RCM

I'm always glad to see another GMRS repeater go on air.
 
http://www.ics-ctrl.com/Controllers
http://www.hamgadgets.com/ham-radio/IDOMATICIV
http://openrepeater.com/

Side Note:  Our MyGMRS Moderator (spd641) has a system in Blount County that seems to have coverage from just north of Birmingham to around Hartselle along I-65. Not sure of the east-west coverage.

We originally had two Motorola M1225 45 watt radios linked by a cable only. We never put it on the air but friends have put the identical setup on the air with a large fan and have ran them hard duty outside in a plastic tub for a couple of years without trouble. I've found M1225 radios pretty cheap and the cable runs $5 or you can make your own. Unfortunately, without a repeater controller, it doesn't ID. That has never been a problem for them in the rural areas.
 
ETA: I found the M1225 radios very easy to program. BlueMax49er on eBay has the good USB cable for them and many other radios.

That sounds awesome! 675 is a prime pair because of former REACT usage and because, according to Wikipedia, it's "often used as emergency and road information calling frequency with tone squelch of 141.3 Hz". But, you probably knew that already.
 
Remember that Midland Micromobile users, and possibly some others, currently cannot change to carrier squelch when using an input tone on the repeater channels; input tone = squelch tone. For this reason, we have our repeater outputting a tone of 141.3 regardless of input tone. Unfortunately, the other repeaters here have not gotten around to doing so and their repeaters run multiple tones. This leaves out those users unless they run a second radio to listen to the output with carrier squelch.
 
We just put a Vertex VXR-7000U up for testing. I like it very much so far. It's easy to program and it is 100% duty cycle. We got it used at a decent price. Motorola MTR2000 repeaters are looking good in price lately but I don't know as much about working on them and our repeater is low footprint anyway due to height AGL and raw elevation relative to surroundings at our home QTH.

Since there seems to be no currently posted guidelines, I would just click the box based on my own definition.
 
Yours may be different, but I would just call it "open to all licensed users (who behave themselves), 141.8 PL."
That PL is widely known as the travel PL, so shouldn't cause any licensed user any difficulty.
 
The part about behaving themselves allows for the blood sport of hooligan chasing, of course.

I just found something interesting in the GMRS rules. From 95.1771:
 
a. Each GMRS transmitter type must have the capability to transmit F3E or G3E emissions.
b. Only emission types A1D, F1D, G1D, H1D, J1D, R1D, A3E, F3E, G3E, H3E, J3E, R3E, F2D, and G2D are authorized for use in the GMRS.
 
Ok. F3E is FM (frequency modulation) voice. G3E is phase modulation voice; essentially the same as FM. So basically a. states that a GMRS station must be able to transmit FM.
 
Then, b. adds to that. In addition to being capable of transmitting FM, a GMRS transmitter (because the transmitter is really the regulated part) may also have the capability of transmitting the other listed emission types. 1 and 2 refer to digital content. 3 refers to analog content, including voice transmissions.
The third character refers to type of content, with E being telephony: voice or music. Of course music is verboten, so E means voice in the case of GMRS.
 
So looking at the first character, the analog voice modes that are listed are: A3E, F3E, G3E, H3E, J3E and R3E. As already stated, F3E and G3E are FM voice.
 
Here's the interesting part: A3E is AM voice. J3E is SSB voice. H3E and R3E are modified forms of SSB. DSB (Double Sideband, suppressed carrier) also falls under the heading of A3E, so that would be allowed as well.
 
Conclusion: as long as a transmitter meets the rest of the requirements (including the ability to transmit on FM), there is nothing prohibiting the use of SSB or AM on GMRS. If someone would just build a Part 95 type classified multimode transceiver...
 
The thing is, on ham radio it is not uncommon to communicate over paths of hundreds of miles, simplex, using 432 MHz SSB. It would seem that availability of a proper radio is the only thing preventing us from doing the same on GMRS freqs.

Good find. I didn't see that snippet when I searched.
 
The ever elusive "Open Repeater Initiative guidelines" that I'd like to check on our repeater in the database but have no idea what those guidelines entailed. Hopefully, someone who has checked the ORI box on their repeater can enlighten us.
 
Your speculation matches with my own; ORI probably includes Travel tone but must be more than just that. There is a Traveler Tone check box and an Open System (Does this repeater conform to the guidelines of the Open Repeater Initiative?) check box on the database.
 
It could be anything... including that you promise to chase off hooligans or hunt them down under blood oath. lol

The link in the repeater database configuration screen no longer works. What are/were the ORI guidelines?
 
http://www.popularwireless.com/openrptr.html

There is no RF ground on a J pole. It is in reality an end-fed half wave antenna, fed with a quarter wave matching stub.
And that being the case, you can't make a quarter wave J pole. You can however bend it at a 90 degree angle, at the end of the matching stub where the radiator begins.
 
The reason a quarter wave antenna needs an "RF ground" is that it is only half of an antenna: the radials, RF ground lead or whatever you use forms the other half. A half wave antenna is a complete antenna, hence no grounding requirement.

Hello all;
I just received my GMRS license a couple of days ago. I am a ham and have been involved in various facets of radio since the '70s. I've considered getting a GMRS license for years, but prior to 1999 it just seemed too restrictive and didn't seem to offer any real advantages for me. I was much more involved in amateur radio and didn't have the time for what GMRS was at the time, or at least what I perceived it to be, right or wrong.
 
That was then, this is now. I'm pleased with the direction GMRS has taken. I remember when FRS first came out, and in fact I sold some of the first FRS radios before they were widely available. I watched as the blister pack radios became more capable, and heard the buzz about how they would result in the demise of GMRS.
 
I'm happy that hasn't happened, and that GMRS has become a more useful and accessible radio service than ever before.

I just found something interesting in the GMRS rules. From 95.1771:
 
a. Each GMRS transmitter type must have the capability to transmit F3E or G3E emissions.
b. Only emission types A1D, F1D, G1D, H1D, J1D, R1D, A3E, F3E, G3E, H3E, J3E, R3E, F2D, and G2D are authorized for use in the GMRS.
 
Ok. F3E is FM (frequency modulation) voice. G3E is phase modulation voice; essentially the same as FM. So basically a. states that a GMRS station must be able to transmit FM.
 
Then, b. adds to that. In addition to being capable of transmitting FM, a GMRS transmitter (because the transmitter is really the regulated part) may also have the capability of transmitting the other listed emission types. 1 and 2 refer to digital content. 3 refers to analog content, including voice transmissions.
The third character refers to type of content, with E being telephony: voice or music. Of course music is verboten, so E means voice in the case of GMRS.
 
So looking at the first character, the analog voice modes that are listed are: A3E, F3E, G3E, H3E, J3E and R3E. As already stated, F3E and G3E are FM voice.
 
Here's the interesting part: A3E is AM voice. J3E is SSB voice. H3E and R3E are modified forms of SSB. DSB (Double Sideband, suppressed carrier) also falls under the heading of A3E, so that would be allowed as well.
 
Conclusion: as long as a transmitter meets the rest of the requirements (including the ability to transmit on FM), there is nothing prohibiting the use of SSB or AM on GMRS. If someone would just build a Part 95 type classified multimode transceiver...
 
The thing is, on ham radio it is not uncommon to communicate over paths of hundreds of miles, simplex, using 432 MHz SSB. It would seem that availability of a proper radio is the only thing preventing us from doing the same on GMRS freqs.

Welcome RCM
 
Keith T

RCM- Welcome to the forum.  I like your avatar... nice line drawing of a Shakespeare SE-2500 VHF Marine radio.  I wonder if anyone else caught that.

I agree and the Arizona GMRS Repeater club actively works towards the goal of furthering the adoption and use of GMRS.  Practical applications of radio (as opposed to just rag chewing) is what I enjoy most, and I find GMRS to be a gret fit for my purposes.  Welcome!

Why, thank you.
 
They said I arrived in world saying, "CQ CQ CQ... HiHi" but N8LID was already taken.
 
I actually know him, BTW. Real guy, real call sign; N8LID.

There is no RF ground on a J pole. It is in reality an end-fed half wave antenna, fed with a quarter wave matching stub.
And that being the case, you can't make a quarter wave J pole. You can however bend it at a 90 degree angle, at the end of the matching stub where the radiator begins.
 
The reason a quarter wave antenna needs an "RF ground" is that it is only half of an antenna: the radials, RF ground lead or whatever you use forms the other half. A half wave antenna is a complete antenna, hence no grounding requirement.

I just found something interesting in the GMRS rules. From 95.1771:
 
a. Each GMRS transmitter type must have the capability to transmit F3E or G3E emissions.
b. Only emission types A1D, F1D, G1D, H1D, J1D, R1D, A3E, F3E, G3E, H3E, J3E, R3E, F2D, and G2D are authorized for use in the GMRS.
 
Ok. F3E is FM (frequency modulation) voice. G3E is phase modulation voice; essentially the same as FM. So basically a. states that a GMRS station must be able to transmit FM.
 
Then, b. adds to that. In addition to being capable of transmitting FM, a GMRS transmitter (because the transmitter is really the regulated part) may also have the capability of transmitting the other listed emission types. 1 and 2 refer to digital content. 3 refers to analog content, including voice transmissions.
The third character refers to type of content, with E being telephony: voice or music. Of course music is verboten, so E means voice in the case of GMRS.
 
So looking at the first character, the analog voice modes that are listed are: A3E, F3E, G3E, H3E, J3E and R3E. As already stated, F3E and G3E are FM voice.
 
Here's the interesting part: A3E is AM voice. J3E is SSB voice. H3E and R3E are modified forms of SSB. DSB (Double Sideband, suppressed carrier) also falls under the heading of A3E, so that would be allowed as well.
 
Conclusion: as long as a transmitter meets the rest of the requirements (including the ability to transmit on FM), there is nothing prohibiting the use of SSB or AM on GMRS. If someone would just build a Part 95 type classified multimode transceiver...
 
The thing is, on ham radio it is not uncommon to communicate over paths of hundreds of miles, simplex, using 432 MHz SSB. It would seem that availability of a proper radio is the only thing preventing us from doing the same on GMRS freqs.

Hello all;
I just received my GMRS license a couple of days ago. I am a ham and have been involved in various facets of radio since the '70s. I've considered getting a GMRS license for years, but prior to 1999 it just seemed too restrictive and didn't seem to offer any real advantages for me. I was much more involved in amateur radio and didn't have the time for what GMRS was at the time, or at least what I perceived it to be, right or wrong.
 
That was then, this is now. I'm pleased with the direction GMRS has taken. I remember when FRS first came out, and in fact I sold some of the first FRS radios before they were widely available. I watched as the blister pack radios became more capable, and heard the buzz about how they would result in the demise of GMRS.
 
I'm happy that hasn't happened, and that GMRS has become a more useful and accessible radio service than ever before.

A typical usage scenario would be simplex communication between two houses on non-heavily used channels.

Hello all;
I just received my GMRS license a couple of days ago. I am a ham and have been involved in various facets of radio since the '70s. I've considered getting a GMRS license for years, but prior to 1999 it just seemed too restrictive and didn't seem to offer any real advantages for me. I was much more involved in amateur radio and didn't have the time for what GMRS was at the time, or at least what I perceived it to be, right or wrong.
 
That was then, this is now. I'm pleased with the direction GMRS has taken. I remember when FRS first came out, and in fact I sold some of the first FRS radios before they were widely available. I watched as the blister pack radios became more capable, and heard the buzz about how they would result in the demise of GMRS.
 
I'm happy that hasn't happened, and that GMRS has become a more useful and accessible radio service than ever before.