Radioguy7268

12 miles from a repeater with a J-pole should not be a problem. I think you'll be fine.

The "e" series is great. There's a ton of audio enhancements & profiles that will keep you busy trying to figure out which ones sound best. The good news is that for Analog GMRS, all that doesn't matter much if you use AGC (Automatic Gain Control). There is a member here who uses an XPR5500 with a remote hand held control head/palm mic. It's a high end radio, but it delivers high end results. Don't forget to load the "Voice Announcement" files into the radio and then set up the voice profiles. There was an issue with the older XPR5500 non-"e" models, where you could not fit in all the factory default voice files, but once you deleted a few hundred un-necessary channel and zone files, it would load up fine. Programming is difficult until you get the hang of it, but the good news is that Analog programming for GMRS is a much easier path to success. The wideband entitlement is a little bit of an adventure the first time through, but once you understand that you're loading the EID, then registering/verifying the EID key with Motorola's server before you can actually activate the feature, it goes a little easier.

I'd tell you that an "inexpensive amplifier" is really just a broadband noise generator. Yes, your meter might now read 50 watts - but it won't show you that you're not only putting 50 watts out on your desired frequency - you're also putting out some unknown amount of spurious energy out on adjacent frequencies (and multiples of your frequencies) - potentially interfering with other systems. Worse yet, those cheap amplifiers put out enough spurious noise that it will probably interfere with your own receiver - making that alligator system even worse. You might find some used TPL or Henry amplifiers in the less than $200 range. There used to be a ton of Motorola vehicular repeater amps being sold on eBay that would do 40 watts - but most of them were VHF. I'd be very wary of using any amplifier with a CCR radio. There's 100 ways to make your system talk better, and 98 of them don't involve an Amp.

The specs look pretty decent. I have not seen that brand before, but it appears that he's got pretty good reviews on Ebay from his buyers - with a 100% feedback rating. The only negative comments seem to regard the shipping from Canada taking too long. 80dB of isolation is more than acceptable from a 4 can duplexer. Rule of thumb is 30dB per can (per side), but I can see that there are what appears to be some trimmer capacitors - which will sharpen the notches & help isolation. Generally, those are a good thing, but the quality with which the trimmers are built will ultimately decide the useful lifespan of the duplexer. See: http://www.duplexerrepair.com/2016/12/26/trimmer-capacitor-failures-in-decibel-products-duplexers/ It appears from the pictures & pricing that they're trying to strike a reasonable balance between quality and price, and they're shooting for the ham and hobby market - and at that price, they should have pretty good response if the quality holds up. Assuming you're going to use it as a lower power repeater duplexer, it looks like it should perform well.

Yes, the repeater will be transmitting on the 462.xxx frequency - and that's what your mobile radio will be listening to.

I believe I got a notice from Kenwood a few months back saying that the TK-3170 was going to be discontinued. I'm sure there's a few still sitting brand new in Dealer inventories. If you're looking for the TK-3170 K4 full keypad models - I've got 3 currently in stock. Nearly new, but not. Make me an offer.

Nothing stops anyone today from running Narrowband in GMRS. If the repeater owner thinks that setting the receive window to 12.5 Kc will improve the receiver performance for their particular situation, they can do it. Most repeater owners run 25 Kc wideband because it works better and sounds better. The day that 12.5 becomes the better alternative is the day most will switch. In most parts of the country there is ZERO issue with channel congestion in GMRS. I'll keep mentioning this until folks get it. If you want to run DMR, there's nothing stopping you except for a Part 90 license. Go get yourself coordinated for a Private Carrier license for DMR, and invite all your friends and family to join in. You'll be talking Digital in no time.

I used to work with a guy who had no less than 8 mobiles in his personal vehicle. He had pulled the passenger side seat so that he could install a homemade "console" that also held his Laptop and 3 radios, along with his converta-com amp. He also carried at least 3 portables with him most days. I remember asking him one time how many radios he could talk on at once. I also remember that AAA cancelled his membership because he requested too many jump starts. Some people can take anything too far.

Many Ham repeaters will use a courtesy or "over" beep. Not all GMRS machines will use it, but some will. Some repeaters will not re-transmit "dead air" if you just kerchunk the machine without passing any audio.

If you plan to use your "base station" to hit a repeater, there is little benefit to be gained by placing it higher. As long as you can clearly and consistently reach the repeater, your height matters little. If you truly intend to use the radio as a stand-alone base station, speaking directly to portables (or mobile radios in a vehicle) on the same frequency, then height is might. In reality, 4 foot of height is not going to greatly increase your range. You'll be lucky to see 1 extra mile of coverage radius in rolling hills terrain.

Our company has done more than 50 installations on Aluminum body F-series trucks. I can tell you that there is no issue with the thickness of the roof, or any "weakness" in the aluminum as compared to a steel roof. There is some validity to the idea that an aluminum roof isn't going to be as easy to repair as a steel roof when some idiot runs under a roof/tree/overhead obstruction with less than 2" to spare above the roof line. I can tell you that one reason I'm a BIG fan of the basic 1/4 wave hatpin for roof mounted antennas is that the antenna will shear off in nearly every circumstance before the roof itself is damaged. I'd also tell you that a spring loaded antenna is MORE rigid at the base, and is more likely to suffer damage to the roof compared to the hatpin. Balance the cost of buying a few spare hatpin antenna whips (Current retail is around $8.75) versus a body shop repair of your roof. If you can't tell - I dislike mag mount antennas. Drill the hole. Use a 1/4 wave UHF hatpin, carry a spare.

I kind of understood that part - the question of "where" he wanted to operate, but I was missing the point of the "why"? Simplex vehicle to vehicle communications are already allowed for.

Unless I've missed something with the Part 95 update - you already have the ability for a GMRS portable or mobile radio to utilize "Talkaround" by using Simplex on the GMRS repeater outputs. Why would there be a need to add FRS offsets into the mix? FRS already has their simplex low power channels. Perhaps I'm just missing the point. Is there a lack of FRS spectrum?

The MCS2000 comes from the era of RIBs - Motorola's black Radio Interface Box. I've never programmed an MCS2000 using a USB cable, but that's not saying it can't be done. I'd also be wondering if you can try loading your software onto a Windows 32bit machine. Have you successfully read any other radios using that USB cable? Have you previously used that PC to program any other radios? Com 1 is usually NOT a USB port on any machine with a Serial Port, but I'm thinking your PC probably doesn't have an old fashioned Serial Port. Can you see the USB cable in your Device Manager when you plug it in? What chipset does the cable have? Did you download/install any drivers for that USB cable? I don't know the answer to your problem, but those are a few of the places I'd look. The MCS2000 was one of the best sounding radios I ever used. I hope you can get it working.

Disclosure: I'm not a lawyer, I'm not an engineer, and I'm not the one installing the radio. Tell him to search up the "Inverse square Law" along with SAR - "Specific Absorption Rates". This would also be a reason NOT to use cheap dual band radios without any FCC Type Certification (or worse yet, sketchy spec's at really odd power levels below what anyone actually uses). Long answer short, the further away you get from the antenna, the less RF energy you'll have going through your head. The amount of transmit power that you're pushing, as well as the given wavelength of the frequency you're dealing with, will also impact the amount of energy your body absorbs. Having a roof, a helmet, or other obstruction will impact the amount of exposure. Dealing with a out of spec radio that's pushing energy into bands that it wasn't actually supposed to transmit on just adds a few more variables to the equation. Different antenna gain patterns can also impact the amount of energy directed in a specific direction. Now that I've got you worried, consider that 20 years ago, most Public Safety folks spent a significant part of their life less than 18 inches away from a roof mounted radio that pushed out more than 100 watts, and it didn't affect them too badly (cue all the Barney Fife comments). Also consider that the FCC themselves said that the best way to reduce the amount of energy from your cellular phone was to use it away from your body, by using either speaker phone mode or getting a hands-free accessory. Of course, now that just makes me wonder how much RF energy my Bluetooth headset adds back into the equation...

If you're doing Search and Rescue using a pair of M1225's for a repeater - you should stop and re-think your budget. M1225's are NOT meant for repeater duty. They do not have a good duty cycle rating, and they suffer from de-sense. Do those you're searching for a favor, and get a repeater that's built to do the job, instead of one that might fail in the middle of the job. As for your question - if you designate a TPL - Tone Prive Line, that will be equal to your CTCSS standard tones that you're familiar with. You can choose either TPL, DPL, or CSQ (Carrier Squelch). It's really poor practice to put a UHF repeater on the air using Carrier Squelch. The other numerical values 023 to 754 are Digital Private Line - DPL codes. You'll find plenty of information over on repeater-builder.com if you go searching for information on DPL, maybe even to the point of information overload. Hope that helps.

You should be using CE103 if you have the Passport enabled radio according to my records. The more common LTR version of the VX-2200 should use CE94. Which version are you using? The Vertex mobiles are pretty much plug and play for programming - you just need to make sure you set up the radio communication configuration to use the correct Comm port. Sometimes the radios get a little fussy for the comm speed that you're using (depending on the cable/chip combination) - but that's usually more of an issue for portables than the mobile units. Power up the radio, plug the programming cable into the mic jack - if the radio doesn't start beeping at you - double check your connections and configurations. Once the radio is beeping, go ahead and "read" or "Upload" the radio configuration to the computer. Once you have uploaded the configuration, you can make the necessary changes to the programming to fit your desired profile. YouTube has a bunch of videos on programming basics - the same basic steps apply for most Vertex radios.

A base radio is hard pressed to give a reliable 10 mile range to portables unless you get some pretty decent antenna height, and use a pretty good base radio (I don't consider Midland radios to be a good example of quality radio equipment - but that's just my opinion.) More power helps you to transmit OUT. It doesn't help you to receive back IN. A portable has a pretty limited antenna and power output. Antenna height at the base will help to overcome those 2 limitations. Without knowing your surrounding terrain or general area of operation, it's hard to say exactly, but I would say you need to get at least above the treeline in your local area to have any decent shot at 10 miles. All those factors above are why people usually look for Repeaters - as a well placed and well-designed Repeater can easily give a 5 to 10 mile reliable operating radius for handheld portables - and sometimes even further.

Jones has it right regarding the Community repeater falling under Part 90 - and requiring each individual (or group) using the repeater to be licensed. The Licensing for a Community repeater will show an FB4 designation. That said, most Community repeaters have gone the way of Party Line telephones. The current method that most shops use is the FB6 "Private Carrier" - which means that the business who owns the repeater is the Licensee, and then they rent out airtime to individuals or user groups. The biggest advantage to the FB6 Private Carrier designation is that you don't need to go get each user a 10 year license, especially if the use would be short term, like an event rental. Cost for a 10 year license in Part 90 is $170 - PLUS you need to pay a Frequency Coordination fee (As far as I know, you cannot self-coordinate any FB6 repeater pairs). Frequency Coordination is a 3rd party, and the fees they charge can vary - but figure on spending between $350 to $500 for an FB6 coordination on a single frequency pair at a single site. Multiple pairs or Multi site systems can run much higher. Frequency Coordination is a one time fee - and once you're built out and on the air, your only ongoing License fee is the (current) $170 renewal fee to the FCC every 10 years. Truly pennies per day to operate, and Coordination means that you should not be stepping on someone else's toes every time you key up, but in crowded Metropolitan areas, you will most likely not have truly exclusive use of a channel.

Consider carrying a telescopic pole for those times you actually need it. You can double your distance if you get up high enough. Realistically, you're never going to double your distance by swapping antennas on a CCR. No matter what the advertising tells you.

The guys who get the most distance out of hand held radios are strapping them to an 8 ft. pole - and then using a speaker mic with an extra long cord (or extension) to allow them to key up the portable while it's raised 8 -10 ft up into the air. That's the "best" antenna - one that's higher up. Beyond that, you'll find more substantial performance gains by simply swapping the radio underneath the antenna to something better than a CCR, rather than swapping the antenna. Height is might.

In very broad terms, Radio receiver spec's are measured in 2 parameters. Sensitivity (the ability to hear a weak signal) and Selectivity (the ability to distinguish between wanted/unwanted signals). Those two parameters are both important, but usually work against each other. It's difficult to engineer a radio receiver that can pick out a weak signal - while also distinguishing between wanted & unwanted signals. The reason to tell you all that - is that less expensive radios usually don't bother spending the time & money to engineer and build a really good receiving system - what we term a "front end" in the radio business. Most of the inexpensive radios people are buying for GMRS have a poorly designed front end - one that is sensitive, but not very selective. I have a feeling that is why you're seeing (hearing) what you have experienced with your radios. After all that's been said - move the two radios apart 100 feet or more, and your problem will most likely resolve itself.

Are you set for wideband (25kHz) or Narrowband 12.5? If you're transmitting a narrowband signal into a wideband repeater (which most GMRS machines are) - then you'll sound like a weak signal getting in.

$80 flat rate repair is pretty darn good. I had a chance to go digging around on MOL - looks like current firmware for the LTR & Passport is Version 2.10 Do you use the FIF-12 interface or a common USB cable? Many of the newer Vertex radios require the FIF-12 interface/drivers to do firmware upgrades. Are you using CE103 or CE94 software? Looks like both versions on MOL mention the LTR option - I swore there was one version for the LTR models - and another for conventional.

Sending them back to Motorola usually isn't a financially feasible option (Depot repair would cost more than replacing with nearly new old stock). I'm not sure how to get past that powering down problem if it shuts down as soon as you go into self-test. Vertex is about 10% of my world, so I'm not an expert in it. There's probably a service manual online if you search it. Vertex is fairly good about putting in some useful details and troubleshooting info into their manuals. Repeater-builder.com has a service manual online for a VHF version. Part numbers won't be useful, but there might be some basic information there that would still pertain to a UHF model. http://www.repeater-builder.com/yvs/pdfs/vertex-vx-2100-2200v-service-manual-2015.pdf My quick google skills didn't pull up a UHF model -- do you have access to MOL (Motorola Online)?