Lscott

Hummmm..... The radio looks suspiciously like the IC-V85. https://rigreference.com/storage/manuals/icom/IC-V85_ham_brochure.pdf--5baad248bbbf77.42163411.pdf https://icomuk.co.uk/files/icom/PDF/productManual/IC-V85.pdf The tag isn't that readable but it looks like the model number is IC-XXX, a 3 character model number. The antenna port is on the side shown in the photo. Plus it seems to be a BNC type which is only on much older radios. I'm guessing the top part of the antenna is broken off leaving just the base screwed on to the BNC connector. The rubber side port cover looks the same. You can just make out two tiny nubs that fit into the two pin connector on the side. Also the strap holding is the same style. There is a notch in the chassis that likely mates up with the battery pack connections. Seems to be similar too. All I can say is it looks close. Look at the diagrams in the user manual and you'll see other similarity. Anybody have a better guess?

Hey, it adds a new element to the thread and keeps it from getting stale.

Can anyone identify the Icom radio model from the photo? Note the serial number was cut out of the tag on the radio on the left side of the photo. I'm guessing the antenna port is the silver thing on the left. Most of the Icom radios have the antenna port on the other side. Plus it only has one visible knob on the top which should narrow down the model. It could be an air band or a VHF marine band radio, since those seem to be primarily the Icom models that would have the antenna port on that side. https://www.atlanticradiocorp.com/collections/icom-portable-radios?srsltid=AfmBOop8gMs5sD9LSqWHCyBfgpZmtLuaE0mSdNQXEfZYr5fFQ9axPeCm

Reminds me of the story of the interrogator walking in to the cell of a soon to be executed terrorist and gave him a box of condoms. The terrorist thanked the interrogator for thinking of him. The interrogator looked at the terrorist, smiled, and said they weren't for him, but for the 72 virgins where he would soon be going to.

I think that falls under the:

Just an update. I was mistaken. Both use channel codes. However the algorithm used by dPMR doesn’t yield the codes listed in the standard for dPMR446. At least from my reading of the documentation for both. I did some spreadsheets to generate the channel codes based on frequency as shown in the dPMR standard. They don’t match the ones listed in the dPMR446 standard unless I missed something. The standards document for dPMR446 is ETSI TS 102 490 While the one for dPMR is ETSI TS 102 658 ETSI TS 102 658 V2.6.1 (2019-01).pdf ETSI TS 102 490 V1.9.1 (2016-08).pdf

What was the principal reason for the disqualification?

We have a new employee in my department at work. He is a Canadian citizen and commutes daily between Windsor Ontario and Detroit Michigan area but lives in Canada. At some point he wants to get his Canadian Ham license. I suggested for the moment he could get a US GMRS license. The Canadian "GMRS" service is more like our FRS service in the US, with frequencies, power limits and no license requirements. From my reading of the FCC rules so long as he's 18 years old or more, has a social security number and not a representative of a foreign government he can apply for and get a FCC GMRS license. Is my reading correct? If so is anyone here a non US citizen and obtained a GMRS license?

A 5/8 wave needs a really good ground plane for a good match, and to get the claimed gain increase. A 1/2 wave in general are ground independent, i.e. they don’t need a ground plane, thus you can mount them just about anywhere. If all you need is reaching some local repeaters a cheap 1/4 wave would work fine. It does need a small ground plane. The antenna is about 6 to 7 inches tall, which means you might get your vehicle in a garage, drive throughs, not catching tree branches etc. and worry about ripping it off the roof. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/338-cheap-14-wave-gmrs-antenna/?context=new

The first time I dropped my BTECH tri-band, a Boafeng derivative, on a cement floor it killed the audio. I had to get the radio replaced under warranty. I'm not impressed with their durability.

See attached file for a guy who tested one. Chinese Mobile Duplexer Measurements.pdf

So, for analog use I tend to reach for my trusty Kenwood TK-3170. Lately for digital, DMR, I'm using my Kenwood NX-1300DUK5. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/263-tk-3170jpg/?context=new https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/290-nx-1300duk5/?context=new Normally when I'm out I carry one or the other. Currently I'm using the NX-1300 since the mall, somerset Collection in Troy, I'm going to walk around for exorcise uses DMR for the security and house keeping. Both I typically monitor. Where I use to go, Lakeside mall which used analog only, is now permanently closed. From what I've seen the mall security uses Hytera radios. They look like the PD602I models. https://www.hytera.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/PD6i-Series_11062018_Web-1.pdf

Very true. As things stand now there is little to be gained by passing the Extra exam, other than an extra TINY sliver of spectrum on various HF bands reserved exclusively for those so licensed. Many Hams get their General now and stop there. I don’t think about mine much. I hang out on VHF and UHF so HF access isn’t a big deal. The digital voice modes are fun, and most of that activity is on UHF anyway.

When I took the General and Extra exams, that was very shortly after the FCC dropped the CW requirement. I can tell you a LOT of Hams, particularly Extra Class, were upset because the CW test wasn't easy at that level. That was about the only real skill you couldn't sit down and memorize, like the question pool, but really had to demonstrate. Once that was gone so was the prestige that went with being an Extra. It didn't take long before those who passed the Extra exam without CW were being called "Extra Lite" by those who did. After all these years you still hear it on the air at times by those still sour over the issue. That's OK, still lots of other people to talk to on the air who don't care.

Oh well, there are A-Holes in any hobby. Some show up here, unfortunately, from time to time. Hams don't don't have a monopoly on poor attitudes.

I first got my Tech Class license to begin with. Then some years later when the FCC dropped the CW requirement I sat for the General exam for a nominal fee. All I had to do was pass it first then I was allowed to take the Extra exam at the same test setting. No extra fee was charged, for the Extra exam, for that at the time. The 80 year old VE dude had a really sour look on his face since I walked in as a Tech and walked out as an Extra. Oh well.

That's sort of how they do it in Canada. https://www.rac.ca/requirements/ Our new guy in my department is Canadian, commutes between Windsor and the Detroit area everyday. He wants to get his Ham license, but it has to be through Canada. Both counties have a reciprocal operating agreement making it VERY easy and simple for Hams to operate in the other country. I think even as a Canadian he would be qualified to get a GMRS license for the US from my quick reading of the requirements. They don't have GMRS licenses in Canada. There it's more like our license free FRS service.

Yes, some are small area coverage. I didn't include those in the list. I was impressed with the machine in Mount Clemens. I was able to get full quieting running just 4 watts with an HT connected to a portable antenna at 25 feet. At the time I was in Oxford Mi for several months recovering from knee surgery.

I believe these are all linked and within about 25 miles of each other. Detroit600 https://mygmrs.com/repeater/7242 Detroit625 https://mygmrs.com/repeater/6815 Macomb675 https://mygmrs.com/repeater/6646 Then there is a wide area repeater not linked. Troy575 https://mygmrs.com/repeater/4676 With 2 channels gone due to Line-A that only leaves 2 open for the little guy to use. Pickings are getting a bit slim.

The RG-316 coax is higher loss, but you have to trade that off against the ease of installation. In a mobile setting the extra loss might not be that significant. One can do the numbers to see the trade off using different coax types and lengths. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/483-cx-5-antenna-system-analysisjpg/ https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/471-mobile-mount-with-antenna-rear-view/?context=new https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/473-close-up-of-mobile-mount/ https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/474-mobile-mount-coax-routing/?context=new https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/476-mobile-mount-drip-loop/?context=new https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/475-mobile-mount-coax-extention-cable/?context=new

That's the kind of attitude that gets people in trouble. Particularly on Ham frequencies. Running unlicensed is a sure way to attract the wrong kind of attention. Hams are very protective of their bands and make a sport of tracking down unlicensed operators, and usually very successfully. I've seen a number of these Doppler DF systems on Ham's vehicles. http://www.kn2c.us/ You see the same sort of setup on police cars. Those are easy to spot. They are the ones with the strange 4 vertical antennas mount in a square pattern on the trunk or roof. You might get away with no license on GMRS due to all of the FRS traffic. However operating through a repeater requires a GMRS certified radio and the license to use it. That will, again, also attract the wrong kind of attention. Please keep in mind a significant number of GMRS users in the last few years are licensed Hams who may make a sport of tracking down unlicensed GMRS users on repeaters at the owners request. Some ding-dong was jamming a local GMRS repeater in my area the other day, and that was on a linked system. Bad idea. That didn't last long.

A critical part is emergency power. Forget about gasoline generators. If the power goes out even gas stations won't have power to run the pumps. When your gasoline generator runs dry it's back to square one. Back in 2003 great blackout only ONE gas station had emergency power. That one was only pumping gas for emergency vehicles and police. No exceptions. I had no power for about 3 days. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_blackout_of_2003 Your options then are a natural gas powered generator. A propane powered one, at least you might fine bottled gas someplace. Or solar power with battery backup. Ideally you have a combination of the above. You can have all the radios in the world, but if the battery packs are dead, well you have a lot of paper weights.

Unless you go off the official FCC reservations above. I guess this could be another whole topic itself.

I still have one, a Kenwood TK-3701D, on my saved search lists. So far the ones I’ve seen have to be imported. I already have the software. Now I just have to find one where the seller isn’t asking $200 plus for one. It would be like paying $200 for a CCR FRS radio. Oh, another very interesting radio forum site for UK, mainly, is: https://transmission1.net That’s one I’ve been trolling through for info.

Try driving around with this monster on the roof. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/471-mobile-mount-with-antenna-rear-view/ I had this on my old Jeep. The tip would scrap the glass on the roll up door, and you know how big those are, at the oil change shop when I pulled in.