marcspaz

Just a quick heads-up, for those local, a group of us are heading up to Flagpole on New Year's Eve day. If anyone wants to tag along, I'll share the details. Also, phase 1 of the Gladiator is done. Phase 2 should start in mid-February.

Hi everyone. I have had some things come up in my life that have been taking up a lot of my time. I have not had the time nor energy that NOVA GMRS deserves. I am going to take a step back from a leadership role for awhile. I'll still be around the group to chat and will be on the air. However, I have asked Jack Ramberg to take the lead in my absence. He's graciously agreed. Thanks for being a wonderful group and for all the new friends. Talk to you soon. Marc

I'm sure at some point over the weekend, at least a couple of us will run Dickey Bell and I am going to try Daniel for the first time. For the rest of the weekend we would be wheeling trails that are 100% stock vehicle friendly. If you have a stock mid-size or full-size pickup, high clearance SUV or a stock Wrangler, you will absolutely have a good time wheeling with us. We'll be sure to get everyone through safely with the most amount of fun. The only two things I can think of is, hard plastic mud flaps may get broken, and full-width side steps could get bent. I would recommend unbolting them before going anywhere but on a gravel road.

We are going on December 30th, to wrap up the end of the year. We are going to start on Peters MIll (my son wants the badge) and then heading to Flagpole via Union Springs right after we break for lunch. If you can come, PM me.

Sounds good! I only have a handful of badges. I should work on them. I am heading to Rausch Creek on Friday and we are going to do a trip to Flagpole Knob in the George Washington National Forest on the 30th Trying to get a couple runs in before the snow hits.

I finished my last round of suspension tuning today. With the tires fully inflated, I hit 920 on the RTI ramp. I'm pretty sure if I deflate my tires and unlock the Lock N Load, I'll hit 950-960. I'll probably test it on Tuesday, if the weather is good.

@StogieVol my pleasure. If you would lime the company, let me know when you go wheel in Pennsylvania. Ill head up with you.

Hey folks, I figured I would start a thread since it seems like there is some interest. So, lets see if we can get a nice weekend-long offroad trip coordinated to Troy NC, wheeling in Uwharrie National Forest. I am tagging people I think are close and may be interested, but everyone is welcome to join. @StogieVol @gortex2 @hfd376 I am thinking a weekend in the Spring would be good, so we can camp. Of course, Uwharrie Cabins are an option too. Anyplace that will accommodate everyone and give us a place to relax and hangout after a day of wheeling. I am thinking April 20th or later would be good, since the average high temps are in the low 70's and the rainfall for the last two years was pretty minimal. However, I am open to suggestions for other dates. Ideas? Comments? Concerns?

Sounds like we may have enough folks to put together a MyGMRS offroad event on the East Cost. Something to consider for Spring?

Yeah, man... getting together to do some trails would be awesome. I'll let you know when we plan to come down next. This is the list of stuff I had done so far. Mickey Thompson Baja Boss MT's, 40x13.5x17 Method 106 beadlocks Metalcloak 4.5" Lock N' Load front and rear long-arm lift kit. (parts included below) - springs - front and rear upper and lower control arms - control arm angle correction brackets - spring perch correction pads - front and rear sway bar links - front shock relocation brackets - 24" front brake lines - front cross member - rear track bar relocation bracket front and rear track bar Teraflex rear 33" stainless steel braided brake lines Rock Sport 14" extended travel shocks Metalcloak 3" rear shock relocation brackets Metalcloak Drag Link Metalcloak Tie Rod Rock Sport steering stabilizer MOPAR steel steering box SteerSmart steering box and track bar brace RCV axles with FAD delete Artec front axle truss Front and rear 5.13:1 Ring and Pinion gears Metalcloak Baller Joints Front and rear brake refresh (ceramics) Front wheel bearings Adams front drive shaft Teraflex rear spring retainers Teraflex rear suspension limit straps

I wheel. Have been doing it for 40+ years. I have a 2020 Gladiator on 40" tires and a 4.5" long-arm. The channel varies depending on who I'm wheeling with. When I'm with FRS folks, we use 7, with GMRS folks, we use 15, 19 or 22, depending on what other radio traffic is happening. I usually wheel at Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area, Rausch Creek, The Cove, Uwharrie, and random trails in the George Washington and Thomas Jefferson national forests. Looking to hot up Gultches and Winrock in the Spring.

Man, don't you know it. Just had $40k in work done to my Gladiator... it hurt a little, but hot damn. 40" Mickey Thompson Baja Boss MTs and a Metalcloak 4.5" long-arm lift with all the bells and whistles... worth every penny. My son posing with it... (he did the build)

Touching on what @OffRoaderX was trying to help with (and hes on the right track) if you open the user squelch with no tone squelch or DCS squelch, so you can hear static, is the static also very quiet or is it loud? If it is quiet when the squelch is open (monitor mode, too) then the radio's output is likely damaged in some way. Either the audio finals are fried or the speaker jack is possibly causing a partial short. If the static is loud, then you likely have a programming issue leading to compatibility problems between wide and narrow band.

Okay, car analogies aside for a bit, I think I get where you are coming from on the radio front. On the commercial side, I have almost zero experience with anything civilians can buy for private use, except for owning 4 Moto mobiles. That said, in my opinion commercial gear (like from Moto and assuming Kenwood based on other experience) will absolutely be a much better quality radio than non-commercial radios, such as radios designed for GMRS or Amateur use. Typical Commercial Radios Pros: Will typically have more physical durability. Better weather/waterproofing (in most, not all cases). Better/improved receive sensitivity. Better transmit frequency and power stability. Better protection circuits to prevent accidental damage (antenna shorts and thermal protection, for example). Higher power output options. Higher duty cycles. Something that me and my friends have experienced... you can more commonly run these radios for decades without needing repair and without noticeable degradation in performance. I have purchased 10+ YO commercial gear that ran just as good as it did on day 1 and still have them years later. There is no such thing as a commercial radio not being able to do what a purpose built GMRS or Amateur radio can do. You just need to purchase a model that will do what you want it to do. There are plenty things that commercial radios can do that non-commercial / private use radios can do, such as encryption, multiple heads, multiple mics, high volume ambient noise reduction on transmit, for some examples. As for as longevity of non-commercial radios go, we are in a disposable world. New non-commercial radios simply don't work as well or last as long as commercial radios. Once you abandon the commercial v. private/amateur gear categories, pretty much all non-commercial gear is the same. Just a question on if the price and features are there for you. Everything else is going to be opinion, anecdotal, and personal preference. I have noticed that, too. New troll technique?

Look at the question you asked... you 100% asked for opinions about quality. Based on the second post I quoted, if you really felt that way, you would just buy the BTech or whatever budget radio and not waste time asking the question. There is a reason 1 car cost thousands and the other cost millions, the same reason why some radios cost hundreds while others cost thousands. You can call it category, class, quality, whatever. It's the same question.

Man, Moto is not even close to the same category as any of those radios. You are comparing radios that were $3,000 to $5,000 new, to radios that are $150 to $500 new. That is like comparing a an economy Honda to Bugatti. I am very fond of Wouxun, especially the KG-1000G. The brand stacks up very well when compared to Yaesu, but I think Yeasu makes a better radio with many more available features. I would put Wouxun on par with Icom, Kenwood, Alinco. I don't consider Anytone, Powerwerx or TYT in the same category of any of the aforementioned brands. They are really budget brand radios. I don't look down on them, but they just won't have the same longevity, features, durability, stability or performance as the higher tier brands. Also, I a assuming you are either asking for use an amateur bands or just general speaking. Moto is the only brand mentioned that has models that have the ability to be legally used in GMRS. All the other brands are good for amateur bands, and some will have LMR/business options, too.

As long as no one quotes the people on the ignore list, it's like they don't exist. It can be a pleasant change.

Yes, you can use voice almost everywhere. Most of the spectrum is for voice use. In 9 of the bands available, you can use voice, data and Morse Code / CW through the entire band. HF radio is amazing for long range communications. With general class privileges, you will be able to talk around the globe, day or night. The main reason I got into it was for emergency communications. I figure if there is a problem here, and help is needed, calling a station outside the impacted area is the best bet.

@hfd376, Thank you!

Very, very kind of you. Much appreciated

LOL... thanks for the kudos! That's awesome. Feel free to use what you like. I am flattered its good enough that you want to use them. If you want the PPT instead of the PPS, so its easier to pull material, just shoot me a message.

@WRWE456 thank you for the kind words. Much appreciated!

Hey folks, a few months back, I discussed providing a presentation on the introduction to GMRS, to just cover the basics. We held the presentation a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to share the video with everyone. Fair warning, I'm not a pro YouTuber and my collar mic dropped with a few minutes left... please be gentle. LoL This is geared towards people with little to no experience. Hopefully it helps some people. The PowerPoint presentation is available for download, here... https://marcspaz.com/gmrs/GMRS101.ppsx Thank you to those who helped with content ideas.

One of my favorite quotes... "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King."

That would be a better choice.