Lscott
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Posts posted by Lscott
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this would be my thought as well...paracord, a tree, and something for weights (nut&bolt?)...if there's an available ground/balcony, tripod and a push up. failing that, (if railing is it) i'm thinking if there isn't enough to anchor a push-up, maybe a cheap pool cleaning pole to clamp to to get an antenna up. antenna wise, ed fong is a good thought. been meaning to try the pool pole quickie with a 5/8 over 5/8 browning i've had sitting on the shelf, as an alternate to the 'antenna in the attic' i have going now.
If you're worried about having communications after a major storm you should also think about a source of emergency power. Last storm through Puerto Rico for example the power was out for a really long time from the reports on the news. After a few days you likely won't find any gas for a generator so a long term solution is needed. You will likely want something like a small solar panel, charge controller and battery. Then look for a 12VDC battery pack eliminator for the radio. I have a few charging cradles for the commercial Kenwood radios, with one modified to use 12 to 14 VDC input, instead of wall outlet power, to recharge the battery pack. If you can't find a 12VDC battery pack eliminator then a few spare battery packs you can cycle through the charger works too.
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Yeah, DCDM is awesome, and ERDM is even more awesome, IMO, of course...
Totally agree with you on SFRs...
You can also make your own SFR (Single Frequency Repeater) with two radios operating in DCDM mode and a circular isolator (tuned to the frequency you want) Enable both radios as DCDM mode, then have one of the radios set as RX only for TS 1, make this radio ineligible for timing leader, and the other radio set normally but to TX on TS 2, make this radio preferred timing leader too. On your subscriber Gen2 XPR7550/SL7550, etc... radios you enable ERDM, which will listen to whatever time slot has the strongest incoming signal... so you get automatic talkaround switching for "free", as in: your radio will either listen directly to the TXing radio, talking on TS 1, or if the TS1 signal is too weak, or not there at all, it will automatically use the TS2 signal coming from the SFR. Can't beat that...
The circular isolator can be replaced with a solid state T/R switch... but I yet have to find one of those switches that isn't worth an arm and a leg... mechanical T/R switches won't work, a relay won't last very long switching at DMR TDMA rates...
G.
If GMRS ever allows DMR I would think SFR mode would be the way to go since it would be simple for a user to setup, no fancy controller or cavity filters to deal with.
In fact this would be ideal for a Ham buddy that's into off-roading with his Jeep and the group he belongs to. They are switching to GMRS since that seems to be the direction the off-roading community is moving towards. He's trying to get the group members to get their Ham Tech class tickets. If he can do that then using DMR with one radio setup as the repeater using SFR mode would fit exactly what they are looking for without a complex system to drag around. If a particular frequency is busy you just switch to another one. Can't do that in the field with a conventional setup.
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Not quite...
DMR offers DCDM, which translates to: Dual Capacity Direct Mode, which allows for simplex two time slot operation without a repeater, as in: YES, you can have two conversations on the same channel without a repeater. The radios select a timing leader among the eligible radios, and you can also hint to have one as leader, etc... all when in DCDM mode. It works great, but it doesn't work very well on CCRs... as I've tried a bunch of them, and DCDM usually hangs the radios on most of the POS TYT's I've tried... Now, it works great on my EVX mobiles and portables, and of course it works great on the XPR gen2 radios too... (the 6550 doesn't have DCDM)
If you want DMR with properly functioning DCDM you need to get something along the lines of an XPR7550, preferably an e model, just don't waste your money on Aliunce, Rexontec... et. all... CCR garbage...
As for the Anytone AT-578... yeah, it has an SFR alright?, but its a piece of garbage: It freezes while operating in Single Frequency Repeater all the time. I have one, I've had one for almost a year now, its a dead weight piece of trash that will hang when you need it the most... its useless. Mine collecting dust in the parts bin... and yes, its been upgraded to latest FW, latest baseband etc. etc... still a piece of trash that will hang and freeze up. Again, if you want a real Single Frequency Repeater that won't check out when you might need it the most you're ( and I am ) gonna have to muster up for the SLR1000 Moto repeater, a 2 grand wonder... nothing else made in China will touch that thing... that is if long range and good reliability are your thing... otherwise, be prepared to deal with maintenance and upkeep when these CCR turds stop working... or when range is measured in tenths of a mile, rather than tens of miles, etc... yup... If you want professional results you need to buy professional equipment, how do I make such assessment? Well, I found this the hard way, after sinking a lot of money on garbage radios... stay away...
but if you must, buy CCRs at your own peril, just don't expect miracles...
G.
DCDM, allows two voice channels on the same frequency. That's good to know. I wasn't aware there are radios that could coordinate the time slot sharing without a repeater in the mix. The question there is how many DMR radios have that capacity?
The point about single frequency repeaters using DMR I think is a significant development. It just so happens the CCR's I linked to offer it but I'm not advocating people buy those CCR's, just used them as an example.
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That's what it's designed to do, and you get double the capacity, if not more. Two conversations can take place simultaneously on the same frequencies.
I believe that is only true when operating through a DMR repeater. The repeater supplies the sync signal so each radio knows when to transmit based on the time slot selected.
When operating simplex there is no sync signal to determine which of the two times slots is slot 1 or slot 2.
One of the interesting aspects of DMR is with the right programming of the firmware a radio could supply the sync signal. In the case of the D578UV, from what I've read, can do this thus you can run a single frequency repeater, no offset or tuned cavity filters required. There are some other DMR radios that claim to have the feature as well.
https://www.ailunce.com/blog/What%27s-Single-frequency-repeater-function
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I'll be taking delivery in a few days of a handheld BF-F8HP for GMRS communication on this island and maybe goofing around when skip conditions are right. So, question: Is there a 6 or 7-foot omnidirectional antenna matched to my handheld that I can attach to the wooden railing right outside my door and then can take down at the end of the day?
Regards,
Scott
WRJX210
You can try the antennas from Ed Fong. He sells several models from base antennas to "roll-up" types for portable use. None require a ground plane so they are ideal for temporary use.
For a base type antenna look at this one.
"DBJ-1 (commercial) dual band base antenna - (152-157 MHz and 460-470 MHz). Maximum power input 75 watts. - $36"
For portable use< roll-up type, this should work.
DBJ-2 (commercial) dual band roll up antenna kit - (152-157 MHz and 460-470 MHz). Includes adapters for BNC, SMA and SMA - female. Also includes a 6 ft extension cable. Maximum power input 50 watts. - $36
The link to the website is below.
https://edsantennas.weebly.com/
These are "J-Pole" antennas. For some background on what they are a basic theory how they work can be found at the following link.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J-pole_antenna
Without seeing your situation a roll-up antenna might be a good choice if you have something nearby to throw a light string or rope over, like a tree limb. Then you just hoist the antenna up by the string, the higher the better. When you're done just drop it down and store it. Likely you can get away with leaving the string in place for next time.
Some years back when I lived in a ground floor apartment I used a portable light fiberglass "pushup mast" stuck in a heavy duty speaker tripod. That got a telescoping dual band antenna up about 20 feet. I ran the coax out of the window. This was done at night so as not to attract too much attention.
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You need an old computer to program I bought a $39 Tower with Win-XP RSS is available online if you know where to look.
As mentioned you can use VirtualBox to make a virtual machine and run Windows in it. You can get an old version of windows here. Using Windows XP usually isn't required so running Windows 2000 should work fine.
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What specific models should I look at for the ICOMs and the Kenwoods? Handhelds and portables. I have some familiarity with ICOM but that seems like a lifetime ago at this point. Thanks for the advice you two.
For Kenwood handheld radios I would also recommend the TK-370G-1 and the TK-3170. Both are part 95 certified.
https://5.imimg.com/data5/MT/AL/MY-2136226/tk-3170-handheld-portable-walkie-talkie.pdf
Make sure you get the type 1 radios. For UHF there are 2 or more models available. You want the one that includes 462 to 467 MHz in its operational ranges.
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So I finally figured out why my base station was dropping power (after having a defective power cable/fuse connection). Apparently there's a good amount of voltage being lost between my power supply and the Kenwood TK-8360 and when transmitting, it will eventually just shut it off. Maybe it's the inline glass fuses, the connections, not sure I've narrowed it down to loss in these cables after trying different cables.
I'm going to make new cables and use different/better inline fuse holders so the question is, do I need one on both red and black wires or can I put one just on the red side? I ask because that's all that's on the female 12volt cigarette lighter style cable I have so figure it might only be needed on the one wire.
Thanks
Have a look at this site for mobile wiring recommendations. While the topic is mobile Ham gear the same exact recommendations apply for GMRS radios.
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Mid atlantic region. GMRS/FRS 462.575. My daughter knows not to give out info, she is a smart cookie. I am filing a FCC complaint today. And I am going to call the local police and report the stuff he said to the kids. One of the repeater owners says he shut down a ham repeater as well so he has drawn alot of attention to himself.
I posted a link to this in another thread about the same exact topic.
http://www.repeater-builder.com/k7pp/art005.html
I think the best advise given is to stay away from the guy, do not confront him. You have no idea to what length he will go to if confronted. If he is asking for personal info from kids this would likely be of interest to the local police. The guy is maybe a known offender so the matter is better left to the local PD. They do keep close watch on these people.
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Well I'll find out with TYT. I have one of their cheap radios when I'm not particular about the performance. This one the internal microphone quit working, external speaker mic works fine. I suspect its a problem with the jack or a cracked solder connection on the circuit board. Either way I sent their tech support an email asking for a schematic and or service manual for it. I'll see if I really get one.
As a side note all of my Ham and commercial Kenwood radios I have the service manuals for them EXCEPT for the newest model, TH-D74A. All the other ones were easy to find and download online.
Well just an update. TYT won't supply a schematic but they did send me two new pin jacks free of charge. Granted CCR's are not the greatest radios but for a general "beater radio" its not bad. I'm not expecting great performance out of it. If I have real critical performance requirements I'll depend on my Kenwood radios.
People forget that years ago electronics made in Japan were considered a joke too. Now those same Japanese companies have upped their game producing quality products and are respected manufactures today. I wouldn't count out the Chinese where down the road they end up producing top quality products at some point.
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Question is, how are we as customers going to convince the corporations to move production back to the states, when they have cheap Chinese labor?
The argument here is nothing more than stating the sad current state of affairs the US has got itself into...
Well there are really two issues here. One is cheap labor. Second is cheap design.
You can still move manufacturing back to the US and still produce garbage because the design was cheap. The CCR's are the way they are because of both of the above factors. Cheap labor keeps cost down. A cheap design that takes maximum advantage of highly integrated chips which very often results in a compromise somewhere in performance with a trade off in reduced cost. Now you have a really cheap radio with so-so performance.
There is a reason why the higher end radios perform better, cost more, than many CCR's is because more effort was made during the design and testing phase with less corners in performance cut. To design high performance hardware requires very careful evaluation of nearly every component used. For a $25 Baofeng just how much R and D money do you think they are going to spend on such a cheap radio? For the CCR's they use a "datasheet" reference design, tweak it a bit. Then try some "can you hear me now tests" and then it goes to marketing.
- gman1971, AdmiralCochrane, n4gix and 1 other
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Editor's note, the linked site runs a network that runs against FCC rules. Furthermore, they have been contacting our network users to try to bring them over to their network, sometimes by offering help and logging into their node and switching them over. I strongly recommend you steer clear of them, and certainly we won't tolerate cross-linking between the two networks as it has caused problems.
Just for my info what FCC rules are they violating?
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Can you use a hotspot on GMRS frequencies?
I think the closest thing to what you're asking is a "simplex node" connected to the linked GMRS repeater network.
For an example have a look here. It looks like a modified Baofeng BF-888S UHF radio was used. These radios go for $15 or less on-line.
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Thank you! So you can do FPP on those, that is nice, its some sort of VFO, but without scanning, which can still be helpful.
G.
Yes. Look on page 11 of the service manual for how it's done for the TK-370G models with full keypads. A hardware mode needs to be done in addition to enabling self programming in the software.
http://www.repeater-builder.com/kenwood/pdfs/tk-360g-tk-370g-svc-man.pdf
For the older TK-370 32 channel model the instructions are here.
http://rsws.zapto.org/radiosoftware/kenwood/Tk270.pdf
After looking at how it's done for the 370G I would rather use the software. Trying to do this in the field would be "interesting" to say the least.
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TM-V7A... wow... that is pushing right there.. .the TH-F6a was produced since 2001 IIRC... it still is a great radio,
G.
I still have my very first radio, a Kenwood TH-G71A dual band, I purchased new. Had some repairs done on it over the years but still in great shape and working. Only draw back is it can't do narrow band.
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Could someone please put a couple of Kenwood portable quick Pros/Cons? Does anyone like ICOM UHF portables?
I can speak to the few Kenwood portables I own. Those are:
TK-370G-1 (FCC ID ALH29473110), 128 channel, wide/narrow band setting per channel
TK-3170-1 (FCC ID ALH34713110), 128 channel, wide/narrow band setting per channel
TK-3140-1 (FCC ID ALH32263110), 250 channel, wide/narrow band setting per channel
TK-370-1 (FCC ID ALHTK-370-1), 32 channel, wide band only
TK-3160 (FCC ID ALH36423110), 16 channel, wide/narrow band setting per channel
TK-3360 (FCC ID ALH415100), 16 channel, wide/narrow band setting per channel
Pro's:
All of the above are Part 90 certified, however the 370G, 3170, 3140 and the 370 are also Part 95 certified thus are perfectly legal to use for GMRS.
The 370G and 370 are larger older models, built like a tank and a bit on the heavy side. All the other radios are "palm-sized".
Depending on the radio they will take either a nickle metal hydride or lithium ion battery pack. Some will take either one. The battery packs and chargers seem easy to find, original or clone on line.
All of the radios, except the 3140, use the standard Kenwood style two pin accessories and use the cheap "Baofeng", cheap Chinese, programming cable. The 3140 however uses the Motorola type multi-pin adapter for accessories and programming cable.
I've had good luck finding the programming software with license keys on line. Some have the "engineer's" key which lets you do anything with the radio even if it's password locked.
If one wants to use the radios for the Ham 70cm band some model sdo cover 440 MHz and up, or allows entry of frequencies below the lower official band limit, 450 MHz, with a warning popup. The radios will operate there. From what I've read the Kenwood radios seem to work about 5 percent outside of the official band limits so for a lower limit of 450 MHz you likely can get the radio to work down to 440 MHz. I've got mine programed that way, and the simplex along with the repeater section are primarily above 440 MHz anyway.
I've had good luck finding operator and service manuals for these radios as well.
Con's:
The radios are typically only 4 watts max output, option to select low of 1 watt. The difference between 5 watts and 4 watts I doubt is noticeable in practice.
Chrip doesn't fully support these radios, and with most of them it's very buggy. I highly recommend using the official Kenwood software.
They all use, except the 370, the reverse SMA antenna connector you find on just about every cheap Chinese radio. I think, my guess, is when they designed the CCR's they simply copied an existing interface design, looks like they picked Kenwood. The 370's antenna connector however uses the old Motorola screw stud type antenna connector.
No true VFO. However on a few of the radios, after removing a configuration diode and enabling the feature in the programming software, the radio can be front panel programmed, but only to a memory slot. I know the -370G is possible since it's covered in the service manual, not sure about the others.
Most of the radios do offer some form of security, voice scrambling or inversion, but legally it can't be used, at least not on the Ham or GMRS services. For Part 90 service I don't think that's a problem.
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Cons
-No VFO, if you like that sort of thing. I thought I would miss that, I haven't, and I think its been nearly a year since I stopped carrying my Alinco MD5...
That may not be as big a negative as you would think.
Looking at the ARRL band plan for the 70cm band the simplex section isn't that big. So, on some of my Kenwood radios I programed in a series of simplex frequencies like 446.000, 446.025, 446.050 etc. You can look at your area to see what they typical channel spacing is. The memory names were 446-000, 446-025, 446-050 etc. Now when I rotate the channel selector it sort of looks like a VFO. Not perfect but does a good job. The radios I have use "zones" so the "VFO" channels were assigned to its own zone for convenience.
Other zones were assigned the GMRS channels, repeaters etc. That kept everything organized. Then I programmed one of the function keys to switch zones.
Even with a 128 channel radio I was able to cover most of the simplex sections with a few repeaters and the GMRS channels too. If you can find a radio with 250 or more channels you likely can cover everything with spare memory channels for future use.
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Speak for yourself, but there are published schematics, alignment, and tune-up, and all you have to do is ask Wouxun for them. Baofeng, TYT, Anytone, etc are all different companies, of course.
Well I'll find out with TYT. I have one of their cheap radios when I'm not particular about the performance. This one the internal microphone quit working, external speaker mic works fine. I suspect its a problem with the jack or a cracked solder connection on the circuit board. Either way I sent their tech support an email asking for a schematic and or service manual for it. I'll see if I really get one.
As a side note all of my Ham and commercial Kenwood radios I have the service manuals for them EXCEPT for the newest model, TH-D74A. All the other ones were easy to find and download online.
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sellers rarely seem to know anything except that they are radios. Can you point out where this info can be found. I spent about a half hour searching and am coming up blank on these answers.
As you pointed out many sellers have little to no clue, wrong description, wrong model, wrong band split etc. for the radio they are selling. As a buyer one should do the research and know something about the brand and model of radio before bidding or buying one used.FWIW sellers with little clue about what they are selling is where I have got the best deals verses sellers that are in the radio business who do know, and they typically charge too much in my opinion in many cases.
The two things I do is look for a photo showing the manufacture's model number on the ID tag, normally on the back of the radio someplace, and the FCC certification number. From that I can research that model for the brochures, user manuals and service manuals. The FCC certification number leads to the FCC grant info where i can see just what bandwidth, band split and power the radio was tested at and certified.
After that I'll also look to see if the programming software is "obtainable" and any required cables or interface box can be procured, same with battery packs for portable units and chargers.
For some portable units I have checked for availability of cheap aftermarket case rebuild kits. Some of the used radios the electronics are likely fine but the case is in very poor condition or simply broken. If I can get a radio that is fully functional cheap and a case rebuild kit for 10 to 15 bucks I end up with a very nice radio for an overall good deal.
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Looks like it's about the same thing as the Kenwood TK-3360's. They even look similar.
Kenwood's TK-2360/3360
https://www.kenwood.com/usa/Support/pdf/TK-2360_3360.pdf
Motorola's CP200 base model
https://bearcom.com/media/catalog/product/files/cp200xls.pdf
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The point about using CCR’s as an entry to the radio hobby, because it’s low cost, until one figures out if they really like it or not is valid.
However the flip side of the coin has to do with real world performance. Most of the CCR’s perform poorly in the receiver section, low sensitivity, susceptible to overloading, poor selectively etc. A newbie, with no prior two way radio experience, their poor perception of radio communications is due to the budget priced radios poor performance and not really a representative example. That alone may convince them it’s not worth continuing down the road all because of a poor choice of equipment to start out with, and they don’t even know it.
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These answers don't directly answer my question. 65cm (the wavelength of the GMRS band) is ~25 inches. A half wave antenna would be ~12 inches. My home made Slim JIM (which gives me swr's below 1.17) is about 19 inches overall including the lower loop. Wouldn't a properly tuned J pole for GMRS will be about the same size?
No. The J-Pole antenna is a 1/2 wave length long for the radiating section. The end of the antenna has a rather high impedance making for a very poor match to 50 ohm coax. Thus the extra length is due to an additional 1/4 wave matching section, the section with the short length of extra conductor parallel to the long one, where the tap point selected yields the desired 50 ohms. The overall length will be closer to 3/4 wave length long. At 462MHz the wave length is about 64.7 cm (25.8 inches) and 3/4's of that would be 19.1 inches, just what you measured.
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Yeah, but that's vendor side issues. They were on the hook for warranty issues and not getting the support from Wouxun that they wanted. I'm not privy to the contract, so can't speak to the details, but clearly they wanted to stick it to them.
Cricket seems to be going all-in with them to make sort of like them their own private house brand - Wouxun generally makes products to spec for companies buying them, and their radios are built like LEGO kits ... I think they make a grand total of three distinct models, with hundreds of variations. And, to be fair, Powerwerx did this as well, and it's worked out well for them.
Good point.
If Wouxun is not supporting their vendors then as a user what kind of support will one see from the vendor with warranty issues? It would be easy to say send it back to China because we can't support it anymore. As a customer with a problem radio does one want to get stuck in the middle of a dispute between the manufacture and their local sales/service rep's?
Anyway it's another data point to consider when making a purchasing decision.
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Somewhat bummed
in General Discussion
Posted
FCC database search for the Virgin Islands shows only 15 active licensed GMRS users. I didn’t drill down to see who was located where however. If they are spread out over multiple islands your chance of contacting one on the air likely isn’t very high.
The chance of contacting someone using a cheap FRS radio, simplex only since they don’t have repeater functions, might be higher.
I would also suggest you look at getting at least your Ham Tech class license. That will increase the opportunity of contacting somebody during an emergency. About a third of the group of GMRS users on my local repeater are also licensed Hams.