WRTC928

On the repeaters I use, it's not the norm to give a callsign at the end of every transmission. People typically use their callsign at the beginning and periodically (usually when the repeater IDs), then when they're finished with the conversation. I suppose it varies from one location to another. Things often become customary not because there's any requirement for it or even inherent logic in it, but just because it's what someone did and everyone else followed suit.

I didn't know him personally, but I knew of an airman who got caught using Air Force equipment to intercept his ex-wife's phone calls. His command was not amused. It ended badly for him. So, yes they can, and no they're not supposed to.

As easy as it is to do these days, I'd be amazed if emergency service agencies didn't fire up a scanner or scanning radio in the wake of a major event. My local amateur radio club has a plan to activate a network of volunteers to call in reports on the local repeaters. The net operators sit in the emergency operations center with county and state emergency service coordinators and pass information along. Presumably, the officials could just listen in on a scanner, but they have their hands full with their own comms and having net controllers allows them to triage the information and pass along the most important stuff first. This actually turned out to be very useful recently with a tornado and a series of fires in Oklahoma. I never had any useful information to pass along, but it was interesting to hear things reported in real time. A monitored radio net is still the fastest way to communicate when it really matters. There's no reason a group of GMRS users couldn't do the same thing. Perhaps they do, but I'm not within range of any of the repeaters in my area.

Just as a courtesy, I typically use channels 1-7 for simplex unless I need more than 5 watts. So far, that hasn't happened. Just an anecdotal observation -- it seems as if in my area, GMRS users mostly stay on 15-22 whether simplex or duplex, while FRS users are all over the place. I suppose GMRS users are just accustomed to using 15-22, so that's what they dial up, even on simplex, but I prefer not to. A lot of this radio stuff is just about good manners. If I can stay off the repeater channels in simplex, I do. However, in my area, there's so little traffic that it probably doesn't matter.

After absorbing the information you guys provided in this thread, I bought the Abbree 42" folding "tactical" antenna (BNC version because the radios I use most all have BNC connectors). This morning, I checked in to a 2 meter net 20+ miles away using that antenna and an AR-152 radio on 1 watt and was able to communicate. I had previously attempted it with HYS 771 and Nagoya 771 antennas and was unsuccessful. I think I've found my "behind the seat of the truck" antenna. I also got an Abbree 18" folding antenna (SMA version) as part of a package with a radio, and it seems about as good as the 771s, although I haven't actually done a comparison yet. In short, they seem as if they'll fit my needs nicely.

I bought a hardside case from Amazon for (IIRC) $17-18. I use it for my "grab-and-go" field trip/travel kit. It contains 2 each AR-5RM radios, spare batteries, USB charging cables, 701 antennas, 771 antennas, tri-band antennas, and belt clips. Also 1 each user's manual, dual-port 12-volt USB power unit, dual-port 110-volt USB power unit, a tiny Phillips screwdriver (to install the belt clips), programming cable, and (for the sake of completeness), a USB drive with CHIRP and the program file for the radio on it. Wherever I go, I can pull out my laptop -- or even someone else's computer -- and put in all the local repeaters. Having two radios means I can give one of them to a friend or have a backup in case one goes down. It doesn't weigh much, and it seems to provide good protection. The radios have silicone sleeves for protection. I put them face-down so the other stuff doesn't scratch up the screens and there's a thin piece of foam under them just for added protection.

I don't know to what extent any agency monitors radio traffic, but I know with absolute certainty that the US government has the capability to hear and talk to basically anything that puts out a signal. Many years ago, I was in an "off the road" village in central Alaska when an earthquake took out the phones for an area about the size of Colorado. There were quite a few isolated villages in that area. Within a few hours, there were aircraft in the air (E-3 AWACS would be my guess since they're stationed in Alaska) which could talk to literally anyone with a radio -- CB, marine, GMRS, Ham, you name it and they could talk to it. It was critical in knowing which villages had casualties, etc. You feel a lot less lonely just knowing you can get a message out. Satellite phones didn't exist yet. I suppose it would be different now. I once asked an AWAC crew member about their comms and he said, "If we want to, we can pick up the infrasound elephants communicate with."

I've the 701G, 771G, 701 dual-band, and 771 dual band. My unscientific observation is that the 701s were a little disappointing because for the most part, they didn't perform any better than the rubber duck. Perhaps a little better clarity in some circumstances, but that's about it. The 771s are another matter. I don't necessarily get more distance because of the terrain, but I definitely put out a signal with more authority. In areas where I'd be static-y or breaking up with a short antenna, I get through loud and clear. I'm not really sure if the GMRS-specific versions outperform the dual-band ones. I get about the same distance in ordinary use, but I haven't actually done any tests of range. I still use the 701 a lot because most of the time it will work just fine for my purpose and it's more convenient than a longer antenna. I have a little bag with a couple of different antenna options in case I want them and I usually have it in my vehicle, so I pretty much have everything covered. I have some Nagoya tri-band antennas on order, and I'll be interested to see how they compare to the Comet and two no-name tri-band antennas I'm currently using. My current tri-band antennas perform more like 701s than 771s on 2m, 70cm, and GMRS (in spite of their length), which shouldn't be surprising because the more things you ask an antenna to do, the less well it does each of them. There's a 1.25m repeater in Oklahoma City, and I can access it from a reasonable distance, considering that the 5RM puts out about 4-5 watts on 220, but I've never gotten anyone to answer a signal check. It works, but I guess nobody monitors it.

Find out what you can reach with the HT before you put an antenna on the house. It may be that you can reach as far as you want with the stock antenna. I can put up a better antenna but it doesn't gain me much because of the terrain. I suppose if I got it high enough, it might help, but I'm not sure who I would talk to that I can't already reach

That's not really a consideration at present, because this will be a fixed installation. I'll keep it in mind, though.

Completely tangential, but one of the few things I remember from military survival training is that if you can make a fire and get access to clean water, you won't die for at least a week, often more.

I use this analogy with the prepper communities. Often when they say they have a radio in case of emergencies, I say, "Who are you going to call?" It's a bit surprising how many of them never really thought of that. They just assume there's some channel where they can call and someone will be listening. I'm not bagging on preppers, I'm just pointing out that they benefit from education, like everyone else. If you get in the habit of using the radio regularly to talk to family, friends, whatever, you'll be much better prepared to use it in the event of an emergency. I wouldn't want to be trying to figure out my rifle or my radio when things have already gone bad. Or my water filter or my fire-making kit, for that matter.

Do you mean one higher than the other on separate masts, or one directly above the other on the same mast? My understanding is that the latter can be done, but it requires some fancy calculations.

Congratulations on the least helpful comment of the week.

One of my BF-f8hps has a camo silicone sleeve over it, but that's just because it came in a 5-pack with red, yellow, blue, and orange sleeves and I thought the camo looked kinda cool. I have a black sleeve on an AR-5RM and I like the protection, but it's kinda bland.