WRYZ926

Finding something that is going to be more than 5-6m/18-20 feet tall at a decent price is gong to be a challenge. Giga Parts has a tripod with 18 ft telescoping pole for $199. https://www.gigaparts.com/intellitron-am-2509ex-18-ft-telescopic-fiberglass-mast-with-tripod-stand.html

It would have had to be channel 7 since channels 7-14 are the interstitial channels at 467 MHz.

Yes they can easily figure out the tones. Now if it is someone "passing through" then nothing much will come of it. But if it is a local then actions can be taken. There is no guarantee that any actions taken against the offending person will have much effect, but you have to start somewhere before lawyers and/or the FCC gets involved. I leave that to our club's executive board to deal with. So far we haven't had any problems and the couple of times farmers/businesses tried to use the repeater, they were told not to do it and they quit.

That's a good price. And it is only 10-20 dollars more than the 2x4SR. The Antenna Farm has the best price I found for the 2x4SR at $62 and DX Engineering was $70

I hear the same here in mid Missouri all of the time. And some are even using GMRS mobile radios in their farm trucks. And like you, I never hear them use any call signs. That is part of the reason why we don't allow businesses and farms to use our GMRS repeater.

This is very true. Some antenna designs are worse than others about the SWR changing in rainy weather. I deal with this all the time with my 6m-20m cobweb antenna. The cobweb design is more susceptible to SWR changes during rain than other antenna designs. The SWR changes are normally within what the radio's builtin tuner can handle. I would love to run a longer antenna such as the 2x4SR on my Ford Escape full time but adding 38-40 inches to the top is a no go since I park the Escape in the garage with 7ft tall doors. I know they fold. but as you mentioned, the fold over will wear out if used all of the time. And I am also afraid that I will forget to fold the antenna and mess it or the vehicle up. The Comet SBB1 just barely clears the garage door as is.

Yes it is. I did purchase the spring for my 2x4SR since the antenna is on my SxS. The spring is $22 at DX engineering and worth the price.

@Lscott that looks great especially considering your antenna is mounted to the rack. I have my Comet 2x4SR on a mag mount that is on the expanded metal luggage rack on my SxS. The highest SWR across 2m, 70cm, and GMRS is 1.8 at 467.600 MHz. The 2x4SR is hard to beat.

I haven't seen a cigarette lighter in new vehicles since around 2002-2005 time frame.

Is it an actual cigarette lighter port or is it a powder accessory port? There is a difference between the two. A cigarette lighter will have prongs inside to hold the lighter in while it heats up while an accessory port does not have the prongs.

Yes you should not have any issues with RT Systems.

The RT Systems softwares is not the same as the free software that you can download. I find the RT Systems software works better.

I was making $625 a month when I first enlisted. I did go in as an E-2 though. I forget what jump pay was at that time but it was nice to have the extra money per month. Everyone that is E-5 and below and also married are usually always broke. At least that was how it was when I was in.

That really depends on the radio, each will be different. Some 50 watt radios will draw up to 13-14 amps while transmitting on high power. The Icom IC-2730A draws 13 amps and the Wouxun KG-1000G draws 12 amps. Each brand/model will vary on how much current they draw. Vehicles have not had actual cigarette lighters in them for quite some time now. Those were normally rated a little higher than the accessory socket found in most vehicles now days. Most manufacturers protect the accessory ports with a 10 amp fuse and the owner's manuals state to never exceed 10 amps. As you said, getting consistent power through a cigarette lighter/accessory port is not the most reliable. Plus you always take a greater chance of getting interference in the radio from the vehicle wiring or rf interference from the radio when using an accessory port.

This is true if they have multiple FRN's

I can verify what Steve said. Some amateur band radios that have been modded/unlocked work fine on GMRS while others don't work as well. My MARS Modded Icom IC-2730 does not do as good of a job on GMRS as my unlocked TYT radios. Remember, radios are like potato chips, you just can't have one or two.

Everyone has to have a FRN number no matter if they hold a MGRS license, amateur license or multiple licenses. That's why I looked him up using his FRN. And according to the FCC database, he does NOT have an amateur license, he only has a GMRS license. If you go to the FCC website and look up a GMRS call sign, it will not show if they hold any other licenses. If you use the Advance Search and search by FRN then it will show all licenses held by that person the FRN is registered to. That website showed two different GMRS call signs, the last name, middle initial and location are the same but the first names are different. The first call sign is his and the other is listed as possible match.

The downside to the Midland GMRS radios with everything in the hand mic is that you can only program them through the radio. There is no option to program them using a computer.

I have a IC-2730A that has had the MARS Mod done. The TYT TH-7800 and TH-8600 both do better on GMRS compared to the IC-2730. The unlocked TYT radios have better receive and transmit audio on GMRS.

I looked him up by FRN and the only FCC license he has is a GMRS license.

I keep a log of all my contacts on 6m and HF bands. I don't bother keeping a log for 2m or 70cm. And the only time I keep a long for GMRS is for our monthly net that gets turned in.

My information may be outdated. Though last time I checked there are not any 70cm repeaters allowed around certain air bases in California.

He would fit right in with the rest of the losers and whacko's on 7.200 MHz

There are plenty of amateur band radios with removable face plates that can be MARS modded/unlocked to work on GMRS. Some work better than others. Again they will not be Part 95 certified. Some people actually do care about that. And repeater offsets will have to be manually programmed through the radio or using CPS from the manufacturers or CHIRP. None of them will automatically put in the correct repeater offset. I know for a fact that the TYT, Icom, RT Systems and CHIRP software will not automatically input the correct offset for GMRS repeaters on radios that have been unlocked/MARS modded. Yes I have a few that have been modded/unlocked. I can say that the TYT TH-7800 and TH-8600 performs better on GMRS than a modded Icom IC-2730. The Wouxun KG-Q10H does just as well as the KG-Q10G and KG-935G when it comes to hand held radios.

How are those compared to Weller and Hako soldering stations? I know those two are pretty much the go to for most hobbyists and repair shops that only use a soldering station occasionally.