marcspaz

Around here, that seems to be what I hear the most. Well, Wires-X / C4FM and DMR. There are three 70cm repeaters near me with America Link on 24/7. Not much analog voice traffic unless a club 2m repeater goes down and they slide to 440 as a backup. Me personally, 99% of my 70cm use is for cross-band repeat from my HT through my mobile. Makes life way easier when I hop out of the Jeep.

Because they were written by bureaucrat lawyers, not 'normal' people. LOL

Some of what you mention as far as amateur licenses was already tried and it failed epically, leading to the licensing scheme we have now. Also, I may be so bold as to say that Ham radio operators use GMRS for the same reason anyone without an amateur license would use GMRS. There is no mysterious or hidden agenda. We want to talk to people we know, while using a radio, or have some form of communications when traditional communications is not an option. For what its worth, the core of the definition of the purpose for GMRS is "a mobile two-way voice communication service... for facilitating activities of individual licensees and their family members". Nothing says it must be used to talk to anyone about anything in particular, for some specific purpose. I think while the dialog is healthy and I like the conversation, I wouldn't support running anyone off because their usage of the service doesn't fit some preconceived notion of what I think they should use the service for. If anything, I would encourage more people to take advantage of the fact that services are available. Everyone should be familiar with GMRS, FRS, MURS, CB and Amateur Radio. There is no such thing as 'not enough room' to accommodate everyone. Again, just a thought.

Hey! I reassemble that remark! LOL

Truth mixed with sarcasm... I read that as "get off my lawn". LoL

Good grief... 75m and 80m is just atrocious. Fantastic from a radio prospective, but the people are mostly horrible human beings.

That's actually pretty impressive. I'm curious if the person on the other end ever told you what they were running, since they were able to make it back to you? +40 at 60 miles is no joke. LOL... that would be fun. There is no shortage of material, that's for sure.

There are a few retired folks and a couple who work from home, that kind of hover around 18, 19 and 20 during the day. A couple of them are members here. You will be more likely to get a response in 18 (127.3) while north of DC on the east side of the Bmore and DC beltway. The 20 pair (675) is good for the same group of folks, plus a bit more as you get into DC and NOVA. And the 19 pair (650) is good from Leesburg to Warrenton. It's a bit splashy along 95 from the Pentagon and points south, as it's on Bull Run mountain. At night and on the weekends you will hear us mostly on 19. My call is WRBY328. Give me a call an 19 or 20 (20 is better) when you're around. I'm usually on my way to work around 10 to 11 AM and on my way back to the home office after 5ish.

This is a conversation group. It's just a subject to talk about. Not a big deal, I think.

I can tell you why I am on GMRS often. Availability, coverage and the people using it. Though, that changes depending on where I am in the country. I cannot tell you how many @$$h0l3s I run into on ham radio every day. They think they are smarter than everyone else, and then use that very wrong opinion to assert their 'authority' (bad opinion stated as if it was a fact) over others. Then there are the jammers, tuner-uppers, and people just plain-ole' showing their butt. It makes me want to toss my gear in the trash some days. I don't have that problem on GMRS. On the GMRS side, we have local person here who used their personal time and money to put up repeaters on every pair and spread them around the DC metro area, just to make it so the community has something to use in an emergency (he's actually the opposite of what the jerks are in Ham radio). Thanks to this person, there are 90+ miles of continuous coverage edge to edge; more than 6300 square miles. You can double that coverage if you tolerate a 60%-70% reliability rate. There isn't a single amateur radio repeater or club network that can match his coverage. As far as who I talk to, my son is the only person in my family that has a Ham license and he doesn't even own any amateur radios. My wife let hers expire more than a decade ago. There are a small handful of friends that have their Ham license, but are rarely on the air. Now, on the GMRS side, I literally have several dozen family and friends that are on GMRS or use FRS while we are out doing things together. The lack of testing, the affordable gear and the fact that people like me are in their life to help with technical stuff, so they don't have to actually learn anything to simply use the radio, is a huge draw to them. Many of them refuse to get their amateur radio license. Side note on why I hate Ham Radio: Before you read this... it may be long and boring, which is why I put it after the more relevant part of the post. It is still relevant, because its a great example of why I as a Ham, prefer GMRS. As you read this, keep in mind that on the amateur frequencies from 144 MHz to 148 MHz, FM signals are just a little more that 16 KHz wide on a properly running radio. Also, based on the 16 KHz wide signal, the proper technical spacing between occupied frequencies is 20 KHz. However, for some reason the community in about half the country opted to use 15 KHz channel spacing instead, which leads to overlap and interference. Jerks in Ham radio never cease to amaze me. I have an example from just a few days ago, while I was talking to a traveler on 146.520. For our non-Ham friends, this is a calling frequency. Meaning if you are looking for someone to talk to, you go to that frequency to call for other operators, and many operators listen here to chat, too. Once you make contact, its customary to move the conversation to another frequency, but not required. Often it is used continuously for hours at a time for contests and special events, or just for a couple of people to just chat. I was talking on 146.520 to a person who was on the highway, traveling through the area on his way from PA to FL. Total conversation was 6 minutes. I figured it would be best to stay on that frequency, rather than to distract the driver by having him figure out how to adjust his radio while driving on the highway. Especially since at 65-70 mph, it wouldn't be long before I couldn't hear him. I had a guy come to 146.520 and yell at me because we were tying up "the calling frequency" instead of moving to another frequency. He was also very mad because I was using about 200 watts and was splashing him and his friends on 146.535. He was calling me names and generally being very rude. Well, I am not surprised he could hear me on 146.535, because (as mentioned earlier) a proper signal is a little more that 16 KHz and he was only 15 KHz away from 146.520. Him and his friends should have picked the better channel spacing of 20 KHz (146.540) or more, so there was no overlap. The power I was using was not an issue, because I could hear him splashing me... and I am assuming it was the overlap, not his power levels. Among other things I can't type in a family friendly forum, he said my gear was crap and I am a bad operator who shouldn't even be on the radio because I was splashing him so bad that he couldn't talk to his friends. He said that he hates new operators, can't believe they don't teach new people better manners and to follow the rules. When I told him he didn't know what he was talking about and I was an operator for 20+ years, his answer was that he was a Ham for more than 60 years and knows more then new guys like me. LOL The funny part of the whole situation is, in his eyes I'm the jerk who doesn't know anything and shouldn't be on the radio, but he was the one attacking me and insulting me while HE was using bad practices of not using proper channel spacing, being at least 20 KHz away from the most popular coordinated VHF frequency in amateur radio. This stuff NEVER happens to me on GMRS.

My primary home is in the DC metro area. FRS, GMRS and MURS are slammed on every channel for at least some part of every day. Though, the repeaters are not heavily utilized. We have about 30 to 50 people whom are regular users on all of the repeaters around me.

Percent? What is being measured in percent?

I would not move it to the brush guard. You are going to have a huge shadowing problem at least 160 degrees toward the rear of the vehicle. You will not be happy with the performance. I would either put it on the roof or measure the distance between where it is now and the rear lip of the hood, and then split that measurement and move it closer to the windshield by that final measurement.

@Luish19779, unfortunately GMRS is not a rag-chew service. Many refer to it as a BYOC radio service (Bring Your Own Contacts). Meaning, you and a specific person or group of people are looking for a common radio service so your group can specifically talk. This is why its so popular with groups that do family emergency communications, offroading and outdoors type of entertainment, road trips involving multiple vehicles, etc. As Michael (@MichaelLAX) mentions, Ham radio is most likely a much better bet for you. I am in NYC 6 to 8 times a year and there are a bunch of repeaters in NY, CT, NJ and PA that I can reach, depending on where I am in and around the city. I have really good luck around Bronx Zoo and little Italy, up to around Yonkers Raceway. There are some amateur repeaters on the mountains nearby and the stuff south and west are at lower elevations or you get some clear LOS due to the river. Something to think about, if you are just looking for strangers to chat with and to make new friends. GMRS really isn't the best choice for that, though.

@Sshannon LOL true story!

@WRKC935 I am not a fan of AMA either. They are the Sad Hams of the drone world... 100%. I can definitely understand where you are coming from. The whole situation back to 2018 kept me out of the drone hobby for for a couple of years, too. The drone world and enforcement is kind of like GMRS enforcement. There are rules, but rules unenforced are almost the same thing as no rules. I am only aware of one person who actually got some major fines from FAA... but this person repeatedly posted videos of him flying his drones way above 400 feet... like above cloud cover... flying well beyond VLOS and from what I recall, he also broke speed restrictions by flying well over 100mph. So yeah, they hung that dude out. I have heard of some limited instances of people getting caught up in local BS when cops charge remote pilots for stupid stuff that doesn't actually violate federal law. Usually the PD involved knows zero about drones and the arresting LEO is just an a$$. Also, I checked again today. There are now 3 CBO's, one being FTCA, which has very relaxed common sense rules. They are the ones I picked for flying recreation before there were any "officially recognized" CBO's. Right now... today, you can go from zero to legally flying almost anywhere in less than an hour, and then in seconds every flight after. For recreation, these are the current rules... 1. The aircraft is flown strictly for recreational, or educational purposes. Pretty straight forward. 2. The aircraft is operated in accordance with or within the programming of a community-based organization’s set of safety guidelines that are developed in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration. With FTCA now being approved... also very easy. I used to keep the printed safety guide in my bag so I could use it as a reference if PD or a nosy person got in my business (thankfully neither ever happened). 3. The aircraft is flown within the visual line of sight of the person operating the aircraft or a visual observer co-located and in direct communication with the operator. Also, common sense. Can't avoid a crash, especially with over aircraft if you can't see them. Forward camera isn't good enough. 4. The aircraft is operated in a manner that does not interfere with and gives way to any manned aircraft. Also makes sense and pretty easy to abide by. 5. In Class B, Class C, or Class D airspace or within the lateral boundaries of the surface area of Class E airspace designated for an airport, the operator obtains prior authorization from the Administrator or designee before operating and complies with all airspace restrictions and prohibitions. This sounds hard, but is actually super easy. I use an FAA approved LAANC (pronounced Lance) service provider app on my phone. It's called Air Control. It takes seconds to check where I want to fly and automated approvals take less than 60 seconds in most limited/restricted areas. Most consumer grade drones also have this feature built into their controller apps. 6. In Class G airspace, the aircraft is flown from the surface to not more than 400 feet above ground level and complies with all airspace restrictions and prohibitions. Again, same as above. No need to struggle to ID the airspace class. The software does it near instantly. 7. The operator has passed an aeronautical knowledge and safety test described in subsection (g) and maintains proof of test passage to be made available to the Administrator or law enforcement upon request. This is called a TRUST certification. It's free, only needs to be done once and is good for your lifetime. Only took me 15 minutes to do. 8. The aircraft is registered and marked in accordance with chapter 441 of this title and proof of registration is made available to the Administrator of designee or law enforcement upon request. This is also super easy. If your drone is less than .55 lbs (250gr), then you don't need to register it for recreational use. If you want to or if the drone is 0.55lbs or more, you get one registration number for free in just a few minutes (only legit site is the FAA .Gov site) and that 1 number is good for all of your drones.

@tweiss3, yes, Sir... that is the one. This is the best place to get started on understanding where the process is right now... https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started The the rules have been all over the place for awhile, but the commercial side has finally settled at this point and seems to have been for at least 6 to 8 months. I figure with the free lifetime membership Greg offers and the re-training / updates as little things pop-up, it won't be so bad. Right now the recreational side is all over the place. They biggest problem I see is the whole "CBO" requirement. Since the FAA is somewhat tied to it due to congress passing a law, you have to use a community based organization's rules while flying for recreation. When there was no 'formally recognized' CBO, it was easy to use someone like Flite Test Community Association (FTCA) and download their guidelines. Now, Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) is the only official CBO, and their rules are way worse and more complex than the FAA Part 107 rules. Which is why I went commercial instead.

I feel bad hearing this. If you guys are still interested the rules are a heck of a lot more relaxed as of today, compared to even a year ago. Part 107 gives me more permissions, like flying above 400 ft with no special permissions in some cases. We also have the ability to do night flights now, too. Also, the rule about 5 miles within an airport are gone and no need to call ATC/Tower anymore. I've actually flown at Dulles International and the local regional airport by my house. For the times you do need FAA approval, a vast majority of it can be done via a phone app and get instant approvals. The only thing that sucks now is, no flying in national parks or wildlife management area. Part 107 turned out to be a big plus, even if you are only doing recreational flight, the certification makes it so you can do so much more than a strictly recreational flyer with no cert. If you are still interested in quads or fixed-wing, check out some of the latest free videos at Pilot Institute. They are the best Ground School and Remote Pilot training I found. If you decide to go back to recreational flying, the training is 100% free and their commercial 107 training was under $200 last I checked, with lifetime continued training.

I have a couple of drones I use for hanging antennas from trees, recording offroad videos, scouting areas to put up my portable gear when in the field, and occasionally just for the sake of flying. I got really bored yesterday and ended up with a fun gag reel I wanted to share. Anyone else here use drones and find a way to incorporate then into other hobbies? How do you use your drone? Anyone a Part 107 Certified Remote Pilot? If so, what are you using your cert for? Work? Fun? Both?

I agree with the other responses. There is nothing in the rules that state you must use 5MHz splits. Unusual frequency splits as well as mixed split tones are a great way to keep the trolls away. I'm pretty sure the 5MHz split was borrowed from other popular UHF based services and is considered best practice. Standards help avoid mistakenly causing harmful interference. It also helps companies build standardized hardware for maximum compatibility.

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you all had a great day! Michael... I was on 14.235.

I recorded Christmas wishes from a new friend in South Africa. We chatted 12,700+ km / 7,900+ miles via HF radio. I apologize for the audio sync problems. I rushed last minute to record a conversation with Lyle, which led to me having some issues with the radio display feed being frozen and the time sync between voice and video being off. I will record another one later, after I fix my video codec issue, but I really wanted to share it anyway. Merry Christmas everyone.

I use either Diamond K400 heavy duty (for heavier antenna or more than 50w) or Comet CP-5M. The Comet maximum power is 50w, IIRC.

Great... the second I left this thread, this was the first ad to pop.... SMH. LOL

This step always tells the real story. I have seen some mobile installations that have had 20+ feet of 16 or even 18 gauge wire with crimped extensions and crimped eye-loops at the battery. On the radio side, they experienced a 1.5v to 2v drop when in standby and 3.5v to 4v drop on the radio side when they key up.