marcspaz

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No extra charge!

Sorry to hear about the truck and trailer. Glad you pulled through. I got t-boned by a drunk who passed out behind the wheel. Hit me right in the driver's door at 55mph while I was stopped and waiting to turn. They had to cut me out of the car. My son had a broken arm and my daughter had a fractured vertebrate. I'm disabled for life with a chronic debilitating injury that is inoperable. Thankfully everyone lived. Of course, the drunk guy was 100% fine. Only spent 35 days in jail for his 3rd DUI... second resulting in an accident with injuries. In the mean time, I'm suffering for life. It never ceases to amaze me at how little thought people give to their actions. Seems like very few people even care that they could destroy lives... entire families... even their own. For what?

You said it's not a hobby, then listed a whole bunch of hobbies that it's used for, and then said those hobbies don't sound like hobbies. That's not an opinion... that is silliness.

LOL Nice try... but no. SMH

In the Amateur Radio world, all offsets that are commonly used and considered best practice, have come out of a developed band plan. The band plan dictates what the offsets (frequency pairs) are for coordination, to help prevent harmful interference with other repeaters and other services inside of those allocated spaces. The American Radio Relay League defines the band plan as "a voluntary division of a band to avoid interference between incompatible modes." Does anyone know if something similar exists for GMRS and its repeater offsets? Tradition seems like a good answer, but I have to think there is more to it than that. Also, using non-standard pairs would likely end up causing interference for others who are using the standard +5 in a GMRS dense area like where I am. There are repeaters around my house on every available (standard) pair, with some overlap with several machines, that only have PL tones separating which machine you bring up. You would also break the repeater capability for every repeater capable type approved radio on the market. The FCC issued a PDF as guidance to the makers to help ensure devices meet the type acceptance criteria, and that document shows the +5MHz offsets. While it may not be codified in the rules, based on the document, I am pretty sure that +5MHz is what's expected by the FCC, too.

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Yea.... just not seeing it. For at least the last decade, an overwhelming number of people I know, for them, GMRS is a toy. I dont know anyone personally who uses it as anything more than a toy or a second layer of mobile comms, with less traffic, compared to Ham radio. And while there are some businesses around here that use FRS (which seems counterintuitive given the name) there are none using GMRS. Also, in the FCC rules, it even defines GMRS as a mobile two-way voice communication service to support the individual licensees and the families in there activities, with things like emergency services being secondary and business use is a grandfathered tertiary purpose. So, it would seem our interpretations and experiences are vastly different. But... that's okay. :-)

Man... it kills me to see people keep saying that GMRS is not a hobby but Amateur Radio is. It's like people forget the meaning of words and how subjective they can be. First, I have to say, GMRS and FRS use can be a hobby. That includes rag-chew and anything else you can legally do on GMRS. GMRS can also be utilitarian. What makes it a hobby or utility is how YOU use it. That's it. Nothing else. I would wager to state the opinion that Amateur Radio is far more utilitarian than GMRS would ever be. Just because you can legally conduct business on GMRS and FRS doesn't take away that fact that for many private owners, it's purely an entertainment device. It also doesn't take away the utility value of Amateur Radio. Amateur radio is called such because of non-commercial exchanges, and no other reason. The organization and practice of amateur radio has led the world for more than a century with new inventions of methods for moving data, messaging and voice comms. There is wireless experimentation, self-training in electronics engineering, private recreational use, and emergency communications. If that isn't less a hobby and more utilitarian, I don't know what is. Radiosport, contesting and rag-chewing is just a small part of Amateur Radio culture. And again, what makes it a hobby or a service is how YOU use it.

There is ZERO chance that it will work on simplex, ground level with GMRS. You have a huge ridge line that runs almost parallel, just a degree of two off, but one town is on one side of the ridge while the other is on the blind side of the ridge. You need HF NVIS for reliable comms (probable between 1.9MHz to 3.8MHz) or there needs to be a repeater on the high point of the ridge line about half way between the two towns or two, 200'+ towers on each side of the ridge, in each town.

Not in the gen 2... I'm not sure what is planned for the gen 3. I have heard rumor, but nothing confirmed. I just looked up their certs. The last one was issued in September of 2016. It is listed as 10K5F3E bandwidth on all frequencies, which is a max of 10.5 kHz. There is nothing newer that I have found. Someone else may have better luck.

I find it pretty entertaining how people's experiences vary. Even my own experiences vary inside the brands. My gen 1 MXT400's were trash. One caught on fire and the other would overheat after a few minutes. Midland replaced them with gen 2 units and I have had fantastic performance with my replacement MXT400's. Then, I had 3 BTech amateur radios suffer catastrophic failures inside of a 3 week time frame and the 4th, a GMRS radio, was super dirty and I sold it almost immediately. But my BTech amateur radio HT's are wonderful performers. Anyway, in the spirit of this revived thread, in my Jeep, I have an MXT400, an FT-891, and an FT-8900R. In one of my 1500's, I have an MXT400 and an FT-857D. In my other 1500, I have an MXT400 and a FT-8900R. in my Mustang... no GMRS, just a Kenwood TM-V71A.

Fantastic! Glad to hear it! I am going to see if I can get down there for a few months this fall. I need to check on the properties and visit some family. I am probably going to stay in Hollywood for at least half that time. The person I quoted above has a screen name of "redrockjk". There is a limited addition Jeep Wrangler (JK model) called a Red Rock Edition (aka Red Rock JK), to honor the Red Rock offroad club. The club has been the biggest advocate at the federal level, working to keep public lands open as multi-use land, including for recreational 4-wheeling with vehicles like Jeeps. Jeep only made 50 Red Rock JK's, one for each state in the US, and they sold for $100k plus due to being such a limited production vehicle. I almost bought one... but couldn't bring myself to part with that much cash. Figured it would be pretty cool if redrockjk actually owns one.

I have a house in St. Pete and in Hollywood. There are really no other GMRS repeaters around there. I haven't used his. Didn't know he put one up. I'll have to check it out the next time I am down there. Do you have a Red Rock JK?

I have several acquaintances who own GMRS repeaters. They are personal property, not owned by a club or group, installed at their homes and were put in place for use by them and their family. I have never seen/heard of anyone licensed being turned down. However, as a property owner, it seems reasonable to have someone ask for permission to use my stuff and to want to know who is using my stuff. I had a 2m repeater at my house for years and never stopped anyone from legally using it. Eventually I got tired of maintaining it and took it down. Now I only use it for emergency work in the field. Sometimes literally in a field. LoL

To help answer the OP's questions... as mentioned above, it is very capable, but not legal. It is not legal because it is an Amateur Radio device, not a Part 95 certified device. To address some of the other points, and to compliment other replies, I provided a quick overview of the rules below. These are per the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. It looks like the ultimate responsibility is on the operator, as to where/how you use devices. However, there are some manufacturer restrictions as well. https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=dca18f1c644b6bf400c3ed6ea5163df4&mc=true&node=pt47.5.95&rgn=div5 Operator Specific - §95.343 states that the station operator is responsible whenever the station is transmitting. The operator of a Personal Radio Services station is responsible for proper operation of the station in compliance with all applicable rules in this part. §95.335 states that operation of non-certified transmitters prohibited. Specifically, that 'no person shall operate a transmitter in any Personal Radio Service unless it is a certified transmitter'. §95.337 states that operation of modified equipment is also prohibited. It say that 'no person shall modify any Personal Radio Service transmitter in a way that changes or affects the technical functioning of that transmitter'. The rule says any modification voids the certified status of the modified transmitter, then making it an unauthorized device for use in the Personal Radio Services. It also says that no person shall operate any Personal Radio Service transmitter that has been so modified. Manufacturer Specific - As far as the manufacturer is concerned, There are over 38 notations in the rules, but I find these to be the most relevant to this topic... §95.391, which states that the manufacturing, importation, and sales of non-certified equipment is prohibited. It says that 'no person shall manufacture, import, sell or offer for sale non-certified equipment for the Personal Radio Services.' So, the manufacturer is really only held responsible if the equipment is intentionally manufactured, imported or sold specifically targeting (advertised as) the Personal Radio Services and its not a Part 95 certified device or if the certification has expired, been revoked or nullified buy modifications. Also, §95.587(4)(e) says no person shall manufacture or import hand-held portable radio equipment capable of operating under both FRS and other licensed or licensed-by-rule services. It does have an exemption for Part 15 unlicensed equipment, where they are permitted if the hardware is consistent with part 15 rules. The other I found interesting is §95.1791 says that the sales of GMRS/FRS combination radios are prohibited. It says 'no person shall be permitted to manufacture or import, sell or offer for sale any radio equipment capable of operating under both this subpart (GMRS) and subpart B (FRS) of this chapter.' If you read the rules about the restrictions of FRS radios, this actually makes a lot of sense. What I find really interesting is that every amateur radio I have ever owned (which is several dozen +), that works on UHV (440MHz-470MHz), also worked on FRS and GMRS frequencies. Like... all of them. I am assuming there is some type of exemption in the laws/regulatory code that permits it, otherwise every major amateur radio equipment manufacturer would be in violation of the law. I have to admit... that does not seem like a very friendly response. Not sure why, when this is a discussion board and we are supposed to be helping each other through these things.

OMG... HAHAHAHA!!!

Great write-up! I love seeing real world results. There is a tremendous value to info like this. That fact that you shared the locations helps, too. We can topology mapping to see what the terrain looks like, which will paint a very clear picture. I'm with you on this. I have had terrible luck with Baofeng mobiles, but my BF-F8HP is a fantastic, inexpensive ham radio. I love wheeling and I don't want to trash any of my radios, but if i am going to make a mistake with my HT, I'd rather have it be my $28 radio instead of my $400+ Yaesu. Especially when having the more expensive radio brings zero benefits to the table while offroading.

Huh? An SWR reading is the measurement of 'standing waves' along the transmission line. How can you get a true SWR reading with no transmission line? You should NOT be tuning an antenna for the best SWR, but rather for optimum resonance on a specific/target frequency. Then you balance the entire load to reduce the standing waves, reduce reflected power and therefore improve forward radiated energy for maximum efficiency and maximum power output. The load includes the antenna, balun, transmission lines, your grounding system (for home/base stations), etc. This is why you see many high end amateur radio antennas and many commercial antennas advertised SWR ratings while connected to 100' or 200' of X type of coax. Sometimes they even say a 4:1 balun or 9:1 balun, and antenna tuner are required to balance the system. Plus, if you have a good analyzer, you should be able to read the antenna's impact on the SWR separately from the other components with ease.

I must have missed the "largest" part of the question. LOL Why do you want the largest antenna? Wouldn't you want to best performing antenna for your needs, regardless of the size?

I have seen that thread and some like it. I have two issues. One is, I don't know anyone who has actually done this... so I am hesitant to mention it. Also, the MXT400 is only certified for narrow band and is not intended to be user configured for wideband. Once you modify the the radio, it is no longer a certified radio, thus not legal. If you are going to do that, you may as well just go buy a ham radio or commercial radio and use it. There are way better radios for the same price or less.

If you have property and are in a prime location, an option may be to work out a deal with a tower company. I have a friend of mine who has a lease agreement with a tower owner. They put a 200' tower on his land in exchange for free use of the tower and a percentage of the tower revenue. He has 5 amateur radio repeaters on the tower, a GMRS repeater, and the revenues were enough for him to retire early. Something to think about if it's an option.

Don't feel too disenfranchised because of the MXT400. While the antenna is kind of cheap... the radio itself is (in my humble opinion) the best new, over the counter, out of the box, purpose built radio on the market right now. There are some shortcomings that can be overcome by using Part 90 radios, but frankly, I dont think that is a good start if you are getting into radio with no previous experience in commercial or Amateur Radio. Get your feet wet, enjoythe hobby and learn.

If I am just testing my link, I usually key up and say "This is <call_sign > testing. No response needed." Sometimes people will give me a signal report anyway. As far as the shift... if you are only trying to talk to someone without the repeater in the process, you need to disable the shift/offset so the other station will be able to hear you.

Just reaffirming what was mentioned above by Mr. Scott... they didn't say no. They want to have a discussion. I would think you may be able to get what you are looking for. As to why they would recommend a different tone... to prevent interference, of course. We have two repeater systems here that share 2m pairs with other networks about 100 miles away. Both have flipped in/out compared to the systems near me. Often, during the warmer months I can hear mobile operators on the fringe of those repeaters, on the output frequencies of my local systems. I mention this because, you may have a repeater system nearby that is using the same pairs and PL tone you would like to use. Even if it seems improbable to have interference, that risk may still exist. That is why we use the coordinators. They are (typically) in the know.