DominoDog

The REPORTS feature seems to offer a bunch of garbage info. For example, if I export a list of repeaters, it fills in the tone data with what appears to be garbage. Maybe I'm reading it incorrectly, but for repeaters near me with tone info that I know is "CTCSS 141.3 TX / 141.3 RX" it will have that info as well as figures in the DTCSS TX/RX fields which does not seem to correspond with anything I was given from the repeater owners. It has this info filled out for every repeater, some of which is definitely different than the tone info I have from the repeater owners. I can try to replicate this if needed. EDIT: Maybe I am unfamiliar. Am I being dumb about something I should already understand?

I've gone almost completely solar for my little projects. So it has been a shoe-in for getting involved in radio stuff. Just a natural fit. Solar panels are going down in price. I saw a 100w 10 bus bar panel on sale for $55 on black friday. I have 300w of solar on my work van and another 300 watts of portable solar that can go anywhere I need it. I've also been nerding out on youtube looking at microhydro setups. I was watching one guy's video who has a steady 600 watts of power coming in from the little creek running through his land. Batteries are still expensive, though not prohibitively so. I was looking at a self-heating 100Ah/12v LiFePo4 battery for $340 plus tax, etc. Self-heating so it could keep itself above freezing temps. I bet I could wire up enough solar to keep it going.

There are already repeaters linked up for emergencies. The system in my state is found at mtears.org I would be surprised if other states/countries/planets don't have something similar in place. Someone else suggested it and I agree; ham radio would be the main system used for getting information spread across a region, but it would fall to GMRS and FRS and similar services for last-mile dissemination of info.

It has to be an interesting position to find ones self in. But yeah, I noticed it, when I was watching whichever video it was. I said to myself, this guy has got a radio company's ear. It's really interesting, to me, to see at least an indirect influence on a hobby's market happen like that. You know what they say about having great power. It exacts a heavy toll.... wait, no... wrong Marvel movie...sorry

If I have learned anything from my few months observing the GMRS hobby before diving in, it is that things are not set in stone. Set in hardening concrete, perhaps. I like metaphors. It was mentioned that ham radio favors open source while gmrs is embedded in the proprietary, corporate realm. That is not good, however, I have noticed one thing... These companies pay attention to their "Influencers" - I had always gotten the wrong opinion about influencers. They are a double edged blade, and one we can use too. What influences the consumer, also influences the manufacturer. I have seen it happen WITHIN the GMRS realm. The FCC also will bend its ear towards what gets determined to be the best course for a specific service/spectrum, etc. If I have been informed correctly, we have already seen brief bursts of data being allowed on GMRS. We saw it happen (FCC changing its position w rules) with the CB licensing situation back when.

[ Generic placeholder text intended to convey my seething hatred of the Apple iPad OS ]

The question was, how to get younger people interested in amateur radio. I read four pages of what seemed like everything but, and no one has mentioned the obvious. Hold a field day and advertise that you will be bouncing signals off the moon and let people have a chance to hear their own voice being reflected off the moon. Talk about bouncing signals off of the auroras. Talk about meteor scatter. Talk about satellite work. This is what will excite young people. Young kids these days are stuck in their apps. They know all about the online world and they were born in a digitally interconnected world where everything is and was always already connected. What is going to interest them is the older tech, things with transistors and weird antennas. Tropospheric ducting and yes, moon bounce.

That is interesting. I never realized it was based on MURS. I have a Garmin Xumo XT for my bike, it's been great. I looked at the group ride radio but honestly, I just never ride in groups. Now that I know it is based on MURS, it opens up the ability to talk with others using that system. Good to know it isn't some closed "Garmin" system, but based on a free to use, unlicensed public frequency. It sure is expensive, though. But, I would feel awfully cool if I had a MURS and a GMRS mobile rig on my motorcycle. I bet all the pretty girls would think I was all right at that point.

If I ever heard any activity on the repeater, and they had an open net asking for people, then sure. But to reach the repeater I'd have to be told the tones or scan the tone as it identified and that just feels like trespassing. Plus, I have sent a request on here and have sent the guy an actual request letter via actual real life mail. No response, so at this point I can only assume they don't feel like sharing the system at this time. Believe me, I'd love to be using it since it is so close to the house. But, I'll have my ham license soon enough and there are ham repeaters I can reach. GMRS would be cool too for when I'm hiking/exploring with family, but it is what it is.

I did send a letter, but haven't heard anything. The owner, from basic information available, is big in the local amateur radio community. I am set up to take my Technician exam in early January, and am hoping to join and meet those communities too. I listen in a lot; haven't keyed up the mic yet obviously. It's very tempting to chime in when they are literally asking "any other lurkers listening in here's your chance to say hello" but... I figured all that will come when I hold a ham callsign.

I hear it identifying every day, but I never hear anyone on it. It's listed as being available to the community but... I dunno, I never (ever) have ever heard anyone on it. Just the repeater ID every fifteen minutes whenever I happen to hear it while scanning. I'd like to use it, but can't if the owner won't respond. It's loud and clear and the closest one to me so it'd be really cool to have access. But, who knows.

Another, separate question... Regarding the reports export feature. If I go to the online listing of local repeaters, I have several that I have requested access to, and several that have replied, also several who have not responded at all. Many repeaters are listed as having their access tones "UNLISTED" yet, when I export a report for, say, all the repeaters in Tennessee, I am given a list with the entire tones section fully populated. What's more, is I am given a lot more info than I get from repeater owners. For example, in the reports I have DTCS tones listed AS WELL AS CTCS tones, for each repeater. I am not sure which ones to use. Do repeaters use both at the same time? Sorry if that is a newbie question I'm just trying to figure this out and don't know any local experts yet. And also, are the reports export supposed to show every "unlisted" repeater complete with access tones? Just curious.

The repeater in question with the /!\ exclamation point icon is https://mygmrs.com/repeater/5312 You can view the icon if you go to this listing and then click on the Owner's info link, then look to the right at the list of their repeaters. Thanks

Well I am probably just holding my mouth wrong because it seems to work now. Loading repeaters or maps. Maybe it was just stalling out on me earlier. Let me find that repeater page.

What does the /!\ orange triangle with an exclamation point next to a repeater listing mean? Repeater in question is online and I can hear it identify on the air regularly. From the forums, forums.mygmrs.com, I can find no way to get back to the main site. Not without typing mygmrs.com in the address bar and reloading it manually. Apologies if I am just overlooking something simple.