edburke738

I miss my MX-350....

I had always wondered what kind of view the antennas on top had. It seemed like low land whenever I drove over it, but it has a nice horizon view.

Marine Pkwy Bridge?

Jorge, I think you have a lot more learning to do. The XTL2500 is available in the above referenced band splits, meaning that there are distinct versions for each band split. There is not one single model that covers all of those band splits. You would need a radio with either the 380-470 split or the 450-520 split to meet your needs for GMRS, assuming, of course, that you don't care that that the radio is not type accepted by the FCC for use on GMRS (don't worry too much about that though.) I believe, based on the portable chart you would need a radio with a "Q", "R" or "S" as the 4th position of the model number. If it's anything else, it won't work on GMRS. Getting a programming cable is the simple part-you also need the proprietary Motorola software, which will run you several hundred dollars unless you have someone who already has it. The XTL may no longer be in production but it is still a supported radio, so pay careful attention and do some research before using a pirated copy of the software. Motorola, unlike many other companies does pursue people using their software illegally. Edit: fixed model number typo

GMRS is looked down upon by many HAM operators as a less worthy service since there is no test involved. As a result, there are many licensed GMRS operators who might have a hard time with the assumption they are using it as an intro to amateur radio. For me, GMRS was my intro to two-way radios and resulted in my expansion into commercial radio, owning my own shop from 1989-1995. To this day, my activities are much more on the commercial side than the amateur side-I originally got my HAM ticket so I could use a scanner in the car in Michigan (laws at the time forbid it with very narrow exemptions, of which HAM operators was one.)

Obviously, interpretation is a very subjective thing. My repeater is set to send a CWID every 15 minutes. This happens whether or not there is activity. The safest interpretation would be to give your callsign at the end of the first transmission, and at the end of your last transmission. If the transmissions are spread over a longer period of time, I would give it again at the end of every transmission that approximates a 15 minute period. You don't have to be transmitting for 15 minutes, just operating over that period with multiple transmissions for the rule to apply.

But it is the other way around. The Minitor was to be used to monitor all traffic, not paging. It was the form factor of the Minitor that made it appealing.

Yes and no, I just picked up a UV-5R for short money on Craigslist. While I played a bit on the ham frequencies, it is really a toy for me more than anything, until I took a long, hard look at it as an alternative to a Minitor VI. I ordered a knockoff Diamond SRH805 and will use the radio to scan local PD/FD and fire buff networks. It's less than 10 frequencies, so it's not an issue with the scan speed, and it takes up very little real estate on my belt. TX on the buff networks I belong to will be there, and TX on the other channels will be disabled via Chirp. All tolled, I'm in for under $30 for something that meets my needs that I was considering a $400 Minitor VI for. I still have my other radios I can go to for my transmit needs (FT-60 for Ham, EX600, HT1550XLS for GMRS/Commercial) so it does have its uses as a scanner.

Don't let it get you down. There's a lot of things to learn when you're starting out in radio. If you're looking to monitor a frequency, you need to know a few things about it. 1. the frequency-this may be a single frequency (conventional), multiple conventional channels used for different needs or multiple channels used in a trunking system. 2. Is it analog or digital? If digital, what type? P25, DMR, NXDN, iDAS, etc. 3. Is it "in the clear" or encrypted? If encrypted, give up now. Once you have those answers, the next question is; how am I going to listen? If you're looking for a base to monitor one channel or system, the dongle suggestion above is probably your best bet as it can decode many of the digital modes as well as analog. If you need a portable solution, you'll need to look at scanners with the frequency range and capabilities you require. Uniden is scheduled to make an announcement tomorrow that many are speculating that they will have a firmware update that allows DMR decoding, but as of right now, the only digital mode scanners will receive is P25. for any of the other modes, you would need to buy a portable radio capable of the mode. If it's a trunked system that's not P25, even a portable capable of working on the system won't work as it has to be authenticated onto the system by the administrator. I know it's a lot, but the more you learn, the easier it gets.