Lscott
-
Posts
2936 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
100
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Gallery
Classifieds
Posts posted by Lscott
-
-
6 hours ago, JoCoBrian said:
Do they still offer free testing down at Our Lady of Perpetual Motion? I get 100's on all my practice exams, how do I get to take the Master exam, the one above Extra.
The FCC do have commercial radio telephone licenses, but that’s not part of the Amateur Service.
-
There is nothing that prevents anyone from purchasing a cheaper analog only radio if they are happy with that mode of operation.
I think one of the concerns with digital has to do with the band being run over by an influx of digital users. That was one of the reasons the use of channels 8-14 was suggested. For typical GMRS operations those are rather useless channels. By restricting digital to just those, by design of the radio (firmware), the rule would be enforceable. That leaves the rest open to those who only want analog FM.
I'm not concerned about what effect it might have on FRS. After all they have the same exact simplex channel access that licensed GMRS users enjoy. That means if they don't like the digital stuff on 8-14 then pick another simplex channel to use. Don't forget they are also limited to narrow band and 0.5 watts on those channels as well. They aren't anymore useful to FRS users than they are for GMRS users. Both are stuck with with the same limitations. IMHO if FRS users want access to digital then pay for a GMRS license, buy a compatible radio and quit complaining. Right now they are using the spectrum for free.
Anyway the point I was making in that paper was trying to crack open the door to digital voice operation on GMRS that would at least have a good chance of coexisting with FM users while not pushing the FCC into doing a lot of work. The less screwing around they have to do with the rules the more likely they might go for the idea.
-
14 hours ago, nokones said:
What would those advantages be?
DMR has some attractive features.
1. Being a TDMA, time division multiple access, mode the transmitter is only working half the time. For a handheld radio that works out to a significant increase in operating time on a battery pack. That's a huge consideration for those who want the radio to last all day while out hiking the tails.
2. DMR, along with other digital voice modes, provide clear noiseless audio out to near the limit of the range typical of an analog only radio. Where the analog radio starts breaking up and getting very difficult to copy the digital signal is still clear.
3. With the proper radios that can auto negotiate the slot timing among themselves, that's the main caveat, you get two voice paths on a single channel.
4. Finally there are radios that can operate in SFR mode, single frequency repeater, without the duplexer requirement typically necessary for an analog repeater. The SFR, as the name suggests, allows the equivalent of a full duplex analog repeater but using ONLY one frequency, no offsets required.
The trick is allowing the use of ANY digital voice mode on GMRS. Some of the objections voiced by several other posters are legitimate. I would suggest you look at this post and read the attached file that goes into the issues a bit more. It's meant as nothing more than to get some ideas out there.
https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/5720-new-repeater-channels-for-gmrs-in-2024/page/2/#comment-57605
-
That solid sheet metal ground plane will be a HUGE wind load at highway speeds. I can just picture it ripping off the roof rack rail. It was ok for a static test but you need something else. The following link is a suggestion. If you’re using an NMO mount then you need to look for a kit like the one in the link using that mount type.
https://www.amazon.com/WORKMAN-WIL-KIT-W-ELEMENT-MOBILE-GROUND/dp/B01D3ITZ9C
-
59 minutes ago, BidenSucks said:
@Lscott The ghost is just what came with the unit. Open to any other antennas, dont care about profile, but they all seem to have fixed PL259 connectors (please correct me if Im wrong) which makes routing more difficult due to path size requirements. I think Im going to try to rig up a metal plate attachment for the roof to try to test out the current antenna. I have trouble believing there is so little apparent activity locally as Im Las Vegas, though when the local sunday evening net was in progress, there was clearly a lot of people active and the reception was crystal clear, so Im still a bit confused as to issue. I may try interrupting their meeting and get a radio check. Hopefully I have the proper programming config.
You just might be unlucky to be in an area with low activity.
You can try scanning all the channels using narrow band. That would make the radio compatible with FRS radios. Usually the FRS radios are frequently employed by hotels and other small business since they don't require a license and they are cheap. See if you can get any activity that way.
-
13 hours ago, BidenSucks said:
d) other suggestions to resolve the performance issue?
A lot of people seem to be attracted to those "Ghost" antennas due to their small size. IMHO I've never been impressed with their performance. Some may have had better luck with them.
I picked one up at a Ham swap a while back since it was cheap to test out. The results weren't that good.
If someone wants a small antenna I would just go with a simple 1/4 wave type, easy one is a magnet mount. It's only going to be about 6 to 7 inches tall anyway. These have a WIDE bandwidth so when trimmed right could be usable over the Ham 70cm band and the GMRS band too.
At the frequencies used by GMRS the ground plane required is only about 6 inches in radius around the antenna base for uniform coverage. The magnet mount achieves the connection to the ground plane through the base using capacitive coupling. You don't need a solid connection.
Antenna Scan Results (Stealth Dual Band VHF).pdf Antenna Scan Results (Stealth Dual Band UHF).pdf
- gortex2 and wayoverthere
-
2
-
Here's a list of common business itinerant frequencies.
-
Due to the crazy Canadian wildfires the Detroit area has one of the nations highest (worst) AQI, air quality indexes, the last day or so at 299!
https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/detroit/48226/air-quality-index/348755
That got me thinking about using a mask to filter out the smoke particles and still use a two way radio. They make some systems to use with some types of masks.
https://www.mirasafety.com/blogs/news/communications-earpiece-gas-mask-comms
Anyone ever use something like this?
-
42 minutes ago, Newb said:
New 50 amp switching power supply tripping GFIC the minute it is turned on. ?????
Many of the switching power supplies use simple capacitive input filters. When switched on the high inrush current to charge them up can pop fuses and circuit breakers. The better power supplies have a “soft start” circuit that slowly charges the input filter capacitors over a few seconds.
If your power supply has a soft-start circuit it might not be working.
-
1 hour ago, WRXE944 said:
Except when they are on 2 Meters.
"Mostly" is only good if it is in your neighborhood.
There are a few digital voice repeaters on 2M, but nowhere near the number on 70cm. You can discover that easy enough by simply doing a search for one or more digital voice modes on "repeaterbook.com". There is far more spectrum on UHF for various modes that is in short supply on VHF. I also started a thread on this forum some time back on the same issue. The general consensus was UHF is where most of the digital voice mode activity is found.
-
-
3 hours ago, fe2o3 said:
Yes, I program NOAA Wx into all my radios that can receive those freq's, be they GMRS or HAM.
It's handy if I go driving cross country. Here, north of Dallas, when the conditions are right, I can pick up NWS transmitters on all or most of the freq's.There was a line of heavy T-storms that moved through Michigan early last night. I was out in Oxford Mi visiting so tried to get one of the stations for the latest updates. Reception sucked, couldn't pickup crap on any of the usual frequencies, and that was with a commercial grade HT VHF radio too, not some POS CCR one. The ability is nice to have but it doesn't work at times, likely when you really need it.
-
3 hours ago, back4more70 said:
When I got the KG-935G+, I searched for hours for ways to open it up, and no dice.
Some radios I had luck hex editing the code plug to put in frequencies the software ordinarily wouldn’t allow.
I had a buddy gifted me 3 two channel Kenwood ProTalk radios he had kicking around his shop ready for the trash bin. They were worthless for Ham use since there was no way to enter non approved frequencies into them there the radio buttons or programming software he could findhttp://www.vincentcom.com/pdf/KENWOODPDF/TK-3200.pdf
Those you can only select from a list of hard coded frequencies in the programming software or in the radios firmware. Of course none of them were in the ham band or GMRS. After a bit of digging around with a hex editor I was able to put in the local GMRS wide area coverage repeater on one memory slot and the GMRS simplex travel channel on the other memory slot directly in the code plug. Now at least they’re useful for something.Other radios one might can hack the code plug to put them on frequencies they weren’t originally intended to use.
-
-
-
2 hours ago, jwilkers said:
Those modified rigs use a wider deviation than what is allowed for cb. You may find them a bit quiet and you will.sound garbled to them.
Sent from my SM-A136U using Tapatalk
The deviation for 11M FM CB I believe is 2KHz. The closest match would be narrow band FM at 2.5KHz.
-
14 minutes ago, WRWH978 said:
Thanks, great suggestion- hoping to find a TK-3170 that's in decent condition, some of the ones look like my dad's old chevy truck.
You'll have to shop around a bit. Don't get in a rush to buy one. A second alternative is the TK-3173. It's the same radio but with trunking features, which you won't care about for GMRS. It's programmed using the same software and cable as the TK-3170.
http://www.swscomm.com/kenwood/TK-3173.pdf
Oh, before I forget the radios are Part 95 certified to so they are perfectly legal to use on GMRS.
Also make sure you get a US market code model. They are several different types out there. I got two from Ireland a while back that required a different version of the software to program them. Look at the photos and VERIFY it has an FCC ID of "ALH34713110". Sellers frequently get the description wrong so looking at the FCC ID is a good way to be sure what you're looking at is what you want.
If you get either one I have all the documentation, brochures - user manuals - service manuals, for them. I also have the programming software and the most current radio firmware too.
While the official frequency range is 450MHz to 490MHz you can program in frequencies under 450MHz for use on the Ham 70cm band if you have a license or thinking about getting one. The software will generate a warning every time you do that but will accept the entry when you click OK. I have a number of Ham 70cm repeaters programmed in mine and it does work. One of the reasons I like Kenwood radios. Some other manufactures won't let you do this.
-
15 minutes ago, WRWH978 said:
Anybody own one of these? I see them on ebay for $150, beyond paying for the Icom brand name, is it more of a robust GMRS radio? Just curious.
No, but you can download the brochure for it here.
https://www.icomamerica.com/en/downloads/DownloadDocument.aspx?Document=202
It looks like a simple stripped down GMRS radio, 15 channels with no display. IMHO that's way too much for a radio in this class with so few features.
I would look at some of the other commercial UHF radios for that kind of money you're talking about. Myself I use a Kenwood TK-3170. These turn up for sale used for the money you're talking about with a battery pack, antenna and a charger base. The programming software is easy to find on the internet and the programming cables are cheap.
-
11 hours ago, Adamdaj said:
must make a confession; I have programmed a DMR radio and made several tests on 151.6250. I know that violates Rules & Regulation, but I figure as long as I did it low keyed and not use it for casual conversation, what's the problem?
You're not licensed to use it.
11 hours ago, Adamdaj said:Plus that frequency in my general vicinity isn't used.
You know that for a fact?
11 hours ago, Adamdaj said:The Q mart uses it, but I'm at lease 4 to 6 miles away that I wouldn't interfere with them.
Did you go there and ask them to be sure?
This is how it usually starts. The typical excuses:
"I'm not hurting anyone"
"I'm not interfering with anything"
"Nobody uses the frequency anyway"
"The FCC doesn't care"
and so it goes. Why bother with rules when people ignore them anyway? That's how the CB 11M band ended up the mess it became in the late 70's and early 80's. And that's not talking about the freebanders above 27.405MHz. Hams can tell you all about the illegals operating on the lower end of the CW section of the 10M band.
-
42 minutes ago, WRXN668 said:
These list prices are to prevent your average schmuck from buying those licenses. It's a form of security through obscurity since most hobbyists cannot justify such inflated prices.
I can’t justify it for hobby use.
-
3 minutes ago, Sshannon said:
Why not just set the IC-FR4000 to 50 watts and run it through the duplexer and skip the amplifier?
That's a good suggestion. Also want to mention the loss through the duplexer could be made up with a higher gain antenna too.
Some repeater owners have complained about desense on the RX section of their setup. It seems counter intuitive but DROPPING the transmit power level improved things.
Think about what exactly is going on. The antenna is being used for both TX and RX simultaneously. The higher TX power also will be coupled back into the RX section. To maintain the same isolation margin would require more isolation in the duplexer. Since the duplexer hasn't changed you effectively REDUCED the gain margin as seen by the RX section..
-
1 hour ago, Sshannon said:
I would look at commercial radios to see if any settling has occurred.
IMHO that's driven by money. The cost of P25 radios is crazy. Looking at the used market I can buy a used digital commercial radio for just about any voice mode, except for P25, for less.
Example, Kenwood's new HT's, the NX-5000 series, comes with NXDN as standard. It can be configured to do DMR and P25 by simply writing a license key to the radio to enable the feature. The attached image is from their 2022 catalog. The cost for just P25 Phase 1 conventional is staggering compared to DMR. Then if you want to add trunking for P25 you'll need some deep pockets and a fat checkbook.
Because of the costs if P25 is not mandated by the state, or some other agency, people are opting for either DMR or NXDN. They are the lower cost options.
To gauge who uses what mode a search of the following database returns some interesting results. The primary users of P25 seems to be various Federal, state, county and city governments.
https://digitalfrequencysearch.com/index.php
-
28 minutes ago, WRXN668 said:
If there is a desire for digital modes on this sort of license it would probably make sense for the FCC to carve out a new bit of spectrum to use for it that isn't shared with another service
I had a paper I wrote up that covers my idea in a bit more detail in another thread. I think the issue you mentioned is addressed it it.
https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/5720-new-repeater-channels-for-gmrs-in-2024/page/2/#comment-57605
28 minutes ago, WRXN668 said:GMRS is not really intended for the sort of experimentation
People get hung up on thinking that adding digital voice to GMRS is about "experimentation", no it's not. It's about quality of service which you did mention in a round about way earlier in your post.
-
12 minutes ago, WRXN668 said:
Digital modes on amateur radio are something that feels unsettled. I know of mutually-incompatible D-STAR, Fusion, and DMR, and I think there are others that I'm just not acquainted with.
There is another commercial modes you didn't list, NXDN and P25 Phase 1 and P25 Phase 2. Then there is one that's used commercially in the EU, dPMR and the tier-1 version for their license free dPMR446 service. dPMR isn't used in North American to any great degree that I've been able to discover to date. dPMR and NXDN are very similar but use a different protocol.
Then there is the real oddball M17. It's billed as an amateur only mode using all open source code including for the voice codec.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M17_(amateur_radio)
I just had some email exchange with the programmer for "repeaterbook.com". I had asked if he could include dPMR as one of the special modes to search by. He said he would look at it. He also mentioned that since adding in M17 there has been nearly ZERO activity or interest in it to date.
Any Tips For Someone Thinking of Getting A H.A.M. License?
in Amateur Radio (Ham)
Posted
That’s been my understanding as well.