WRTC928
-
Posts
679 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
4
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Gallery
Classifieds
Posts posted by WRTC928
-
-
5 hours ago, WSHI752 said:
Just curious, but why don't GMRS mobile units have a PA option like some CB radios do?
I can't imagine it being very useful. I don't think even most CBs include it anymore.
-
On 2/1/2025 at 6:02 PM, ecbatesiii said:
...each radio only has 5 MURS channels and no way of setting tones that I can figure out.
That's a deal-breaker for me. I ordered one (a Retevis IIRC) a while back that did have the ability to set codes, but it was limited to 5 channels, so I sent it back. I want to have a set of channels "wide open" and at least one other set with tones.
-
9 minutes ago, WRUE951 said:
$97 with taxes. I also orfdered a $9 cable... The one i won is shipping free..
You got the pair for less than $50 each. Heck, even if you didn't have any use for two, you could sell one to a friend for $70 and you'd both get a good deal.
-
Nice! I haven't started playing with DMR yet, but I plan to soon.
-
-
I'm sure I seem like a broken record to the people here, but pay attention to the FCC's restrictions on power and bandwidth. They exist for a reason; some FCC desk-jockey didn't just pull them out of his ass. Exceeding authorized power and bandwidth can cause your signal to "spill over" to an adjacent frequency or stomp all over someone on the same frequency, thus interfering with someone else's enjoyment of the airwaves. Radios which are compliant with Part 95 Subpart E (GMRS regulations) typically have the limits "baked in", but lots of people use amateur radios on GMRS frequencies. That's technically a violation of FCC regulations, but I don't care and neither do other reasonable people. For that matter, as far as I can tell, neither does the FCC. However, ham radios often (usually?) can be programmed to exceed the power, bandwidth, or both authorized on GMRS frequencies, and I do care if someone is crushing my signal. Hams are taught to use the lowest power output that will work for your purpose, and that's a good practice for every radio service. Just be a decent human.
Be polite. Don't curse, be intentionally offensive, or otherwise act like a jackwagon. My rule is that if someone seems to take offense at something I've said, I just drop it. There are other channels to talk on and other people to talk to. If someone is being an a-hole, move your conversation to another frequency or use CTCSS/DTCS codes so you don't hear them. Periodically take a break in your conversation in case someone else wants to use the frequency, especially if you're on a repeater.
There is no such thing as privacy on a radio. CTCSS/DTCS codes can keep you from hearing other people, but they won't keep other people from hearing you. Don't discuss your sex life or where you hid the house key.
-
On 7/29/2025 at 7:14 AM, H8SPVMT said:
I was around for the demise of the CB call numbers
Me too. Mine was KAFU2984. I have no idea why/how I still remember that.
-
14 hours ago, amaff said:
That janky cable is usually built into the trailer, and to a connector built into the tow hitch, with a breakaway connection should stuff go wrong. Not something you're stringing across the bed of a truck to a trailer. I guess you can test the failure load of the SO-239 connector on the back of your radio if things ever go really wrong lol
If the trailer gets loose, you've got much bigger problems than damaging your coax.
- SteveShannon and amaff
-
1
-
1
-
11 hours ago, WSAM454 said:
The length of cable needed to get from the tow vehicle to a good spot on the trailer will probably introduce more loss than just using the antenna on the tow vehicle, with the (almost standard) 13' RG58 type coax that comes with most mag mounts.
Maybe. Maybe not. It's probably worth the effort to test it and see.
-
46 minutes ago, WSHH887 said:
Here's a question for the RV set. Does anyone mount an antenna on your trailer and have it connected to your tow vehicle while traveling?
Assuming you have enough slack in the coax to allow turning, I can't think of any reason it wouldn't work.
-
21 hours ago, WSAA635 said:
Channel Banks are a big reason why I really like the BF-F8HP Pro. I like to scan Public Safety channels but I also like to scan Airbands. With Banks I can set each Bank up to scan and move to that Bank when needed.
All in all though the K61 is 99% of what the AR-5RM is at a lower price point which lets people get more radios for their group for the same money.
Bottom line, I'm just a Radio Dork with an addiction to radios.
As of today, the K61 is about $19 and the 5RM is about $23 on Amazon, so for most people, the cost won't be a major factor unless they're going to buy several. The 5RM is a heckuva lot of radio for the price, but since I got a UV-5RH Pro GPS, I don't use it much. If I'm going to carry the radio a lot, I take the K61 and if I don't plan to carry it much, I use the 5RH. Plus, my K61 is green, which is really cool.
-
I agree with you. Its place in my lineup is as an EDC general-purpose radio. IMO, the UV-5r/BF-F8hp is too small to manipulate easily. It's fine if I don't need to change anything, but the tiny screen and buttons make it a pain to work with "on the fly". The AR-5RM/5RH Pro GPS has a larger screen and buttons but is too large to carry easily. It needs a belt case, or at least a clip, but I prefer to be able to carry it in a pocket. The K61 is intermediate in size, making it easy to deal with if I want to change something, but still small enough to carry in a pocket. I like the color screen of the 5RM, but it's really hard to see in bright sunlight. The K61 screen doesn't wash out much in bright light. It stores 999 channels, meaning I don't have to decide what to leave out vs the 5RM channels. I still like the 5RH Pro GPS best because I can store the channels in banks, but if I'm going to carry the radio quite a bit, I go with the K61.
Edited to add: I forgot to mention that in addition to 70cm, 2m, GMRS, and MURS, it works on the 1.25 meter band, which I do use.
-
13 hours ago, Bogieboy01 said:
Second this, i have 2 vehicles, and have only had time to install a mobile in one of them, when i want to drive the other AND talk to anonymous men on the radio in the other vehicle, i have a mag mount antenna that i hook to a Boofwang ar5rm with a hand mic, crazy part is the range is not all that different with an 8w handheld than it is with my 25w mobile rig... granted both of them are operating on stubby ghost antennas....
I have BNC connectors on the radios I use a lot. It makes connecting to a mag mount antenna much easier and doesn't stress the SMA connector nearly as much.
- WRQC299, SteveShannon and WRYZ926
-
3
-
18 minutes ago, WSGL775 said:
This sounds like a text message being sent via rattlegram from a phone through the radio. We do it all the time when we are in a tactical mode, but encrypt the transmission with AES 256 so we know no one can break the code without the master key. Just an observation.....
Would that go on for more than an hour?
-
13 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:
With a 30 second period it sounds like it’s part of some signaling system. For a while various devices were sold that used FRS/GMRS frequencies for non personal radio purposes. Baby monitors, home weather stations, etc. Perhaps it’s something like that.
Nothing prevents transmitting multiple CTCSS tones simultaneously with strings of data that include DTCSS codes, especially if those codes are being used to carry other data rather than access codes. Because they’re very short and audible CTCSS tones and DTCSS codes are extremely simple to inadvertently include in a transmission if a transmitter isn’t explicitly filtering them out. Our radios do that; they intentionally filter them out before adding specific ones in while transmitting. Someone’s home control system easily might not.
Given the fact that you are able to anticipate when it’s going to be heard you should be able to track it.
That makes sense.
-
5 minutes ago, nokones said:
Regardless, even if Channels 8-14 are factory default channels in a GMRS Part 95 Type-Accepted handheld radios and only transmit at a half-watt ERP, they are still FRS only channels and not GMRS channels, and by rule do not require a license to operate on those channels.
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.
-
-
29 minutes ago, UncleYoda said:
Nope. If you have a GMRS radio, typically only HTs, that will do 1/2 watt, then it's allowed. But I agree in a practical sense, it's better to not use those channels.
§ 95.563 FRS channels.
The FRS is allotted 22 channels, each having a channel bandwidth of 12.5 kHz. All of the FRS channels are
also allotted to the General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) on a shared basis.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.
-
9 hours ago, WRUE951 said:
100% of my HAM friends have their 'HAM' radios tuned into GMRS . And i would say most or maybe all of them have their radios programed to FCC required specs.. i.e. power levels, bandwidth, frequency etc. None that i know of have FRS programed into their radios. I wold be willing to bet ya a 'Silver Dollar' that most hams in this country do the same. Most just don't talke about it.
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.
- WSAA635, SteveShannon, Sab02r and 1 other
-
4
-
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.
-
14 minutes ago, RogerSpendlove said:
For transportation communications like this, would it be better for all of us to have the same power handhelds?
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.
Over use of call sign announcements on GMRS
in General Discussion
Posted
Don't get me started... If you think the police are going to assume you're the good guy just because you bought a sash from Ebay, you don't know much about law enforcement.
Save your money and learn how to behave after an unfortunate incident. At least using your callsign too much won't get you deleted.