Lscott

Yup. Keep playing “twist the dragon’s tail” game sooner or later one wins and gets the flame prize.

Looks interesting.

Yeah, the fold over spring is shot. At highway speeds the darn thing lifts out of the socket base and flips over, I had to use several layers of electrical tape to hold it in place. Whenever I need to go to some place with low clearance I have to unscrew it from the base and stow it inside the Jeep. Sort of a pain. The antenna is about 20 years old. I hate to give it up since the match is fairly good on the Ham bands, MURS and GMRS and is ground independent too. Comet doesn't make this model any more. The closest they have is the CA-2x4SR. However it's a 5/8 wave design on the 2M band and requires a GOOD ground plane to work. I have one but the match sucks using the current mount I have for the old antenna. How often would I use a motorized mount? Whenever I want to park the Jeep in my garage, go through a drive through, need to park in a parking structure etc. I've even taken it off to get an old change. The tip of the antenna even drags across the glass on the huge roll up doors at the quick oil change place when the door is up all the way. Yeah it will see some use. Antenna Scan Results (CA-2x4MB FRS_GMRS Jeep).pdf Antenna Scan Results (CA-2x4MB MURS Jeep).pdf Antenna Scan Results (CA-2x4MB UHF Jeep).pdf Antenna Scan Results (CA-2x4MB VHF Jeep).pdf CA-2x4MB Manual.pdf

I thought about adding in some micro switches for the up and down position. I would think adding them internally by Diamond would be the better solution. External position sense switches are likely to get buggered up after a while being exposed to the weather.

I've looked at the Diamond motorized antenna mount. It looks nice however I think it has one major flaw. No indication when the antenna is fully raised or lowered. I've been thinking about one since I have a rather large dual band antenna currently on my Jeep, about 60 inches tall. The antenna has enough bandwidth to be usable on MURS and GMRS as well as the Ham bands. https://www.diamondantenna.net/k9000lrmo.html I can picture somebody not waiting until the antenna is fully lowered and pulling in to low clearance area and damaging the antenna and roof/ rack mount. Anybody know of a similar product which does have positive indication of antenna position? I've seen DIY designs but they are rather bulky and the mechanical components are exposed to the elements.

Here is a link to some info on the Canadian GMRS service. Note this link just high lights some changes. The complete list of frequencies are found elsewhere. https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf08144.html#s3.1 However that doesn't really tell the whole story. While GMRS use in Canada is license free the power limit is set at 2 watts maximum, effectively just FRS radios. Look at section E.1.5 in the following link for the power limits. http://peppersradio.net/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=26 Here in the US we can run 5 watts on HT's, 50 watts on the repeater channels. The potential for interference at higher powers is not a moot point. Have a look at section 7 at this link. https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf08655.html So if a Canadian GMRS user causes interference to a licensed service on a GMRS channel the GMRS user likely has to cease operations on that frequency. I got my GMRS license in 2018 and the prohibited frequencies are clearly stated on the license. Further the FCC's web site still shows "Line A" and "Line C" for frequency restricted used on UHF. https://www.fcc.gov/engineering-technology/electromagnetic-compatibility-division/frequency-coordination-canada-below If one wants to propose a frequency, channel, for travel use at least pick one that isn't questionable due to various regulatory usage restrictions. While one may think the restrictions are "moot" it's still on your license, and you're legally required to comply with it. Until the FCC officially changes the rules we're stuck with it. Being in the Detroit area I have to pay attention to these frequency restrictions. There are also some for the Ham Radio service too since I'm licensed for both services. In fact there was a GMRS net on the local repeater last night and the above was one of the topics of discussion.

Yeah, an unpleasant surprise. I typically turn JavaScript script off since many web pages load much faster on a mobile device while killing most of the more annoying aspects of websites and data bandwidth killing elements on mobile devices. Looks like this is going to be one I’ll be visiting less often if at all in the future.

Oh, there are some Motorola radios with a “similar looking” plug but the pin spacing is different and won’t work. So when shopping watch out and don’t buy one that is listed for Motorola.

It should work fine on your radio. Many of the Chinese radios have copied the Kenwood “K” plug specifications. I’ve used the same speaker microphones and programming cables with that plug type on the few Chinese radios and the large collection of Kenwood radios I have.

I’ve been using a cheap Chinese version of a D-ring ear hanger head set. I’ve tried various headsets over the years. They are either bulky, heavy, poor sound quality like those surveillance plastic tube types etc. The only one I’ve found so far that is comfortable to wear for long periods, anything that I have to stuff in my ear canal ends up hurting after a while. I've been using the D-ring type for months when out for long walks. The microphone is built in-line and clips to a shirt collar or near the top somewhere. Using the VOX feature on a radio setup right you don’t need to use the PTT on the headset or radio. This is just one of many variations out there. https://www.twowayradiocenter.com/kenwood-khs-27-d-ring-headset/

Can send slow Morse Code by smoke signals.

On commercial radios when both stations switch to the talkaround feature you bypass the repeater by RX’ing and TX’ing on the frequency used for the repeater output. For GMRS that’s legal. The repeater output frequencies can be used for simplex operations. Just be aware if there is a repeater on that frequency you might be jamming somebody trying to RX the repeater’s output. Its also the same problem with FRS radios. Local kids decide to park on the very repeater channel you use blocking your RX. It happened to me a few times.

It’s not really that hard. All you need to pick is Slot 1 or Slot 2, Color Code and talkgroup. https://www.raqi.ca/~ve2rae/dmr/Amateur_Radio_Guide_to_DMR.pdf

Same by me. Very little P25 traffic. Same for NXDN too. I wanted the VHF version for my radio collection. There appears to be a VHF repeater in the area. Yeah, most of the digital voice modes seems to be on UHF most likely because there is a lot more spectrum available. With 30MHz on the 70cm band to play with it isn’t too hard to find a spot to operate without annoying other operators. If I had to pick one mode it would be DMR over the others. There are some technical reasons I would prefer it. One can operate a SFR, single frequency repeater, so no expensive cavity filters required. The other is due to the TDMA, time division multiple access. You can run full power on TX but the average power is about half what you need for typical FM signals so battery life is much longer on portable radios.

P25 was marketed to public safety and government agencies to facilitate interoperability. Because of the target market there is little incentive for manufacturers to offer cheaper radios. At least until the Chinese decide to jump in. At that point don’t be surprised that companies like Motorola will do everything they can to lock them out, including putting special “tweaks”, additions to the standard protocol, to only work with their equipment to use the new unique features. I did manage to get a good deal on a very clean, like new condition, Kenwood TK-5320 radio a while back for $110 more or less. Haven’t seen a deal that good before or since. The one I got was the Type-2 Phase-1, perfect for Ham use. I would like to find a similar deal on a TK-5220. That’s likely to take a long time checking the auction site to jump on it when I spot one. https://pdfs.kenwoodproducts.com/18/TK-5220&5320Brochure.pdf

There is a slim chance of getting new channels. I think there is a better chance of one or two of the repeater channels being reserved for digital voice. It might be even better to reallocate the nearly useless low power narrow band channels 8 to 14 from 1/2 watt to 5 watts for digital voice use only. While some might hate to hear this but the Chinese have jumped into the DMR market with affordable radios that with a firmware update could be made to adapt them to GMRS. I haven’t seen any cheap affordable P25 radios from anybody yet, and likely won’t. The big boys supplying P25 radios charge top dollar because the target markets are public safety and other government agencies that have the big budgets. I don’t think they want their profitable P25 business ruined. They will petition the FCC to see that doesn’t happen.

That’s a shame. CB radio turned in to the mess it is also due to FCC’s lack of interest in doing any meaningful enforcement actions. If we’re not careful GMRS could end in the same condition. The digital transmissions you heard may not be DMR. For example I have a number of commercial radios in my collection that can do DMR along with P25 phase 1 and NXDN all on UHF. Wait until a few people get together and use one of the other digital modes thinking they can have a “private” conversation because they have the radios to do it. And yes some of those radios have builtin encryption features too. If the FCC doesn’t step in there will be more of it. Perhaps if there ends up being more and more pirate DMR operations maybe the FCC will given in and make it official. Either reserving some channels for digital voice or adding a few more to the pool specifically for digital. IMHO I don’t think it’s a bad thing to officially allow DMR on GMRS. I think it’s going to happens at some point. After dragging their feet for many years FM is now legal on CB along with the older AM and SSB modes.

If he is going to use DMR he needs a Ham license. No DMR permitted on GMRS.

Alfred E Newman. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_E._Neuman

One thing with solar panel is even ONE cell in the series string is blocked, bird poop - tree leaves etc. for example, it kills the output from the whole string. All the panels I’ve ever seen are single series string of cells. Also at low temperatures the battery capacity is noticeably reduced. You should take that into account when sizing the battery. Also you’ll likely get about half the rated capacity before the battery voltage drops too low for reliable operation too.

The repeater doesn’t need to ID if it isn’t actively being used, agreed.

I asked a Ham Radio buddy about these. He has heard of them and what he heard wasn’t good and the one he got was garbage. I was warned not to waste my money buying one. These are seen for sale under different names on the Internet.

Interesting point. However if the station(s) using the repeater forgot or deliberately don’t include the owners ID said owner will have some explaining to do with the FCC if they come asking questions. If the ID is automated the owner doesn’t have to constantly monitor it to ensure people are including the owners ID. Just makes life simpler for the repeater owner that way.

Your last point above is VERY important and a source of confusion with repeater owners. If a repeater is used by anyone not using, operating under, the repeater owners license the repeater MUST self ID using the owners call sign.

I’m primarily a Kenwood guy, nothing wrong with Motorola- Icom etc., just my personal preference. A lot of my older Kenwood radios are both Part 90 and 95A certified. Part 95A was the GMRS section before the FCC revised the rules a few years ago. Any radio with the older Part 95A certification are still legal to use on GMRS as far as I know. A buddy at work was using a UV-5R for GMRS. I recommended a Kenwood TK-3170, which has Part 95A certification. He got a good deal on a used one with antenna, battery pack, charger base and speaker microphone on eBay. Once he started using it he quit using the UV-5R. He liked how much better the Kenwood radio performed. You want the “Type 1” radio. https://pdfs.kenwoodproducts.com/9/TK-2170&3170Brochure.pdf