WRTC928

They can, but I'm guessing it was because I was using the "cigarette lighter" socket. It's something I got really cheap and they probably cut a few corners. It will crank my car but not my truck, so it's not the greatest starter pack in the world, but it's small and cheap.

I have a 25' telescoping mast from Max Gain Systems and a mount I can attach to the trailer hitch of the truck or RV. It wasn't cheap, but it wasn't prohibitively expensive either.

I've used one to power a base unit in my living room. It wouldn't do the full 50 watts, but it worked fine otherwise.

Would having it turned off make it harder for them to do that?

How do they know the users were GMRS licensees or using GMRS radios? My money would be on FRS, and like @AdmiralCochrane, I'd be more surprised if they didn't use them. It's kind of an obvious tool for quick coordination. And, yes, I have no doubt law enforcement agencies are listening.

Surely there's more to this story. Maybe they all gathered just to hear the siren, but it seems likely it was part of some larger event.

I own the AR-5RM, UV-5r/Bf-f8hp, and AR-152. Quality control can be an issue. I sent back a UV-5r and a 5RM because the batteries wouldn't lock into place and an AR-152 because the audio was extremely low; the replacements were perfectly serviceable. I'm not intentionally abusive to my radios, but I'm not particularly gentle either and they just keep working. I frequently say that Baofengs are better radios than you have a right to expect for the price.

I few days ago, I placed a UV-5r on top of a 4x4 fence post while I was working on the pool and forgot about it. That night, we had a legit severe thunderstorm -- even got a tornado about 3 miles away. Two days later, I found it still lying on the post. I picked it up, carried it in, gave it 2 days to dry out, and it works just like it did before it got wet. Obviously, you can't count on that, and I wouldn't expose a UV-5r to rain intentionally, but still, I was pretty impressed.

I haven't used the DB20 OEM software, but with most OEM software, it's difficult or impossible to cut/paste the data of 100+ channels from CHIRP into the OEM programmer. I have several different brands of radios that I like to have programmed with the same channels, so that matters to me. However, the OEM software of some radios adds bells and whistles that the CHIRP software doesn't include, so I program the channels in CHIRP, "read" the radio into the OEM software, make my tweaks, and upload the result to the radio. I don't know why the OEM programmers can't just make their spreadsheet easy to cut/paste into.

True, but it's not about the cost/value of the radios. It's about being sure they don't get damaged and will work when you need them.

By regulation, channel 6 is limited to a maximum of 5 watts. That doesn't necessarily mean someone isn't transmitting with more power than that.

I'm a member there as well, and I sometimes get a little salty when people do that. I tell them to be Elmer, not Mr. Magoo. I do get good information sometimes, but I often have to sift through some trash. With regard to the Linux forums, the Ubuntu forum is usually helpful. I mostly avoid the others.

Yeah, my truck has crap for ground plane and the 2x4 doesn't like it, but on the roof of my car, it has spectacular SWRs on GMRS, MURS, 2 meters, 70 centimeters, and even 1.25 meters. Yes, 1.25 meters. I don't know how well it will actually perform on 1.25m, but I intend to find out. SWR is well below 2.0:1, so it shouldn't hurt the radio. I also have a Comet SBB224 which is officially a tri-band (2m, 1.25m, 70cm) antenna and it approaches but does not cross 2.0:1 on GMRS. It also needs a ground plane, so it will go on the car if the 2x4 is weak on 1.25m. Or maybe even if it isn't. IDK I can't find any single antenna that will give me all the bands I want with the lousy ground plane on my truck so I ended up adding a dedicated 1.25m radio and antenna in addition to a GMRS/2m/70cm/MURS radio and antenna. Add the CB radio and antenna, and my truck kinda looks like a spaceship. The car is going to get a tri-band radio/antenna and a second NMO mount so I can stick on a CB antenna when I get the whim.

Sometimes you can mess up something that works well by pursuing perfection. "Good enough" is a valid concept.

I'm sure that's the right approach for some entry-level users, but it absolutely wouldn't work for me. I have a lot of repeaters programmed into my GMRS radio. Basically, all the ones in Oklahoma and many from neighboring states.

That's definitely a downside, perhaps even a deal-breaker, IMO.

Ask away. That's literally one of the reasons this site exists. I'm always happy to answer questions it I can.

GMRS doesn't get a lot of use in central Oklahoma, at least on repeaters. It's not completely abandoned, and there are several repeaters, but they're not usually too busy. One in Oklahoma City gets steady but not overwhelming usage during the workday because someone uses it for their business, but it's a brief conversation every 15 minutes or so. I occasionally hear someone on simplex in the more urban areas, and FRS gets a lot of use by construction crews and store staff, but the range is so short that it's hardly noticeable. I'm sure it's different in more heavily populated parts of the country, but at least here, GMRS is a good communication option for many of us.

When I went on jump status in 1978, it was $50/month. In 1978, that wasn't huge, but it was significant.

Nothing except the fact that most of the people who want/need an FRS radio aren't "radio people" and don't even understand the need for programming. Most will just give up if faced with the necessity to do more than push the button and talk. Admittedly, it's not a very high bar, but it does make some difference.

Yes, but in a lot of vehicles, getting a consistent 10 amps through the cigarette lighter plug can be impossible. Not necessarily, because my Chevrolet Trax will deliver 16 amps all day long, but many vehicles -- especially older vehicles -- won't. That said, depending upon where you live and what you want to do, 50 watts may be overkill. The quad-band radio in my truck will deliver 50 watts, but I usually run it on 12. In my location and for what I do, if 25 watts won't get me there, 50 won't either. My take is that you should get a radio that has the features you want, but don't pay extra to get more than 25 watts unless you know you're going to need the extra power. Virtually all antennas will work better with a good ground plane, but a trunk lip mount or hood lip mount can deliver well enough for a lot of users. There's a plethora of good antennas and you'll get about as many opinions as there are users, but a few tend to stick out. The Comet 2x4SR is a remarkably good all-purpose antenna and it can perform acceptably on a lip mount. The Midland Ghost surprised me with how well it performed, but I didn't try it on a lip mount. For a mag mount, I've gotten good results with a Nagoya UT-72, although others report that they haven't. The advantage to a mag mount is that you can move it around until you find a suitable ground plane. There are a number of good lip mount NMO units, you just need to keep looking.

That is correct. My callsign was KAFU2984. I have no idea why I remember that. Is the same thing happening to GMRS? Well...yes, I believe it is. I think it's largely due to the FCC's ill-advised decision to allow FRS to use the GMRS frequencies without a license. Anyone can buy an FRS radio and use the same frequencies without any license at all. From there, it's just a small step to, "Gee, if I buy this Boofwang radio, I can do the same thing but with more power" so they do. Since no license was required before and it's all the same channels, they don't bother with a license for the Boofwang either. There is still a little bit of "gatekeeper effect" with repeater owners, and using repeaters requires a bit more savvy than the average FRS user has, as does programming a ham radio to operate on GMRS, so it isn't quite the crapshow that CB has become, but I can easily imagine it devolving into that.

This comment has absolutely nothing to do with the question but thank you for your useless reply to the topic.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if they threw that charge into the pot when taking action against someone for being an ass and/or interfering with government communications, but as a stand-alone charge? I'll believe it when I see it.

I'm pretty sure the Anysecu WP9900 and QYT KT-9900 are the same radio, and the BTech 20V2 is the GMRS version of it. I consider it a decent-but-not-amazing radio for the price. TBH, 25 watts is plenty for almost all of my needs. I have a TYT TH-9800D in the car, and I almost always run it on 12 watts. I've hardly ever bumped it up to 35 or 50, and even then, it usually didn't make a difference. Yes, I do understand the quality difference between CCRs and some of the "big name" products, but I'm just a hobbyist. Nobody is going to die or even lose any money if my radio doesn't work. I'm willing to take a hit on the quality to get the form factor I want. In December, I ran a WP9900 on a trip from central Oklahoma to Branson, Missouri and hit 2 meter and 70 centimeter repeaters all along the way without difficulty, which is really all I use a mobile radio for. In the house where I have plenty of room, I run an AnyTone AT5888UV III tri-band unit and I'll probably end up changing out the TYT in the car for one as well. On the roof of the car, I have enough ground plane to run a tri-band antenna. If I decide to install a CB, that will require another antenna, but I'll deal with that if I decide to do it. My problem in the truck is that I have crap for ground plane and I can't get a tri-band antenna to work well on 2m, 1.25m, 70cm, and GMRS, so I've resorted to three antennas and three radios. I have a AnyTone Graces CB with all the controls in the handset feeding a dedicated CB antenna, A QYT 7900D tri-band radio running as a dedicated 1.25 meter unit with a dedicated 220 band antenna, and a TYT TH-9800D for GMRS, 2m, and 70cm on a Diamond "Super Gainer" antenna. I'm planning to remove the TYT and mount the QYT on the seat bolt pedestal mount, then put the WP9900 back in for GMRS, 70cm, and 2m. I can't find a 1.25 meter radio with all controls in the handset or a removable faceplate, but the QYT is really tiny and should be minimally intrusive on the Lido mount. I suppose I could use a tri-band radio and a diplexer to a 220 and a 140/440 antenna, but TBH, that requires as many pieces of equipment as I have now and my current solution is inexpensive and modular. I agree with the clean, low profile aesthetic. I also have to take into account that I have a single-cab truck and I don't need a whole bunch of bulky stuff taking up what space I have and being climbed all over by a 65 lb dog. I'm convinced there is some degree of "snob factor" in ham radio equipment, but it's also true that a lot of hams are trying to get more out of their equipment than I am. Perhaps someday I will be too, and perhaps then I'll "move up" to a more expensive radio. And there's certainly something to be said for a radio that doesn't blow out the finals if you key up on a too-high SWR. So, yeah, prestige plays a role, but there's more to it than that, at least for some hams. But I really do believe many hams like the look of a whole bunch of radios crowding the passenger compartment.