WRAK968

Also, if I recall, this is printed on the bottom of your FCC license.

The rule states as follows "Licensees who operate North of Line A and East of Line C may not operate on channels 462.650 MHZ,467.650 MHZ, 462.700 MHZ and 467.700 MHZ unless your previous license authorized such operations." Thus, Channels 19 and 21 are not permitted to be used north of Line A. All other channels are ok as long as you follow part 95 rules.

at 45 miles, your likely out of range. Most repeaters have less than a 35 mile range using mobiles. Portables tend to have shorter range than mobile radios.

Kenwoods 89D software does work on Windows 10 (Its how I program an 8180 I have been testing with)

neither option is a good choice. I started out with a cheap e-bay duplexer (Around $125 if I recall) and it never worked. I was lucky to get two blocks range. Turns out the TX side wasn't being blocked by the duplexer, and instead, the RX side was loaded with desense, causing the repeater to not "See" the incoming traffic. You'r better off researching Band Pass / Band Reject (BP/BR) duplexers and purchasing one when it becomes available within your price range. I spent about $300 for mine and it drastically improved the range of the repeater. Now my only obstacle is height! You can run two antennas however you will need enough vertical separation, about 30-40 feet worth, to avoid desense and damage to the RX radio.

no, thats what we call a "Whacker" lol

which type of 1225? 4 Ch or 20?

"The FCC when they approve a cell tower and a cell provider a license, require them to install and maintain a GMRS repeater." Would never every happen. I remember a group of hams who said the same thing about ham radio repeaters to help with RACES/ARES/Skywarn. If cell companies and the FCC weren't willing to work with emergency communications groups (Who by the way, often help those company's by setting up portable cell repeaters) they sure as heck wouldn't want to pay for and maintain GMRS repeaters that could be used by anyone, anywhere, anytime, while being liable for any issues that could come from such operations. The only way they would allow it would be if it was a pay-to-use system which is not allowed by FCC rules.

Not all base antennas can be secured to a 3/4" pipe though. And depending on the antenna they use, the 3/4" could bend in higher winds which is why my go-to is 1-1.5" 1/8" thick galvanized pipe. Its heavy, but it works and lasts.

The only issue I see with the lower elevation is, what parts of your house are going to block the antenna in which direction. By installing it in the lower part of the roof you affect the RF radiation pattern. This could mean less range in the direction blocked by bits of the house. Your best bet in my opinion, would be to make it the best of both worlds. Purchase a 5-6' length of metal pipe. It should be at least 1" round and rated for outdoor use or painted once installed. Mount the pipe where you planned to mount the antenna, then mount the antenna to the pipe. The entire project, including clamps and hardware shouldn't be more than $50. This would give you the extra 5-6 feet in height without needing to add 25' of coax. Also if you wish, you could likely increase to a 10' long pipe, but, I wouldnt go much higher due to the risk of it being blown down and damaging the house.

The main difference between VHF and UHF is that VHF seems to travel better over long distances, while UHF is better at punching through obstacles like walls and trees. This is why the US railroad frequency list and marine frequency list are mostly made up of VHF frequencies. UHF also has better bandwidth occupancy if I recall

It all depends on the system and radios. Some repeaters use older, wide band only equipment. Some GMRS users only use this equipment, mostly because it is easier and cheaper to repair and maintain. I do suspect that if enough interference complaints come in that eventually the FCC will change the mandate, and maybe give us a few extra repeater frequencies to use, but I doubt it'll be done anytime soon.

I think the only think keeping it from getting a part95E cert is the scrambler. Otherwise its no different than some of the other part 95 radios I have.

When I took my ham tech test, the basis of the test was "Use common sense." Another-words, don't stick metal objects into places they weren't meant to be, don't erect an antenna under power lines, I think the only things that stood out from the test were the frequencies I could use, transmit powers, and Q codes, which I only remember a few of anyways. On GMRS, the frequencies and transmit power you can use may be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Mobile_Radio_Service Codes are frowned upon on GMRS, and the rest you basically learn from research, or as you meet other GMRS users or from ideas you've come up with. Again, COMMON SENSE is key so no using an extension cord from your neighbors house to power your repeater, or buying a chinese amp to push 500 watts to transmit.

First, make sure the radio is on (I know its a given if you have programmed radios previously but sometimes people forget) Most likely cause that I see is that you have com port 1 selected. Using USB cables usually puts you around com port 3 or 4, not 1. I suspect you have the wrong com port selected. To figure out which com port you need, go to device manager and look under USB Controllers. This should give you the proper com port you need. It could be improper firmware versions. Motorola isnt like other radio softwares. If you use a newer CPS to program a radio, you must always use that CPS or newer, you cant roll back to a previous version. For instance, If the radio was programed once using a version 03.01.00 your CPS wont read the radio. (Stupid, but its because the CPS also updates the radios firmware which may not work properly with older CPS versions which sort of makes sense) Another cause could be fake/improper programing cables. I have two cables for the 1225. One works for mobiles, the other for the repeater. They both look the same, but you cant use one for both operations for some reason, even though the cables from motorola are the same. Thats what I deserve for buying a RIB from E-bay, but I dont program motorola radios that often so what I have works for me. Double check the cable and that could be your issue.

For GMRS, Ver. 1 and Ver. 2 radios are the same. Ver. 2 radios have a slightly different schematic and some different features that are used in LMR/commercial operations.

The MyGMRS link allows you to link/unlink as needed using DTMF codes. I commonly link to Rich's repeater and weekly to the national link (node 100) You can link by typing *3###### (# represents the node number) and disconnect *1#####. So, if you wanted to connect to my node, you would type *323407 and to disconnect would be *123407. There are other commands as well. *70 tells you the status of the repeater. *2 allows you to monitor a node without talking over it. I believe *813##### is a permanent connection to a node (Example, if you run 2 repeaters and want to keep them connected always) and *811##### disconnects a permanent repeater.

Ah Pittsburgh, Home of Anthrocon. We are hoping to take over your city in July, though with this virus stuff it may not happen As for your repeater issue. MyGMRS only shows 1 repeater out in Butler that you might be able to hit. If you are finding other repeaters you may have to first identify the repeater/owner to try and get permission. Another way to do it is to "guess" the code and key up. Either they will be accepting and nice, or a dick. A good code to try is 141.3 which is the "GMRS travel tone." Usually open repeaters will use this tone so anyone can connect. Short of that, you'll have to look around for local GMRS clubs or groups as they may be able to give you more guidance.

RF is a bit funny when you enter cities. GMRS radios in the country can typically get 5 miles with little obstruction, the same radio in the city may only get a couple blocks at best due to the extra metal and concrete which kills RF signals. Getting on a repeater would be your best bet. There are a few in your area, Open-700 should be free to use and is open to all members, so that should be your first connection. Its last update was Feb2020 so it should be up and running, and it has very good coverage. Zombie watch seems to be a prepper group and NYCEC BKNY South & Omega are run and operated by first responders and may require FD, EMS, LEO, CERT, REACT, RACES, or other emergency group affiliation to join. On a side note, I have never had luck with Chirp. I do have the program but I often screw up with it. You may wish to double and triple check your programming to see if there is a goof with the radio.

Well, I am a fan of Kenwoods TK380. They are 4 watt portables, and if you look well enough you can get them for about $20-30 (Though you will likely need to buy a battery and charger bringing the total up to about $50-60) Complete sets (With new battery and charger) are about $75-100. With this you will need software and a cable which run about $25, (Software can be found for free or purchased for about $15-25) The nice thing about the software is that it works with the mobile version of the series, TK880 which is a 25W (40W high power version) radio, so should you wish to get a mobile radio your half way there. Overall you are getting a commercial grade repeater capable radio that will last for some time. I've dropped mine, dunked it in water, driving rain, and aside from replacing the battery its still going strong.

You do in fact need the KPG-49D software. Im not sure why it wont install on windows 7. Perhaps you have a bad install file? I have it installed on windows 10, but the 880 series came in service in the early 2000's so it shouldn't be a problem for Windows 7. I would recommend you fine another install file (If you purchased the software contact the seller to get a new file, if you used hamfiles, re-download the file and ensure you have version 4.0)

Glad to hear your experience is helping With the right tools it becomes very easy. I am curious, which tools did you order for stripping and crimping?

We all have to learn at some point so I hope you understand I wasn't meaning anything negative. Almost all commercial radios can handle up to a 3:1 SWR, though I would only run a radio with that high SWR in short bursts or in low power with a fan to help cool the heat-sinks. Below 2:1 and the radio will be fine though you may see a reduction in range which is why people strive for a 1-1.5:1 ratio.

You likely would have done better using a N female to PL259, MPD digital cables basically have a lifetime guarantee, but if you cut them you lose that LMR400 also crimps a bit differently. You need to have the proper connectors and tools to make sure the crimp is correct with as little loss as possible. My experience is that your better off with soldier/crimp combinations when it comes to LMR cables. You have to make sure the cable is cut cleanly (Using a pair of shears is not advised) and accurately (1/16" of an inch off with your shielding can cause a lot of issues with reflected power) A lot of people will claim the loss is from the PL259 connection added in, but personally I haven't seen much effect unless you have multiple PL259 connectors in a long run of coax, and even then, I think the length of coax has more to do with loss than the connectors do. Lastly, its very difficult to get a perfect 1:1 in SWR and 0 reflected power. II tell people that if they are less than 1.3:1 SWR they shouldn't continue tweaking their system as its easy to lose ground just as you have.

They must have changed it since I posted it as none of that info was there, In fact they had claimed it was 3W output at the time while the picture and their ad showed 8W (The pic still says 8W on it). Thanks for finding the data on them though