Lscott

I like spotting call sign license plates. If I can remember the call sign I'll look them up when I get to the office or get home. I'm curious to see if the Ham is recently licensed. It's encouraging when I do see they are.

The group that was recorded were involved with some very illegal activity and were using two way radios to help facilitate it. They had the bad luck of picking the wrong frequency to use too.

One other thing I don't recommend is pilfering, or spoofing or faking, a call sign. For example on enough occasions I would talk to somebody for the first time on the air. Then was a bit put back when they knew my name and location that I never mentioned. Seems like people like to sit in front of the computer and look up call signs on the FCC's database while yacking on the radio.

You would be surprised that some do. There are a LOT of "ears" out there with nothing better to do with their time. I have a buddy who routinely recorded some illegal activity he stumbled upon on VHF for a few months . The recordings he had were sent to the FCC, by their request, as part of their evidence gathering activity. I know for a fact it was being done since I had an opportunity to hear one of his recordings. The people involved thought they found an unused frequency. Turns out the group being recorded had stupidly picked a military VHF frequency that wasn't currently being used in the area. Oops. Oh, yeah, they got busted and prosecuted for various crimes after a while.

Need more info. Are you trying to talk through a repeater?

Yeah, and they're sitting in adjacent seats too.

If one wants to think about it a bit differently 11M CB is a license free simple HF service. That goes with the license free MURS and FRS services too. For someone who doesn't want to deal with tests and licenses but wants to sample the RF waters the above is about the easiest and cheapest way to get a taste of the radio hobby and the differences between the bands. Part 95 services has HF, VHF and UHF bands to buy radios for and have fun. CB 11M radio has it's place.

You get what you pay for, and sometimes not even that much.

I'm assuming you mean into the radio. I think you're looking for something like this. https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-2-Pack-Female-Coaxial/dp/B09DDHDNP4/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=sma+female+to+so-239+adapter&qid=1689625710&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

I think if you can read that file you’ll find a number of the points are addressed.

If he has a K1 type cable, which the Chinese ripped off from Kenwood BTW, for many of the Chinese radios it should work on those. I have around 8 to 9 of the 3170’s, same for the 3173’s. TK-2170_3170(K) Brochure.pdf

You can buy an after market rebuilt case for the radios I attached the brochures for at around $15. I’ve replaced cases before. It’s rather straightforward if you work carefully. I would still hold out for a TK-3170 or TK-3173 if you want a Kenwood HT. I’ve seen the full kit, radio+antenna+battery pack with charger, for $150 more or less with everything in very good condition.

I would pass on that one. It looks like one of the old 16 channel models. They are OK but lack any means to change the programming including tones. These radio are program and forget types where you never need to make field changes. I have a few of the TK-3160’s and TK-3360’s in my collection. TK-2160_3160 Brochure.pdf TK-2360-3360 Brochure.pdf

Did you look back at some prior posts in this thread? I attached a file outlining most of the points you mentioned to one of my posts. While I think digital voice, not DMR for technical reasons, can be done on GMRS but with certain tight conditions. I would suggest you read that file. I think there is a valid reason to do digital voice that would benefit users while not ruining it for everyone else if the suggestions in that file are followed.

I've fat fingered entries when building a code plug for a radio. Later testing it and noticed it wasn't working. Reloading the code plug in the programming software that's when I spotted the mistake. Who knows who got hammered when I was testing the radio out transmitting on the wrong frequency. I understand the above and still screwed up because I didn't double and triple check the entries. This is why, at least for GMRS, the radio needs to be certified, fixed frequencies, because it's easy to mess up. The more programmable it is the more potential for mistakes. When programming Part 90 radios there is a LOT of room for mistakes, even by people who know what they are doing.

They're just option shopping. Looking for someone to validate what they know is wrong so they don't feel so guilty. Same thing when your kids say everyone else is doing it, until you remind them strongly they're not or else.

It's sort of a bummer when you see your really expensive, $300-$400 plus, HT slip out of your pocket and sink to the bottom of the lake.

Save your money and buy a quality radio.

Of course there is the option to use a belt sander to reduce the height of the screw. Then use a hacksaw to cut a small slot in the top to use a flat blade screwdriver if necessary.

Oh, one other important point that very seldom gets mentioned is the quality of the coax cable. I'm NOT talking about signal loss in the cable. Coax cables are not perfect and will leak a little RF along their length. When your TX and RX cables are in close proximity signal leakage from the TX side coax can get into the repeater's receiver section AFTER the duplexer. That sort of defeats the whole purpose of using one. Smart repeater builders will use multiply shielded coax cable for this exact reason. Yeah, it might be more expensive, but it's the difference between a great performing system verses a poor one.

That's more important than you think. Remember one of the functions of a duplexer is to "isolate" the RX and TX sections since they are both using the same antenna. A receiver can only tolerate a small level of signal before the AGC, automatic gain control, in the radio reduces the internal signal level to keep it within the operating range of the electronics. The gain can be reduced to the point were a weak signal is reduced to a level where the FM detector can't work. That's desense in action. As strange as it sounds some repeater owners discovered that REDUCING transmitter power improved the receiver sensitivity! Why is that? Well consider the duplexer has a FIXED attenuation. Those cheap Chinese duplexers don't have a lot to begin with anyway. So if the transmitter power is increased the signal level feed into the receiver's front end increases too. As I mentioned if it gets too high then the AGC kicks in big time and your receiver goes deaf. That's why higher power repeaters use duplexers with 100db or more isolation. They have to use it to keep the signal level into the receiver below the point were desense occurs. Finally if the repeater is installed at a site with a bunch of other high power transmitters, which are in close proximity, all that power is trying to get into your repeater's receiver too. The duplexer has to keep all that crap out as well.

You get what you pay for. Some find out the hard way why something is so cheap.

Yeah, based on the what I do at work, it’s not hard to do. The last exciting time blew several Silicon Carbide MOSFET’s. They exploded like M-80’s. My boss, who was standing in front of the equipment said his ears were ringing for a while afterwards. I was standing on the back side a few feet away from the power assembly watching the scope and got the full effect. R and D work has its moments.

Some people are deathly afraid of getting on “a perfectly functioning aircraft.” Maybe they are really the smart ones.

That’s why many people come here.