marcspaz

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.

sadly, I am guilty of this... but I am getting better.

My personal opinion, we don't need Ham Radio 2.0 or Ham Lite. I think there MUST be a place for people who just want to talk to their family and friends without a bunch of bureaucratic steps and unnecessary roadblocks. FRS is a wonderful service for exactly that. For families that may need a bit more (maybe coverage of the family farm, for example), amateur radio may be too strict for the family needs but GMRS is a great next step. The reduced audience is considered a plus, too. Linking repeaters over the internet and tying up limited channel allocation is a bad idea, but I love seeing how far I can reach... radio to radio.

CONVOY Hey folks, I am setting up a meet-up time and place for those wanting to convoy up to the mountain together. The hope is to get to the mountain top by about 9:00-9:30 AM. For those leaving from the DC Metro area, we can meet at Sheetz at 13039 Balls Ford Rd, Manassas, VA. at 6:30 AM and we will leave promptly at 7:00 AM. For those coming from the Winchester area, lets meet at Burger King at 33964 Old Valley Pike, Strasburg, VA. at 8:00 AM and leave promptly at 8:15. We will stop for fuel at the Shell gas station at 3275 S Main St, Harrisonburg, VA., and then head up to Reddish Knob. COMFORT / FOOD Hey folks, this is going to be 5 hours of round-trip driving for me, so I will be making a day of it. I assume this will be the case for many of you. I wanted to just provide a few recommendations and reminders to make sure everyone has fun and is comfortable. Please remember to bring your radio! LOL. It's not a requirement, as I am willing to share, but if you want to maximize your time, having your own gear will help. Bring a chair of some type, and possibly a small folding table. This will make life better. I wouldn't want to stand all day and having a flat surface for writing notes about contact, a place to hold your radio/drink/make lunch will be a plus. The weather looks like its going to be wonderful, but cold in the morning. Dress in layers, bring a hat, sunscreen, bug repellent, etc. If you take daily meds for health, please remember to bring them. Food and Drinks... I would recommend a small cooler with drinks and some food that doesn't require heating. The mountain top isn't really setup for cooking. There are no fire pits or grills. Let me know if you have any questions. If you have any other tips... post them up.

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who made it out to dinner tonight. I hope you all had a good time. I had a great time! I want to also express my gratitude for the generous donations given to Mike. We have a fantastic group! Thank you all!

I agree with Steve. Truth is, you need to measure to see if its worthwhile.

@Sshannon good point. Most of the cables in my mobile setups are rg316. It's something like 18dB per 100.

As mentioned by @Borage257, especially due to the time of day and the time of year and what the forecast has been, you are near certainly experiencing tropo ducting. That said, you touch on something that many people grossly overlook, including radio pros. Although we discuss VHF and UHF radio being a "line of sight service"... that doesn't mean that atmospheric conditions impacted by solar cycle don't impact VHF and UHF... particularly in the case of GMRS. In fact, during the day, they can have a profound affect in either increasing range or swinging the other way, causing radio blackouts. UHF signals actually travel comfortably beyond the visual line of sight, by about 15%. This is due to refraction and scatter affects in the atmosphere. The more loose, electrically charged ion particles are in the air, the more scatter and refraction you get. This translates to better signal quality at distance and often, a small bump in range. The ionization in the F region increases roughly 2 × 106 e/cm3 during maximum sunspot activity. The F1 layer is the principle reflecting layer during the day in the summer. This is why some bands perform much better during the day. While these principles have more and more of an impact as you go lower in frequency, the lower the takeoff angle and the more the solar weather is spicing things up, the more likely you are to have a significant amount of your UHF signal refracted and/or scattered back to the earth beyond the horizon. As an example, during a contest back in 2009, I was able to use a stacked beam array and 1,500w to make a contact on 146.52 MHz from a mountain top in Virginia to central Texas. On that same day, I was also able to make a contact on 446 MHz to Tennessee, near the Arkansas state line, using the same kind of setup as the VHF contact.

What is acceptable is up to the individual and if you are getting the job done. Losses in a 17' run will be difficult to measure since it's so small and most equipment the casual operator owns and uses. In order to have your signal impacted by 1 signal unit (out of a possible 9, typically) you would have to cut your power by 4. Meaning, if you have a total of 10 watts out of your radio, but only 2.5 watts makes it to the antenna, you will see that the receiver's signal strength meter only falls 1 signal unit. Same concept on your receive sensitivity. Well, lets say your cable has a 3.8 dB loss at 467 MHz. You would need to run almost 200 feet of cable before you impact your signal 1 signal unit. at 17 feet, you only lose about 0.65 dB. At 10 watts out of the radio, you will still have 9.2 or 9.3 watts going to the antenna. While the result is measurable, its meaningless from a user perspective.

Those are pretty neat! I think if you're going to be traveling a lot, that can be something to help keep you company while driving. I was supposed to be going to Moab, but I get very sick twice this year. We rescheduled for August of 2024. We're going to do some desert runs in SoCal, the Rubicon, Black Bear Pass, then head to Utah. Planning 3 weeks in total.

Got to get the 40 mike mike training rounds for the under-barrel. LoL

The idea of paying for an ammo can blows my mind. For decades I have been getting them for free as packaging when I buy ammo. I have lost count of the ones I threw away because I have too many of them and no room to store them once the ammo has been fired.