BoxCar

I was with the Anchorage Fire Dept when the quake of '64 (second strongest earthquake ever recorded) happened. I was at the intersection of Spenard Rd. and Fireweed watching the land roll in actual waves going south along Spenard Rd. The first thing I did was try to go down Romig Hill but the culvert that carried the creek was crushed and the road blocked by the mounded dirt and pavement. I headed east on Fireweed and made it into Airport Heights and from there onto the roads home in Mt. View. After determining our house was still standing and everyone was safe I went to my assigned station, Station #3 where we started doing search and rescue. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries but lots of closed roads and damaged buildings. As our area was the East side we didn't know about the damage along 4th Ave or the Turnigan subdivision. I will say if it wasn't for the hams and their HF equipment letting people get news and information out of, and into the primary damage zones things could have been a lot worse. The ham operators were a real lifeline collecting reports from areas having no available access and providing critical information about the Tsunami that destroyed Valdez and hit both Seward and Whittier. The hams did yeoman duty in keeping information flowing so emergency responders and relief workers were sent where they were needed. Your little repeater in Eagle River could play an important role should something like that happen again. I would think about it being able to keep people together more than closing it off for just your little group.

I'm just getting started and went with ICOM over Yeasu. That means D-STAR. The deciding factor for me was talking to other hams in my area and some I know from my previous life and the overwhelming recommendation was for ICOM equipment.

Although 5 9s is written as shown.

Don't know the name of the logging software but you'll need to just scan the repeater input frequencies for traffic. It doesn't do any good to scan the outputs as they are available for FRS use.

In radio communications with a repeater there are 2 measurements that need to be done. From the repeater site you do a "talk out" or coverage map of the repeater taking the terrain into account. The other measurement is the "talk-in" measured from the mobile to the repeater. Again, you need to factor in the terrain. The program I used to use had an annual license fee of $1500 and we used it to coordinate Part 90 public safety frequencies. At UHF frequencies like GMRS, the signal will refract from hilltops and ridges allowing some signal to "bleed" into and out of canyons and valleys. As you are estimating 100 feet for the height of the repeater antenna you can assume any part of the antenna will allow a signal to be received. We normally used 10 feet for the height of a mobile antenna assuming one having gain mounted on a vehicle roof.

I wouldn't touch the antenna without either an antenna analyzer or SWR meter. The listed measurements usually include the antenna base and that isn't part of the actual radiating portion of the antenna. Going by overall length and cutting one antenna from a different serie to match is a really poor way ofdetermining the proper length.

If his tone is on receive, then your radio needs to transmit the tone. Having no tone on your radio's receive will allow you to hear him whether or not he sends a tone.

I don't know if I'd want to see you without a top or not.

I have had good success with the BTECH 25X2. It sits primarily on ham frequencies but it gives me an honest 20+ watts out into a 1/4 wave Laird. It's not certified for FRS/GMRS.

There is a difference between grounding/bonding the case of electronic equipment and what you originally proposed as lifting the ground from the power to bond it. Metal or conductive cases do shield from RFI generated within the enclosure affecting other devices and it is recommended the cases be connected, in parallel, to a proper ground.

As most of the terrain is fairly flat in AZ I would look at a 1/4 wave stub. I use the Laird QW450 available from a great many retailers. Datasheet - QW Series Quarterwave Antennas | Laird Connectivity

My training said never leave a battery on charge unattended. Systems that do have chargers connected at all times are also live in that current is being drawn from the system. The charger is a "float" charger in that the charge voltage floats above the battery's unloaded voltage and supplies the load with its needed current. That's what we use in both phone systems and repeater sites. If you are looking for a standby system, just connect the battery to the charger once a month or so to keep it topped off and not on charge.

GMRS operates on a line-of-sight basis. If your transmitter antenna can't "see" the receiver's antenna i a straight line, then they will not communicate. There are websites that will provide you with a path outline base on the gps location and elevation of both antennas showing any obstructions such as hills.

Not in a single unit that I'm aware of. There are several units available that can provide battery power and can be recharged from an external source. Perhaps the closest would be a power pack from Jackery or another similar unit. Check retailers such as Amazon for ideas.

There are water resistant (close to waterproof) tapes available designed primarily for protecting the connectors. For the mount itself, I would flush it with 91% isopropyl alcohol and then use a good weather resistant caulk to seal the bottom or back side of the mount. A lot of the better caulks can be painted.

ACE is the place ... if you need to buy one locally.

The window feedthrough you are thinking about are from MFJ. They are available through many Ham outlets such as hamradio.com and gigaparts.com.

The Vertex brand is originally Japanese and was a well respected brand that was purchased by Motorola around 2007. The Vertex brand of mobile radios was gone by 2010 after going through the double branding of Motorloa/Vertex, A lot of Part 90 agencie used the Vertex on the lower VHF band for their reliability. I don't know about the newer stuff that's coming out with the Vertex brand.

+1 from another new ham. Find a local club, get involved. It's well worth it.

+1

Actually I had my call sign in about 48 hours. I took the exam on Saturday and it was electronically filed that day with the call sign in hand on Monday. You can monitor ULS with your FRN and it will show as (most likely) autogranted within 48 hours. It depends on the VEC Coordinator and how they process the results.

Welcome from a new Tech KO4OCP

You can also look at the BTECH 25X2.

As height is king, have you thought of an attic install? A yagi would probably work, but if it's on your patio (and I'm assuming you have a house) you could also do a roof mount with an antenna inside a piece of PVC pipe secured to a vent pipe. You might also get by with a deck mounted vertical inside PVC again near te side of the house with the pipe matching your siding color.

This has come up several times under Part 90 and the FCC has stated it is not permissible to retransmit the routine weather statements. Weather warnings are a different matter in that they are permissible but only during the effective period. NOAA weather alerts automatically expire 4 hours from when they are issued unless a different period is specified. Flood warnings, as an example, are often issued for a period of several days. The other issue or issues you will run into include a bunch of upset people when you block a channel for unimportant routine information that can be retrieved from any number of commercial sources and the fact your transmission could override a legitimate call for assistance. As you state you are part of a weather spotter group, what would the reaction be from the amateur users in the area if you did the same thing on one of their channels? All in all, it's a poorly thought plan when very few people would listen when they get the same information from commercial radio and television.