WRTC928

No malls anywhere near me, but there is a Dollar General within range. They don't use radios, though; they just yell across the store.

I've never had it happen, but I only just now posted my repeater as "open" so it's possible. I've been listening to all the repeaters in my area for months, though, and I haven't heard anyone being abusive, so I decided to risk it.

With radios capable of scanning for and picking up tones, there's literally no way to keep someone off your repeater unless you just keep it a secret. I can't imagine FCC or anyone else would consider you responsible if you've taken appropriate steps to notify someone they're not allowed to use it.

I know that, but as you say, it's good to put it out for people to see. It would be extremely bad form to add a repeater you don't own.

I think the title says it all.

That would do it. It doesn't say anything about recreational use, but they probably don't sell enough for that purpose to be worth shipping them.

Do you know what the basis is for the FCC ban?

Ah. Sometimes that stuff doesn't come across well in writing.

I have the tri-band version of this radio. They've done something goofy so that depending upon how you set the speaker preferences and/or which jack you insert the external speaker plug into, you get UHF on one speaker and VHF on another OR left side on one speaker and right side on another. Try setting the "Deputy channel mute" to "off" and see if that helps. I solved the problem by getting a stereo-to-mono adapter plug, inserting it into the top jack, and plugging my speaker into that so all the sound comes out one speaker and I can adjust volume on both sides with their respective knobs.

Yeah, well, he's wrong.

LOL! I keep forgetting to check the dates on the threads. I was trying to be helpful, but apparently just beclowned myself.

I have the 7900 version which appears to be almost the same radio, and it will transmit on all the GMRS repeater input frequencies.

I have the 7900 which appears to be almost the same radio. I got it to work with repeaters the same way I do all other radios -- by programming the frequency, offset, and tone with CHIRP. Can you give us some more information about the problem you're having? Perhaps we can be more helpful if we know a bit more.

There are 4 GMRS and 6-8 ham repeaters close enough for me to hear. Many days, I don't hear anything from any of them. You may have to listen for a long time. If you listen for 12 hrs or so and don't hear anything (assuming your settings are correct), it's okay to key up and ask for a signal check. You may not get a response, but you should at least hear the squelch tail and/or courtesy tone. It's been my experience that if you ask for a signal check, someone will respond more often than not. Say something like, "This is WSJV482. I'm testing equipment. May I get a signal check, please?" Most repeaters are being monitored even when they're not actively in use and likely someone will be glad to help. If they do, thank them, tell them you're new and will be monitoring the repeater. Don't make it a long "get to know you" conversation the first time unless they ask. Sometimes I respond to a signal check when I'm in the middle of doing something else just so the other operator knows they're getting a signal out, but I don't really have time for a long conversation. Sometimes I'm just sitting in my recliner, and then I'll usually ask a couple of questions like where they're transmitting from, how long have they been in this area, what got them interested in GMRS/ham radio, etc. In that case, it's perfectly fine to have a chat.

You're probably right, and I don't get in a panic if I forget, but it's a good habit to have.

I installed a relay to kill power to the radio when I turn off the key, but I try to remember to turn the radio off before the ignition, so it doesn't get that surge at startup. I don't know if it's really anything to worry about, but it's easy and seems like a reasonable precaution.

On the contrary, amateur radio is pretty much what you're proposing to initiate. Take advantage of some of the free study materials and get your Tech license. A lot of us participate in both services. They fill different needs.

It's surprising how far you can communicate with a good line of sight. My personal best HT-to-HT is 22 miles, but we were both on elevated terrain features with apparently little or nothing between us. In Alaska, I had a cabin in a remote riverside location accessible (barely) with a 4WD vehicle. There was a lodge 12 miles away on a mountain that had phone service, and they monitored (as far as I could tell) every radio service known to man. When I got there, I'd flip on my repeater and check in with them. I couldn't directly communicate with an HT because of the trees, but by running an antenna into a tall tree, I could reach the repeater and thence the lodge from any reasonable distance with my HT. On the other side of the valley, some 60+ miles away, people on another mountaintop could talk to the lodge easily with an HT. I don't know how far a UHF signal has to go before it begins to degrade just due to distance, but it's a long way. Theoretically, it would be readable forever, but a radio wave isn't perfectly coherent. It will eventually begin to spread and scatter from things as minor as water vapor or dust in the air.

IME,you'll save yourself a lot of hassle by buying a programming cable with the FTDI chip. There are no driver issues.

ARRL's only authority is that licensees acknowledge them as the national coordinator and voluntarily cooperate. But ARRL has been around since 1914 when amateur radio was new, and no living ham can remember a time they didn't exist. I just don't envision 100,000 GMRS licensees voluntarily yielding that sort of authority to some upstart organization.

Apparently, it's an attempt to form a nationwide club. How does that constitute "taking over" GMRS? Unless they have some sort of actual authority, I can't see how that will affect me.

Yes. My repeater has that as a selectable option in its software. To use a voice ID, I would have to buy another device. And, as @dosw said, I find it less disruptive than a voice when I'm having a conversation. Most of the ham repeaters I listen to use a Morse code ID, but a couple use voice ID. The voice ID is fine when it's just a periodic voice on the air, but in the midst of a conversation, it's more confusing.

There's no way to know for sure without more information, but some repeaters do use Morse code to identify.

I've had a hip joint replaced, but recovery from that wasn't actually too bad. Hopefully, I'll never need a knee replacement.

Yeah, I'd like to get back to lifting weights, but I don't want anything like that to happen. I'm going to be careful with it for quite some time.