GreggInFL

Sounds like a good start. Good luck, and don't be a stranger!

Go to the top of this page and click the "map" tab. You'll see a couple repeaters in the area. Then find YouTube videos on how to connect to a repeater. Welcome, and good luck!

You can do what you want to do with GMRS, and then get a tech license if so inclined. Do your geocaching friends want to get a tech license? If not, start with GMRS.

I suggest you check some You Tube videos, specifically those related to connecting to a repeater. All repeater-capable HTs, which is most of them, will do the job so "best" is a matter or personal choice.

Same with foliage. One would think that flat Florida would be perfect for radio, but trying to push 5W on a stock antenna through the woods means 1/2 - 2 miles, max.

Good points all, but as I examine any chirp file on hand I only see "Tone", with no distinction between in and out (chuckle). He has a point; I don't have an answer. (Note: Not the latest version of Chirp on my end.)

I have these radios and use this software. You want channel 28, which is repeater 6 (RPT-6). Set the input tone to 141.3 and you are good to go. As Steve mentioned, the manufacturer has apparently locked the channel frequencies to maintain certification, but you can select the tones. The OP (Crash1) can do similar, with whatever channel/freq/tone combination corresponds to the repeater he wants to hit.

Nice.

GMRS is the sweet spot for many who want to get into radio. I've been surrounded by radio most of my life. Dad and I were both in comms in the military. I have family, friends and neighbors with mega ham licenses and have always enjoyed watching them work the airwaves. I'm a PE with a masters degree, so the tech is not intimidating. Folks who don't know assume I have an amateur license, which I don't. FRS works but is very limited while amateur is fantastic but requires jumping through hoops. GMRS is a good compromise.

That's no big deal. Hell, he replied to one of my posts with something like, "Jeeezus, WTF are you thinking?" Now that's funny.

Thanks everyone. Time for Plan B. BTW, I have the ubiquitous UV-5R and a couple of GM-15Pros.

Probably 100' total.

Did the antenna make much difference compared to stock?

Oh, burner phones are on the buy list. We cruised Rome - Athens - Istanbul last year and the marine VHF came in handy. Had this amusing conversation with a crew member: Me: What frequencies are used in this port? Him: We don't use frequencies, we use channels.

(Couldn't find an existing thread...) Considering travel to Japan, Taiwan, mainland China, S. Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Should I bring a radio?

Thanks Steve. Makes sense. I'm guessing I shouldn't use the 30 year-old coax which is conveniently attached to my now-unused DirecTV dish, right?

I've been told that HTs lose a large percentage of power pushing through the cable of an external antenna such as a j-pole. I get that conceptually, but does the better antenna make up for the power loss? (<-- New to this.)

Where did you find the name field? I just checked the software and ran dry.

Anyone not using a Farzometer 2000 is a loser.

I bought this last fall: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09TPZ221K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Seems to work well, though I haven't done anything that would resemble scientific testing.

I have the same radios. As someone recommended, forget the repeaters for now and just start talking via simplex, i.e. radio to radio. Put both radios on the same channel and push the button. These are dual-band radios so be sure the little arrow is pointing to the same channel on each radio.

I was going to say "UV-5R" but didn't want any heads to explode.

He makes a good point. I'm new to this as well and noticed that I didn't know what features I wanted because I'd never used one. Nothing wrong with buying a $20 CCR and turning it on. You'll soon get a feel for what you like and don't like -- and probably end up with a Wouxun. You can chuck the CCR in the glove box.

I didn't realize "stale" was a word used generically wrt databases. Then again, I haven't written any code in decades, so I must also be stale. Thanks, Steve. Helpful as always.

I'll bite. What's a stale repeater?