marcspaz

I think President is the only company making FCC type approved radios with all three modulation types. The President George FCC is a great radio with all 3. So is the McKinley II FCC. I'm not sure if there are any other brands, but it would be fun to see what folks can find.

Add that to the list of rules I mentioned earlier that don't make sense. I could see emergency traffic and travelers assistance being priority on every channel... but saying one of the channels cannot be used for anything else seems like a waste of one of the limited number of channels. Especially in today's world of communications tech.

When people are talking locally, they still use a handle, but in noisy DX pile-ups, it's easier to hear a number. Also, there are some really stupid rules, like you are not allowed to talk to people in other countries and you're not allowed to have a conversation for more than 5 minutes, then there is a mandatory 1 minute break, etc. So people have a tendency to use a number instead of a handle to make it harder to ID who's talking. Was it 401 in New Hampshire or 401 in New Mexico kind of mindset.

As 255 mentioned... This will transmit 141.3 and only listen for signals with 141.3. If you want to hear everything and only transmit the tone to open the repeater, do this...

I would agree with others that GMRS is not great for finding people to chat with. If you want radio for that, CB and Ham radio would be much better. Outside of metro areas, GMRS users are far and few between and even in metro areas, you will have a bunch or people lurking, but unless someone knows you, they probably won't respond. Also, "the best" is so incredibly subjective. You need to define what "the best" would be fore you, including upper and lower budget, features desired, is space or weather-proofing a concern, etc. Then we can recommend brands on models based on your goals and limiting factors.

Dude! Don't curse my people! I thought we were friends! LOL

For handheld radios, the Nagoya NA-701C is good for MURS and GMRS. The Nagoya NA-320A is average for amateur 144MHz, 220MHz and 440MHz, and performs marginally on MURS and GMRS. The Diamond SRH77CA will work anywhere from sub-par to fantastic on frequencies from 136MHz to about 600MHz, but is designed for 2m/440.

The short answer is yes, there are plenty of multi-band antennas. The long answer is, yes, but not that cover every band. Also antennas tuned to and dedicated to the band you want to transmit and receive on Will work better.

Two of the old moderators were the biggest troublemakers. He bounced them and hasn't put anyone back in the role.

I think you're giving human beings way too much credit. Counter surveillance and evasion tactics aren't something the typical person understands.

I guess you don't know that every GMRS radio (including made by American owned companies) is made in China or Chinese territory?

I'll take "Questions Answered with 'No' " for $800, Alex.

I can't answer your question directly, but I have a friend who setup several repeaters on zello. I can ask him if he has all text directions. If he does, I'll share them with you. It may be a day or two before I hear back from him.

I'm with Steve on this one. You seem to be the angry one. Like, I think you might need therapy after reading that pathetic string of posts. You can't win the debate with facts to back your opinion, so you start name-calling, being vulgar and antagonistic. A true sign that you are losing and angry about it. Lets be very, very clear about something... I have zero F's to give. I have no grievance with the FCC. I like the way things are working right now. I don't have a dog in the fight, I'm not buying one, and I have nothing to prove. Frankly, I don't care about your opinion either. The only reason I post what I do is so someone new to the forum or with less information, doesn't come in here, read the crap you post, and mistakenly believe it is correct because there was no voice to oppose it. The truth is linked repeaters are legal (via several means), they are not going anywhere and not one single person whining about has been able to provide a single shred of proof to the contrary. Also, I'm not mad about anything. Though, I do feel bad for you from time to time. Anyway, the mean ole repeater owners aren't going anywhere. Find a new hobby or get over it.

I wish I knew... it seems like a bad idea, but it has been working so far. If I were to take a WAG at it, I would assume its related to the availability of inexpensive and improved tech, combined with a lot of government radio being moved to higher UHF frequencies, and demand from private persons increased. However, its the other way around. They put FRS and GMRS in the government allotted spectrum. Emergency services and LMR occupied the space before the PRS.

One of the reasons there are such strict rules with GMRS radio performance is because emergency service all around the country share this RF space with GMRS. in my area, there are a few fire departments that use 462 MHz for UHF digital data links. They run 24/7 and the one closest to my house freaked out for awhile, splashing GMRS. If you have access to a Kraken SDR, track it down and get the owner to fix it.

Could not agree more. Well said.

@LeoG I have participated in enough court cases to know that the intent of the law/rule means nothing to a judge. Only what is written. I have no choice but to interpret the rules as written with the provided definitions. Not to mention that linked repeaters with voice communications have been around long before the changes in 2017 and there have been exactly zero actions against anyone.... not one single person in a decade or more, with hundreds of linked repeaters and 10's of thousands of users nationwide in that same time frame. Not one single letter, accusation, fine, nothing. And it's not like its a secret. Leads me to think I may be right. Words have meaning. I agree it can be messy, but if they meant something else, they need to amend the rules and issue a clarification, which they seem wholly uninterested in. FCC enforcement agents are on this site... they are here and reading this stuff and say nothing. Though, I'm sure they get a good laugh from time to time.

It's literally in the Part 95 definition section. I have no idea how you can read this definition and not get it. "Operate: Control the functioning of a Personal Radio Service station; in particular, cause a Personal Radio Service station to begin, continue or cease transmitting. " Remote control: Operation of a Personal Radio Services station from a location that is not in the immediate vicinity of the transmitter. Operation of a Personal Radio Services station from any location on the premises, vehicle or craft where the transmitter is located is not considered to be remote control. " The combined rules literally say to remotely cause a Personal Radio Service station to begin, continue or cease transmitting. You know, like the push the PPT button, hold the PPT button, release the PTT button. No where in those definitions does it say anything about turning the repeater on and off. It's transmit or not... put it in a transmit state... or stop transmitting... remotely. If these rules weren't meant to describe remote communications/messaging, why the hell would they waste the effort and ink to specify that if you are in the immediate vicinity of the radio (on the premises, vehicle or craft where the transmitter is located) and operating it, it doesn't fall under the legal definition of Remote Control for the purposes of GMRS rules? I'm not sure how else to spell it out. Either you're messing with me or reading comprehension isn't your strong suit.

I wasn't going to post about this... but then again, I'm surprised I waited this long. I was wrong when I posted in a different thread that you can't charge a fee for repeater use. I never had the desire to, and while I am sure I have read the rule before, I just forgot the details. It's as plain as can be that you can charge for repeater use. 95.1705 (f)(3)(ii) states a station may be shared "...On a non-profit basis, with contributions to capital and operating expenses including the cost of mobile stations and paging receivers prorated equitably among all participants;..." meaning you can charge people for use as long as you are not profiting, and everyone is charged (about) the same. Reimbursement to break-even for expenses is fine. Profit is not.

Okay... I am going to try this 1 more time. Let me put it to you like this... In general, GMRS transmitters may be operated and controlled remotely. Also, in general, GMRS transmitters CAN BE connected to public networks or other networks for the purpose of operation by remote control. Since its a rule violation for GMRS repeaters to transmit on the 467 channels, preventing legal RF linking with repeaters AND remote operation IS allowed... how exactly do you expect people to be able to remotely operate their radios??? Easy. Over the network connection they are allowed to have. Otherwise, the rules allowing remote operation and network connections are completely pointless. OH, wait a minute! Now that I think about it, there are no prohibitions preventing linking of control stations or fixed stations on the 467 channels. I can't find a prohibition of linking GMRS repeaters via amateur radio repeaters or through encrypted tunnels on LMR business channels either. If your goal is to get rid of linked repeaters... you can forget about it. Even if you were somehow able to convince me you are right about the networking issues, it's not going to stop people from using other legal means of linking repeaters. While network connections are the easiest legal means, its not the only means.

I disagree. "...the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed" was pretty precise... nay concise, but citizens and the government continue to F that one up pretty regularly.

Im a constitutional scholar with a gifted IQ, but my wife said I can't comment on this because it's mean to make strangers on the internet cry.

LoL! That's awesome!

I don't think that means what you think it means... Sure... and so does any single repeater that covers an area with 'other operators' in it. There is a repeater in my area that covers a 90 mile diameter. That's more square miles than the entire state of Rhode Island. People need to learn how to use PL tones and work together to use resources. Not tell a legal repeater owner to turn their repeater off. This is a monstrous stretch, at best. I do work for the DoD at the Pentagon... applying your logic, my son had the Defense Department give him specific orders straight from the Pentagon to take out the trash and brush his teeth or there would be consequences.