WRAK968

I've been dabbling in DMR, however haven't been on much. I believe I use 3134 (NJ statewide) 95 (US 95) 310 311 312 and 315 (tac channels to move off the statewide system) 31660 (county wide) and 98002 which relates to my PFP

Try putting 031N on the TX side. I believe Icom the <- should indicate it is using the same as the RX code. I see an option for Talkaround, check to see if you can select "Off" and see if that helps. Outside of all that, it would seem you have all of the information entered in correctly.

Do you mean on air or on the network system? You seem ready for the first, however for the second you will need access to a network repeater. Doing a ULS run on your call, I believe the closest link is 24502. More information can be found here: Columbia650 Note this is a paid system so you will need permission to access this repeater.

I would try going 4-5' below the transmitter antenna. If that doesn't resolve the issue, use a stock antenna on the scanner and see if the whine goes away. If it doesnt it could be any number of things with the electrical system and likely would be resolved by bonding and grounding.

Also to add onto this, PL=CTCSS and DPL=DCS. Just different names for the same things.

Looking at the owners manual for that radio, its DCS code 71, That will give you DPL 445

Strange, I think they may be doing stuff with the database and thats causing the issue.

Still not working for me. This is what I get when doing a search, Does this for both lower-case and upper-case

yep Im using firefox and it just returns "The term doesnt exist" Little odd but I guess theres maintenance issues so at least I know its not me.

I have a subject requesting access to a repeater. One thing I do is varify the call before sending out the access codes. Today the FCC ULS doesn't seem to be working for me and I cant figure out why. It refuses to look up names, calls, or FRN. At first I thought the user made up the call, however upon seeing proof that the call is real I tried again with my call on the ULS and it says the call does not exist. Is anyone else having this issue?

couple things to check. First check the coax, it is possible there is a small break in the core which would cause signal issues. If the coax seems to be ok, check the programming and ensure the proper frequency and tones are entered (This is a common mistake, guys swapping the 462/467 frequencies, or entering the wrong tones). Check that you have "wide band" selected as this could also cause signal issues. Last would be optional signaling, which I believe can be 2 tone, fleetsync, MDC, or none. Make sure to select "none" unless you know how to program any of those options. If after all that you find you still have signal issues, move the radio inside (if installed on a vehicle) and begin further testing. Try different coax & antenna to see what you get. If after all of that you still find you have signal issues, I would recommend contacting a radio repair shop or a ham friend who has the tools and know how to adjust the receiver sensitivity. Trying to do this without the proper equipment or know how can deafen the radio, or cause it to never shut up.

LScott has a good point about push up masts. There is also the ghost antenna option. This would likely require you to build your antenna, (Or hire a ham to make one for you) Ghost antennas use thin wire which can be run along a roof line getting your signal outside of the house without neighbors seeing them. The nice part is that they do not have to be in a straight line. This is the go-to antenna for hams living in HOA's or rental property's. If you have no choice but to use the pole, you'll have a fair bit of work (and expenses) ahead. I would recommend running a 1.5-2" PVC conduit from your house to the base of the pole and up about a foot or so above grade. Use long sweeping elbows as hard-line can be difficult to bend in a run. I would separate the feed-line into three sections, radio to conduit, conduit run, then conduit to the antenna. At each end of the conduit place a good size weatherproof box where you can make your connections. For the feed line going up the pole, add a small drip loop and bring the feed-line in from under the box. This will better protect the expensive feed-line from damage due to water or from being crushed or struck from persons digging in the yard. At the box going into the house, consider installing a ground wire or rod and a lightning arrester. This will protect from near strikes from lightning, and will also dissipate static charge caused from wind, rain, and snow. Finally, given the length of the run, be sure to use "N" type connections wherever possible. PL259/SO239 connectors tend to have signal loss on frequency's over 300MHz.

I'll be honest I'm not 100% sure of what you are going for. It looks to me that you want one repeater for three uses, Business, group/club, and emergency, without users interrupting one another. This is asking an awful lot for an analog repeater as you will constantly get "interrupts" depending on time of day or situations. Generally speaking, multi-tone repeaters are used in two situations; 1 ) In light business for non-mission critical operations. Think room service and valet for a hotel. Nether group would use a radio enough, however must be reachable in the event of a problem. Likewise, Valet communications could disturb guests so use of different tones would allow the valet to communicate without blasting room services radios. 2 ) In repeater control. As a repeater owner, you may wish to retain control of the repeater. To do this, one may opt to use a different set of tones which will allow the owner to remotely change settings or functions without other users hearing the DTMF codes. This could allow remote repeater knockdowns, or even basic changes in the radio itself such as TOT and access tones. Personally, I would keep business off GMRS entirely unless it is a last resort. Its not that I have a problem with business use, however I have seen users intentionally cause chaos to business users simply because they can. I also know of quite a few businesses who become abusive themselves believing they have full control of a GMRS channel and threatening users or confiscating radio equipment from customers. Do keep these things in mind if you still wish to use GMRS as a business radio.

I agree with this, you're likely to get about 20' up for a one story house, and nearly 30-35' for a two story house which would save you a ton of purchasing feedline to reach a remote pole or tree. You can go the route of the pole, though the question would be how difficult it is to get the antenna mounted if it doesn't fold over. As for a tree, I know of people who use permanent antennas in them, however you should weigh the risks which include branches breaking and damaging the antenna and feedline. Usually a wire antenna is used in such applications as a temporary antenna.

My understanding is that there is a MyGMRS app, (I have it on my phone) however it is basic as Rich is the only one working on it, not to mention he is maintaining the site, a linked server, weekly nets, as well as a full time job and his family. Rich is doing a lot and so some projects will take some time.

Hi Don and great question. Really it all depends on the type of repeater that is being accessed and is really only a problem directed at the Ham community. Normal repeaters with a link or node controller will simply continue doing its thing when it receives a signal, only it wont be able to transmit to other repeaters. Not crippling, as the system is still functional, however range will be greatly reduced to only that of the repeater in use. This is true for both normal analog and digital repeaters. There is another form of repeater that has taken off in the amateur community and deals with digital communications. Many hams use a digital hotspot at their homes to communicate with other digital users and are essentially a very low power local repeater. These hotspots typically have little range, perhaps a block or two at best, and rely souly on an internet connection to relay any traffic it receives. The good thing is that emergency communications groups in both radio community's have already planed for these sorts of events. Typically digital wont be used at all unless an area wide digital repeater has been set up. Likewise, when an incident arises it is expected that power and internet will be out and thus repeaters will be unable to link, even if they are running by back-up power. Hope this answers your question Mike

Ok, pulled two UHF ID's, Both have a GC of K44, The first is 431200 and the second is 431201. Both have certification for part 22, 74, and 90. While it is not part 95E certified, as long as you do not run digital or encryption and you keep the power levels within legal limits you should be fine to use this radio.

Well, the 1225 is simply plug and play, no radio mods, no having to open the radio to soldier into different caps and pads to get the thing working. as I said, plug and play, and there are enough of them out there to make several repeaters and still have 5 or 6 radios as "spares" The radios themselves will not be changed as often as your vehicle based radios or portables. Repeaters are restricted to 8 channel pairs, and once sent, typically can only use 1 pair without re-tuning the duplexer. For an event, (unless your doing something very long distance, like 30+ miles) 1 well placed repeater, either on a rooftop or on a portable 30' mast at the crest of a hill should get you at least 5-15 miles in each direction. Running multiple repeaters that close range would very quickly take up those 8 channels, and that doesn't include the risk of interfering with already existing equipment. Not wanting interference from outside groups or persons added to all of that, well, it sounds like you would be better getting a national part 90 license which would allow you and any other people you wish to add to talk on a private channel. You could run digital or analog, encryption if thats your choice, even RAS to prevent unauthorized traffic from entering the system. Other users wouldn't need a GMRS or ham license, just give em a radio and go. Another way to go would be network radio which only requires wifi or cell reception. This allows you to RoIP and you could in theory talk anywhere to anyone you set into your talkgroup. It would work just like the part 90 system, but without a license. Network radio is growing in popularity and will allow users to use both UHF and RoIP to talk long distances. The downside is I dont know that there are any current 90/95E compliant network radios.

Good morning and welcome to GMRS and the MyGMRS group. The main difference between the ham radio and GMRS linked groups (Aside from using different server groups to prevent unlicensed traffic in either direction) is that Mygmrs isn't quite set up for mobile linked repeaters. Many races currently use active ham radio groups or local emergency service radios for traffic relay. This is because these groups are set up for emergency remote radio operations and many times use VHF simplex to achieve their goals. in my years as an EDS operator, I can only think of one time where we set up a repeater, and that was because of a large forest fire in southern NJ where a NJFS tower was affected. Any other time, whether it be at an evac site, or during a race event, or even when we followed a group across the state for their march to DC, we always used VHF FM simplex for comms. It could be useful for perhaps camping, where one group may wish to communicate back home to a base repeater, but thats really the only extent I can see a mobile linked GMRS repeater being used. Even then, there are other means of comms that could be used, such as Zello links, since lets face it, if your in a location without cell service, theres little to no chance your node would work either. Now all that being said (and the boring stuff aside) The build you want is rather simple and the method I'll give is plug and play. You'll need 2 M1225 radios, flat pack duplexer, Rim-lite maxtrac repeater cable (note this is different from the standard rim-lite maxtrac cable as it should have two connectors), Pi and associated cables and parts, USB charger capable of 5+ amps continuous output, Slimjim antenna and coax, container to install everything in, and a really good battery to power everything for at least a couple days without recharge. You'll likely also need a mobile hotspot as well if you plan to be remote. Start by programming the two M1225's. The TX radio should be set to low power (20W) This does three things, prevents de-sense in the duplexer, reduces the chances of burning out the finals on the radio due to extended transmit times, and extends battery life by reducing power draw. Once completed, attach your jumpers for the duplexer, and install the rim lite modules making sure not to reverse the connections. Attach the rim lite USB cable to the pi. wire in the radios, and the USB charger to the battery. Connect USB charger to the Pi, (This is how the Pi will get power to operate) Connect the RX/TX radio jumpers to the duplexer, attach coax to the duplexer and antenna to the coax. Its a simple enough build with the only weak point being the battery as they are either overly expensive, or weigh so much that it makes the system much less portable. The battery I use for my portable repeater (Not linked) is meant for trolling motors on boats. It was about $250, and I was able to get about 2 days of use out of it before voltage dropped below 11VDC. The battery weighs about 25lbs.

To add onto Berkinet's post, you should also consider what you may wish to do in the future, plus how you plan to mount the system, as well as the region where the repeater will be used. Will the repeater be strictly in one spot, or will you need portability for camping and such? Do you plan to link your repeater to the internet? No-matter what, do your research. Plan out everything and then reevaluate that plan a couple times so your ready when you finally make purchases.

RoIP is legal as long as it is not tied to a direct dial phone system (another words you cannot be able to make phone calls via GMRS radio)

If you buy a pi from MyGMRS, its mostly plug and play. Some radios require some extra stuff, however most radios, like the GR1225, will accept the rim lite and run without issue. Just plug in an ethernet cable and set your ports and your done.

Welcome,

Oh it can be done I found out. I had a radio which half bricked itself and wouldn't let me "read/write" from the radio anymore. Turns out if you have a special motorola tech software you can rewrite the S/N, the frequency range, and a few other things in the radio. We changed the S/N to 111111111 and it suddenly let us read from the radio again, so we returned it to the labeled SN and haven't had the issue since. I do put my GMRS/Ham call in the power-on message. This way if I am stopped by a cop or security officer, I can simply turn the radio off and on and show that I am the owner.

usually an open repeater or a repeater in the ORI is available for use without requesting the owners permission. Its still a good thing to ask, however isn't mandatory on the ORI.