WRYZ926

The power output is always lowered when using duplexers. Midland and Retevis state the total combines power of their repeaters.

It would be nice to have one set standard with GPS. It is the same with digital stuff on amateur radios, too many different systems that don't work together.

I have looked into the Wouxun KG-Q10G with its built in GPS system. And from what I read, everyone has to be using a KG-Q10G in order to receive the GPS data from others. I have not looked into the GMRS Pro to see if it is the same way.

I'll second what @Sshannon said and go with a good cable and stranded center conductor. Look at LMR400 Ultra Flex coax cable.

I'm using LMR400 Ultra Flex for my GMRS and 2m/70cm antennas. The coax going to my GMRS antenna is 32 foot long and the one going to my dual band antenna is 82 foot long.

@arn your link does not work. Here are the Baofeng UV-5R GMRS radios I purchased from the Baofeng Store on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BGHXV6Y4?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1 These are the Part 95E certified versions of the UV-5R. And I have not had the issues with either radio that others have had. Some of these radios will not transmit on channel 15 without a firmware update. Mine worked on all channels right out of the box.

I use to use CB radios all of the time while traveling. But I stopped using CB around 2007-2008 due to all of the arguing and foul language heard on air. It was hard to actually get useful information from others with all the garbage conversions going on. And I hear the same garbage at times on FRS, especially during deer season.

With no FCC then all bands would be like CB is now days or how FRS can be at times..

This is true. A lot of the members of my local club keep bugging me to get on HF along with using FT8, etc. But I have kept to using the VHF and UHF bands. Our 2m repeater is quite busy since it has a large coverage area, possibly the biggest in Missouri. A few of us are getting more members to use the analog side of our 70cm repeaters too. I prefer having a good analog setup since it will be more reliable than digital in severe conditions/emergencies.

I might get into DMR once we figure out the issues we are having with our 70cm repeaters. We get a lot of noise on the analog side when someone is using DMR. Plus that would mean buying more radios too. The wife might not be happy with that It will be interesting to see if DMR gets implemented on GMRS.

I am not against DMR and I would definitely be interested in a simpler to use system.

@Lscott I read the last PDF file you posted and you do make a good point about using channels 8-14 for digital. I can se this being done as long as it does not interfere with other channels/frequencies and it is an easy to use system for the average GMRS user to understand and use. DMR on the amateur radio side can be confusing and hard to program radios/repeaters for some. There will always be some that will stick with analog over digital. I am one that is sticking to analog (for now) due to the complexity of DMR and the different iterations by the different manufacturers. I know that I am only one person with my own opinion. And we all know what opinions are like. I have never cared for how FRS and GMRS shares the same channels/frequencies. But there is no stuffing that cat back into the bag.

It is definitely a digital problem since everyone hears the noise no matter what type/brand of radio they are using. The noise is not heard all of the time. It is either a hardware or software issue with the repeaters running analog and digital.

Here is a link to the post I started concerning updating the firmware and programming the MXT500. I hope that you find it helpful. https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/6363-midland-mxt500-firmware-updates/#comment-64849

I have to agree with everyone that GMRS should be left alone as is. My local club runs digital repeaters on the 70cm repeaters and those repeaters are constantly having issues. If things are not setup correctly then anyone using analog will hear a bunch of noice when someone transmits using digital. And as mentioned , there are man different digital modes and none of them are 100% compatible. I'm at the point right now that I won't even buy hand held or mobile radios with digital modes. If you want to use digital modes then get your amateur radio license. You will find that there are quite a few of us that have both amateur and GMRS licenses and we like the simplicity of GMRS and analog amateur bands.

I agree to have both GMRS and amateur licenses. I suggest getting a general class license since it opens up all of the HF bands that technicians can't access.

I agree with you on that. I should have studied more for the general before I took my technician test.

Not as much as going from 5 watts to 20 watts or even 50 watts. And in most case one won't notice much difference between 4 to 10 watts.

You will want to get your general class amateur license if you really want to use the HF bands.Technician class is limited to a very small range on 10 meters (28.3 MHZ to 28.5 MHz) for phone (voice). Here is a list of all bands open to technician class. https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Tech Band Chart/US Amateur Radio Technician Privileges.pdf As you can see, technician license holders are very limited when it comes to HF bands. I edited this reply after seeing that I posted the same link as Sshannon.

If you are wanting to save money then I will suggest the Baofeng UV-5R GMRS hand held radios. Here is a link to the radios I bought from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BGHXV6Y4?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1 These are certified for GMRS use and work fine. I haven't had any issues with the and $50 is a good price for two radios and extra antennas.

@WRZM228 the link you posted is for a dual band 2m/70cm radio. It will not transmit on GMRS frequencies out of the box. It might be possible to perform the unlock hack to get them to work on GMRS frequencies. Performing the unlock hack is another discussion all by itself.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

And one won't notice a difference between 4-10 watts.

Best practice is to bond your ground rod/ground wire to your home service ground and 6 gauge wire is preferred. I would ground your antenna mast and lightning arrestors to the ground rod and then run another ground wire to your service ground to bond everything together.

@Tiercel Yes the Comet CA-712EFC is 10.5 feet long and weighs less than 3 pounds. Here are the specs that I pulled from Giga Parts website: Comet CA-712EFC 460-470MHz Base/Repeater Antenna UHF Fixed station antenna 1.5:1 or less SWR: 460-470MHz Gain: 9dBi Max power: 200 watts Length: 10 ft 5 inches Weight: 2 lb 13oz Connector: N-female Construction: Two-piece white fiberglass Max wind speed: 112MPH https://www.gigaparts.com/comet-ca-712efc-460-470mhz-base-repeater-antenna.html @WRZM228 yes an 8 foot ground rod will work well. Drive it in so that only enough is sticking out to clamp your ground wires to it.