WRTC928

Would that go on for more than an hour?

That makes sense.

You are incorrect. The FCC rules list them as part of the allocated GMRS frequencies, although the power and bandwidth restrictions are the same as for FRS. I understand that to mean that if you are using a Part 95-accepted radio to transmit on those channels, a license is still required.

Wide bandwidth is authorized for GMRS users on 1-7 and 15-22 per FCC rules.

I have a couple of HTs that output 0.5 watt or less on the low power setting. On the others, I block transmission on 8-14, but I usually monitor them.

I think most hams who also have GMRS licenses have amateur and GMRS frequencies on the same radio. It's so much more convenient than carrying two radios...I've heard... Regardless of the radio used, I'm a proponent of sticking to the authorized power levels and bandwidths because I don't want to interfere with someone else's enjoyment of the airwaves.

It has started again at 7:10 pm. It seems to occur in the 7-8 pm time frame, which argues for some sort of signaling device or the like. I'm still puzzled over how it can be heard on GMRS 15 wide open, but also 15 with a digital code and 15 with a tone code set. I timed it, and it's occurring every 30 seconds.

Listing a repeater as "open" is typically taken to mean no permission is required. However, politeness is never out of style, and there's no harm in contacting the owner to say thanks.

The UV-5RH Pro GPS is almost the same radio in terms of features and function. It lacks the support and updatable firmware of the BF-F8HP Pro, and those things do matter, but it's 1/4 the price. If I were going to have only one HT and use it for many years, I'd probably go with the F8HP, but I bought the 5RH instead. There's not really one right answer to the question of what radio is "best". It depends upon how you think you will use the radio.

I don't think so. The probability of getting separated is about the same no matter what radios you have, but with the mobile, you at least have a chance of getting a message to them even if they can't effectively respond. One-way is better than no-way, IMO.

Probably, but not for the reason you think. The biggest factor is that the antenna of a mobile radio is outside the vehicle while the HT antennas are inside the vehicle -- essentially a Faraday cage. Transmission and reception will both be adversely impacted by being inside the vehicle. Second, a mobile radio antenna is usually a better antenna in general, because it doesn't have to be short enough to be easily carried. Third, a VHF or UHF radio signal is significantly impacted by obstacles -- mostly hills and buildings in the case you're describing. The rule of thumb is that in order to double the distance of the signal, you have to quadruple the power of the radio. All other things being equal, your radio should yield about twice the effective distance of the HTs, but all other things are not even close to equal in your case. Short answer -- yes, I would expect them to hear you further than you can hear them, but it has less to do with power than with other factors. You could learn a lot by simply doing the experiment. Try communication between your mobile and an HT under different conditions and see what you get.

No kidding, though, I really like it. It has everything I like about the 5RM with a couple of extra features. The screen is still impossible to read in bright sunlight, though.

Well, there ya go! Spend your 30 bucks and get it all. You're welcome.

I think it does. I'm not sure because I'm not interested in listening to air bands. Edited to add: It's advertised as receiving AM 108-136 MHz. Does that cover the air band?

It was the bank scanning that decided me. I really like the 5RM. The lack of banks was one of my few complaints about it. The 5RM is still useful for most of my purposes, and will get plenty of use, but there are occasions when the bank scanning will be nice to have.

There are all kinds of rules and even laws where breaches will be ignored or forgiven when it's done for a legitimate emergency. Which is a perfectly reasonable approach, IMO.

It's happening again right now, and it is coming through on channel 15 with no codes set, channel 15 with a CTCSS tone set, and my repeater channel with a digital code set. Very mystifying. I haven't heard it all day until now. I'll start making notes to see if it usually occurs at the same time in the evening.

Good thinking! It didn't occur to me that a digital signal might coincidentally contain my DCS code.

I occasionally hear people on MURS from two different retail operations when passing through a nearby city. Otherwise, I've never heard anyone on MURS. I have MURS programmed into most of my radios, but I haven't even keyed up on it since about 15 years ago when I had a pair of MURS radios. I have no idea now when or how they disappeared.

In the real world, it's difficult to imagine the FCC taking umbrage with someone who used a radio to save lives, regardless of the radio type, frequency, or the operator's license or lack thereof. IMO, the real point is that the FCC (and common sense, TBH) has a definition of an emergency. If your situation meets that definition, you're going to be okay. If not, you may or may not get into trouble, but you're still an a-hole.

Absent a formal agreement, it's very difficult for me to imagine a scenario in which I'd need to talk to a public safety agency on their own frequency. It's certainly not likely enough that I'd go to any significant expense or effort to modify a radio to do it. If I needed to talk to the police, fire, etc., and a cell phone wouldn't work, I could get on the radio and have some ham give me a phone patch or -- even more likely -- the agency could use a GMRS or ham radio they already have to talk directly to me.

Oh, yeah, it's an HT. Well, probably nothing, then. But even if nothing happens, you're still an a-hole if you do it. Some people don't care, some are even proud of it, so options are limited.

Usually nothing, but not always. It's possible to do some really nasty things to your radio without ever stepping foot on your property. More likely, though, they'd change the input tone or require a PTT ID or something of the sort.

The AR-5RM is a very nice radio with a lot of capabilities for the price. It was my favorite radio for a long time. However, I recently bought a UV-5RH Pro GPS which does everything the 5RM does with some added features. The one I like best is the ability to arrange my channels into banks and scan only one bank at a time. It's only slightly more expensive than the 5RM on Amazon. If you don't care about the banks or GPS, though, you may as well buy the 5RM and save the $6. You really can't go wrong with either.

If it's some sort of digital interference, maybe the opposite would be true. Maybe it can slip through a digital code but not a subaudible tone. I'll try setting a CTCSS receive code on channel 15 on a radio and see if that blocks it.