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I recommend you program the radio using CHIRP and a computer. As they are then directly connected you don't have to worry about spurious signals messing up the radio.

Where are you testing the SWR? Test it where the coax goes into the antenna to be certain your coax is good. You'll need to use a dummy load in place of the antenna. Also be certain you have the correct SWR/Power meter as the GMRS ones are not designed to work on CB frequencies.

There are a few having a negative offset in the Carolinas where the repeater's input is at the upper portions of the amateur band.

The WCARS repeater W4MOE (146.91, -.6, 91.5) on Mt. Spivey did a wonderful job collecting information and disseminating it. I helped what I could from my location in S. Asheville before leaving because of no electricity or water. My power will be on by midnight Friday, but no word on water. The storm washed out roads and bridges, undermined pipes which caused breakage and damaged the water/sewer treatment plants. Makes me proud that I was able to contribute to the information flow in my little corner of S. Asheville.

We aim to please

The only protocols mentioned in the last expired EXTRA question pool were PACTOR and one other. Nothing about what they were or how they were formatted, just about what equipment was needed.

Don't worry about knowing about DMR or any of the other modes for the ham tests until you reach the Extra level. DMR is not an easy protocol to program as there are 3 elements to sync for every contact you want to use.

The repeater is supposed to be under the owner's control whenever its powered up. The owner would then be able (provided they configured the option) to shut the repeater down and reinitialize it later,

It can also be your microphone. If its an electret (powered) mic, the whine can come from the mic element itself. This sounds like a better scenario as it happens with the engine off.

They were in the Land of Fruits and Nuts. What did you expect? Intelligence?

I'm running Mean Well LMRs with a 30 and 50A outputs

High out, low in is easier to remember.

Repeaters are normally listed by their output frequency, you receive channel. Repeater channels set in your radio have the correct output channel (5 MHz higher) coded into the channel selected. Repeater input frequencies are all at 467 MHz while all the other channels are 462 MHz.

Antenna height.

Repurpose a part 90 radio for those conditions but any radio meeting FCC requirements is all you need in Asheville.

A 50 AH battery is overkill. Use the 80/20 rule that 80% of the on time is receive only. Calculate the amps used for an hour of on time and multiply that by the expected number of hours of operation. That will give you the size (in AH) battery needed. The excess power supplied by the solar system deep charges the battery providing even more operating cushion.

Dale's brother.

I would put the antenna where its not obvious from the street if possible. It's also best to mount it while doing something else such as hanging lights or cleaning gutters. People don't pay attention if they see an expected task.

An SWR meter isn't the best thing for testing if you are planning on building antennas. A better piece of test equipment is a Nano VNA as it will not only tell the wave ratio but also tell you at what frequency your antenna works best.

Ask the dealer service dept which fuse block locations are unused for his truck model.

Signal Stick makes one as well.

As UHF is primarily line-of-sight, increased power either from the transmitter or antenna gain does not equate to further distance. The increase is in signal density or available RF energy in the same area. The two things most responsible for better service are antenna height above ground (AGL) and our friend, signal density. Antennas increase signal density by "squishing" the radiation pattern from a ball shape toward an egg shaped oval. The higher the antenna gain the more the signal is "squished" flat. The biggest help in your situation will be getting the antenna higher above ground level.

Put the mag mount on a cookie sheet or 16 inch pizza pan and test again. Unless your antenna is specifically marked as a No Ground Plane required, it needs a ground plane as the ground plane is actually an integral part of the antenna's makeup.

Contact the site owner, Rich. He has to make those edits.

What is your antenna mounted on in your office? You need to have it connected to a piece of metal as a ground plane for the antenna to work correctly.