Lscott

What kind of radio is being used? If it's a cheap Chinese radio they're not known for good receivers. Note that channel 3 is the Interstitial frequency, 462.6125, between the main channel 17, 462.6000, and main channel 18, 462.6250. For GMRS the channel bandwidth is 25KHz so there is considerable overlap on channel 3 with the adjacent channels 17 and 18. If the radio doesn't have extremely good selectivity you're likely to experience significant bleed over on 17 and 18 from a strong signal on channel 3. Also a strong signal on either channel 17 or 18 will bleed over on channel 3. FRS-GMRS Channels Layout.pdf

Here is one idea used on an expensive Motorola XPR7550 radio. Allows the use of an external antenna by using a stud type adapter to BNC. The ground is made externally using a strip of sticky back copper foil tape over the back side of the case to the chassis for the ground connection to the adapter. Something like this could be use on the cheap radio. https://youtu.be/O3KEazVQ-RA?si=UV8kiC5HQjQ3gqMG

At that price you can afford to destroy one or two and not feel too bad.

If I have a choice I typical go for the 400MHz to 470MHz range since most of my usage is Ham so that covers the full band. It's also usable on GMRS, but as I mentioned before they're not certified for Part 95, but typically for Part 90 of course. When looking for used commercial grade radios there are several things I'll do before dropping my money on one. 1. Look up the manufacture's brochure to see what features the radio has, namely number of channels, display type, frequency ranges etc. You might decide at this point it doesn't look so appealing. 2. Look up the FCC ID's, usually on the manufactures brochures. Check to see what the certifications are for the radio, tested power levels, modulation types and frequency ranges. You need the FCC ID to verify what you're trying to buy or bid on. I frequently find sellers who get the model name wrong or frequency range wrong in the ad description. The FCC ID doesn't lie. 3. Check and see if the programming software is obtainable. This is a big one. Sometimes it almost impossible to find. If I can't get the software the idea is dead right there. It doesn't matter how good the radio is. Commercial radios are basically useless without the programming software, you REALLY need it. 4. Most commercial radios are firmware up-gradable. Chances are the one you're interested in will need a firmware update to make it compatible with the recent radio programming software release. 5. Are important accessories like battery packs, chargers, programming cables, microphones, power cables etc. easy and cheaply available? There are some nice used radios out there but battery packs are almost unobtainable as an example. 6. Then I go looking for the documentation for the radio. Important things like user manuals, service manuals, any programming tips etc. 7. Then it comes down to just how much you want to spend. Some sellers price the radios like they are gold plated. The worse offenders are sellers of digital radios with P25 being at the top of the list. In general it seems that the VHF gear sells for a premium compared to the UHF stuff.

The miss match caused by the clips on the leads may eventually damage your radio. I would very seriously look for a good quality adapter for your radio. Unless it’s totally proprietary to the manufacturer you should find one. In the case of this cheap radio you could use it as is, or disassemble it and install the pigtail directly on the circuit board. I’ve seen this done in the past with FRS radios. There are some YouTube videos on the topic.

It’s not a concern. You have to specifically enable it in a radio AND have to put in the particular code to do it. Leave the code out and “turn the feature off” NOBODY will have the ability to stun or kill your radio. That’s the case for every Kenwood radio I’ve programmed.

Looks like the text was written by a Chinese who is somewhat proficient with English, with poor spelling.

Two possibilities. 1. You are using the wrong tone. 2. The repeater doesn't use a tone on the output. In that case no tone so your radio will never un-mute the audio. I almost NEVER use receive tones on my radios unless I need to REALLY block some interference from another repeater or simplex station. I just don't get the desire where people feel the need to use a receive tone when it's almost never required on their radio. It ends up leading to unnecessary problems like the above.

My TK-3170's US versions will do the same. Might even go lower. The European versions start at 440MHz.

People want to know why bother with a two way radio when the cell phone is so convenient in a STHF case? Here's one reason today. https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2024/02/22/major-cell-phone-outage-nationwide-at-and-t-t-mobile-verizon-some-911-down-n2170453

Mostly true. There are older used commercial "LMR", Land Mobile Radio, radios that you can program with any frequency in the business band segment. Typical range is 450MHz to 490MHZ / 520MHz. Depending on manufacture some of those radios have have Part 95 certification, legal to use for GMRS. The caveat is they must be programmed to follow the GMRS rules for the allowed frequencies for the service. Many users on this forum use commercial hand held and mobile radios successfully.

Most of the Kenwood radios are the 450 to 490 range, or the 450 to 520 range. Those might even have Part 95 certification on the older models. The 400 to 470 range is sort of rare. If you do find any it’s commonly on the digital radios, and occasionally on the analog only models. Also I’ve never seen the 400 to 470 range radios certified for Part 95. I’m also mainly a Kenwood guy too. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/249-934916052_radiocollectionjpg/?context=new

Prime example. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_blackout_of_2003

Are all of them linked together on the same system?

Anyway, back to the threads main topic....

Wow, that's in really great looking condition! People collect these and pay big bucks for them. To keep the slide on the metal types from sticking you use a VERY tiny dab of Vaseline on the slide edges as a lube.

That was a long time ago. The younger electrical engineers walk into my office and sometimes ask what that funny looking ruler thingy is hanging on the wall above my desk. And they don’t know what a vacuum tube is either. Sad. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/342-slide-rulejpg/?context=new

I tried using CHIRP on a Kenwood TK-370G radio, 128 channels with zones. CHIRP messed up the code plug by screwing up the entered frequencies and switched them between zones at random. I gave up and used the official software which is Windows based. Then there is the Kenwood TK-370, 32 channels and no zones. Seems to work OK for that. I 'll use CHIRP since the only official software for that radio is DOS based. There is no windows version.

This is why all my "GMRS radios" are really commercial grade LMR's models programmed to GMRS frequencies. I use the manufactures software whereas possible to do the programming since it allows access to all the radio's options. I've tried to use CHIRP on several radios. Unless it's a VERY basic simple type I've had CHIRP mess up the code plug a few times and went back to the manufactures software. I tend NOT to use CHIRP unless the manufactures software is a complete POS, or not avaialble.

You need a bigger battery backup system. PowerSafe GC-M Specs.pdf

So many forget this point. I see many radio clubs building emergency communication trucks filled with radios. The owners manual for them is 100’s of pages long to cover all of the options and settings only accessible through multiple layers of menus. Expecting volunteers to figure out how to operate them under the stress of a real emergency is just going to contribute to the disaster. You need brain dead super simple radios to operate in these conditions.

What version of the firmware is loaded on the radio? Hopefully it’s not the Passport one.

So, that means clearly the POTS, plain old telephone system, network. In that context then linking through other kinds of networks, Internet, would be OK. That implies linking GMRS repeaters through other kinds of networks should he just fine.

Hum... I wonder if linking repeaters, more than two, over an RF link, could be considered a "network." It seems the real question is the very definition of what is a "network" in the context of the FCC's usage. With a firm mutually agreed upon definition the rest should just fall into place.