marcspaz

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.

Stealing...

In his defense, he didn't say it was a convenient option. LoL

One last update... I will be monitoring the Elliott Knob 600 repeater (462.600 / tone 123.0) as well as simplex channel 15 (462.550) no tone.

Hey folks, just some quick planning for Saturday... for those of you who are not familiar with the area or would like to caravan up to the top of the knob together, I will be at a Shell gas station at 3275 S Main St, Harrisonburg, VA 22801 at 8:45 AM and leaving there at 9:00 AM. It's about a 50 minute drive to the top of the knob. The Shell station is literally right off the highway off-ramp. On i81, take exit 243 and the Shell station is across the street from the bottom of the ramp. For those heading straight to the meeting location, I'll see you at the top of Reddish Knob at 10:00 AM.

Anything can be stolen if someone wants it. Ive have my car stolen so the thief could spend hours yanking my sound system out of it, and then dump my very messed up car in the middle of the street in front of my house just to be a dick about it. Just install it somewhere other than on top of your dashboard and don't worry about it.

Actually, if you look at RepeaterBook and MyGMRS public listings, you will see that use of CTCSS grossly outweighs DCS.

Details Event by Marc Spaziano and NOVA GMRS Reddish Knob, Saturday, March 29, starting at 10 AM. Public · Anyone Come join NOVA GMRS for a Radio Expedition up to Reddish Knob and play Radio for the afternoon! Everyone is welcome to bring their handheld radios, mobile radios, or "portable" setups and discover the amazing range of your gear that is associated with high elevation of the mountain top. Lets find out how far Your radio can reach! Reddish Knob is located in the George Washington National Forest, outside of Dayton / Harrisonburg, Virginia. While this is a knob on the ridge-line in the forest, it is paved all the way to the top. Any vehicle can comfortably make it all the way to the top without an issue. Along with your radios, bring a camera, warm clothes, and something to snack on for lunch. There is nothing nearby... so bring everything you need to be comfortable for a few hours. For those not familiar with the area, we can find a meet-up spot if you would like to follow me from town, up to the main lot.

Today was my first day reading this thread. Great topic and it was fun reading. I feel like it's pretty easy to use it properly. By definition, it's for facilitating activities of individual licensees and their family members. So, follow the rules and use it however you like. I realize some people don't like long-winded rag chew between a friend or three, and that's okay. You don't have to participate like that. If you are using exclusively for staying in touch with family, that is fantastic, too! If you're sticking to the rules, there is no wrong way. Me personally, back in the late '80's and early '90's, my family used to caravan up and down the east coast or out west several times a year. We used GMRS to talk RV to RV and around whatever park we were at. It was mostly to get away from what was (at the time) very busy CB radio. When my son got a little older, he started driving and asked me to get a new license and some radios so we could stay in touch while driving around or if we were using multiple vehicles to go somewhere. The last 6 years, I have also been using GMRS for communications with our offroad groups, using mobile radios for the extra power and no need for internal batteries that need regular replacement or charging. That said, I have a lot of friends in the area and I run a GMRS club. A lot of us use GMRS for staying in touch, filling in silence while we drive, and some people even use it to try to find new friends. I think all of that would be considered using it properly.