson PowerPoles.

Then don’t. There is a dedicated sub-forum for ham radio and that would be the perfect place to start your own thread. But, you don’t even need to post at all, did you try googling for: ham license practice test?

YES. if you use the programming software and cable discussed elsewhere in there forums. Otherwise, No.

Note that unlike other radio services (notably CB and Amateur) there is no general assumption about contacting strangers or about use while traveling away from home. In that respect, GMRS is more like business radio. So, while you may well find emergency or other services in any given area, I would certainly not count on it. If you travel a lot, CB and/or Ham would probably serve you better in an emergency situation.

You could add an external power amplifier. But why? Unlike CB, and low-band ham radio, where power can significantly affect range, UHF is limited pretty much by line of sight and terrain will usually stop signal propagation well before power becomes an issue,. If you have a specific communications problem you are trying to solve, power might possibly be the answer. But, as a general rule going from 10 to 50 watts just won't buy you very much. If range is really important, start looking into different antenna options.

I think this topic has been sufficiently discussed. We are very near the point of running into Godwin's Law.

Do you have an idea of how you will use the radios, or some expectations from them? Like, are these just to stay in contact between hone and car? Or, are you thinking of contacting other people in your family or social circle? Or, maybe looking to meet new people through radio. Or...

... or ANY non-GMRS certified radio for that matter. None, zero, zilch, zip, nada, rien, никто. Nobody should buy or operate any radio they are not comfortable with. Whether it is for technical or regulatory reasons. But, this board is made up of adults who, like you, are, presumably, capable of deciding for themselves what equipment they wish to own, operate, and discuss.

No. Other than for short packets for particular purposes, digital mode is not allowed.

Take a look at http://www.repeater-builder.com/rbtip/index.html

There is no etiquette for using repeaters or the airwaves on GMRS. This is because of the nature of the service. It was originally into a large extent still is based on small communities, businesses, and now families, who need communications within user group. It was not particularly intended to replicate or extend amateur radio or CB. On the other hand, if the nature of GMRS is actually changing, perhaps some form of etiquette and communications norms and standards will emerge.

As to the question of a yogi vs. some other design of directional antenna, or even directional vs. omni-directional, it is impossible to answer without knowing more about what you are trying to achieve and the specific terrain. However, what I can tell you is that it is virtually certain you will want whatever antenna you use to be vertically polarized. The only exception would be if you were doing some type of fixed point-to-point linking where you needed some propagation effect that was better supported by horizontal polarization. But, assuming you will be serving a mix of mobile, portable and fixed stations, you want vertical.

For the acronym dictionary... FPP = Front Panel Programming. The ability to set radio configuration parameters without a computer or programming software.

In fact, making a repeater compliant with Part95E isn't all that hard. Most of the compliance issues for GMRS relate to user control over frequency. Since a repeater operates on a fixed frequency, that part is already taken care of. I'd assume the biggest problem is the cost of the certification likely exceeds the potential sales value.

Is the inverter just for your A/C appliances? If you are using it for your radios, you should be tying them directly to the battery... after all, virtually all of them run on 12vdc.

Which radios are you speaking about?

The topic of the use of un-certified radios on GMRS, including Part-15, Part-90 and Part-97 gear, has been: discussed, argued, debated, nuanced, bantered, ridiculed, promoted and otherwise been beaten well past death on MyGMRS,com. It certainly is worthwhile to note any certification a given radio might have. Be it as a pro, con, or simple comment. But, please let's keep this thread to a simple presentation of brand name UHF radios that work on the GMRS frequencies and not get into that discussion again on this thread.

Thanks to @gman1971 for starting up this thread. For the P1225 (this is just for starters, I suspect others will have additional comments on this radio) Pros: Easily found on eBay and other online sites as well as swap meets, hamventions, etc.Programming software is much easier to find than for other, newer, Motorola products.Lots of accessories available from other vendors: Chargers, mics, batteries...Solid radio. Almost indestructible Non-working radios available for a song for spare parts if needed.Good quality electronics, rev and xmt are clean. Well known radio. Lots of online support.Part95 compliant. Cons: Rcv/xmt quality, while infinitely better than CCRs, is nowhere near that of more modern Motorola radios.No Li-Ion batteriesMany aftermarket batteries are junk.Because it uses NiCad or NiMh batteries, the radio cannot be left on and sitting in most cheap chargers.Often the radios that can be found are in ok condition. But, need a charger, battery and antenna, this can double the price, or more.Most models have no display. The models with display are hard to find.Bigger and heavier than newer hand-heldsProgramming software requires older Windows systems (XP or Win-7). However, they can be run in a Virtual Machine.

With the caveat that the "extension" effectively allows the hand-held to act as a remote microphone for the mobile radio in the car. And, the mobile radio itself may work through another repeater. Of course, in many cases the mobile is down around 10mHz and talks directly to the dispatch center. In other words the in-vehicle repeater is not connecting two local hand-helds.

I do not think anyone would argue with your points about the potential benefit of a portable repeater. However, I do think you took @Corey's post out of context. He was responding to an earlier post in this thread which proclaimed Low-altitude, low-power, and transportable systems can be extremely valuable. Given the specifics of the original post, I would have to agree, a low power low altitude (car top) repeater is not likely to offer any improvement over simplex operation on the same terrain. However, the examples you provided did not match that criteria. They were either effectively not-portable or temporary and well situated, like between you or your friend, or used antennas mounted at a significant height above ground level. As to your last statement, it would be nice if that were true. But sadly, I think there are an awful lot of cases where that didn't happen.

Thanks. I will be looking forward to the report. Any comments on build quality, etc.?

In the Palouse? If all communications are between the house and someone out in the field simplex communications might work well as you describe. However, if they envision communications between people out in the field, the story might be different. As Kaiser cement trucks used to advertise "Find a need and fill it!"

The mention of the P1225 was really just to illustrate the point that there are good quality radios available for not much more than a basic CCR, and around the same price as a GMRS certified CCR. Look through this forum and you will see lots of recommendations, and a few warnings as well. Both Vertex and Kenwood make excellent equipment and are readily found in the used market.