Darmie

Not that I think it really matters, for I had drone batteries go bad, but it use to be recommended to charge up to 50-60% for storage.

Not sure how far along this bill is making it if at all. "The Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act of 2024" I know you're referring to GMRS however, this may fall in line with being prepared and maybe, just maybe GMRS operator would have the same rights with antennas where an HOA can not prohibit you from antenna installs. This law should have already existed.

Yes very active group of great people on the Texas GMRS . net Most of the repeaters are linked so if you are in Conroe you can communicate to Dickinson and so forth. There are other operators that access the network as well. Take a look at the status page. I have recently joined myself. https://link.texasgmrs.net/link.php?nodes=2250,2251,2252,2253,2254,1000,922

The best part of DMR in my opinion is using a MMDVM Hotspot. Easy to use around the house and chat with anyone anywhere. PI-star software easy to configure. Reasonable to build or buy. I understand there is something similar being used on GMRS but not sure how easy it is and at what price.

Markskjerve said it all. I'm new to the GMRS repeater world myself. I'm just wondering how many repeaters are private that you may hear conversation but not have access. Now with radios that can scan for tones, it's probably a mute point while traveling. Years ago, you could get trip tickets from AAA. Maps would be market up with routing and highlight the locations in route that was of your interest. Not sure if that's an option today. If you did want to turn the phone on every now and then, the RepeaterBook app does a great job locating what's close to you at any given time using auto location. It does have options (Filter) for selecting bands to include GMRS. I think you're right that CB is not like it use to be but I would still take a portable with you and throw up a mag antenna for the heck of it. I've often heard conversations when there was stop and go traffic on interstates learning what was going on. I still would recommend bringing a laptop for evening planning when you stop at night. Google search in the area you are traveling to may help locate the best local stops for dinner and help with stops that are important to you knowing what's open and times.

I have the G. It's expanded so to use the other bands. It's really nice and small. I also like I didn't need to run any power wire since it just plugs into the cig lighter. The programing software is not the easiest to use and there are no copy or paste options between Chirp. It appears that you can NOT move programed channels up or down so plan accordingly when you program incase you want to add repeaters later. Hope that helps if you go this direction.

is there much activity on MURS? I have two of the talkpods and really like them for the ease of use and that you can program the small side button to Push to Talk on the B band. Word of warning. Think before you push one of the buttons to know if you want to xmit on A or B.

I have the talkpod and was impressed how well it works on Chirp. I also bought the 8w version. Now my wife and I don't fight over radios. I think it can use a better antenna for the airbands but maybe I don't live that close to airports. I also found that the modulation sometimes overdrives the local GMRS repeater. Between radio to radio, they sound ok. Oh and the mic is up near the volume knob which is a little weird. I do like how the small button below the PTT can be programed to transmit on the B band. I also programed the top red button to scan. For the price, can't be beat but wish there was more control of the mic gain. My DB20G radio that I just installed in the car was also over driving the repeater so a fix I did was to transmit in Narrow Band but that's not the best fix. These radios need to come with a better way to control mic gain.

Sorry I don't have any hands on experience however, from what I gather, you would submit a series of DTMF tones to your node as noted on this PDF. It appears *73 + node number connects, *71 + node number disconnects. https://www.gmrslive.com/howto/GMRS LIVE 1.1.1. SETUP.pdf

Won't be long. I think I checked the next day or so, and it was there. While you are logged in, save your original license to your computer incase you need to send it any private repeater club that you may join.

I'm sure to be one of the very few that joined the GMRS community because of the link. For about a month or so, I was hearing what sounded like a repeater on a GMRS frequency and later determined with excitement that it was in fact a repeater. Amazed of how clear it sounded on the HT at our home and hearing people from other parts of the city sparked my interest. I was on a quest to obtain the license. Once received, I joined and support a local repeater group and really have enjoyed chatting with folks all over the area. My wife has used our GMRS radio and has the same enjoyment. We have friends that recently visited, live well over 100 miles away that are intrigued and now getting their license to join in the growing GMRS fun and in hopes to chat on the linked repeaters. It will be a sad day if all the linking goes away.

If Spouse A bought two radios and allowed Spouse B to operate one of the two radios, how would Spouse A & B best identify while using the one family license communicating with one another? OR Does it really matter?

Great idea. I'll give that a try. Now for some reason my wife is asking where all her cookie sheets have disappeared to.