Lscott

That only works to the extent you can keep the tones secret. The weakest link in any security method are the people. Sooner or later someone is going to tell a buddy what the odd tone is so they can talk. Then you’re done.

I believe that’s patented Motorola technology. In that case you’re limited to Motorola radios. I guess if it’s just for your family it’s likely no big deal. You can program the radios for them.

That was the primary purpose the FCC had for GMRS. Simple communication for the general public.

Not really. The ideas are fairly basic if you don't jump into the theory really deep. Doing some searching on the Internet one can find some sites that do a decent job of explaining the fundamentals. If you get into building and designing antennas a bit more knowledge is required.

Good recommendation. The main issue with linked repeaters is when one is used the whole system is in use over a wide area making the additional repeaters rather useless. For example when two locals are talking, on their locally linked repeater, why would somebody 200 miles away care about their conversation when all they want is to contact their base station from across town using their locally linked repeater. With many of the Ham repeaters, particularly the digital voice mode ones, have a way to either access the repeater and keep the communications local or address a remote repeater(s) specifically for a link.

But you also see a lot of them hanging on the user's belt, in pockets and strapped to utility vests. Some even have provisions for sticking the antenna on the speaker microphone. Can't design for every usage condition.

Simple answer you can't can't. Some people have toyed with the idea of using a single frequency "trunked" repeater where every radio has to be registered with the ESN, by using the internal Electronic Serial Number, to authorized access. As far as I know there isn't a way to change the radio's ESN. The typical analog system is known as LTR, Logical Trunked Radio, and the variation using the radio's ESN called Passport. Some people have bumped into used radios with the special Passport firmware loaded. When they try to reprogram the radio using the "normal" software the display shows SJ-180 and fails to load the code plug. I even had a used Kenwood TK-3180 HT with that firmware loaded. I managed to load the normal LTR firmware so I could use the regular radio programming software. I do have a copy of the special SJ-180 programming software too. This is also fairly common on digital voice mode repeaters. The process to get a radio on one of those is a bit more complex requiring a "system key" file, licenses etc. just to program the radio. Normally with those radios you can't even read the radio without the system key file. There are hacked versions of the radio programming software out there that will read the radio and save the contents as a ".srv" service file without it. See attached screen shots of a used NXDN trunked radio I read with that software. Understanding Passport Radio Systems App Note.pdf

You hear the same crap about CW too. If you can't "beep" at 25 WPM you're not a real Ham.

I would be VERY careful taking a two-way radio to most countries. While it's "safer" to take Ham gear you can still run into issues. You get stopped for inspection the custom agent is going to ask a lot of questions about why you have it. Without proper documentation you might end up getting your radio confiscated on the spot. In some countries it's not even legal to "monitor" communications you're not licensed to use! One example is the UK. https://www.monitoringtimes.com/html/mtlaws_may04.html I wouldn't even consider taking a radio to Mexico. The police might think you're a cartel member. Any cartel member seeing your two-way radio might think you're an under cover cop or rival cartel member. Either way you could get shot.

You might want to consider up-sizing the coax to LMR-600 for that long length.

You need to stack a few Yagis up and dump that wimpy dish.

They are going to be close to the antenna and in what is known as the "near field" so it couples into the driven element. That can booger up the impedance match, SWR issues, and the radiation pattern. It's not a guarantee you'll have problems but keeping the antenna away from from structures like that will at least avoid the potential for them. You read through the past comments over time here and you'll see this mentioned from various people.

If you don't have a GOOD ground plane for a 5/8 wave antenna, they really need it, don't waste your money on one. If it's a true 1/2 wave they don't need a ground plane so you can mount them just about anywhere so long as you keep it away from nearby vertical metal supports, like roof pillars.

The aluminum foil won't hurt the magnet at all. Don't worry about it. Sticking something magnetic on the back side of the foil the magnet can be attracted to is a good idea to hold the foil in place. The foil needs to be a rough square at lest 6 inches on a side or a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Put the magnet mount in the center.

I can verify that. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/427-adapters-connectorsjpeg/?context=new

Good. I know a few who don't, and they are Extra's too. Sad.

Good points. Most Hams are "appliance operators" these days. Still the value is learning the rules. At least memorizing them is about all you can do so that part isn't any different. As for the rest, well, I guess experience is the real teacher. Maybe then the rest of it might start to make some sense.

You can ask questions with an in-person class. Can't do that with a YouTube video and get instant feedback.

You sure it wasn't due to a temporary "climate change"?

You need a few more zip-ties on the cable. I imagine that's to try and take the weight off the cable connector at the base of the antenna.

My experience with a similar type I picked up cheap at a Ham swap. On the Ham 70cm band it wasn't too bad. On VHF it was VERY narrow banded to the point of being mostly useless. The SWR on GMRS put it out of the running. Oh well I got a decent magnet mount out of the deal.

I think today will be one where Ham, GMRS and CB radio is going to get a bit of a workout. People driving around trying to beat out the traffic to find a good location to view the eclipse. With the weather forecast being crummy in some areas getting up to date viewing conditions is going to cause a lot of last minute scrambling to get to a better site.

It's not really a switch, but a coax relay. Plus it uses a 28VDC coil voltage. Not something easily available in a motor vehicle. I have a couple of coax relays but they use SMA connectors. Picked these up a long time ago for a project, but never got used.

That's mostly true. An effective antenna needs to be at least a 1/4 wavelength long so on 6M that would be around 57 inches long at mid band. The short helical antennas used on the radios are so inefficient that most of your power is wasted. It's the same story with those old "full power" 11M CB radio HT's. The range on them was poor. The only thing that comes close to a useful 1/4 wave antenna on an HT is on the UHF band, Ham 70cm or GMRS. On those bands a 1/4 wave antenna is only about 6 inches long, about what the usual HT antenna size is on an UHF HT. The antennas for 2M and 1.25M on an HT are also inefficient, but nowhere as bad as 6M. One other point. The 6M band usually doesn't see much activity unless there is a band opening. And when it does it's typically on sideband where you'll find most of the people. Some people claim that propagation on 1.25M is better than on 2M. I'm guessing it's due to a sort of a compromise between 2M VHF and 70CM UHF. Activity on the band ranges from nil to active depending on location. Not many people have equipment for 1.25M as it is. If you're into Ham digital voice modes there are currently only three radios I know of that can do a digital voice mode on 2M, 1.25M and 70cm bands. Two are Kenwood, TH-D74A and the TH-D75A, which only does D-Star. The other is the Anytone D578 series, which does DMR.

Here are a few more models. These antennas are a bit less common. The worse one to build and model was the 11 turn helix. I was looking at that for a satellite UHF down link. In the end I went with an 11 element Yagi from M2 Antennas. It was smaller, far easier to aim and the gain was about the same. The only thing lost was the circular polarization. https://antenna-theory.com/antennas/travelling/helix.php https://www.m2inc.com/categories/commercial/antennas/helical.html The rest are a bit more common. Corner Reflector: https://www.arrowantennas.com/solid/cr4501.html Eggbeater: http://146970.com/PDFs/Antenna Eggbeater-Revisited-English.pdf Turnstile: http://www.on5au.be/Cebik-2/SomeNotesOnTurnstileAntennaProperties.pdf https://www.qsl.net/g4hbt/dipole.htm The Turnstile model doesn't use the "typical" dipole phasing cable setup. Turnstile.EZ Eggebeater Rev 8C.EZ 90 deg 70cm Corner Reflector Rev 2.EZ 11 Turn Helix.EZ