Logan5

I listen to 3 of the GMRS channels, open, 600, 650, 675. these are our locals. I just activated the standard travel tone on 600. and we are thing of swapping location for 600 and 675, since as I recall, 675 is the standard for Emergency communications. either way 675 makes a lot of sense if you are just listening or are starting your own repeater in an un-serviced area. All though our new equipment is capable, We do not plan to use Narrow since it is not required on part95.

I saw you listed on MyGMRS today. Looks like it went well. Let us know what your setup and coverage is like. Maybe I get to LI next summer. My repeater has to come down from 55' this weekend. looks like 30 to 35 feet until I get a new tower. Best regards, Jim...

200 feet is the elevation of your property? or does this include your outdoor antenna mast? 200 feet is great elevation, but you are going to need to get that repeater antenna 10 to 20 feet above the tree line to get the benefit. if this installation is tower mounted, disregard my questions. also use a scanner to find a good clear pair. I did not have a scanner when I picked 462.XXX and I regret it. lol

the 355's are good for the group users FRS and or GMRS but if you are operating the tour and want good repeater contact , for Emergency and or activity coordination, I would recommend a good 4 watt UHF radio with an enhanced whip antenna to reach distance repeaters. the blister pack radios do not have removable antennas, many UHF radios and some part 95 have removable antennas allowing you to add a nice 3db + of gain over the stock dummy load. Your outdoor activity sounds great, Beat of luck!

Here in south Florida, we have a retailer USsolar, they sell high quality 255 watt solar panels for about $230 bucks each. They also sell Trojan battery's and charge controllers. I do go to harbor Freight, but I would never consider their plastic mono solar panels. They are basic "Junk" I am aware of solar panels being used effectively as far north as Alaska. with necessary high inclination of panels at such latitude, snow accumulation on panels would be minimized. I love Solar power and here in Florida it's a "no brainer" I remember the last time I was in New Jersey the local utility had placed solar panels on top of each utility pole. not very attractive looking but it works. Our new house is just 3 weeks from Finnish and includes 6800 watt's of solar panels on our southern exposure.

I keyed up The Port of Miami "POM" repeater wile in Hollywood early this week. Turns out this repeater is available through much of mid and south broward. Yesterday I went to the FTL600 site and shut it down to connect my HT to the antenna setup. I was amazed, I was able to talk to the sysop at 5 out of 5 on Port of Miami. this is about 28miles. it looks like we have good overlapping coverage on FTL600, FTL675 and POM6** in many areas. Much excitment here in South Florida!

Welcome to the Forum William, Glad you are here. Not having a repeater in your local area is very common, and I always like to insert, "Consider starting the first GMRS repeater in your area". I did and it has been fun a rewarding. Depending on your finances and technical capability and or willingness to learn you may enjoy building your own for very cheap. Again Welcome to the forum, Best regards, Jim...

I also have a BF888 and I like it for GMRS, and repeater use. I am aware it is not Part95. It has a High/Low TX setting. 2/1 watt's This complies with GMRS rules, but not FRS's 1/2 watt limit, also FRS does not allow removable antenna. I find the 888 to be a nice 16 dollar radio. it is what is is, useful.

With on going construction, renovating my new home. Our FTL600 repeater get's unplugged regularly. I have a channel programed reverse into my HT that can be used to communicate with other users at close range. I do believe a Mobile unit set up similar could be operated in place of the repeater as a relay. effective range would be dependent on that site's particulars. and only useful when and if the base is maned. fixed base station allows up to TX50 watts.

Make sure you get the compatible version of the bubble pak radios. The only one I tested was the mt350 on my repeater and it worked. although at less than half the range of other radios, so I returned them. You may also consider using 2 channels, an FRS for the kids to play on and the repeater for them to call on GMRS. otherwise you will have to listen to them "play" on your repeater. There are hundreds of options for radios, do the research before you spend your money. Tell us more about your repeater plans. Jim...

That was wonderful and makes me especially grateful I chose Florida to retire.

Since I currently only own CCR's I can not reccomend a radio, but other users here can. Here on the myGMRS forum you will find a list of part 95 cert radios. Manufacturs include Motorolla, Kenwood, Riton and a few others. Best of luck...

Welcome to the myGMRS forum SAM. Sorry it took so long to reply, but with the Holiday and all. Ok when you set up a new radio, you will use it's manual to get intouch with it's basic workings first. Some radios allow direct programing, others only allow for USB programing, most everything else is str8 forward from there. let's say you set up RX on 462.600mhz, in your radio menu you will find an option that allows you to set the repeater offset. +,- or none. under this menu option you will select +5,000mhz this will put your TX or transmit on 467.600,. there are other options in the menu system of your radio that allow you to set other varibles as well, one most critical to repeater usage is the PL tone, or CTCSS and to some degree DCS. in the this case of CTCSS let's say the repeater has an input tone of 167.9 you would need to set your TX CTCSS to 167.9 to activate the repeater. If you chose to lock out other simplex chatter on 462.600, you would also set your RX CTCSS to 167.9 this will filter out most others conversations. But is not to be confused with a private conversation., many bubble pak radios boast the CTCSS and DCS as privacy codes and they are not. With regard to chosing a radio, There are many options, Cheap Chinese Radios (CCR's) are not Part95 certified, although they will work on GMRS, They are not techincally compliant. Some CCR's also get hot quickly and degrade in transmit quality when hot. also to remain compliant as well as courtsey to the repeater owner, you should always announce your call sign and refrains from interupting an already on going conversation. I sugest turning off noise makers like beep tone and the like. is not nessary and get's old fast. If a conversation with your family member can be made via simplex, keep it on simplex, save the repeater usage for those that need it. There is much more to learn and you will in time, but this should be enough to get you started. If you have any further questions, do not hesitate, we are here to help. Jim...

Thank You, Paul. and Welcome to the Forum. Yes I have had my eye on a CAT RC210 controller for sometime, only 325.00 on fleabay. However I think I am getting a Hytera RD982U-1 for Christmas, can't wait to get my hands on it. Duplexer is already tuned and a friend helped install the LMR600 a week ago. I took some resent pic's so I will have to post them. "73's" Jim...

yes quaterwave, I am just about to give up on VOX, I have tried 2 of 3 types of radios I have all "CCR" and this has not worked as of yet. I have tried many different settings all to no avail. Thank You PastorGary, I will have time to readup later. "73's"

BTW, a friend helped me upgrade to Times Micro LMR600 today. no swr readings till tomorrow. HT and mobile coverage seems enhanced,

Thanks for your input Jeremy, we have noticed a considerable reduction in effective communication when the uv5r gets hot and it seems to degrade very quickly. this has only recently become noticeable. so today I changed my TOT to 30sec. from 1min. I have found the uv3r at only 2 watts, to be a little better. either way, I think these radios lack a good heatsink, and considering the quality of the Chinese battery on said radios. lol.

This is the radio I purchased. http://www.acurite.com/environment/weather-radio/acurite-emergency-weather-alert-noaa-radio-with-s-a-m-e-08500-08505.html got it for 14.99 shipping included. it has a "SP" (line out) is very nice looking so if it does not work linked to the repeater, I will keep on the nightstand next to my bed. I have had it running on 3 AA rechargeable battery's for 3 days with no indication of low battery condition, it also included an external 4.5v wall wart. Looks great with indigo blue backlight, sound is good. have not yet heard any NOAA alerts. since my old scanner had an alarm output and this has audio output. seems these could be wired so the alarm activates the PTT and this radio provides the audio. just a thought.

I have found these Baofeng radios run hot when talking for long times, at this point the transmission seems to break down and must cool down before it becomes effective again,. I seldom have long winded convos, but this has been discovered, you get what you pay for. this is in addition to their lack of part95 cert. something to consider when purchasing radios. Best regards Jim...

well I have tried this with a link cable and radio set in vox 3, at this time it does not work correctly. after NOAA alert it keys up every 10 to 15 seconds or so. The weather radio I got is great and I needed to upgrade anyway. I will try with my other radios soon. looks like a repeater upgrade would be easier than this project. lol.

Well I missed this deal. I just got a used 75 foot run of TM-LMR600, 125 shipped with male type N connectors. is slightly more flexible than hardline. still planning the install. I would love 7/8" but will have to live with this for now.

I help a Vet who has PTSD and was hit by a car about 2 years ago, he is homeless and lives in the parking garage at HomeDepot. I had planed to take him to one of the participating merchants yesterday, but time got away from me and I did not make it. so today I will take him for a meal on me. His name is Ron. He deserves better.

Now your talking., Way to go William. I got a new BC125at scanner a few days ago and began monitoring the rest of our GMRS channels, not a single call sign announced since I got it. Ignorance is BLISS till they get caught.

I can not figure out how to enter my FCC-ID at that link either. it says to enter the first 3 to 5 digits the one line and the remainder in a separate field. anybody know how this works?

the TK-3160 is not on the local myGMRS list. check under the battery cover for the FCC ID number. I am going to do the same with my CCR now.