BoxCar

If you can trigger the repeater, then it is entirely possible no one is listening. Repeater use can be driven by many things such as drive time or only evening or weekends depending on the community it serves.

Customer care shortage?

I don't believe a city (government) can hold a GMRS license. A city (government) employee can hold a license.

I'd just put that on the trash heap.

Well, it was new when Michael opened the tread in Feb 2021.

One method that may help in compiling a list of rebadged radios is from their batteries. Do a search for compatible batteries that fit the different brands.

TK-390 Specs (portronix.com)

Log in to ULS and search for your FRN. License Search (fcc.gov)

Personally I haven't worked any satellites or the ISS but some of the hams in our club have done so with tape measure yagis.

There are a great many with multiple FRNs. Just search your local PD for one.

Use a power meter and measure the output. One person's report about their installation has ZERO relevance other than providing a data point for your comparison.

Towers and farmer's fields don't go together well if the farmer uses ariel spraying.

If you are specifying the frequencies, the step has no affect. It is the amount the VFO would shift if it were bumped up or down one position or step.

And that's where the NEC and Ampacity tables have their largest differences. In radio work, at least with the radios we are dealing with on this site, wire lengths don't come into play so there is no regard to the internal resistance of the conductor and any losses that result from length. I believe the NEC formulas are set to keep the insulation temperature below 60C where the ampacity tables allow temps up to 130C. The most common PVC coating will withstand a temp of 160C while silicon will allow a temp of 600F which can light paper. Additionally, we are normally dealing with amp draws of 16 - 18A max as the radios are limited to 50W. 100W amateur radios will draw 28A which can be run on 14Ga wire, but I build all my harnesses with 12Ga silicon.

I'm not that good with the math. I cheated and got the information on the Internet from several different sources.

I wouldn't worry about the wire on the plug. 12 ga wire will handle 30A with no issues. In fact, 14 ga silicon insulated wire will handle 30A but PVC or rubber insulated wire can get over 200 degrees Fahrenheit when carrying that much current.

GMRS/FRS isn't as popular or widely used as CB. As the service is still growing, there are a lot of "holes" in the service area. Unlike CB, GMRS won't work for long distances as the frequency dictates line-of-sight communications. Unlike CB, you can use repeaters in GMRS, but each repeater is privately owned, and the owner of the equipment has control over who is allowed to use it. As to equipment, for mobile use anything over 25W is unnecessary as higher power doesn't equate to longer distances because of the line-of-sight characteristics. The biggest improvement for any installation is centered around the antenna. The location and height are the two biggest elements. Installing something as short as a 1/4 wave whip (about 6") on the roof of your vehicle will give you all the range possible with a 25W or higher watt radio.

I believe Maryland has a law against using a police scanner in a motor vehicle. The law is on the books to protect motorists from pirate tow truck drivers and companies responding to assistance calls by the police. The motorist also has to affirm to the police officer they accept the uninvited tow operator over the police contracted service,

It's the default value.

He would have to have been violating a regulation that a state or other federal agency had on their books for them to take action. Forestry can't enforce FAA regulations unless they have a similar regulation within their rules. Without specific regulations against causing interference or impeding radio communications they have to defer to the FCC as the agency with the jurisdiction to take action.

That will always be an issue with crowd sourced information. As ham and GMRS repeaters aren't licensed and funded there is no guarantee they will be live from one day to the next.

Yup, making the plug is fully seated is the only fix. A lot of times it's the boot around the plug that's the problem.

The EFJ's were a popular alternative to the Moto's for many public safety agencies using P25 phase 1

At GMRS frequencies almost any power supply will work with no interference coming from the switching circuit in any FCC registered supply. Mean Well, available on Amazon has some good ones under $40.

Change Tone Mode to TONE. If the repeater is on the air and you can reach it you should hear the squelch tail from pressing and releasing the PTT on your radio. If you don't hear the squelch tail just monitor for any traffic and then ask for a radio check.