Radioguy7268

Hi Mark,
I commend you for wanting to do things right.  Unless you are working as a “representative of a foreign government” I don’t know of any reason you couldn’t obtain a GMRS license.  It’s only $35 and it lasts for 10 years. The tallest hurdle will be navigating the FCC ULC system. Notarubicon has a guide that takes you through that step by step. I believe you need a U.S. address for a GMRS license.  It’s just a mailing address, not a transmitter location. https://www.notarubicon.com/how-to-get-a-gmrs-license-easy-guide-to-gmrs-licensing-on-the-fcc-website/

In general you register for an FRN first.  That definitely allows international addresses and there are 2244 Australians with FRNs already. Registering for an FRN is free.
Then you apply for the GMRS license using the FRN you just got.  It takes a separate step to pay for it.  Please don’t judge all of us in the USA by the FCC licensing system.  It’s terrible and we know it.
Hopefully you’ll also bring a dual band ham radio handheld.  There are a lot more ham radio repeaters across this country and as you probably already know amateur radio operators can operate in the amateur radio service in many countries they are visiting without needing to obtain that country’s ham license.  

Many people do operate without a GMRS license in the USA, but if I were doing that I would not provide an easily identifiable call sign for another service.  Choosing to disregard regulations is a personal choice and a lot of my friends do it, but they don’t complicate their situation by providing a ham call sign that can be traced.
I hope you have a great time in the USA. 
73 de AI7KS

Yes - 3rd party testing, and when you drill down into the FCC Certs for Part 95 equipment, some of it has been 'certified' for strange ultra-narrow emissions and lower power than what people are actually going to use the radios for.
If the certification is for a 7 kHz bandwidth and 1.25 watts of power, your shiny Part 95 'certification' kinda gets fuzzy once the end users program their new GMRS HT for 25 kHz and 4 watts.
 

Yes - 3rd party testing, and when you drill down into the FCC Certs for Part 95 equipment, some of it has been 'certified' for strange ultra-narrow emissions and lower power than what people are actually going to use the radios for.
If the certification is for a 7 kHz bandwidth and 1.25 watts of power, your shiny Part 95 'certification' kinda gets fuzzy once the end users program their new GMRS HT for 25 kHz and 4 watts.
 

Yes - 3rd party testing, and when you drill down into the FCC Certs for Part 95 equipment, some of it has been 'certified' for strange ultra-narrow emissions and lower power than what people are actually going to use the radios for.
If the certification is for a 7 kHz bandwidth and 1.25 watts of power, your shiny Part 95 'certification' kinda gets fuzzy once the end users program their new GMRS HT for 25 kHz and 4 watts.
 

Happy April Fools day.

Happy April Fools day.

Happy April Fools day.

Happy April Fools day.

Business/LMR users are still held to an ID requirement by the FCC - but if they use a repeater most of them just allow the repeater to use the automated Morse Code ID. Most business users who are just using simplex routinely ignore the Callsign/ID requirement - but that doesn't mean the requirement doesn't exist.
Call a local radio shop in the are who has experience with what your doing. Internet advice is full of holes.

It’s is a moto trbo NXDN trunking system operating in dual capacity direct mode, and contrary to what I thought, there is activity today. 

Do yourself a favor & search the term "intermod" as it relates to RF.  What you're seeing is likely a product of 2 (or more) frequencies mixing & creating an un-intended 3rd frequency. I'd bet dollars to donuts that the water tower has some high powered stuff that's throwing out birdies & mixing with something else nearby.

I am pretty confident the responce if you get one will be a copy of the user manual. As said its a HAM radio and not GMRS. To be quite honest this is what I use split tones (DPL and CTCSS) to keep all the ham and CCR crap off my repeaters. 

You just have to know what the definition of "Is" is...

A GNU/Linux op system if for those of us who refuse to pay Bill Gates/MicroSoft for the privilege of being able to use our computers and don't want to give up our Freedom to a Large Major Company who(if you read the End User Lic. Agreement) basically gives MicroSoft permission to take over their computer and install or uninstall anything that THEY feel the need to do. You also have to pay money for that slavery.
Why more people don't simply download a good Linux Distro and do the install is beyond me. Linux is actually much more user friendly than Windoze is in that it doesn't FORCE updates and force you to use what they say you can use.  There are so many Free and Open Source programs that you can use under Linux to do "stuff" without the need to pay for or otherwise compromise your machine to a Major Corporation.  I do all my video editing with Kdenlive for FREE and it works as well as any of the paid programs that you'd use in Windoze.
 On those rare occasions where I must use a .exe I can install and use WINE to run them FOR FREE so I get the best of both Worlds in a manner of speaking.
People who think Linux is still ALL Terminal based and Hard to use haven't given a good Linux Distro a look in quite a while. Linux Mint or one of the Ubuntu flavors are just as easy(if not more so) to use as anything MicroSoft has put out and you don't have to Sell your Soul to the Devil to use them. 😘
 

OP - the cable you are showing is for making a cross-band bidirectional repeater out of a set of UHF & VHF radios. Great if you want to link 2 groups of radios, one using UHF and another using VHF. Not so great for basic UHF GMRS repeater operation.
The uni-directional repeater cable is the one you want.
I'd tell you to spend a few dollars more though, and get one from a guy on Ebay named Kurt Meltzer - MRE Direct.  He will use the correct tabs which force (OK, actually allow) proper tab orientation, and he'll include instructions with the cable kit(s).  You can reach him at: mre1032 <at> yahoo.com or look him up on Ebay.
Repeater-builder.com is also a great resource for DIY radio and repeater info.

Assuming you do not own the repeater, you should ask the repeater owner if the system is capable of multiple PL groups.  That type of setup was commonly used back in the day for Community repeaters, where each user group (plumber, HVAC, Landscaper, etc.) had their own PL tone, but they all shared a common frequency, and each user had to monitor to make sure that the repeater was not in use by one of the other groups before they would Key up on their PL.
If the repeater has Multiple group capability (Every Kenwood TKR-850/851 came with that feature right out of the box) then it's simple to just request your own separate PL tone for your group.  Expect to pay for that feature if it's available.  Listening to a repeater's output in Carrier Squelch would defeat the purpose of having a separate PL tone. Set up properly, your daughter would only hear you when you keyed up using the special PL tone. Other traffic on the repeater would be nothing but a flashing receive light on her radio.
It's 1970's technology, so don't expect any actual privacy or miracles - but it would do what you're asking for.

Assuming you do not own the repeater, you should ask the repeater owner if the system is capable of multiple PL groups.  That type of setup was commonly used back in the day for Community repeaters, where each user group (plumber, HVAC, Landscaper, etc.) had their own PL tone, but they all shared a common frequency, and each user had to monitor to make sure that the repeater was not in use by one of the other groups before they would Key up on their PL.
If the repeater has Multiple group capability (Every Kenwood TKR-850/851 came with that feature right out of the box) then it's simple to just request your own separate PL tone for your group.  Expect to pay for that feature if it's available.  Listening to a repeater's output in Carrier Squelch would defeat the purpose of having a separate PL tone. Set up properly, your daughter would only hear you when you keyed up using the special PL tone. Other traffic on the repeater would be nothing but a flashing receive light on her radio.
It's 1970's technology, so don't expect any actual privacy or miracles - but it would do what you're asking for.

Assuming you do not own the repeater, you should ask the repeater owner if the system is capable of multiple PL groups.  That type of setup was commonly used back in the day for Community repeaters, where each user group (plumber, HVAC, Landscaper, etc.) had their own PL tone, but they all shared a common frequency, and each user had to monitor to make sure that the repeater was not in use by one of the other groups before they would Key up on their PL.
If the repeater has Multiple group capability (Every Kenwood TKR-850/851 came with that feature right out of the box) then it's simple to just request your own separate PL tone for your group.  Expect to pay for that feature if it's available.  Listening to a repeater's output in Carrier Squelch would defeat the purpose of having a separate PL tone. Set up properly, your daughter would only hear you when you keyed up using the special PL tone. Other traffic on the repeater would be nothing but a flashing receive light on her radio.
It's 1970's technology, so don't expect any actual privacy or miracles - but it would do what you're asking for.

Assuming you do not own the repeater, you should ask the repeater owner if the system is capable of multiple PL groups.  That type of setup was commonly used back in the day for Community repeaters, where each user group (plumber, HVAC, Landscaper, etc.) had their own PL tone, but they all shared a common frequency, and each user had to monitor to make sure that the repeater was not in use by one of the other groups before they would Key up on their PL.
If the repeater has Multiple group capability (Every Kenwood TKR-850/851 came with that feature right out of the box) then it's simple to just request your own separate PL tone for your group.  Expect to pay for that feature if it's available.  Listening to a repeater's output in Carrier Squelch would defeat the purpose of having a separate PL tone. Set up properly, your daughter would only hear you when you keyed up using the special PL tone. Other traffic on the repeater would be nothing but a flashing receive light on her radio.
It's 1970's technology, so don't expect any actual privacy or miracles - but it would do what you're asking for.

I'm sorry, but if you're using a Baofeng (or other CCR with a Direct Conversion receiver on a Chip) then  you're missing half the show if you're just focused on transmit power & ERP.
The real game is played on receiver selectivity & desense. Sure, the CCR's have some good/great specs (on paper) for sensitivity in a laboratory testing environment. They fall short when you start looking at adjacent channel rejection and desense. Stuff like that matters in the real world. Measure your Signal to Noise and Distortion and now you've got something worth measuring on the receive side. Do you have tools that can generate a low level calibrated output to test receiver performance?
10 watts in a handheld looks great on paper, but it doesn't take into account how well the other party receives. I'd rather have lower ERP with a more selective receiver that can actually pick out a desired signal at -120 dBm & recover it into understandable audio. If your CCR is still sitting silent in the presence of a -114 dBm signal, you're missing out on more than 6 dB in the math of Signal to Noise. The ERP side says you'd need to quadruple your transmit power to achieve the same S/N ratio.
Take a look at the Motorola XPR "e" series and the Vertex EVX radios if you want to see what a SDR chip coupled with good electronics and a little filtering can look like. Heck, even the older CDM mobiles had great analog receivers with some nice audio.
Focusing on transmit power alone is missing half the equation.

Going back to one of my old experiences when I worked for Motorola years ago...
A small city police department had a failure of their old GE repeater they had been nursing along for many years, so they needed a new one. Budgets were tight, but they insisted on a 100 watt unit. Now, the repeater was naturally on a hill, on a water tank, and was at the highest point in the city, and no more than a mile from the city limits in any direction. They wanted 100 watts. VHF, carrier squelch mind you...and 100 watts. 
While they waited for a new repeater, we loaned them a Desktrac (not what you need for public safety, but it'll work in a pinch). 
Once on the air, the asst chief said, man, that sounds good. And the range is great, can we just keep that one? Is it 100 watts? 
Sure, it's 100 watts. 
It was in fact 25 watts..... no one could tell. They later got a new repeater, but we still didn't set it up for 100 watts. 
Point is, don't get hung up on wattage, use what works for the situation you need it in. 

I'm sorry, but if you're using a Baofeng (or other CCR with a Direct Conversion receiver on a Chip) then  you're missing half the show if you're just focused on transmit power & ERP.
The real game is played on receiver selectivity & desense. Sure, the CCR's have some good/great specs (on paper) for sensitivity in a laboratory testing environment. They fall short when you start looking at adjacent channel rejection and desense. Stuff like that matters in the real world. Measure your Signal to Noise and Distortion and now you've got something worth measuring on the receive side. Do you have tools that can generate a low level calibrated output to test receiver performance?
10 watts in a handheld looks great on paper, but it doesn't take into account how well the other party receives. I'd rather have lower ERP with a more selective receiver that can actually pick out a desired signal at -120 dBm & recover it into understandable audio. If your CCR is still sitting silent in the presence of a -114 dBm signal, you're missing out on more than 6 dB in the math of Signal to Noise. The ERP side says you'd need to quadruple your transmit power to achieve the same S/N ratio.
Take a look at the Motorola XPR "e" series and the Vertex EVX radios if you want to see what a SDR chip coupled with good electronics and a little filtering can look like. Heck, even the older CDM mobiles had great analog receivers with some nice audio.
Focusing on transmit power alone is missing half the equation.

I'm sorry, but if you're using a Baofeng (or other CCR with a Direct Conversion receiver on a Chip) then  you're missing half the show if you're just focused on transmit power & ERP.
The real game is played on receiver selectivity & desense. Sure, the CCR's have some good/great specs (on paper) for sensitivity in a laboratory testing environment. They fall short when you start looking at adjacent channel rejection and desense. Stuff like that matters in the real world. Measure your Signal to Noise and Distortion and now you've got something worth measuring on the receive side. Do you have tools that can generate a low level calibrated output to test receiver performance?
10 watts in a handheld looks great on paper, but it doesn't take into account how well the other party receives. I'd rather have lower ERP with a more selective receiver that can actually pick out a desired signal at -120 dBm & recover it into understandable audio. If your CCR is still sitting silent in the presence of a -114 dBm signal, you're missing out on more than 6 dB in the math of Signal to Noise. The ERP side says you'd need to quadruple your transmit power to achieve the same S/N ratio.
Take a look at the Motorola XPR "e" series and the Vertex EVX radios if you want to see what a SDR chip coupled with good electronics and a little filtering can look like. Heck, even the older CDM mobiles had great analog receivers with some nice audio.
Focusing on transmit power alone is missing half the equation.

No, he wasn't talking about using GMRS to advertise items for sale, but more for business operations ie, Walmart store operations, road flagging crews, survey/construction crews on a work site, provided each user is licensed. Its permitted, but there is a quick return loss between each user and just licensing a business frequency.
One way it would make financial/common sense is a family farm, all workers are in the "family" list if Part 95, then it would be easy (and cheap), and not require coordination, to put up a GMRS repeater and run GMRS for all farm operations. 

If you plan to work repeaters for most of your mobile driving, it's really hard to beat a simple 6" hatpin antenna. They're inexpensive, low profile, and they simply work.
If you're trying to impress the ladies, then by all means, get the longest possible antenna.