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If you buy a radio made for GMRS it will have only FRS/GMRS frequencies programmed from the factory.

You can pick up a decent miniature VNA (Vector Network Analyzer) for less than $100 that will tell you many things about your installation. VNAs can measure the SWR, tell you what the resonant frequency of your antenna is and show you what must be done to get the antenna at its lowest losses at the frequencies you use.

Coverage area from a radio varies little when you use 15W or more up to the 50W maximum allowed. The biggest gains aren't in how much power is fed to the antenna, but how well the antenna performs. The two key things in your antenna choice are location and loss. Because the radiated signal from the antenna travels in a virtual straight line, the higher on the vehicle the antenna is mounted, the better the range. The second is signal loss due to both the antenna and the coax cable feeding the antenna. Your antenna has a resonant frequency where it works the best. Going above or below that frequency introduces loss as the antenna isn't as efficient. The coax used to feed the antenna is also a source of loss. No coax is highly efficient at GMRS frequencies but different cables perform better than others. The piece of equipment needed to measure loss most use is an SWR/Power meter. SWR or Standing Wave Ratio is the amount of power reflected back to the transmitter from the antenna and this increases the further you go from the resonant frequency. This loss is added to the loss from the coax meaning a decrease in the amount of power put into the radiated signal. Loss is measured on a logarithmic scale stated in dB or decibels. In practice, you want the SWR to be as low as possible at the frequencies you use, usually less than 1.5:1. SWR measurements of up to 2:1 is considered acceptable but the lower the better. There are numerous calculators on the Internet that will show you the loss from both SWR and coax.

No. America refers to a single country while the word when combined with North or South refers to a continent.

You need to be a little more explicit about which settings you want to know about. We can guess you are talking about tone settings, and if that's the case then the simple explanation is tones act as filters. If you have a tone set, then everything not sent with a matching tone is rejected. Some radios can use two tones, one transmit and another receive. This is called Split Tones. Split tones do not have to be the same but your radio has to specifically support using tones in this manner. In programming tones you are often given a choice as to the manner in which the tone is used. A setting of TONE means you will transmit the tone when you press the PTT key. TQSL means the same tone is needed for both transmit and receive. Not using a tone sets the radio to CARRIER SQUELCH which means it will activate on any signal received and not send one with the PTT.

Depending on how deep you want to dive you have a choice of attending a college to study Electrical Engineering with an emphasis on wireless communications or perhaps picking up a couple ARRL manuals. ARRL Handbook 2022 (Softcover) The ARRL Handbook for Radio Communications is your complete guide to radio experimentation, discovery, and innovation. It is the Handbook, written by radio amateurs for everyone with a desire to advance the pursuit of wireless technology. ARRL Antenna Book 24th Edition The ARRL Antenna Book for Radio Communications is a single resource covering antenna theory, design and construction, and practical treatments and projects. This book contains everything you need to understand how radio signals propagate, how antennas work, and how to construct your own antenna system.

By this line of reasoning you rely on life because your diaphragm moves.

OOC, where was his truck in relation to you? If he was in front of you then the body of the truck would affect the transmission range because of the antenna placement.

The experimental license expired last year (Aug 2021).

The top green banner on the login page shows where you select GMRS.

Phone, CW or digital? I've only had success with digital (FT8).

If the radio has been sitting unused for several years, it may be some of the wet (electrolytic) capacitors have dried out. It may be cheaper to buy a new radio than to send that one in for checkout and repair if needed.

Unless the receive tone of 74.4 is specifically listed for the repeater change the tone mode from TQSL to TONE. That will transmit a tone only but not require a tone for receive.

We're using 2 meters on both events but I'll have F/GMRS available as well.

Working at least 2 events this summer. Both are bike events through the mountains of western NC.

I'm unaware of any covers being available for the bottom of a NMO mount. If you know of someone with a 3D printer they may be able to make one. Lacking that, you can cover the connection with an RTV compound or polyurethane.

I replaced a few mic switches back in the mid 70's on a couple different CBs. The one mic that was my favorite had a one-off switch that went bad. Hated to discard that electret mic.

As you are an amateur, a dual band 25W unit would serve you better but I imagine you already have some.

This sounds like a switch issue. Can you disassemble the mic and see how the PTT works? It may just be an assembly that trips a push-button or lever actuated switch that's either shifted or gone bad. Radio Shack used to be where I'd go to replace the switches in CB mics years ago.

The quick answer: Yes, but not easily. Setting up a repeater takes more than just two radios and a couple wires. It's going to be much easier to use the existing repeater. Retivis sells a small repeater for around $400 that only requires an antenna and power.

The FT-60 can be programmed using CHIRP so you should be able to set the tones through the program.

The thing that would infuriate the complainer even more would have been to stop responding by turning your receiver off. The point would have been made, "I'm not listening to you rant about something I have no control over." It puts the adage "never argue with an idiot as they drag you down to their level and beat you with experience" to the forefront.

As you stated in a later post your planned use is mobile and that brings up another set of questions. GMRS isn't like CB where there are a lot of units in use along the highways so don't expect help with traffic congestion or directions. People on GMRS seem to primarily use the radios for communication between family members and close neighbors. The use of GMRS is shifting to where more units are installed in vehicles but it's going to be several years before GMRS begins to challenge CB for car-to-car conversations and assistance. With that in mind, you also need to look at what you want to accomplish with a radio. If it's finding people to chat with, then your better choice would be to get an amateur license at this time. An amateur Technician license gives you access to two frequency bands, VHF and UHF. GMRS is UHF. As amateur radio has been around for over 100 years there are thousands of repeaters available all around the nation and even millions around the world. People on amateur radio are those that like nothing better than talking to others also known as rag chewing. Entry level VHF/UHF radios are in the same price range as some of the better GMRS radios. I started with a little 25W unit that was around $125. An antenna and mount set me back another $50 or so and a power supply to use it in the house was another $30. That's about the same price you are going to put into your radio station but limited to the GMRS/FRS frequencies. Yes, the requirements for an amateur license are greater but nothing onerous. The Technician level license for V/UHF takes about 40 hours of study and passing a 35-question test on some basic radio knowledge and the rules. The biggest difference in the licenses is an amateur license is for the individual only where your GMRS license covers your entire family. The biggest difference in making contacts is I'm not limited to just those in an area around me. With my ham transmitter I lack only contacts in Africa from working all continents. I can still talk on the GMRS/FRS frequencies using my GMRS transmitter as I'm licensed in both services. But to get back to your questions, if you are going to have the unit in just a vehicle, a 25W radio will meet all your needs. These can be powered from the cigarette lighter socket so just add a magnetic mount antenna and you are set. While not according to the rules, you can use some dual band radios for both amateur and FRS/GMRS communications. That's not a recommendation to do that, but just letting you know it is possible with some radios. Adding an external power supply, you can bring your radio inside and make contact using an external antenna. You can also upgrade to a higher power radio going up to the 50W limit. I would stick with an analog or FM only radio unless you go into the amateur ranks where you may want to try a digital radio and connect to others through the Internet. There is a freeware software package called Chirp that can program any frequencies you need into a great many radios but Midland isn't a brand that's covered. You can see the large number of different radios at Home - CHIRP (danplanet.com). Chirp is an easy to use program and there are other sites that have tutorials on using the software as well. As far as brands go, four that would meet your needs are Alinco, BaoFeng (and BTECH), TYT and Wouxun. There are a great many others, but these 4 offer a wide variety and are generally reliable performers.

BTECH's duty cycle is around 20%. That's12 minutes of transmitting spread over an hour. YMMV

That's something the FCC can't just wave a magic rule change at. Frequency allotments and sharing between countries are set in treaties and only the Senate can change the treaty which allows the FCC to change the rule.