WRAK968

Over the past few days, I have seen posts popping up with the title card "looking for a repeater near ____"

I have answered a couple of them thinking it was just a new user who wasn't sure how the site worked yet, but being there has been an increase in these posts I figured I would make a quick post about it.

The Admins and Mods that run the forum have made it clear that they DO NOT WANT REPEATER INFORMATION TO BE RELEASED ON THE FORUMS! This is to cut down on non-licensed transmissions on active repeaters. This means no member will post a repeaters frequencies or tone codes in a post.

However, there are tools that MyGMRS provides to you once you prove you have your license so that you can find repeaters near you. First there is the repeater directory which can be found here; https://mygmrs.com/browse This allows you to search by state, frequency, if the repeater is open to the public or not, and will give you most of the information you need to get into a repeater. Likewise it is handy to determine what frequencies are available if you wish to open your own system. Second is the map; https://mygmrs.com/map Which allows you to look at a map of the US and find repeaters that way. Note, you may still need to look up the repeater in the directory to get tone info and request access.

If you can hear a repeater on your radio but cant find it on MyGMRS.com, your next bet would be to scan the tones to see if you can find the one they are using, send your callsign over, and inquire about the repeater to find out if its open access or private use. If you remain respectful, the members usually wont give you a hard time and often will explain how to get permission to use a private repeater.


 

Over the past few days, I have seen posts popping up with the title card "looking for a repeater near ____"

I have answered a couple of them thinking it was just a new user who wasn't sure how the site worked yet, but being there has been an increase in these posts I figured I would make a quick post about it.

The Admins and Mods that run the forum have made it clear that they DO NOT WANT REPEATER INFORMATION TO BE RELEASED ON THE FORUMS! This is to cut down on non-licensed transmissions on active repeaters. This means no member will post a repeaters frequencies or tone codes in a post.

However, there are tools that MyGMRS provides to you once you prove you have your license so that you can find repeaters near you. First there is the repeater directory which can be found here; https://mygmrs.com/browse This allows you to search by state, frequency, if the repeater is open to the public or not, and will give you most of the information you need to get into a repeater. Likewise it is handy to determine what frequencies are available if you wish to open your own system. Second is the map; https://mygmrs.com/map Which allows you to look at a map of the US and find repeaters that way. Note, you may still need to look up the repeater in the directory to get tone info and request access.

If you can hear a repeater on your radio but cant find it on MyGMRS.com, your next bet would be to scan the tones to see if you can find the one they are using, send your callsign over, and inquire about the repeater to find out if its open access or private use. If you remain respectful, the members usually wont give you a hard time and often will explain how to get permission to use a private repeater.


 

Just want to make it clear real quick, I made this post to A ) cut down on users asking for repeater information and B ) to hopefully save them some time by telling them how they can look such information up. I am not an administrator or moderator nor do I work for the MyGMRS forums or site. I just felt it would be easier to explain everything in one easy to find post rather than constantly replying to new users who are asking for frequency or tone information. I am sorry if I caused any confusion as to my status on the site.

Over the past few days, I have seen posts popping up with the title card "looking for a repeater near ____"

I have answered a couple of them thinking it was just a new user who wasn't sure how the site worked yet, but being there has been an increase in these posts I figured I would make a quick post about it.

The Admins and Mods that run the forum have made it clear that they DO NOT WANT REPEATER INFORMATION TO BE RELEASED ON THE FORUMS! This is to cut down on non-licensed transmissions on active repeaters. This means no member will post a repeaters frequencies or tone codes in a post.

However, there are tools that MyGMRS provides to you once you prove you have your license so that you can find repeaters near you. First there is the repeater directory which can be found here; https://mygmrs.com/browse This allows you to search by state, frequency, if the repeater is open to the public or not, and will give you most of the information you need to get into a repeater. Likewise it is handy to determine what frequencies are available if you wish to open your own system. Second is the map; https://mygmrs.com/map Which allows you to look at a map of the US and find repeaters that way. Note, you may still need to look up the repeater in the directory to get tone info and request access.

If you can hear a repeater on your radio but cant find it on MyGMRS.com, your next bet would be to scan the tones to see if you can find the one they are using, send your callsign over, and inquire about the repeater to find out if its open access or private use. If you remain respectful, the members usually wont give you a hard time and often will explain how to get permission to use a private repeater.


 

Ok, after a little bit of playing with the FPP, I figured it out.

First you need to follow all the steps to enable FPP, this includes remove a resister and enabling FPP through the software.

to enter FPP, press and hold "D" while the radio boots up, you should see "Self Prog"
 
Press Mon, then you can select the group/channel you wish to program (I believe D switches between channel and group)

Press B and it will let you scroll through the band. Pressing A switches your step size for faster scrolling
 
Enter your RX frequency
 
Press B and youll get RSX ----- This is where you put your tone info in. Pressing MON or SCAN switches between CTCSS and DCS, the right hand up and down arrows should change the tone number.
 
Press B and you have your TX frequency, enter that in and press B
 
TSX is your input code, enter the same way you did RSX and press B
 
Few more options pressing B to accept till it gets back to the group/channel screen and your all done.
 

Welcome to MyGMRS and congrats on getting your license.

There are a few threads on this topic and many users tend to be annoyed by repetitive posts, so for future assistance please use the search bar at the top of the forum to ensure your question has not already been asked.

To access a repeater you need to know the frequency and any tone codes the repeater uses. It is also good practice to make sure the repeater is open to public use. Some repeater owners set rules for their system, some charge as part of a club to offset the cost of maintaining a 200' high tower. The MyGMRS site has all this info nice and neatly filed away and running a simple search there should yield results.

Due to forum rules, we are not allowed to post repeater frequencies or codes in public spaces. This prevents unlicensed operators from pinging a repeater. Simply look up your desired area or use the map and you can't go wrong. Then just follow your radio manufacturers manual for programming and you'll be on the air in no time.

Thats nice but pricey lol. Also I don't have a MOL account (I cant even figure out how to get one) making it difficult to get software, but it is nice to hear Motorola finally moved forward with their software accessibility lol. I still remember the DOS window and the big black box that needed its own power supply.

Good explanation Corey. Its also important to note that even repeaters have some form of duty cycle and that the duty cycle can change depending on output power. A great example is the motorola 1225 series repeater. At full power, 45 watts, the repeater is limited to a 50% duty cycle. In low power, 25 watts, they are 100% cycle.

Luckily, good repeaters have protection in the form of a Time Out Timer (TOT) and usually a ReSet Timer (RST) When set up correctly, the TOT should cut off the TX BEFORE the duty cycle is reached, and the RST should prevent transmissions until the appropriate rest period has passed. This helps extend the life of the repeater even when your not there to monitor it.

Almost ALL radios now-a-days have a TOT as well. Typically I set mine for 2 minutes which is more than I need to transmit for, but is less than the duty cycle permits thus protecting the transistors.  I've had people tell me its dumb to do as no idiot would want to talk non-stop unless they are in a net or special operation. That's when I give them this story:
 
A while back when I was on the first aid squad, I was getting ready to go to sleep. Turned out the lights, laid my head on the pillow, then came the sound of a soft moan from a woman. Now, this would have been great, if there had been a woman in bed with me. The moaning continued and a bit confused I began looking for the source. Didn't take long to find my squad radio was receiving, and after turning it up a little, yep you guessed it. Turns out, the LT's portable radio had fallen between the bed and the night stand and as they and their lover were going at it, it was all transmitted quite clearly to the repeater, then retransmitted for the ENTIRE COUNTY to listen to. To make matters worse, the radios all had ID numbers so we knew whos radio was transmitting, and even worse, the LT had shut their phone off, so calling them to tell them their private session was public was not doable. Finally, the radios did not have TOT's at the time and so for a good while (I just shut my radio off but a friend at the county said they heard every minute of the 15+ minute incident. When the portable finally cut out, either from overheating or a dead battery or from falling loose of the PTT button, there wee quite a few catcalls to let them know everything was public including a few repeats of nick-names used during the session.

So folks, learn two things from this story. A: TOT's work, especially when a mistake is made or you don't realize the transmit button is pushed, it will work and save your radio from damage and possibly you from some embarrassment. B: Someone is always listening, so keep in mind what you say or do on the radio, especially if you work for a public safety organization because if you say the wrong things you could find yourself in quite a bit of trouble.

Good explanation Corey. Its also important to note that even repeaters have some form of duty cycle and that the duty cycle can change depending on output power. A great example is the motorola 1225 series repeater. At full power, 45 watts, the repeater is limited to a 50% duty cycle. In low power, 25 watts, they are 100% cycle.

Luckily, good repeaters have protection in the form of a Time Out Timer (TOT) and usually a ReSet Timer (RST) When set up correctly, the TOT should cut off the TX BEFORE the duty cycle is reached, and the RST should prevent transmissions until the appropriate rest period has passed. This helps extend the life of the repeater even when your not there to monitor it.

Almost ALL radios now-a-days have a TOT as well. Typically I set mine for 2 minutes which is more than I need to transmit for, but is less than the duty cycle permits thus protecting the transistors.  I've had people tell me its dumb to do as no idiot would want to talk non-stop unless they are in a net or special operation. That's when I give them this story:
 
A while back when I was on the first aid squad, I was getting ready to go to sleep. Turned out the lights, laid my head on the pillow, then came the sound of a soft moan from a woman. Now, this would have been great, if there had been a woman in bed with me. The moaning continued and a bit confused I began looking for the source. Didn't take long to find my squad radio was receiving, and after turning it up a little, yep you guessed it. Turns out, the LT's portable radio had fallen between the bed and the night stand and as they and their lover were going at it, it was all transmitted quite clearly to the repeater, then retransmitted for the ENTIRE COUNTY to listen to. To make matters worse, the radios all had ID numbers so we knew whos radio was transmitting, and even worse, the LT had shut their phone off, so calling them to tell them their private session was public was not doable. Finally, the radios did not have TOT's at the time and so for a good while (I just shut my radio off but a friend at the county said they heard every minute of the 15+ minute incident. When the portable finally cut out, either from overheating or a dead battery or from falling loose of the PTT button, there wee quite a few catcalls to let them know everything was public including a few repeats of nick-names used during the session.

So folks, learn two things from this story. A: TOT's work, especially when a mistake is made or you don't realize the transmit button is pushed, it will work and save your radio from damage and possibly you from some embarrassment. B: Someone is always listening, so keep in mind what you say or do on the radio, especially if you work for a public safety organization because if you say the wrong things you could find yourself in quite a bit of trouble.

Just cause I'm curious, How high are your antennas, and are you on the peak of a hill? Thats range sounds awesome for being on a house

Hey and Welcome to GMRS, Your MTX115 should allow you to access a repeater! The steps can be found on page 23 of the user manual,https://midlandusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/MXT115-Owners-manual-Final-24Oct16.pdf
 
Ill walk you through step by step though
 
Press the menu button to open up the menu,
Use the channel up/down buttons to find the letters rP in the menu,
Press the monitor/scan button to open the rP menu
Select on and press the monitor/scan button to accept the input.
Clear out of the menu and scroll through the channels, you should find channels 1-7, 15-22, then 15-22 with the RP icon to the right of the channel number.
 
Now we need a repeater to go into. Well pretend your using mine, the process is the same for any repeater, you just need to plug the repeater info in where my repeater info is. Ill underline and bold my info so you know what needs changing
 
I want to use the 6750 repeater pair, Looking at page 26 of the manual we see the 6750 pair is Ch 20RP. Go through the channel list until 20RP is displayed on the screen.
Most repeaters use DCS or CTCSS/PL codes to control access to the system. You should know what codes you need to access the repeater you plan to use. Mine happens to be DCS205.
Press Menu to open the menu list and scroll to Pt. Press the monitor/scan button to open the PT menu.
Select CTCSS/PL (displays a little sideways S) Or DCS (looks like a block wave symbol) We need DCS for the example so thats what we select.
Press Monitor/Scan to accept your mode. Now you can scroll through the different codes in the particular mode.
Page 27 of the manual shows the list of codes and their corresponding display number on the radio. We need the DCS chart here.
We look at the code columns first until we find code 205. The number to the left of 205 is 30. We use the channel up/down buttons and scroll until 30 is displayed, then press monitor/scan to accept.
 
At this time, you can exit the menus and you should see the following info on your display:
The channel number you wish to use, The RP icon to the right of that number, and either a sideways S or a block wave symbol.
If all of those are showing, and you entered in the correct information, you should be able to access the desired repeater.
 
If after all this you find you cant get in, I have some troubleshooting tips:
Check all the info you have is correct, and has been properly entered into the radio. Note this radio does not support split codes.
Check that the antenna is properly connected. If using a mag mount antenna be sure it is attached to a metallic surface.
Check the power settings, if your 10 miles away, low power may not work.
 
If all else fails, try another repeater or changing your location. It could be that your information is out of date or you are just too far to reach the intended repeater.
 
Hope this all helps
 
(*** Note to admins, the PL code was changed to comply with forum rules that I forgot about when origionally typing the post, Sorry for any confusion but now this is a pretend repeater)

Orion, first welcome to the group and congrats on becoming a GMRS license holder.

So, first thing everyone tries is a cheap system and trying to get up high. I know, I did it with poor results. I now have a RKR1225 and a good duplexer and antenna. When I started I actually used a flat pack duplexer, and a cheap antenna. I had about 4-5 blocks range. I changed the antenna to a diamond 200u when extended my rage to about 1 and a half miles, and when I upgraded the duplexer to a band pass I think it is, I now have 4 miles range at 15' high and 25W out. For now Im ok with that as really the repeater is used to boost our portable coverage and allows us to talk from portable to mobile.

What I'm getting at is, depending on what your needs are, consider setting up at your house first especially if your in a 2+ story residence. a 2 story building could easily get an antenna up 25-30 feet, and once your above the tree line your range will increase drastically. The nice thing is you can work out any problems or glitches with your setup right away without needing to wait for site access. Once everything is running and you know it all works and what your expectations are, then make plans for a tower location.

RCM, If you need, I do have firmware (Cant remember which one off the top of my head but it does update the radio options for version 2 units) for the 880, I can also explain how to enable FPP, but in all honesty its a bit difficult (I could never figure out how to do it.) All I use are 880/380's so if you need anything give me a shout.

I use an old radioshack scanner that has a hit counter on it. I put all pairs in and leave it for at least 30 days. When I return, its a matter of looking at the hits not just on the RX but the TX side as well. Doing this lets me choose the best pair for the area.

I think there are two parts to this answer. The first has to do with emcoms, "(except emergency messages)" Basically, aside from drills, if you're using ARES or RACES you are considered emergency traffic and should have priority on a particular frequency or repeater in the ham band. If an operator holds two licenses and an outside agency [For example CERT] is using GMRS that traffic may be re-transmitted between the two sides by use of mouth [no automatic relay/cross repeater.] The same rules apply in that personal information may not be transmitted, and you can not transmit information for profit. Further, if I recall, unlike RACES/ARES where they can take over a designated ham repeater for operation, CERT is NOT allowed to take over a given frequency and must allow other users to communicate on the channel.


The second part of the answer I believe means you can not have automatic control of a relay system that allows users of the two separate license classes to co-mingle, or, to put in English, you cant have a radio system that allows GMRS users to TX on the ham bands, or ham users to TX on the GMRS/MURS frequencies. This is to prevent unauthorized and unlicensed transmissions on either side.

I use Kenwood radios, TK380 series. Program software is free and they seem much better than the baofeng units. Nice thing is the software for the 380 also works on the 880 mobile radio, so I only use 1 program for all my radios.

I use an old radioshack scanner that has a hit counter on it. I put all pairs in and leave it for at least 30 days. When I return, its a matter of looking at the hits not just on the RX but the TX side as well. Doing this lets me choose the best pair for the area.

The M1225 series radios are good, if you have a way to program them as they need an older computer to program them. I personally use Kenwood TK880's which have software readily available online and will work on modern computers. They are first responder grade which means integrity & reliability are there, and not as expensive as the 1225's normally cost.

The M1225 series radios are good, if you have a way to program them as they need an older computer to program them. I personally use Kenwood TK880's which have software readily available online and will work on modern computers. They are first responder grade which means integrity & reliability are there, and not as expensive as the 1225's normally cost.

PB30X, I cant say I have ever heard a message go over 30 seconds where I am. I believe the W2NJR system will even reset if the message is over 45 as a default because it ties up repeaters across the state of NJ. I did laugh at the use of judgement comment lol. Seems like the world is lacking in common sense and logic. Quite scary when one thinks about it.
 
Jones, thanks for the added info, and I hope my post didn't scare you about using EAS on the repeater, I was more curious and I cant think of any repeaters or systems that use them locally for GMRS. Now that I learned the EAS alert tone is FSK data I am curious what info FLDigi would spit out when decoding it. Off I go to do more research!

Rich messaged me last night and everything is fixed. Not sure what the problem was but it seems to work now. Thanks again for you help everyone.

Rich messaged me last night and everything is fixed. Not sure what the problem was but it seems to work now. Thanks again for you help everyone.

PB30X, I cant say I have ever heard a message go over 30 seconds where I am. I believe the W2NJR system will even reset if the message is over 45 as a default because it ties up repeaters across the state of NJ. I did laugh at the use of judgement comment lol. Seems like the world is lacking in common sense and logic. Quite scary when one thinks about it.
 
Jones, thanks for the added info, and I hope my post didn't scare you about using EAS on the repeater, I was more curious and I cant think of any repeaters or systems that use them locally for GMRS. Now that I learned the EAS alert tone is FSK data I am curious what info FLDigi would spit out when decoding it. Off I go to do more research!

Rich messaged me last night and everything is fixed. Not sure what the problem was but it seems to work now. Thanks again for you help everyone.

So, the other day I was listening to the W2NJR ham radio network and heard an alert go out with an electronic statement "Thunder Storm Warning."
 
Basically, the W2NJR system uses the NOAA SAME code for the area to get weather alert and warnings. It then re-transmits the information following the coded signal, which is how the system knows what warning it is giving. This is legal on ham radio but what about GMRS? I am not planning on adding this feature to my repeater but if its legal I would think other systems could make use of it. The idea has just made me curious.