marcspaz

I'm sure you folks are getting great coverage where you are, but there are a lot a variables that make it so that works in those situations. It becomes problematic for a vast majority of the US. On the ocean or in perfectly flat land areas, if you have an antenna that is on a 100' mast, you are only covering 14 mile radius. Even if you bump to a 300' mast (which cost over $1m for a good commercial grade 300' tower) you are only looking at a radius of about 25 miles. To cover 100 miles (200 total miles end to end) your antenna needs to be almost 1 mile above the average terrain. That simply isn't possible in a vast majority of the US. If you are able to put an antenna on a mountain that overlooks a valley, you are golden, though. We have one of our antennas 1,000 feet above average terrain and we are barely pushing it a 45 miles, with dead spots inside that coverage area due to terrain. That particular repeater is known throughout the mid-Atlantic for being one of the top 3 repeaters, even when we include amateur radio coverage, and the top coverage repeater for GMRS in the area. Due to the terrain limits here, people/companies running farms need networked radios for reliable coverage and most of them are using commercial radio for it.

I always love hearing/reading opinions of others. Especially if they are different than mine, because I may learn something new that could lead to a position change. Friendly chat is always welcome. You have some very good and very valid points. I don't see anything I disagree with. Good analysis, for sure.

I don't like the idea of linking any repeaters for the sake of rag-chewing... but there is some practical applications that many seem to overlook. Things like remote receivers for extended talk-in to a high power repeater than can't hear handheld and other low power radios. Or, in an area that needs expanded coverage for emergency response (such as areas prone to flooding or severe snow causing issues) and any number of other situations. Maybe you own a massive farm or ranch and one repeater just won't cover it. Also, people keep saying linking repeaters is illegal and it is not. It is 100% legal. There is, however, a rule against using networks to link repeaters. You can do RF linking over GMRS frequencies (which uses more bandwidth, not a very friendly idea) or you can link repeaters over another radio service that you are licensed for. Also... just because you do or don't like something... that doesn't mean you're right. We are not in a world, or at least we shouldn't be in a world, were the majority bans what they don't like and mandates what they do. That is not freedom. If you don't like how the radio service is used near you, then don't use it.

This bubbled up on my local feed today. I am not sure if this was an honest error or if this dude was legit trying to get into the law enforcement system, but the FCC only sent a no-no letter. Part of me thinks that if it was an honest error and the person was just trying to repurpose the radio, that's fine... don't do it again. Another part of me is thinking "he admitted to putting the radio on that frequency himself, which implies some nefarious behavior and he should get more than a warning." Anyway, just a reminder to try not to cause interference when you are attempting to repurpose those older LMR Part 90 radios. https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-410850A1.pdf Snip of text...

Very odd. You can definitely ignore it. The treaty is long gone and the restrictions were removed almost a decade ago.

I have a copy of my license from 2018 and it's not on my license. I downloaded a new copy about 5 minutes ago, and no reference to it today, either.

While i think you are very antagonist/disrespectful in a vast majority of your posts, and have a tendency to be wrong in a lot of your posts about tech and rules, I actually agree with the general sentiment of your comment. However, cell coverage is far from 99% of the US. They fudge the numbers by saying 99%+ of the population... not 99% of the land mass. It's closer to to 3.5%-4% of the total square miles of the US having (somewhat) continuous coverage, and only about 53% (which includes that 3.5%-4%) of square miles has a 70% reliability rate of cell service. Things like two-way radios and satellite communications are critical in about 47%+ of the country.

The US/Canada treaty that established the Line A/B/C/D radio restrictions expired a decade ago. The FCC removed the limits from PRS (GMRS) with the 2017 updates.

I have done handheld antenna testing and it's not that easy. I wouldn't recommend an SWR meter, either. You can't replicate the ground plane of the chassis and the effects of having the radio in your hand, which makes taking the measurements difficult. The closest I have come without literally building a sampling circuit onto the radio was by making small metal table into a ground plane, mounting an SMA connector on it with proper length cable between the base of the antenna and the VNA. Depending on the cable type, you will want the cable to be almost 7 feet (6.9) to be sure you are outside of the near field while testing.

As others have mentioned, there is no difference in physical hardware as you move from one station type to another. Station type is established based on how it is used, and can be classed as any other station type simply by changing how the radio is used. Thise use cases are explained in the rules, as mentioned by others. @UncleYoda you're kind spicy today! LoL For what its worth, ther is absolutely zero regulations and zero statements of clarification that was released by the FCC that says GMRS repeaters can't be linked. The rules contradict themselves, which is why the FCC released a clarification that repeaters can't be linked over a network for the purpose of expanding coverage. As it stands right now, there is no prohibition on linking repeaters for the purpose of extending range over an RF link, because an RF linked is not a network under any definition.

The KG-UV980P is a great radio. Basing the KG-1000G on that hardware platform was brilliant.

I may be wrong, but isn't every new OTC GMRS radio manufactured outside of the US?

Who are you asking?

What is "warranty"? I've never heard of it.

1x1 call signs are typically used for special events and issued for less than 1 year at a time. Sometimes they are only issued for a few days. However, if no one else asks to use the call sign and the person currently holding it asks for an extension or re-issue, its typically not a problem for the current holder. Because there are so few of them, those of us who do use them, will coordinate among ourselves prior to going to the actual/formal coordinators.

I found this thread, to give you some visuals....

As @tweiss3 mentioned, I have a few portable repeaters and radio setups. It really does depend on how high you want to get the antenna off the ground and what your mounting limitations are. A few methods I use... 1.) I will bring my drone with an airdrop attachment, a fishing pole, and 200' of paracord. I will use led weights with fishing string and drop the weight through the tree tops. Some of the forests and parks I go to have trees 100"+ tall. I use the fishing string to hike the paracord up into the tree, and the use the para cord to lift the antenna into the tree. I tie the paracord to the base of the antenna and the coax acts like a weighted counterpoise. With a half wave antenna 100' in the air, you will get plenty of coverage. 2.) I have a 35' telescoping mast and I put an 9' tall 9dB antenna on it, unless I am in the mountains, then I use a 5' 3dB gain antenna. The masts sits in a tripod and needs at least 3 guy line to keep it steady. It takes about an hours to set it up correctly and safely. 3.) I also have a 20' telescoping mast with a built-in tripod. I low wind days, I don't have to do anything to stabilize it with the 5' antenna on it... but I would still recommend using at least 3 guy lines to be sure no one knocks it over, or in case the wind picks up. That one can be stood up in about 15 minutes. I'll see if I can find some pictures of the 2 setups... If I can't find them, I'll get some fresh pics on Sunday. I want to switch the 35' mast to a 4 guy line system. So I need to set it up anyway.

Bummer! The wind takes down my Dipole every few weeks.

Sweet! I can be on the air in a few minutes. 20m would probably be better since my base station is down and need to hop in the Jeep, but we can try either. Send me a PM if you want to coordinate. EDIT: I really need to get my base station working again. Just have to hang an antenna.

What band? Broadband? Or HF?

Man, I can't describe what a PITA that was! Being in Virginia and having to do it on a short hop, too!

That is awesome to hear! I'm glad you had good luck with it and a good experience. Thise 102" whips make all the difference when using CB and yes, they are great for 10m, too. A little trimming and tuning and you're off to the races! If you ever want to try and slightly smaller antenna for a mobile, the Diamond HF10CL is 86" long with an efficiency rating of 90%. It works great without doing anything to it on 10m and 11m... and with a tuner you can do 12m, too. Of course a full size antenna will perform better, but it will be pretty tough to see/hear the difference.

@WRPL700 Below is the ARRL Contest Calendar which, globally, leads to the heaviest use of the bands during contest days. All of the rules are posted in the individual event pages as well. If you want to try your hand with it or avoid those days, the calendar may help. https://www.arrl.org/contest-calendar

Agreed. That is a big plus. I don't have a very active log, but I have reached over 100 countries so far, with this weekend including places like Serbia and Jamaica. Though, Jamaica is a bit more common. Here are a list of countries I have had contacts with from the DC Metro area... mostly while mobile. I have also spoken to people in Alaska and Hawaii. Andorra Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Aruba Australia Austria Azores Bahamas Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Bermuda Bonaire Bosnia Brazil Bulgaria Canada Canary Islands Cape Verde Cayman Islands Ceuta and Melilla Chile Clipperton Island Colombia Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Curacao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Dominican Republic Ecuador England Estonia Finland France French Guiana Germany Greece Guadeloupe Guyana Haiti Herzegovina Honduras Hungary Iceland Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Kaliningrad Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Madeira Island Malta Martinique Mexico Montserrat Morocco Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Northern Ireland Panama Paraguay Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Romania Russia San Marino Sardinia Scotland Serbia Slovak Republic Slovenia South Africa South Cook Islands Spain St Helena Island St Kitts and Nevis St Lucia St Martin St. Maarten Suriname Svalbard Sweden Switzerland Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands Ukraine Uruguay US Virgin Islands Venezuela Wales

They are typically a Points game. The contest over the weekend was to make as many contacts as possible, on a global scale. They were exchanging call signs, signal reports (which are always 59 in a contest, LoL) and a serial number. The serial number is typically the incremental number of contacts you've made, but some people use other methods. Yes the bands will get extremely crowded, sometimes they are 0.5KHz apart. That is just part of contesting. Pulling out the signal you want through all the noise... and being the person heard where there is nothing but noise. It's a great way to improve and prove your skills when it comes to filter technique and other methods to accomplish the contact.