marcspaz

Agreed that the duplexer is maxed out. I am really shocked. I also agree on the antenna issue as well. @LeoG, I know you mentioned it, but I don't remember what gain your antenna has. Gain between zero and 3dB would be in order for local comms or wildly varying terrain. 6dB or more is good for relatively flat areas and if you are trying to get the most range out of it.

I'll come up from Woodbridge! Im game for pretty much anything.

Okay folks... Leo sent me a new SGQ-450D duplexer. We gave this one a tune-up and it's looking good. I am very impressed. First, I swept it while it was factory tuned. It looked really good and if it was mine, I probably would have left it alone. On the transmit side, we had a good notch removing the receive frequency at almost -80dB. On the receive side, the notch looked even better at -85dB. Leo asked me to see what I could squeeze out of it, and I have to say, I am impressed with how well it tuned. On the receive side, we got the transmit frequency notch out -95.5dB. On the transmit side, I was able to notch out the receive frequency -95.5dB. Very well balanced. I recorded a quick video of the sweep showing notching as deep as -100.2dB, which is fantastic. The video demos the benefit of a hi-res VNA (mine goes to 1024 points), the sweep results, and the SWR at power. On the receive side, I was at 35 watts, but when I switched frequency to demo the transmit side, I forget to turn the power down. That SWR reading was at 50 watts, even though I said 35 watts. I really hope this helps someone on the fence about buying a B-Tech repeater or the SGQ-450D duplexer. @LeoG, can you share your opinion on the real-world results?

That stuff happens because terrain acts like a wave guide, confines and reflects UHF signals to extend range beyond the RF LOS. Many people here have heard the term "Knife-edge Diffraction", but there is also Terrain Ducting / Terrain Channeling aka Guided Propagation.

It's not fun... and I shared a significantly cleaned-up version of what was actually said.

I wish it was that boring around here. We have the most uncouth people on the radio around here. One lady got on the repeater (not simplex) to tell her husband to go break-up the kids from fighting because she was taking a crap and couldn't get off the commode.

@OffRoaderX did I miss something? I didn't see you call anything crap. Or was there a ninja edit? LoL

No flames... but there are so many other things that could have contributed to your results. That fact that you didn't use the exact same radio for both tests, during the same time of day from the same location (I think), are the big items that come to mind. Slight movement can make a huge difference, too. I can stand in one spot in my driveway with my HT using 0.5w and hit a repeater 30 miles away... but if I move a few inches out of that same spot, I can't hit the same repeater with my 115w mobile and high gain antenna.

Im often mistaken for an adult because of my age.

Hey folks! Had a great time at the Meet-N-Greet. Just wanted to thank everyone for coming out and share a few pictures! Talk to you all soon!

Like I said I get annoyed by it too. However I can see both sides of the argument. Gmrs radio and amateur radio communications via voice are generally conversational. There's no real need for things like tactical call signs and phonetic alphabet on the day-to-day basis. However there is plenty of opportunity when those things can be beneficial to The Operators. But that's not what annoys me. It's probably not what annoys Randy either, though I won't speak for him personally. What does annoy me is people who say their call sign at the beginning of their transmission and at the end of their transmission and in the middle of their transmission every single time they key up the microphone. We get it. We know who we're talking to. You only need to use your call sign three times in every hour of conversation. We don't need to hear it three times a sentence. And just so we're clear it's not a radio thing. I hate when people use words as fillers because they don't know what else to say. Words similar to "like" or dude, or ah, um, or whatever they use to fill in the silence between thoughts. My therapist says I'm getting much better at it though.

It's not so much complaining, more sharing an opinion. It drives me nuts, too. Its actually a topic I cover briefly in all of my training classes.

Best advice on the internet, today!

@hxpx I measured my TD-H3 on a calibrated meter and got the 0.5w and 4w... so the TIDRadio advertising is very accurate. I was pleasantly surprised. It's assumed based on the framing of the question.

I'm not sure the mobile comparisons are a realistic comparison for the original statement of: A handheld UHF frequencies between 440MHz and 470MHz 2 watts compared to 10 watts HT performance characteristics are significantly different because of the form-factor, antenna design and size, and several other conditions that make it unreasonable to compare them to a mobile radio. We really need someone with an HT that is capable of both 2w and 10w. I have an HT that outputs 0.5w and 4w (about 9dB), but still not 2w and 10w (about 7dB).

There's always one guy. LoL Under perfect conditions, best case, it's 1 S-unit. I would say while there is a measurable difference, there's no difference in practical application. So... I agree.

Hey folks, Just a quick reminder about our meetup this weekend. This is open to everyone. We especially encourage new operators and new members to join. We will have several area repeater owners joining us with information and printed handouts about what is happening in our community. Many of us will have test equipment, willing to help troubleshoot problems and answer any questions you may have. Looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday! If you haven't seen the event on our FB page, you can get the details in the original post (above) or at the link below. https://www.facebook.com/events/744340581470568/

@WRXS236 Just so you know, I am not unsympathetic to the point you are trying to make about the terminology being confusing to new-comers. In 2022, I wrote a post here on this forum to help people who are new to radio and specifically address this confusion. I linked it below if you or others would like to read it. So, this is kind of interesting to me... some manufactures use the term "Sub-Channels" to describe DCS and CTCSS, which is very wrong about what is happening, and has no technical history or definition supporting the verbiage. Tonight I went looking for some information on Google about the use of the word subchannels (stimulated by this conversation) and both the AI response and the internet search results point to my write-up on this forum on the subject. That's pretty cool. So, as mentioned above, anyone who wants information about PL tone should check this post out. Couple screen grabs, which I think is pretty cool to see.

I'm not taking anything personally. I'm just trying to help you understand the actual context the word is being used in and what its definition is. Also, the fact that you don't understand the word literacy in the context it's being used just supports my point. Edit: I forgot to mention, if you use the term "Filter codes", you are going to be adding to the confusion because literally no one else uses that expression. No one is going to know what you are talking about. No one will be able to reference anything by that name in the industry, manuals, etc.

I'm sorry, but you're wrong... and that's okay. You can either accept that some words have more than one meaning depending on context and in this context the word is used correctly, or you don't. That doesn't mean the rest of us are illiterate.

No. Absolutely not. The inventor (Motorola) named the technology Private Line, aka privacy codes. It was done to provide the operators privacy, meaning a lack of interruption from unwanted signals. Its the same concept as a privacy sign at a home or a hotel... privacy and it's literal term means to be left alone. A lot of people misunderstand the definition of privacy, confusing it with secrecy.

Pretty wild stuff. Glad they had working radios with them and people to correspond with, too. If they were in trouble, it may have saved their lives. Just being stranded or cutoff from leaving is enough to make someone panic. Sometimes, just having a voice on the other end and some mildly useful information can really make the difference on the psychological impact of a situation.

That's true, the FCC just kind of let it slide into history with zero notice... which kinda stinks for people who knew it as the de-facto operation since the `60s.

I remember when you made the Ch19 video and all the banter on here leading up to it. No one has successfully countered it to this day... so It still stands as the only authoritative source! LoL The sad part was, many of us (myself included) had no idea the Line A issue was nullified, which didn't help.

Hey folks, we are hosting a get-together on Sunday, July 13th starting at 02:00 PM at Carrabba's Italian Grill in Centreville, VA. We will meet in the main lot and spend some time socializing and working with anyone who may need some guidance on their gear. When everyone is hungry, we can head inside for some ice cold beverages and some food. As always, this will be a family-friendly event. Feel free to bring family and friends. Any questions, just post them below! https://www.facebook.com/events/744340581470568/?active_tab=discussion https://locations.carrabbas.com › Virginia › Centreville 5805 Trinity Pkwy Centreville, VA 20120