OffRoaderX

I have heard a few people mention that Youtube has some good videos going over every aspect of using GMRS and pretty much all GMRS radios.

Turn off your VPN.

as @Sshannon, 2.5 is just fine.. Stop overthinking it and enjoy your repeater.

You missed it.

1) Incorrect 2) nobody cares!

I'm not saying it CANT.. it MIGHT.. so it "can"... just never did much good for me.

Sad-H.A.M.s are a myth and do not exi....... I stand corrected...

You thought wrong.

I havnt had any issues so far..

Wow! We are all VERY impressed! You should add that to your forum-signature so nobody ever misses seeing it.

I rarely use the receive tone because anyone with functioning ears and an IQ above 80 can very easily determine if someone is talking on the repeater or on simplex. Just program your radio the way that you choose in the first place.

I'll take "Things that never happened because people make things up to try and make a point" for $300 Alex....

That really depends on how you define "Best", and what is most important to you when shopping for an antenna.

Get the two radios more than 50 feet apart, and try again.

I cant put my finger on it, but you sound very familiar and I think I like you.

Yes.. Many repeater owners list their repeater then vanish.. Many also specify that it is an open repeater or that anyone can use it and dont bother replying.. If the tones are listed you can usually start using the repeater and ask for permission over the air, or just use it and wait until someone asks you to stop using it..

I haven't compared the two, but they are probably 98% the same, if not more. To see if it's compatible with CHIRP, read the words on the CHIRP compatibility page, here: https://chirpmyradio.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Supported_Radios

I've tested this 100-ways to Sunday.. and even Monday.. My results show that it might help.. a little.. maybe?.. on some radios.. I think? Basically, any improvement was so slight, i wasn't even sure if it was an improvement or just my very vivid imagination, and it certainly wasn't worth risking my reputation by looking dumb walking around with a piece of wire wagging from my radio. It should be noted that it almost always did show an improvement in SWR on my meter - but, a slightly lower SWR does not necessarily mean more farz

and for deconfuckulation: You will experience zero noticeable degradation in performance if you roll-up the extra few feet of cable and tuck it away somewhere, vs shortening it, in-despite of what "some people" will try to tell you.

Yes. You have to pay extra but it's worth it.

99.9999998% of the time, NO...

More lies perpetrated by the Sad-H.A.M. cartels.

Yes. Make sure it has good airflow.

Warning: Do NOT listen to the "experts" that love to spend your money - for occasional tuning/testing of your antenna you do NOT NEED a $500+ SWR meter. Normal people use inexpensive meters like the Surecom SW-33 or SW-102, and they work just fine. If you plan on testing/tuning antennas professionally or as some kind of a hobby, then by all means get one that costs much more and is *slightly* more accurate.

Midland MXTA26