Find/identify the correct repeater channel (NOT the regular channel).
Find the transmit (TX) tone required to activate the repeater (MyGMRS is a good source)
Do not worry about the receive (RX) tone for now as it is optional and will only confuckulate things
Put your radio on the correct repeater channel mentioned in the first step
Go into the menu and enter the TX tone mentioned in step 2 (note, you may have to read the manual for this part)
Save the change you just made.
Push the talk-trigger and enjoy the repeater
The easy answer:
OUTPUT always starts with 462
INPUT always starts with 467
Everything after the . is always the same.
Example: Output of 462.575 would have an input of 467.575
Also a big difference between petn exploding and a lithium battery 'erupting'.. You dont want either in your pocket when it happens but the petn has more punch whereas the lithium has less punch but more heat/flame.
YES! and the FCC has really been cracking-down and issuing more fines lately. If you want to talk that far you should get a H.A.M. license, but if you are willing to take the risk of a major fine, go for it.
AFAIK nobody else makes a "Part 95 GMRS Repeater"
Your best bet would be to look at LMR/UHF/H.A.M. repeaters. None of them are simple to use, but the RPT50 IS simple to use.. as long as it works.
There are a few places that I can hit on my base-station that defy all the laws of line-of-sight and I still can't figure out how I can talk to them.. One being on the other side of a 5,000ft mounting. But the other 99.8% is def. line of sight.
You *might* have a bad programming cable, but it could just be a "driver issue" with Windows. If that is the case, may Xenu have mercy on your soul.. What version of the Windows are you running?