Lscott

These aren’t the right questions. What is missing is not fully reading the applicable regulations for each service first. What wears on people is not being conversant with the regulations and trying to debate the topic. The knowledgeable people will just quit responding.

You can go fishing at least.

I used this for years when I lived in a ground floor apartment. Not ideal but it did work. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/268-ca-2x4sr/?context=new

We know, you just can’t help yourself. If the government didn’t create a bunch of rules to complain about we would beg our congress critters to make some. Otherwise we would need to find something useful to do with our time.

It’s far easier from an administrative standpoint. Manufactures only have the technical requirements for one service to meet the qualifications for certification rather than four. Some of those requirements are incompatible with the other services. If the rules change for one then the radio would lose the certification for all. That’s how it would have to work. Assuming people would just refrain from using that service where the radio can’t meet the requirements is not going to happen. The fiasco with combo FRS/GMRS radios before the 2017 rule changes is a case in point. Almost nobody got the GMRS required license to use at the time GMRS exclusive channels.

It gets more interesting if they DON’T have a license. In that case by using the repeater they are obviously breaking the FCC GMRS rules. If a legally licensed user accesses it without permission what are they going to do, complain to the FCC? Then they end up with a big fat fine, maybe get the radios and repeater confiscated. They would be better off saying nothing and continue using it since the FCC isn’t interested, yet, and ignoring the other users.

I would inspect it VERY THOROUGHLY AND CAREFULLY first. Depending on materials a cheap galvanized steel tower may have rusted through sections that can fail in a wind gust. Aluminum would be better. Other things to look for are cracks in the main vertical supports. Look at the welds where the zig-zag stiffing members attach to the main side supports. Another is at the top where the mast mounts to the tower. Cheap towers are nice. But not when they fail, falling on the utility wires, house, garage or your ride. Maybe even you.

I do the same at home. Also use a CCR at work to monitor the channels and the local mall’s security staff.

There is another kind of grinder, but it has nothing in common with coffee.

That's why it's recommended to read the new radio first and save that file. If the memory ever gets corrupted at least you have a good memory file to reload to get the radio functioning again. Any changes should be made to the original file then loaded into the radio.

That's reasonably quick. I have the same radio.

I have my various radios setup for scanning. The channels are programmed for FRS, narrow band. Most of the simplex traffic is done using cheap FRS radios used by local businesses, hotels etc., and kids. Businesses use them due to the low cost and no license requirements. The legitimate GMRS traffic is normally on the local repeaters. Additionally I have various business band specific frequencies programmed to monitor things like a couple of local malls security activities. At times that can get very interesting.

Don’t pick the ones on TicTok or OnlyFans. You can do better.

No. Generally mobile equipment is designed to operate at a nominal 13.8VDC plus or minus 15 percent at most. That would be nearly 16VDC on the high side. Take a look at the manual at the following link. https://www.buytwowayradios.com/downloads/dl/file/id/1411/product/5287/wouxun_kg_1000g_owners_manual.pdf Look at page 80.

True. I was talking to another ham across town in the Detroit area here on a local repeater many years ago. That repeater didn’t have a courtesy tone. If you didn’t know better it sounded like two guys talking simplex. Anyway another ham broke in on the output frequency, full quieting. We thought he was local using the repeater. Then he asked were we were located. We told him our approximate location by local towns around the main Detroit area. The guy didn’t seem to have a clue what we were talking about. When we asked him for his location we were shocked to discover he was on a mountain in New York State. This was all on the 2 meter band.

Depending on the DMR radio it might have a monitoring or promiscuous mode. That allows the radio to decode any DMR signal without the necessity of using the correct color code, slot number or talk group. For example my D878 has this feature. Turns out to be handy at times. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/270-d878uv-model-1/?context=new

You're better off spending your money on radio equipment than some woke Karens.

Midland, good luck with that. If they get the data from a cell phone app why even bother with the two way radio?

I've run across mentions that it's illegal to manufacture and or sell a device, likely includes software, for the purpose of intercepting encrypted communications. I also ran across a number of comments on, I think it was GitHub, where a request was made to add some digital decryption features to the SDR radio software. The replies were basically no, due to potential legal issues. There is also an interesting section in 18 US code section 2512 which seems to say the same thing. Note the language used, "surreptitious interception", which could be interpreted as cracking encrypted communications. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2512 I know that some SDR software will "identify" encrypted communications, maybe even which type, but will not decrypt it. That appears to be by design.

Would have been even more hilarious if the FCC replies with their "advertised claim" of "up to 20 miles" using FRS radios they see no need to grant the waver. Maybe we would get some more realistic range estimates on the packaging from manufactures.

No. Too many people want to reinvent the wheel so to speak.

Most likely that's just BS. Manufactures still stick crap like that on their products hoping some will believe it. https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2022/07/ftc-says-companies-warranty-restrictions-were-illegal

There never was. Advances in decryption algorithm design, number theory etc. soon renders many cryptographic techniques obsolete. The point of most encryption in the public arena is to foil the "casual" radio monitor. i.e. those with scanners, or scanning two way radios. Making the cost, in terms of time and hardware, significantly higher than the value of the intercepted communications deters most people from bothering to try. I have on order several ARC4 40 bit encryption licenses for my NX-1300 DMR radios. Is it secure? No, but should be good enough to lock out the "casual" monitor when used infrequently and the key switched on a frequent basis when it is used. Some of my other radios, the NXDN and P25 types, can use a special digital encryption module, which requires a special cable and external hardware key loader. Those modules are expensive. They also have to meet various tests for security. See attached file. There are also various types of analog scrambling modules too. I've attached a sample for a TK-3170 radio. Kenwood Secure Cryptographic Module.pdf Midian-TVS-2-KW2-VPU-15-KW2-Manual.pdf

I think if Hams were honest many would admit to owning one or more radios like this. Some are specifically modified while others are opened up out of the box. The later isn’t just the cheap Chinese radios either. The Part 90 radios are one huge category as an example. I have a huge collection of those. I have several buddies new to GMRS and Ham back a few years with such radios. I had to do my due diligence and advise them of the rules and potential FCC enforcement actions if they operated outside of their licensed bands. They’re big boys and make their own decisions and that’s where I leave it. If they do at least they do so informed. Then we have fun conversations about radio etc.

How many think about this when operating FM? When the deviation is 5KHz the typical bandwidth is 16KHz. If the center frequency is 5 KHz below the upper edge the signal will extend past the band limit technically. The occupied bandwidth extends 8 KHz above and below the center frequency.