Logan5

Considering the FCC accepts audio recordings, when making a compliant of interference or illegal operation. We have used audio recordings of illegal operation to obtain information on the individuals involved. A major convenience to review than to sit and listen the whole day.  

Considering the FCC accepts audio recordings, when making a compliant of interference or illegal operation. We have used audio recordings of illegal operation to obtain information on the individuals involved. A major convenience to review than to sit and listen the whole day.  

I don't believe so. I know some states have something called the "wiretap law" but I'm too lazy to look it up and it probably varies by state. Here in Texas I've recorded (and uploaded) plenty of illegal transmissions and activity on both GMRS and Amateur. No issues thus far.

Once again it is that time of year.
ERS NY will be shut down from Tuesday 9/18 - 10/5.
 

In theory, yes, but in addition to using the travel tone they are also operating in a non compliant mode. simplex on the repeater input frequency. To make an announcement to said illegal operators, requires shutting down the repeater and attaching mobile radio to the antenna and TX'ing on 467 or reversing the duplexor and running the repeater in reverse. I have made several announcements using 25 watt's. no response. So we have disabled the travel tone indefinitely.

We started with Times Microwave LMR400 We are now running LMR600. You can get 50feet of genuine tm LMR400 for less than a hundred bucks. Get it terminated with Type N connector and get an antenna with Type N connector, for the least hassle waterproof low loss connection. You may also like heat shrink tubing, some is adhesive lined for particular waterproof applications.

Higher power seldom improves a less than ideal situation. antenna Height, and quality feedline are far more important. Once communication is established it is common courtesy to reduce power output to a level sufficient to maintain communications. a 5 watt radio at 50' is generally more effective than a 50 watt radio at 5'.

I don’t know how much clearer he could have been: ...The DATA UPDATING in our main listing website is the responsibility of the owner to keep current. Old or out dated information may exist, but MyGMRS takes no responsibility for the lack of accuracy in any listing at the main website.  
In any case, determining activity, or inactivity, is not that easy. Some nominally active repeaters may be silent for weeks on end, or down for repairs. There is no way the managers of this site could know, and they are not likely to put a lot of faith in anecdotal reports from operators who are not otherwise privy to the operations of the repeater.

Rich messaged me last night and everything is fixed. Not sure what the problem was but it seems to work now. Thanks again for you help everyone.

is Monty Python back on the air?!!

Mark,
 
I am interested in setting up GMRS repeater(s) in Delaware. I am located in Middletown Delaware (50 ft above sea level) with an active repeater and a 6 db antenna on a 64' mast. I have reached the repeater from my mobile from the Pennsylvania / Delaware border (Newark to Concordville) and a little North into PA, the Elk River in Maryland, Western Salem County New Jersey and most of New Castle County Delaware.
 
Let me know if you are still interested.
 
Thanks,
Mark

A Radio Shack Pro-2021 I refurbished recently to use on my desk at work:
 

 
More info on my blog post.

The range of a UHF radio will be pretty much limited to line of sight.  If your antenna is 6 feet off the ground, its distance to the horizon is 3 miles.  If the antenna for the other radio is also at about 6 feet, then you have an approximate theoretical range of 6 miles.  Trees, structures, land, antenna gain, RF interference, output power, etc will all have an effect on this range.  If you're currently getting 3 miles simplex between radios, that's pretty good!  You are also correct in that your current antenna placement on the Jeep spare tire is less than ideal.  The best location for a mobile antenna is always the center of the roof - this is the highest point on the vehicle and the surface area of the roof will provide a ground plane.  Is this is the antenna you are currently using?  I * think * this is a 5/8 wave antenna, which will require a ground plane to operate efficiently.  Since you're in a jeep, a fiberglass roof is not a great surface for that ground plane (and you may not even have a roof at times..) so you should look into 1/2 wave antennas, which do not require a ground plane to operate.  The antenna should still ideally be mounted as high on the vehicle as possible.

I would also suggest using a directional antenna for the VHF radio. Since Marine VHF is only legal to use when communicating between or with a boat, unless you live on an island, it is likely the water is within a specific arc from your home. Depending on how wide that arc is, you should be able to find a suitably matched VHF directional antenna.  Any propagation loss you get from mounting the antenna below your UHF J-Pole would be offset by the gain.  You should also look for an antenna that has low radiation upwards or downwards, since most boats tend to be at water level . And, make sure you mount it vertically.
http://www.antennaskit.com/files/Yagi-4-elementi_30_150-300.JPG
 
 
You can also use an outrigger as PastorGary suggested. That would work must better with a directional antenna than an omni, since the antenna mast itself  would not be in the path of your beam - and would, probably, act as an additional reflector..

Bad link.

"On March 14, 2013, the Enforcement Bureau’s Spectrum Enforcement Division (SED)received a complaint alleging that Baofeng radio model UV-5R was capable of (1) transmitting on landmobile frequencies using the equipment’s external controls and (2) operating at power levels above thosespecified in its Equipment Authorization. On October 30, 2017, SED issued a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) toAmcrest, an authorized distributor of Baofeng radios, directing it to submit a sworn written response to aseries of questions relating to these allegations..." While Boafeng has some issues, it took the FCC over four years to respond to the initial complaint.   WOW....obviously not a priority.  https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-18-801A1.docx

Today the Northern California GMRS Users Group (NCGUG) reached a two-year milestone.  Since July 2016, we have filed 84 specific complaints of ongoing and repeated interference  related to unlicensed maritime traffic on our repeater uplink channel (affecting two repeaters).  We have yet to receive anything significant from Commission other than their canned response, but we did receive some meaningful help from the local enforcement office.  As a result, we were able to ID one of the shipping companies involved and reach out to them.  Of course, this is truly a whack-a-mole situation as it is an international shipping problem.     
 
However, we noted that the local enforcement office is not tied into this system at all and were unaware of any complaints.  We had to notify them directly.  Obviously some improvements are needed here....but this allows DC to filter this stuff for them. 
 
But this information may be critical someday in defending the GMRS and our interests.  I particularly encourage repeater owners to monitor their input frequencies for problems when possible as these are the most critical asset of a GMRS repeater system. 

Thank you so much for sharing this information, Greg. 
 
Mod, is this thread worthy enough to be pinned?

I came across the North Shore Emergency Association's website recently and found their club history page interesting:
 
nsea.com/nseainfo.htm
 
This link briefly discusses how the "travel tone" of 141.3 Hz and the national calling/emergency frequency of 462.675 MHz came to be. NSEA was one of the very first adopters of GMRS in the early 1970s, then the Class "A" Citizens Band. Here's a quick snippet from the link:
 
NSEA members were instrumental in bringing UHF technology to other public service groups in CB, especially R.E.A.C.T. (Radio Emergency Associated Citizens Teams). Beginning in 1976 key NSEA members spent extensive time meeting with REACT teams in more than a dozen-and-a-half different states, bringing a portable repeater, together with a number of mobile and portable units for field demonstrations...As a result, over 200 personal use repeater systems (all on the same frequency [462.675 MHz]) were set up throughout the United States. In recognition of this trend of explosive growth the Federal Communications Commission formally recognized our frequency [462.675 MHz] as the national emergency and traveler's assistance channel in the Part 95A Rules and Regulations.
 
Pretty cool slice of radio history!

You can use a dual band antenna if your running a base station, but if you run a repeater, you should consider separate antennas, as you would have to be very careful. I don't do much VHF, but I do have a workman UV200 in storage. for the repeater we have also run the Comet 712. These fiber glass antennas flex a lot in gale force winds, need additional sealant or heat shrink around middle. If you are single story, get yourself a 20' section of  pole 2" pole and a house bracket, some even have the ability to tilt out for service. you can mount another 10' to that for about 30' without spending too much.

Roof vs headache rack will make a difference.  For a 1/4 wave antenna to work properly, you need sufficient ground plane; the center of the roof is where you would want to mount this antenna.  If you prefer to mount an antenna on the headache rack, use a 1/2 wave antenna which does not require a ground plane.

Yes many repeaters have a hang time. a period of a second or two that the carrier is still open after you activate the repeater. There are other ways as well, if you use a scanner or another radio, make sure that the TX and the RX/scanner radio are far enough away to prevent co channel interference. good luck

If I understand correctly, a duplexer is not necessary with two antennas. This trailer is 16 ft in length. Aantennas would bebon 20 ft masts (from ground).

Have you ever opened up your BCR-40U? It is in fact nothing more nor less than "two mobiles in a box". There is of course a custom controller, front panel controls, display, and a 30 amp power supply.

I have a Bridgecom BCR-40U with duplexer tuned to 462.675 CTCSS 123.0 for which I'm asking $1000 + shipping. It includes the programming software and programming cable.