WQWI871

I think the Midland LXT 600 or one of the X-Talker models from Midland are fine. They hold a good charge, NOAA, backlight display, a bit more rugged and range. You can use alkaline batteries for backup if needed. The speaker is pretty good. For the truck, the MXT 400 is a nice radio, but, chiming in a little on what a couple others said, I feel the MXT 400 is unnecessary for the task and the MXT 115 and MXT 105 should be fine, especially for the terrain with a nice magnetic mount antenna. Those models also have NOAA, the MXT 400 doesn't have NOAA. If you feel that you want to go with the best you can afford, however, then by all means, go for it. And about the bulk, well, I wear a vest and utility belt, but, when it comes to all the stuff I carry such as paracord, various knives, multi-tools, lip-grips, monoculars, a small tackle box with hooks and such, the size of the radio is kind of important to me. I dislike having one of those Baofengs and the whips dangling around lol I use them for other times, though. But, if you feel that you can take the size, I think the Baofeng GMRS-V1 is a nice option as well. The Midlands do 5W on high with GMRS, FRS is 500mW. GMRS V-1 is 5W max. But, as someone else mentioned, if you decide to get into amateur, there are a lot more options. I'm not saying there aren't many options for GMRS, but, I feel that a lot of GMRS handhelds are about the same. There may be a few different bells and whistles, though, I'm not saying it doesn't matter what GMRS radio you go for, either. I'm not saying what you should go for, just giving some ideas.

Does anyone have ideas on how to get a counterpoise on to an SMA fitting without using an adapter? I tried bending and filing the terminal, it won't fit right. I always use the screws on the belt clip, but, sometimes I'm too lazy to use a philips screwdriver for that. Edit: I also considered taking a tiny (maybe about one inch) wire, connecting a but plug terminal to one end. and, perhaps a ring terminal to the other end. The ring terminal (or spade) would be connected to the negative screw, and, the butt plug would allow me to connect and disconnect a counterpoise that has the other butt plug to one end. But, I didn't know about the swr or if that would be a good idea with the one ice wire and three terminals instead of a direct connection.

On that note, I suppose if we know what radios you're currently using, it could help us to compare. Some Midlands have high power of 4W/5W on GMRS. FRS is restricted to low power on the Midlands to 500mW. And, as mentioned above, a better antenna is good on removable antennas, but, it depends on how compact you want the handhelds.

I do different fishing and hunting. I feel that the Midland LXT 600 is a good GMRS/FRS radio for the job. It's not technically water proof, but, it seems to handle splashes and light rain and rocky surfaces / drops better than the LXT 500 and 560 which I also have to compare. The range on those are a little better as well. I would say that the Baofeng GMRS-V1 is okay, but, while I'm not saying it is bulky. It's not as compact as the Midlands. I know that sometimes while hunting or fishing, there is a lot of gear attached on oneself. So, if you want a compact radio that is out of the way and is less likely to snag, the Midlands are a bit more ideal. For the truck, Midland has a few mobile radios. I'd say that all are fine, but, it depends on how much power you feel is needed and other features. DMR is a digital "mode" apart of the amateur (ham) service. An amateur license is required to legally transmit.

I think that's a nice idea for the repeater owners that simply need a reminder and are wiling to keep the status update. There are, however, owners that are informed by the community, and, even responding to the communities contact, that the repeater is out of service, and, still does not update the status. With that said, I feel that if there will be a penalty after a duration of not updating, such as deletion of flagged, owners may update an out of service repeater while it is still out of service, just so that the repeater can remain listed. Considering all that may need to be done to update is clicking a button or re-entering the previous defined. There is no way to verify that an updated repeater is still out of service, except by the community. With that said, I think in addition to Steves comment, the ability for users to report a repeater, which may send an email to the owner to verify if the repeater is out of service or if the details are correct.

I understand that. But, I like the think that the community can help by reporting down repeaters by clicking a button. If, of course, the community (I define community as anyone capable of verifying) is local and can verify. The report button doesn't seem to work, though. Although I feel there could also be a security measure considering that would allow random individuals to report repeaters that the owners have listed, which could be unfair. Edit: Speaking of community. It's possible that very few share my views, but, I like to think that forums are a way to interact with and meet people, especially others that have similar interests. I've probably met most operators that I have while checking into nets. And, I know that this forum seems dead sometimes, it might not be used much. But, has anyone considered fixing that Chat feature? I don't get out much, and, don't really have any friends, so, It's nice meeting and having a quick chat sometimes. PS; Sorry for asking in your topic, I just thought I'd slip a comment in. No one has to go too far into it, though.

I don't travel, so, I can't comment on any areas except my city and surrounding, but, most repeaters local to me are down, with word from the repeater owner(s) to verify that. And all working repeaters that I can't verify (because of the distance) I assume are more than twenty miles away, so, can't check.

Sometimes I checkin during normal checkins instead of when asked for mobiles or portables (when I'm mobile or portable) but, the reason I do that is because I consider mobile or portable to be roaming and not stationary. If I am mobile or portable, but, stationary and can remain on net, I usually do a normal checkin. If I'm mobile or portable and roaming or may be short on time, I check in during the mobile or portable checkins. Some new checkins may not know, though, until they listen to the script once or twice. I didn't know initially, but, I know the procedure now as I've been a regular.

I did this on a motorcycle once. Not down I-95, though. I didn't want to go through a u-turn a drive all the way around a curve, so, I drove the wrong lane. All of the other drivers were far off (it was night). I don't know if anyone noticed. I only did that once, though. I try to follow rules. Edit: Did I just admit to a crime?

Okay, thank you.

I guess I meant amateur radio that is also part 95 (or 90) approved, but, that works, too. I know the Baofeng UV-82C is part 90 approved, with the amateur bands locked out, but, I think I seen that they can be unlocked in the software to transmit if licensed. I don't mean to be picky, It's just frustrating having to carry multiple radios, because I use GMRS as much as amateur. From what I see (I could be missing something), the Yaesu FT-65, for example, complies with the technical specifications of GMRS, but, non amateur bands are locked to receive only, and, It's not approved on non amateur bands. The asia version of the FT-65 doesn't have those bands locked out, but, probably still not approved.

That gets me curious, by the way. Are there any (handhelds) that are both part 97 and part 95 (or part 90) approved? I know the odds of a radio being approved for different services is low, but, if the radio complies with the technical specifications of multiple services, the only thing that is missing to be legal is just a certification (and license, if applicable). Sorry to ask here, I just thought with G's friendly reminder up their, my comment was suitable. I can create a separate topic if need to do so.

Okay. I always ID when I transmit using Echolink, but, not as often if I'm just standing by. The delay for me seems to be about six seconds, when I listen in on my radio at the same time. I was curious, because, when I check into a net (try to), the net control usually gives about a thirteen second wait time for Echolink checkins. The problem is, I key up within that time, but, once I release the PTT, net control starts speaking again and never hears me as if they doubled and cut me out. Echolink works if I were try after the net, but, it seems to be the wait time isn't enough. So, I thought that what I speak, isn't actually transmitted until I release PTT. Because even with the six second delay, net control should hear me if I key up before the wait time is over. Eh, I wish I could use my radio. I can hear fine on my radio, but, just can't reach it for transmits.

I know, It's just lol. The center and braid is just covered with insulation. I didn't see why the insulation would really make a difference. The braid and center are already separated from each other, so, folding the braid back from the center didn't make much sense to me, either. Edit: An offtopic note, by the way, do you know when that 2017 sale is over, or, am I too late? I'm still trying, but, that's kind of bad timing. I may have to wait for christmas, but, someone wants an iPhone for christmas, and, I won't be selfish.

The employee recently just purchased a few Baofeng UV-82's for a few employees. I did eventually politely tell him, but, he just implies that he doesn't care, it works at that's all that matters to him. Eh. =/

I understand about private repeaters not being listed, but, for public repeaters, some individuals simply just prefer some directories over others. I could say for example, there may be the largest Walmart supercenter in my state, that may not have a specific item I'm looking for, while, the smallest Walmart in my state does. But, I kind of prefer the smaller groups, too. Again, there are some repeaters listed on smaller less known directories I found that are not listed on larger directories. The few repeaters I found local to me, do have nets, including CERT or Skywarn on some repeaters. But, they never specify any tone during the nets, and, not listed on myGMRS. I may be able to ask around, or, try the nearest REACT that is about twenty miles away, but, I can reach. I know It's not that cheap to put up and maintenance a repeater, that's why I won't. I simply can't afford it. I would make it public if I could afford one, but, just can't. And I have no one that would want to donate. I will say, though, my city doesn't have much of the radio type of any kind. Most radio operators here are businesses, emergency services, or, non locals.

I can't say how current the directory is, as that depends on the individual. I have found a few repeaters that haven't been updated in a while and are no longer in use. Some cities or states that use GMRS more, however, may keep that information up to date, mine doesn't. Although I have found many amateur repeaters listed on other directories that are not new and are working, that are not listed on, say, RepeaterBook for example. Repeaters are logged by individuals, so, if someone chooses to log a repeater on one directory than another, that's just how it will be. There are a few GMRS repeaters in my area that I have found in the past by scanning around, but, they're not logged with myGMRS and not open squelch.

I'd accept a handheld for a birthday gift. Even if I have one, It's great having spares. I have a few different ones, and, I use them all. It'd be nice if there were repeaters in my area, though. Well, maybe there are, but, not logged with myGMRS, though. I feel lucked out because I can't use amateur with my family, and, I don't have much use for GMRS with them unless It's within simplex handhand range (or they're handheld to my mobile set up as a base) Edit: Side note, are there any other GMRS repeater directories than myGMRS?

If a repeater announces a callsign with echolink, does that count as iding? I mean at least for the initial transmit, not the end of transmission and every ten minutes? Also, if I connect to a repeater with echolink during a net, and, echolink announces me during the checkin time, is that considered checking in? I'm just trying to gather the unnecessary stuff. Because I've been doing things like waiting for the tail to drop after the courtesy tone, and, iding callsign first and after net comments, when, I noticed I was the only one doing that. Net control said I didn't have to. Edit: By the way, when I key up on echolink and speak, is what I'm speaking transmitted while keying up like a radio, or, is it transmitted after I release the PTT as if it records what I speak and transmits after I finish?

I'm confused, though, if It's necessary to strip the outer insulation of the desired length and fold the braid back if the coax is already cut to the appropriate length?

Okay, so. For quite a while, I've seen people using homemade antennas of coaxial, or, wire, which could just be some stranded insulated wire cut to the length of band / frequency, soldered to a fitting, connected directly to the radio, or, those coaxial dipoles with the negative and positive (braid / center) stripped and spaced out, cut to desired length. What's the idea of using, say for example, a coax cut to the desired length, unstripped? Quarter or half?

Maybe you can venture to my local Walmart(s) and mess around with them, too lol I tried politely explaining, I won't enforce the laws on them, though, if they don't want to look into it.

Thank you, G. I've been curious about that. I try to use direct connections on all of my equipment when I can, rare times when I want to measure handheld SWR and power I use adapters. I'm not saying that the loss from some adapters are too much to use them, but, It's not worth it for me when I would rarely need to use an adapter.

Oh, okay. Well, that's nice. And I understand how quick BNC connectors are. I just thought, for me, When I am home, I use my shack and no need for a handheld unless there's a power outage as I don't have another power source aside from batteries, so, handhelds would be nice. I just use handhelds when I'm away from home, which is not often. I'm home most of the time. For the times I am out, usually It's just comms with someone else not far (family that may split up at a shopping center, or, me just walking to a local shop a couple minutes away). I rarely need to swap antennas, I mostly keep the same antenna on as it suits my needs for It's size. But, again, I do see the value of it for those that could / would / do make use of it, but, for me, I don't have much use.

I wasn't saying that using an adapter was bulky, I was saying that I like to reduce bulk by avoiding anything unnecessary. Although It's not what I call overly large, It's not as using a direct connection, either. Even some whips I don't use for that reason. I do sacrifice aspects at time to accept the compromise which I gain, but, that depends if what I gain "I" feel is worth the compromise. For the situation of the fitting popping off rarely happening, and the odds of me needing to use a BNC antenna (and finding / purchasing a BNC just to use), the additional addon is just not worth it. Not saying that I lose a lot from it, but, I don't gain a lot that I would value to use it over that loss.