TrikeRadio

I have used mine in my car with a mag mount antenna and pigtail adapter... and a hand mic. Works great.

I have a pair of these and have been very happy and at times surprised by their capabilities.

On radio they are probably not looking for a lifetime commitment.

I just typed *NONE* ... because it required something..

That is great to hear.

Because in this TECHINCAL DISCUSSION forum that is what the button is called and what it is set as? You can't post anything in this forum without using that "ask a question" button.

nope

If you can contact the repeater owner, or users on the other repeater, and get in touch with the owner - it is always good to contact them and tell them what you are thinking so you can coordinate CTCSS tones that will not interfere with each other. Just good to be good with neighbors to start. But also... of course no one owns a frequency so they can't tell you not to setup on that channel. but still try to make sure the tones don't conflict. You might even find that their repeater could serve your needs and you would not need to set one up... or coordinate to make one that serves both groups and covers more area. just a few thoughts

I generally run the power save on 1:3 and with mostly monitoring but with a significant amount of transmitting too... I think I get two days or more out of a battery charge. I also bought the two radio set that came with an extra battery for each of the radios so... I really never worry about running out of power.

Which is rather ironic because the Queen insists that GMRS is not for "radio hobbyists" but for "regular people" who want to use if for communications during other activities. I do primarily use GMRS for practical communications with the rest of our little cycling group. It helps us announce turns and safety issues to everyone during a ride as well as hear back from riders in the group if they need to stop or have had some kind of mechanical problem. And yet I also have a radio geek bug and enjoy learning and using the radio just for the fun of testing and trying things. I dont have a ham license yet, and I may or may not every get one. but GMRS serves both my geeky need to fiddle with radio tech, and a practical use for my cycling hobby.

Oh... wow. I have TD-H3s too and ... I didn't realize I could enter custom values into the CTCSS fields! I thought it only let you scroll up and down to select them. I tried it and I was also able to enter any number I wanted like you. Thanks! Great to know that is possible since three other friends of mine also have the same radios.

Thanks Steve, I guess I shoulda thought to check Wikipedia. Interesting to read about how it works too.

Yeah, that is a great function. It does make it easier.

It is no wonder that sometimes getting older GMRS tones and FRS radio users to get the correct tone set is such a pain. The 69.3hz tone is essentially the second option on my TD-H3... but if you choose the code 2 on the older radios... that is not the same tone ... it would be 71.9hz! I can understand them skipping tones at the end of the list if they were trying to save space... but to not include the second tone ... just because... messes up the count for basic FRS users who don't understand it.

I was looking at the manuals of two OLD GMRS radios I had years ago. They were both of the "bubble pack" variety. (Midland GXT1050VP4 ) and a (MOTOROLA MR356R) Both of these just had the numbered "privacy codes" (yeah I know) that are just numbered 1 - 38 in the radio, but the hz values for these codes are listed in the manual. I currently have a TD-H3 which does not have "codes" but uses the actual hz values to select your tones. I then noticed that there are several tones that are "skipped" by the older radios... 69.3 159.8 165.5 171.3 183.5 189.9 196.6 199.5 206.5 229.1 254.1 It really is not a big deal but I was wondering: * why dont' those older radios have those tones. * Were they really just so short on memory that they could not have these 12 more codes? I sometimes use my TD-H3 with people who are just using FRS handhelds. * Do current FRS radios also omit these same tones or maybe others too? Just wondering if anyone knows why these are missing or if it is purely up to the maker of the radio (and if so, why did these Motorola and Midland radios skip the same ones?) Maybe it was an older standard? Thanks if anyone has any answers to these. Again, not a big deal but it was a curiosity that I noticed when comparing my old radios to this one.

Oh... Ha! Glad I asked! Thanks

Oh... hmm that is good to know. So far we have not had any FRS radios in the mix but I will keep that in mind when people start getting them. I didn't realize that narrrow or wide would make a difference between an FRS and GMRS radio

I did find a few options for Simple low cost FRS radios with N1 external speaker/mic options on Amazon. I think I have a decent selection for my friends to look over now. Thanks for all the suggestions! BTW.. I also found a Baofeng FRS 2 radio set on Amazon for $17.96... model BF-888S Anyone know if that is decent? I didn't know that Baofeng even made FRS radios

Thanks They really aren't, but I think the "displays" and "all the buttons" are intimidating to "some people". and they don't really need the repeater functions, or the range, nor do they want to get a GMRS license so I am just trying to make it easy on them

Hmm thanks... probably more than most or our riders would want to spend. but I can put it on the recommendation list. Thanks

I have a GMRS HT (TD-H3) and a GMRS license. I use the radio primary for simplex short range (1-3 miles) communications with one other friend who is also GMRS licensed. We have a group that goes recreational cycling and I lead the group. My friend stays at the back of the 10 or so riders to make sure no one gets lost. The radios have worked out great for us to communicate from the front to the back of the line, but a few of our riders also want to be able to listen in (and sometimes talk) on our communications, but they don't need/want a full on GMRS license or the complications of understanding how to use the radios. So obviously I want to recommend some FRS radios with decent quality, options, and not too costly. I would like them to at the very least to have the two-plug "Kenwood type" mic and earphone plug so that they have options to add a lapel mic or other earplug or other mic/headset options. I have looked at a lot of those "bubble pack" FRS radios on Amazon and found a few that seem decent... but I am looking for any recommendations from people in this forum. Main needs: * FRS only radio (no GMRS option) * Rechargable or recharagable/removable battery packs * lightweight as possible * two pin earphone/lapel mic "Kenwood" port * Simple interface (simpler the better) * Low cost (yeah I know most FRS radios will be low priced but... just saying) Thank you.... Open to either "warning stay away from this radio... " or "this is what you want." type recommendations.

Darn. That's what I get for failing 2nd grade reading. rats!

You have contradicted yourself @OffRoaderX In one of your videos I know you yourself decreed that 16 was the Official Off Road channel because 4x4=16 I stand justified in vehemently disagreeing with you.

If you are using CHIRP to program you can also just put an S in the Skip column (Second to last) for channels you dont want to scan and as mentioned to do it in ODmaster or on the radio face...

Seen that one. One of @OffRoaderX’s works of art.