marcspaz

It's a continuity test. It simultaneously confirms the shield and the center conductor do not have an open. If either were open, there would be a high resistive value.

An MXTA26 doesn't require cutting. It's a tuned antenna. If the SWR was high to start, either the cable was/is bad or you need a better mounting location. Chances are the antenna is damaged and no longer usable without risk of damaging the radio. I would trace the coax and look for signs of crimping or damage. If there isn't any, the NMO mount may have a partial short or broken wire in the base of the mount. Usually due to over-spinning the connector during install of the mount ot antenna. I had to toss a few before I learned my lesson. You may need to buy a new coax and antenna.

Anecdotal, I know, but in my own experience there are very few people I wheel with that are amateur radio operators. All of them use FRS or GMRS when they wheel anyway. Moving to amateur service for offroad is seriously going to limit who you talk to on the trails. If you are not worried about that or don't trail ride, I suppose it's a non-issue. If you are planing on using VHF and UHF, the same limits apply as in GMRS. While you can run 1,500 watts on amateur bands, the extra power doesn't do much if the LOS isn't there. Most of the time, VHF simplex around me, is limited to between 3.5 and 20 miles depending on terrain. However, I few days ago, from a mountain top I talked to someone almost 250 miles away. GMRS works the exact same way. The only thing that gets you more range without repeaters and mountain tops is HF. You can work the world with just a few watts... but you won't talk any further locally there either, as LOS still limits local comms. Usually once you hit the LOS barrier, either you need 40m, 80m or 160m NVIS to talk, say 20 to 350 miles. Otherwise, you aren't talking to many people inside the 350 mile radius there, either. What specifically are you looking to do. Myself and many others have a ton of experience over many decades in different areas. There is a good chance we can help if we know what you want to do.

I'll have to take a look at it tomorrow, when my brain isn't fried.

All of that is only good for a damped sinewave pulse.... maybe. If you know a head of time, every wavelength that will occur. Likelihood of that is zero. Truth is, every frequency from DC to daylight comes from an EMP. It will be in the form of electrical, magnetic, electromagnetic, radiation, and photon energy. Even the smallest of pinholes leaves you are risk.

I experienced something a few days ago, that I had not experienced before. Around my home, we have several repeaters that have 80%-90% reliability for 35+ miles and 70%-75% reliability out to 45-50 miles. We're talking over 7,800 square miles of coverage. With that kind of footprint, I have always suspected that repeater use could cause interference to simplex users, without the repeater users even realizing it. I can't hear a simplex conversation between mobiles when those parties are 60 miles away from me. So, what can you do as a repeater user to reduce that interference? Is it on you to be sure that doesn't occur? Is it up to the simplex users to try to use tone or digital squelch techniques. Or is it up to the simplex users to find a free channel? I got on a repeater the other day and started calling out for my son, and without realizing it, I was interfering with a simplex conversation. One of the other operators got on the repeater to let me know I was wiping out there local traffic. Thankfully the owners of the stations with the local traffic are friends of mine, so one of them came on to the repeater to chat. Everything was friendly, which they are both good guys and I would expect them to be friendly about it, even with a stranger. One of them simply came up and let me know I was stepping on them and I stopped using the repeater for awhile. Since we're all sharing radio space, it just seemed like a normal situation with a good and expected outcome. But, what would have happened if those people were not my friends? What if it was a group who doesn't know the person causing interference? What if the simplex operators don't have repeater access and the repeater owner or operator simply is unaware of the simplex conversation. Where does the onus lay to take action, and what is the proper action. I know we have discussed how unlikely it is to get GMRS expanded, but would it be worth trying to petition the government to expand GMRS to included dedicated repeater frequencies so we can avoid situations like this? I don't know the right answer, but I figure it could be fun to discuss.

Jesus Christ... this guy is retarded.

I wonder if an admin looks at 123's IP address and device info, if it's a match for Mr. G's address or equipment. On my old forums, I used to find that many butt-hurt individuals would make a second or third account, pretending to be someone else, not realizing all their device data is tracked.

Given that a significant amount of people on GMRS and in the form are also amateur radio operators and there is an amateur radio section of the form, I would say it's quite relevant. Steve's signature definitely brings more value than a single post you have made so far. How about bringing some value to the conversation, instead of insults.

I had a great time up on the mountain this weekend. Thank you to all who could attend. For those who didn't make it, our friend Holden shared a few pictures. Enjoy...

That is not something you can enable/disable or adjust in any way. If it was a manufacturing issue, it would have impacted a lot of radios and likely caught in QC. The weather alert feature only works when you are scanning. Are you scanning when the other radios get triggered? If so, are you scanning regular channels or weather channels? If the feature is enabled, you are scanning and you have two other radios trigger, but the 935 doesn't, then it sounds like you may need a repair or factory reprogramming.

The weather alert feature scans the weather frequencies and listens for the "alert tones". If the Nation Weather Service / NOAA doesn't transmit a tone, the scan feature has nothing to trigger on.

I am onboard with this too. I have mentioned before that if I could only have one radio with me, it would be a 40m radio and a wire antenna. For NVIS, the wire only needs to be a few feet off the ground and you can cover hundreds of miles in any direction. The only thing that stinks is carrying it. A solar charged, battery powered 100w radio adds 10 lbs. A solar charged, battery powered 5w-12w radio still adds 7 lbs.

Hi, Joe... welcome! The first thing I would ask is, do you live in an area with a few active repeaters that you want to use or are you looking to create a repeater network? Getting active on existing repeaters can be fun, as long as there are people there to talk to. Sometimes people are listening, but may not always be talking. Once you are licensed and on the air, I would recommend speaking plainly as to what you are looking for on the air. Key up and say something like "This is Wxxx000, Marc, monitoring repeater X. Anyone available for a quick chat?" You will be surprised how well that is received. Typically, I discourage new people from building new repeaters for social use unless you get a little experience and tutoring in the basic principles. That said, if that is where you want to go, we can point you in the right direction. You will need to get an account in the FCC Universal Licensing System, here... https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/universal-licensing-system. There is some good information there. However, a quick overview, the first thing you need to do is get a FRN from the FCC, which is free. You can do that here... https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/userLogin.do Once you have your FRN and login information, you would login to the license manager here, to request a license... https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsEntry/licManager/login.jsp Once logged in, you pick the 'Apply for a New License'. Select 'ZA - General Mobile Radio (GMRS)' and simply follow the directions to complete the application. A general turn-around is 1 to 3 business days to get your license. From there, if you don't have a repeater capable radio, I would shop around for one you like, that would reach the repeaters you want to use. One last note... while most repeaters are privately owned, many of them are open to use for all licensees. For coordination, many owners use MyGMRS as a tool to invite operators to request access, which can be done through the main site. You can go to https://mygmrs.com/ and select either 'Repeaters' and search through the list or select 'Map' to look at a geographical map of the US to find repeaters near you. Once you find a system you want to use, you can submit a request and the owner or admin of the repeater will send you the information needed to get on the repeater. Hope that helps. Lets us know what other questions you may have. - Marc

Hey folks, the weather forecast is looking fantastic for Saturday... Just a reminder to wear layers. It will be as cool as low 40's in the morning, but expected to reach to low 80's in the afternoon.

Even with a PO Box, your name and PO Box are still public record.

I use solar and battery at home, but it's light use. There are online services/calculators that can help you 'right-size' your batter and the amount of hours of direct sunlight needed to charge the batteries, based on how many watts of solar you run.

Repeaters that I own or help manage are all indoors with commercial power and climate control. I wouldn't put a repeater outside, even in some type of vault or temporary/portable shelter, for more than a few days. You need to be concerned about rain, wind, heat, humidity, just for starters. Unless you're planning on using a waterproof 5w-10w enclosed repeater, I wouldn't recommend it, nor do I have any recommendations for you.

@OffRoaderX I'm sure you let the moderators know that it's public knowledge and publicly available information from the US federal government. Did they respond at all, beyond a boot on the neck?

Hey everyone. Mike asked me to pass on a very big THANK YOU to everyone for donating to the power bill. Donations reached just over $1,000. This was enough to cover expenses associated with getting the power turned back on, a few months of current and future power bills, and Mike is investing the remainder of the funds in a backup power system to keep the Bull Run repeater on the air during comercial power outages. We have an amazing group! You all are the best!

Sounds like America Link on Fusion Wires-X on the Yaesu side.

I don't have any first hand experience with these, so I couldn't say what brand is better or worse. However, if I was buying one myself, I would go direct to BTech so I know its going to work. https://baofengtech.com/product/gmrs-20v2-audio-adaptor-kit/ BTECH GMRS-20V2 Enhanced Audio Adaptor Kit

I haven't personally... but a local friend of mine has one with a 25' extension kit. It extends the 8 pin cable and added an external speaker mic extension, too. That helps with extending the standard mic cable, use of Kenwood style accessories and ease of programing.

I wouldn't worry about it, bud... just use the radio however you enjoy. I have met 25-30 new people over the GMRS service that I am becoming friends with. People I would have likely never met if it wasn't for strangers being willing to have some minor conversation with a stranger on the other end. Again, just my opinion, while I have an opinion... people should be able to enjoy the service however they like. We just need to be considerate to others and stay inside the rules and intent of the service, because as a civilized society, that is what we have agreed to do.

Not at all. I love the repeater coverage we have in the DC Metro area. I intentionally refuse to use linked repeaters, thought.