marcspaz

Agreed. Mine is fiberglass and is guyed with some UV and weather resistant paracord to help reduce lightning risk.

Wow! That's terrible. Both simplex and on the repeaters, many of us call each other by name instead of station ID. Especially if we are having an ongoing convo, even if there is a few minute break and we start back up. As mentioned by berkinet, calling by station ID is common. I would assume its because if I wanted to call for you (for example) there is only one KI5GXD, but there may be more than a few people named Lee who are listening. There is nothing stating it has to be that way. There is definitely no need for getting chewed out on the air. Please don't let that spoil your interest in the hobby. There is a tremendous amount of fun to be had. Anecdotally from my 17+ years of experience, that is not even close to the norm. It sounds like you just need to move on from that group. I am positive there are a lot nicer people to associate with and usable repeaters around.

@kb2ztx... wow, that is terrible. It's hard to imagine, though I'm sure its true. Good grief. If I was the county gov EC or AEC, I would have asked them to leave, too.

Fantastic! Good for them. The guy in the white shirt is an amateur radio operator and Emergency Coordinator for Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) in that county. Hopefully they have been training in radio relay and traffic management in the event that the repeater gets taken out. In the same manner that the cell towers are destroyed, the repeater and tower can be, too. Depending where the fire is/goes, that may never be a problem, but they should prepare for it. Overall I think it's an outstanding job. I am very happy to see the community coming together and making it work.

I'm curious what sparked the verbal abuse? The rules say every 10 minutes and at the end of a session. What actually occurred? I ask because some people seriously over use their ID... doing it every transmission, at the start and finish, every 2 minutes, etc. I wonder if he over uses his ID and thinks that's how it should be done. I would like to think that if you're doing something as simple as missing an ID, one of the seasoned folks would put a reminder out. I do. I say "well, it looks like its ID time fellas." That way no one takes it personally and we all get the reminder. Then I have heard some guys talk for 2 hours and never ID. Which is another pain point. LoL

I went through something like that here in my area. I just got on the repeater a few times a day, at common 'commute' times, and called on the repeater for the owner. After a few days (about a week iirc) he answered. I introduced myself and we spoke for awhile. I asked if it was okay for me and my family to occasionally use the repeater. Not only did he say yes, but he was happy that someone was going to benefit from using his machine. In my experience, most owners are fairly friendly. Just be mindful that its someone else's property and you should do okay.

Obviously I can't speak for every situation, but for the team I'm a part of, the government employees that don't know squat about amateur radio or RF comms in general, went out and bought a bunch of garbage and insisted we used their gear. The problems were that there gear wasn't just poor quality, but didn't cover bands and services needed. So even when it wasn't broken, it still didn't work. After a few years of us bringing our own gear (including portable towers and power) the right people finally asked us what they should buy. So, the gear here is owned by the government and we just maintain and use it. We still end up bringing our own gear 100% of the time, because we just never know what to expect. I would like to think our situation would be worst case. I can't see a club or group like ARES wasting time and money on cheap gear.

I agree. Honestly, all of the features are fantastic! There are lots of bells and whistles that you just don't see with many brands.

Hey Ken, I have owned and tested several amateur and GMRS BTech / BaoFeng handhelds and mobiles. Only 1 of the 4 mobiles I tested worked for more than 2 weeks. One of them broke within minutes. I have purchased and tested several models of handhelds, too. Only 2 of the 5 handhelds still work and survived for more than a month. They are very, very dirty transmitters. One transmitted so much noise that it can be heard by other radios on 15 harmonics in each direction. Some drift. Some are just flat out off frequency. The receivers are noisy. They just overall are poor quality radios. Now, that said, I still own and use 2 BTech / BaoFeng handhelds for when I go offroad, but it's because they are a disposable. The radios only need to 'work' for less than 25 yards most of the time. Also, if I have to drop a radio (by mistake, of course) in mud, water or on rocks, I'd rather have it be a $30-$40 CCR like a BTech / BaoFeng instead of my $250 Yaesu or Icom handheld.

I have a friend that lives not too far from you. Truth is, radio is pretty tough over there. Unless I am on a bridge, range is limited to a couple of miles. I have only been there 4 times for a couple of days... so I never really looked for any repeaters. Not legally. Technically, its possible, but would be way too complex and expensive to make it work, if you somehow got around the legality of it. Most repeaters are very limited in operation. They (can) support a wide range of frequencies, but they are typically configured for a band segment pair, with one input and one output. Height is might... so the saying goes. You will need to do a topo eval of where you want to talk to and from, and then install antenna setups tall enough to get over the terrain. GMRS lives in the 462MHz and 467MHz range of UHF. GMRS (and UHF in general) are what's called a line-of-sight service. The radio waves travel in a straight line to about 15% further than the visible horizon. That is because generally speaking, with rare/limited exception, UHF Radio signals get absorbed by the ground or radiate out into space. An example would be with my mobile radio and mobile antenna mounted on my Jeep, while in my driveway, I can only chat about 1.5 miles with 40 watts. Same radio on 5 watts, with a high gain antenna mounted on a 40 foot mast in my driveway, I am talking 40 miles. What radio do you have? Depending on the radio, you may only be able to legally listen on both and not transmit on either.

For those of you who have heard about the state of California telling Hams that all their equipment must be removed from government vaults and towers... it appears that due to lobbying from the community, that decision has been reversed. This information is per Nathan Zeliff, who was interviewed on K6UDA's YouTube channel, yesterday. Per Nathan Zeliff, the state and county governments are going to be required to integrate amateur radio services into their emergency ops plans, leave all equipment in place and augment/update as needed, and all fees must be waive or rolled into the county/state budgets accordingly. I guess we'll see what the official release from the government will be. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJnr-ryEi5Q

Agree fully... but I grew up in a time when it was common sense not to video record yourself doing something stupid or illegal. LoL It seems as though people today have lost sight of that. Instead, people seem to think it's a good idea to record it and post it online for the world to see.

You can't legally use a non-90 or 95 radio... and if you mod it for use on amateur radio (assuming its even possible), then it is no longer legal for GMRS.

Congratulations! I think you're going to enjoy it. I held a Tech license for 17 years before I upgraded... there is a ton of stuff to enjoy under your new privileges. I found that being an amateur radio operator doesn't detract from GMRS. I use GMRS weekly. It is a very useful platform.

Check out the equipment reviews threads. Lots of good info. Best bet will be a part 90 radio. Many here have had good luck with them, compared to the newer GMRS specific radios.

Talking about running low power... I have found that the distance coverage for usable comms is near unchanged, going from 5 watts to 40 or 50. Typically 1 s unit or less. I almost always just run 1 watt unless I am working a repeater that is more than 10 miles away or deaf.

You are good to go with the antenna. Its pre-tuned. Just be sure the negative side is properly grounded, add a ground strap from the hood to the top of the inner fender and the common ground under the hood or the negative side of the battery. You will see improvements with CB performance, too.

If they do that, I would buy one in a heartbeat. EDIT: Well, after the beta group helps work the bugs out and they release version 2.0. LOL

You hit on some very good points. I always say each band/service has its purpose. If I am talking close proximity while Oscar Mike and don't need/want my signal circling the globe, UHF is perfect. VHF can be good for local. Around here I get between 9 and 15 miles on simplex with just 5 watts on 2m. I get about 35 miles on 10m and 100 watts. Then when I need state/regional... 60m or 75m NVIS. Around the country and/or global, 20m and 40m. That is the very reason I tell people that Amateur Radio is the best all-around solution. We have an option for every type of comms needed. I mostly use CB and GMRS for comms compatibility with friends who are not Hams. I helped get my friends GMRS and CB stuff setup. I personally have a Galaxy DX 959 and a 1/4 wave steel whip. We all spent time grounding all the body panels, antenna mounts, etc., to get max performance. I can talk 8+ miles on AM almost no matter what. On SSB I am talking 16+ miles reliably... 22-24 miles regularly (squelch wide open and 21 or 22 signal report). Originally, we were comparing CB and GMRS. Bringing Amateur Radio into the mix, I fully agree with you, 40m is outstanding for long range comms. I was on 40m while driving around in my Jeep last night. There was a contest going on and I could here people from Virginia, as well as coast to coast. I even talked to a guy in Berlin (DK7YY) while driving around. Some of the folks in Cali where kind of quiet, though. Going back to OP's statement about GMRS being better for trail riding... I think its all opinion based. While I like the range of CB better, I like the audio quality of UHF FM and extremely low height of GMRS antennas. I'm less likely to snap an antenna. Anyway, I don't really believe in better or best. I just believe in the right tool for the job. That is why, in my Jeep, I can work 80m/75m, 60m, 40m, 20m, 11m, 10m, 6m, 2m, 70cm, and GMRS. No matter what needs to happen, I got it covered. ;-)

Yes... yes it is.

Still no wideband. Still no split tones. I don't expect that to change anytime soon. Just an assumption on my part, but I think the target market for their GMRS products are non-tech people who want an OTC product that works out of the box with no special knowledge or prep.

Agreed. I only say that I agree that is a family oriented service because family comms are the most common uses. Especially because of the FRS overlap. It's kind of like saying automobiles are commuter tools. Its the most common use, but there are lots of other uses. For instance, my car is a portable power supply for my radios. LOL Not many people know what the origin of being a Ham (or ham fisted) comes from. It's kind of a funny story about people being snobbish. LOL CW folk (and most Hams) wear it as a badge of honor.

I agree to a certain degree, focusing exclusively on mobile comms, if we take repeaters out of the mix. My own opinion... CB is a much better stand-alone (peer-to-peer) radio service. In a mobile application, with 12.5 watts on SSB, I can talk 8x further than simplex UHF using 50 watts. Also, a few times a month, skip lets me talk around the country with 4 watts on AM. I can talk to central Texas on UHF, too, but I need to be on a mountain top, using a 5 element beam and 1,500 watts. That said, if you include repeaters, UHF FM radios provide great audio quality and coverage area. Though its still only local comms.

I have used VOX on my FRS radios with an in-ear (under helmet) speaker/mic to talk to my spotter while on road course race tracks. It's good to have comms with a spotter to tell you if you have panels coming loose, high body roll (wrong suspension tuning), smoke/liquid coming from the car, missing an apex or brake zone point, etc. I also use GMRS and FRS when we go 4-wheeling, to spot drivers or to get a spot while rock crawling. Many times, the terrain we are driving through is so complex that tire placement needs to be accurate within a few inches. Drivers typically can't see the tires and rocks under the vehicle. So, they need a competent driver/spotter to provide guidance on exactly what to do with the vehicle. That is just 2 examples. The opportunities for radio to make life safer and more entertaining are endless.

Two points that have been made, that I agree with, are that GMRS is "family" radio communications (definitely not a rag-chew community) and you can't judge its success or failure by repeater use. I would like to add that, because this is a low power, line of sight service, you can't judge the popularity by who you hear... not at all. With limited exception, UHF radio waves (where GMRS lives) either leave the atmosphere or get absorbed by the ground. Where we live, the numerically subtle elevation changes are actually somewhat drastic. There can be hills and low spots that only vary 100 feet, but that variation can occur over 200 yards of road/trail distance. So we end up with a bunch of natural earth walls blocking UHF RF paths. What all this comes down to is, depending on the noise floor and your location compared to the location of the other station, you may not hear anyone more than a mile or two from you. I am just to the south of you, in Woodbridge. When I am at my house, using 40 watts, my mobile will only get about 1 mile. However, if I drive 6 houses up the street, I go up 100 feet in elevation and can talk 5 miles on simplex or 20+ miles to a repeater in Warrenton or the Alexandria repeater. All that said, I think the radio service is increasing in popularity. Many people use FRS and GMRS for outdoor activities. I spend a lot of time camping, 4-wheeling, and at car shows. Many people are moving away from CB for camping and 4-wheeling and going to GMRS. Mostly because the GMRS radio performance is much more forgiving than CB and many people can't get their CB to work more than 100-200 yards. With some of the OTC GMRS kits that come with mag mounts, its almost impossible to screw up the install and get a couple miles of range on average. In the arena of outdoor stuff like car shows, food festivals, art festivals, etc., GMRS and FRS become a great tool for family to stay in touch. My family has 3 HT's and while we are at these events, we use the radios when someone goes on a food/water run, to go look an an exhibit without the whole group, as well as commuting to the location, allowing us to find each other to all meet back up. So, I think it is popular and gaining popularity. Just remember, use the right service for the desired purpose.