marcspaz

Hmm.et me look. I'll approve it now.

Question... what can we do to make this group better for you? We have a lot of talented people who love to help others. I would love to hear ideas on how we can improve. I was thinking about training classes (in person and virtual), radio install parties, gear reviews, weekly tips on fine tuning your setup, etc. Does any of that sound interesting? Also, please make your own recommendations. I definitely want to hear from you all. Thanks, Spaz

I have a few things prepped for just such a thing... including some gear store well outside the predicted EMP blast range of my area. (Everyone should learn how to ride a horse, btw. Unless you own a CUCV, vehicles will be dead.) There are two ways to protect radios (and other electronics) against an EMP. The first is metallic shielding made of a continuous piece of metal. Steel or copper are good choices. Unfortunately, a metal enclosure doesn't always fully shield the interior because of the small holes that are likely to exist in the structure or the metal plates, themselves. This type of shielding often requires additional elements to create a barrier. A multi-tier system. The second method, buy a radio (or other device) that has tailored hardening. The manufactures protect the vulnerable elements and circuits. They are redesigned to be more rugged. The idea is to use parts that are able to withstand much higher currents, making existing systems less vulnerable. @WRKC935 An EMP can break more than just semiconductors. Semiconductor devices fail when they encounter an EMP because of the local heating that occurs. Usually due to excessive current due to the electro-magnetic pulse. Think of it like a short being introduced by a high-voltage external source. However, wires, fuses and even things like vacuum tube based circuits can be damaged.

As Steve mentioned, GMRS is a "Bring Your Own Contacts" type of service. Very utilitarian. If someone is looking for people to chat with on the radio, I always recommend getting your Amateur Radio license. Particularly a General class or Extra class. Then, there are millions of potential people to chat with, both on local Ham repeaters and Nation-wide, as well as globally on HF.

For the last two days there have been a bunch a metor showers that my amateur friends are bouncing signals off of to talk from Georgia to Alberta Canada using VHF and UHF signals. My money is on you hearing this propagation.

Same here. I use 2 radios for my amateur repeater. The radios are RF linked and the up-link and down-link are separated as much as 1/2 mile depending on use case and how much power the transmitter needs to be. I found that even at 5 watts, I need about 100 feet of separation. Cable-linking introduces a whole new level of aggravation. Depending on your use case, it may be easier and more affordable to simply by a low power repeater.

That is very odd. I'm not sure why that is happening. just a WAG based on no real understanding of how the function works, It may have something to do with speed and the additional time needed to process the tones vs the channels with no tone is an instant open, so that channel win?

So, if I am tracking correctly, you have rChx with TSQL programed in scan and the simplex version Chx with no tone programed in, but it only stops on the simplex frequency? For example. Repeater Channel 20, tone squelch set to 141.3. Simplex Channel 20, with no tone. Everything works as intended in this state. You hit the scan feature, repeater traffic is present, but the scan feature stops on the simplex channel most of the time? Even is the scan feature is used to scan from the high memories to the low memories?

I am not speaking for Randy... but I agree it's not for everyone. The are large, get hot, have more than enough power and programing capability to get you in trouble (if the FCC ever starts enforcing the rules). You could legit get a surplus radio that wasn't decommissioned correctly or not at all and all of a sudden you can find yourself on Fire, Police or some federal agencies digital encryption system and a lot of trouble. (Not an I guess or think. A buddy found a bunch on ebay) Then, one in good shape will be anywhere from $700-$1,000. You need to acquire one that is new enough that the programing software will run on modern Windows unless you have a way-back machine or are a computer systems engineer who know how to 'fake it' with a legacy OS. Then, you have to know how to program it once you actually get the software going. I wouldn't tell anyone that they are not capable of accomplishing any of this... but unless you are a tech savvy person with time and resources on your hands, it can be time consuming and frustrating to start with. Given that many new users struggle with using tones and getting repeater access configured, I don't normally point people in this direction.

I am currently using a Motorola XTL5000 and a Diamond NR-7900 antenna and together they are fantastic. I have had great luck with the KG-1000g and MXT500. The Gen 2 Midland MXT400 isn't bad, but the price vs lack of features and difficulty of programming push it lower on the list. I would need to get one at about 30% of retail before I would buy one over the other two. I would 100% buy the Gen 2 MXT400 over any mobile Baofeng/BTech mobile radio. Some people love them (and I like their handhelds), but I have had several of them break within days... even minutes of installation. With regard to antennas, I have also had great performance with the MXTA26 and the Tram 1126-B.

On the hood lip or swing gate... it won't matter. For antennas requiring a ground plane, as long as there is about 7" of metal under the antenna (regardless of the angle) it's going to work. As mentioned above, not all antennas require a ground plane. So depending on the antenna you buy, it may be a moot point. Also, the terrain and who/where you are trying to talk to will dictate if you have a no gain, mid-level or high gain antenna. No gain antennas provide much better coverage an hilly or mountainous areas and high gain antennas are going to provide better range in relatively flat areas. A 3 dB gain antenna is often a compromise. I just own both a no gain and a 6 dB gain antenna.

Hey folks, I am rescheduling a radio expedition up to Reddish Knob. Lets bring handhelds, mobiles, whatever you have. This is going to be a chance to set a personal-best for range of a contact and soak in some nice fresh air. If you have any non-GMRS gear you want to bring, this is a "let play radio" event. Bring it out. Additionally, I will be setting up my HF radio. Anyone who is interested in trying out the amateur bands and possibly talking to someone in another country from radio to radio, everyone will be welcome to operate my equipment. No need to worry about licensing, as you can operate under my station ID up to the limits of my privileges. No amateur license needed. We have chosen this location for ease of access. Its paved all the way there and the parking lot is paved, too. No high-clearance vehicle is needed. This is a "weather providing" event. It will be rescheduled if there are chances of rain and/or lightning.

You can listen to any frequency without a license.

I've had the same conversation about my JK with some people around here. They must be right, though. I mean, William McKinley was their volunteer examiner when they took the ham test.

@rivrrat I am working the Warrior bike ride, which ends at 3... then headed to the restaurant by 4:00 PM.

Carry-on and use of radios are 100% allowed in terminals and on commercial aircraft (with the PICs permission), by federal rule. However, you should check with whom you are traveling with, as some airlines may have a company prohibition.

Hey everyone! Sorry for the long break. I am looking forward to getting together with everyone. Along with getting our monthly meet-up going again, I would like to use this event to meet with Mike and give him any donations to help offset some of the expense associated with getting the Bull Run Mountain repeater running again. Lets meet at the parking lot beside Outback Steakhouse at 4995 Wellington Rd, Gainesville, VA 20155. After socializing outside for a bit, we can head inside for dinner. Depending on how busy the area is, we can meet in one of these two locations circled in red. I'll be monitoring the Bull Run repeater, too.

Awesome! Thank you and looking forward to it. I'll post up the date for the Meet N Greet soon.

Hey folks, Mike has run into some unexpected expense with restoring service keeping the Bull Run Mountain repeater running. I am going to make a donation to the expense. I am reaching out to see if anyone else is interested in contributing some cash to Mike. He is providing an awesome service to the community. I hear a lot of people talk about how thankful they are to have access to that system and the rest of his network. Unlike other repeaters in the area, Mike's systems are 100% privately funded, rather than having a club or group contributing to operations. I hope many will be willing to help. Anyone who is willing to contribute, I would love to raise $700 between us. I will not be accepting anyone's money. I would like everyone who is willing to contribute to come to the next Meet N' Greet to present Mike with the donations directly. Please make a note here or PM me if you are interested in helping Mike out. I expect the next get-together to be scheduled for sometime in the next 2 to 3 weeks in the Gainesville area. If Gainesville is a hard location to reach, I may schedule 2 get-togethers back to back on a Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Thanks, Marc

@Sshannon love Dave. He's got some good videos.

The range maps are estimated based on a percentage reliability scale. Some people draft the maps with a 70% reliability rate (looks larger) others use an 80% or 90% reliability rate, which makes it look much smaller. If you move out of the mapped area, that doesn't necessarily mean the repeater isn't usable. It just means service will be spotty and weak. Possibly 50% reliability or less.

I hate to say it, but that mount is not in a good place. In lamens terms, you're creating a short circuit for a large amount of your signal into the body. The electro magnetic energy needs to have a minimum of a 1/4 wavelength of free space to work well (6 inches). A half wavelength (12 inches) or full wavelength (24 inches) would be even better. I would recommend you get a Comet CP-5NMO mount and mount it on the hood, at lest 12 inches forward of the bottom edge of the A pillar. 14 or 15 inches away would be better. Like this...

You're Welcome.

Wait... HP doesn't pull cable for infrastructure. And I used to work for HPE and now collaborate with HPE daily for massive IT infrastructure projects. Anyone who is carrying a radio is either carrying a Harris or Moto and running trunked networked encryption radios. Pretty sure that dud didn't work for HP Tech or HPE and didn't know what he was talking about.

Moving it inside the roll bars will not help. Especially if the top of the metal enclosure is lower than the top of the tub. Can you share a picture of how it's mounted now? It may just need a simple adjustment instead of a complete relocation. As you pointed out, the current location with the MXTA26 may be the optimal combination. When my top was down, I have put a mag mount on the metal brace above the speaker bar. That has worked very well for UHF, prior to my permanent mounts.