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JeepCrawler98

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  1. Like
    JeepCrawler98 got a reaction from WRPT916 in Roger beep settings   
    Fair enough for simplex; but you have to remember that if you're using a repeater you don't own yourself you're actually actively using someone else's radio in addition to your own. This is why repeater owners may have their own rules and practices they want followed when using their hardware; sometimes these rules include not having roger beeps.
    Since on repeaters you have people monitoring for traffic from others and are often dependent on them for communications, aside from the fact that they tend to be watering holes for radio traffic - you are forcing other operators to listen to you. Simplex, not so much a problem because you can tune out and not miss anything as you mentioned.
  2. Like
    JeepCrawler98 reacted to marcspaz in Phone Number   
    @WRPG591 What's your problem?  You are new to this public forum, but I am guessing you're not new to the internet.  @Sshannon provided an answer, @PACNWComms expanded on the why, and then a couple of us confirmed those points made by the first two.
    If you don't like it when people try to help or contribute content, this group might not be a good fit for you.
  3. Haha
    JeepCrawler98 reacted to WRPG591 in Phone Number   
    wow...I didn't realize this was such a touchy subject.
    @PACNWComms
    I know that these repeaters are privately owned and not "public domain" which is why I push the request access button and ask for permission. My question was a simple one and it was answered by Sshannon. An answer I don't agree with because I'm also giving my email and call sign but one I must accept because it's the way the system is set up. I wasn't asking for your sermon. 
     
     
     
  4. Haha
    JeepCrawler98 reacted to MichaelLAX in Local Repeater - not able to connect or hear traffic   
    Try it with just the Transmit Tone and no Receive Tone.  
    Be careful: some people claim that weather predictions heard on a Baofeng are unreliable! ?
  5. Thanks
    JeepCrawler98 reacted to tcp2525 in My First Crack At Making A Power Divider   
    Thanks. Here's the link to the page I used.
     
    https://www.qsl.net/dk7zb/Stacking/splitter.htm
     
    And here's the software. Software seems pretty good.
     
    http://www.hp.woodshot.com/
  6. Like
    JeepCrawler98 reacted to tcp2525 in My First Crack At Making A Power Divider   
    I've been making phasing harnesses throughout the years, but never a power divider. I figured I'd give it a shot. Did all my calculations to get to where I needed to be with the materials that are over the counter. Finding the right combination of outer and inner pipes is the biggest challenge.  My target was the high end of the GMRS band so that's where I did my calculations. Of course UHF being extremely critical of measurements a few thousandth of an inch either way can be a PITA. Testing it on the NanoVNA yields just barely a 1.4:1 at 467.650 MHz and under 1.2:1 at 444.175 MHz, my most used frequencies. Now I know what to look out for and compensate should I decide to build another.  Anyway, here's the finished product.
    Everything all soldered and watertight waiting on a coat of battleship gray epoxy paint.

     
    Everything soldered waiting for the final top cap after testing. Two 50 ohm terminators for testing.

     
    Center conductor (11mm Brass Tube 1mm wall thickness) ready for installation. The 12 gauge copper center conductor is left intentionally long and will be much short once installed.  N-connector soldered on other end.

     
    Brass tube with 8-32 threaded brass nut with rounded corners pressed in prior to solder.

  7. Haha
    JeepCrawler98 got a reaction from SteveShannon in Need help registering/adding my repeater   
    You need to scroll to where you see the map dialog and drag the myGMRS icon to where it belongs.
     

  8. Thanks
    JeepCrawler98 got a reaction from Ronster in First GMRS Repeater build   
    I wouldn't expect the Shari's to cause you any problems; but since you're probably familiar with AllStar - using that package as a repeater controller is perfectly feasible as well; it's the same back end that the myGMRS network uses should you be interested in linking at some point (or not)
  9. Thanks
    JeepCrawler98 got a reaction from Ronster in First GMRS Repeater build   
    So far so good, recommend running the 40 watt radio at 25w and blowing some cold air on it if you're going to turn the keys over to the public or use it for a good rag-chewing session; if you need a simple repeater controller to handle time-out and ID consider the ID-O-Matic IV - it has a built in fan controller too.
    If you have other transmitters with decent power output at your house in the 70cm or other UHF bands that will key up while the repeater is in use, you need to be aware of and understand mixing products, how they work, and how they can be mitigated. Mixing products can and regularly do wreak havoc throughout the radio spectrum and cause all kinds of problems not just with your own gear, but other licensed uses as well. I can elaborate if this will be your setup, they're one of the reasons why commercial sites are more complicated to install at properly.
    What feedline are you planning on running? Good grade cable is tantamount to having a good set of ears as the cheaper stuff will cause noise to the point where it deafens your receiver, since your transmitter is sharing the same cable as the receiver. RG-58 or RG8x isn't going to cut it; good quality LMR400 is fine for backyard or other 'short-run' installs, hardline is better but will probably not pay back in your application - save that for a site you don't want to have to yourself drive back to. Don't forget grounding, weatherproofing, and surge arrestors, but that's kind of a given...
  10. Haha
    JeepCrawler98 got a reaction from rdunajewski in Becoming a forums member   
    Some of us want to keep the riff-raff out while we tend to our caviar and champagne parties, you know...
  11. Haha
    JeepCrawler98 got a reaction from MichaelLAX in Becoming a forums member   
    Some of us want to keep the riff-raff out while we tend to our caviar and champagne parties, you know...
  12. Thanks
    JeepCrawler98 got a reaction from WRCQ487 in Disable Repeater Access Requests   
    It's in your profile settings; from the "mygmrs.com" site hit edit profile, there's a toggle switch labeled "repeater access requests." turn it off (grey, to the left) and hit save profile.
  13. Thanks
    JeepCrawler98 reacted to rdunajewski in New Year, New myGMRS!   
    Just in case anyone checks the forums before the main site... we have a new myGMRS!
    After well over a year of fooling around with the new website, I have finally launched it. This is a big leap in technology since the original website was created in 2006 and only had a few incremental updates over the years. This new platform will allow us to put out quicker updates, brand-new features, and bonus features for Premium Members.
    Premium Membership is an optional subscription where you can remove ads from the website, generate PDF reports of repeaters and licenses in any state, and create your own Club listing (part of the forums) so you don't need to create your own website! All of the existing features of myGMRS will remain free, of course.
    A new mobile app is also in the works, although we're not close to a release date for that. The long-awaited iOS version will be part of the release, as well as a completely new Android app.
    Since this is such a radically different website, I'm sure there will be some issues along the way. If anyone runs into bugs or problems of any kind, please don't hesitate to submit a bug report at this Google Forms URL rather than the forums or by email (as it'll be much easier to review):  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe6XLmCW-UU0Bp9lN9zM3L9gO_TCkArIN2oY-hOLG9x01B3lg/viewform
    Thank you everyone for the wonderful support and thank you to our Beta testers. You know who you are!
    Have a Happy New Year!
  14. Haha
    JeepCrawler98 got a reaction from kipandlee in What is a fixed station   
    A fixed station is one that’s not broken; I usually work on breaking my fixed station 
  15. Like
    JeepCrawler98 got a reaction from mbrun in What is a fixed station   
    A fixed station is one that’s not broken; I usually work on breaking my fixed station 
  16. Thanks
    JeepCrawler98 got a reaction from rdunajewski in New Year, New myGMRS!   
    You flipped the switch! Looks good Rich; I particularly appreciate the ability to pull reports and dark mode so I don't have to wear my sunglasses at night...
  17. Like
    JeepCrawler98 got a reaction from rdunajewski in Repeater List Export   
    This will be a premium feature on the new beta site that Rich is working on; it's in the works but not here yet.
  18. Like
    JeepCrawler98 got a reaction from jhbass in Repeater List Export   
    This will be a premium feature on the new beta site that Rich is working on; it's in the works but not here yet.
  19. Like
    JeepCrawler98 got a reaction from DeoVindice in Emergency tone alert   
    Commercial radios can frequently do this - I have this set up to page my family in case they want to keep the radio muted from the every day chatter on the repeater, or I need to alert them when they're away from the radio. Take a look at 2-tone paging; it's robust and plays nicely with weaker signal strengths which is why it's popular with the various public safety agencies still on analog (it's the two long beeps you hear before the buzzer goes off at the fire station).
    Other options that can do this include DTMF and AFSK (MDC/FleetSync) signalling.
    edit: see http://genave.com/two-tone-paging/
  20. Like
    JeepCrawler98 got a reaction from Radioguy7268 in UHF wattage really matter?   
    In general it's good to plan on UHF being line of sight for reliability purposes. With that said, VHF and UHF can go beyond what you can see pretty readily. It's not going to bounce off the atmosphere (short of rare atmospheric conditions), but you do have refraction and reflection within the environment.
    If you're standing on a perfect marble - yup it's going to go into space like you mention. Same for the most part with rolling hills or paths over sustained topography; it's what you can see for the most part.
    Down in my neck of the woods (Tucson), there's a lot of isolated mountain ranges. If you're on the other side of a mountain and the topography is such that the top of the mountain forms a somewhat clean 'knife edge' between you and another station roughly perpendicular to your path; the signal can actually bend over the top pretty easily and you can get a pretty appreciable signal even thought here's a huge mass of rock in your way.
    Likewise, UHF can also reflect on large planar-ish surfaces such as rock faces. I have a few repeaters I can hit/hear from Phoenix at my house decently (over in the northern end of Tucson) even though I have a small mountain range in the way. When I point the yagi at Pusch ridge (a large rock face/cliff formation about 15 miles from my location), they actually come in with a solid signal, if I try and point it at the direct path to the repeater, it's nothing but noise. Plotting the path on Google Earth actually revealed that this rock face is at almost a perfect angle to act as a reflector in this direction where both my station and the repeater have line of sight to it, but not between my station and the repeater directly. This has actually proven to be a reliable tool for me for hitting those machines - works every time.
  21. Thanks
    JeepCrawler98 got a reaction from DeoVindice in UHF wattage really matter?   
    In general it's good to plan on UHF being line of sight for reliability purposes. With that said, VHF and UHF can go beyond what you can see pretty readily. It's not going to bounce off the atmosphere (short of rare atmospheric conditions), but you do have refraction and reflection within the environment.
    If you're standing on a perfect marble - yup it's going to go into space like you mention. Same for the most part with rolling hills or paths over sustained topography; it's what you can see for the most part.
    Down in my neck of the woods (Tucson), there's a lot of isolated mountain ranges. If you're on the other side of a mountain and the topography is such that the top of the mountain forms a somewhat clean 'knife edge' between you and another station roughly perpendicular to your path; the signal can actually bend over the top pretty easily and you can get a pretty appreciable signal even thought here's a huge mass of rock in your way.
    Likewise, UHF can also reflect on large planar-ish surfaces such as rock faces. I have a few repeaters I can hit/hear from Phoenix at my house decently (over in the northern end of Tucson) even though I have a small mountain range in the way. When I point the yagi at Pusch ridge (a large rock face/cliff formation about 15 miles from my location), they actually come in with a solid signal, if I try and point it at the direct path to the repeater, it's nothing but noise. Plotting the path on Google Earth actually revealed that this rock face is at almost a perfect angle to act as a reflector in this direction where both my station and the repeater have line of sight to it, but not between my station and the repeater directly. This has actually proven to be a reliable tool for me for hitting those machines - works every time.
  22. Thanks
    JeepCrawler98 got a reaction from axorlov in UHF wattage really matter?   
    In general it's good to plan on UHF being line of sight for reliability purposes. With that said, VHF and UHF can go beyond what you can see pretty readily. It's not going to bounce off the atmosphere (short of rare atmospheric conditions), but you do have refraction and reflection within the environment.
    If you're standing on a perfect marble - yup it's going to go into space like you mention. Same for the most part with rolling hills or paths over sustained topography; it's what you can see for the most part.
    Down in my neck of the woods (Tucson), there's a lot of isolated mountain ranges. If you're on the other side of a mountain and the topography is such that the top of the mountain forms a somewhat clean 'knife edge' between you and another station roughly perpendicular to your path; the signal can actually bend over the top pretty easily and you can get a pretty appreciable signal even thought here's a huge mass of rock in your way.
    Likewise, UHF can also reflect on large planar-ish surfaces such as rock faces. I have a few repeaters I can hit/hear from Phoenix at my house decently (over in the northern end of Tucson) even though I have a small mountain range in the way. When I point the yagi at Pusch ridge (a large rock face/cliff formation about 15 miles from my location), they actually come in with a solid signal, if I try and point it at the direct path to the repeater, it's nothing but noise. Plotting the path on Google Earth actually revealed that this rock face is at almost a perfect angle to act as a reflector in this direction where both my station and the repeater have line of sight to it, but not between my station and the repeater directly. This has actually proven to be a reliable tool for me for hitting those machines - works every time.
  23. Thanks
    JeepCrawler98 got a reaction from TOM47 in MyGMRS Network Issues (9/30/2021)   
    It's a bit more convoluted than that: https://scotthelme.co.uk/lets-encrypt-old-root-expiration/
  24. Like
    JeepCrawler98 got a reaction from Mikeam in Whats with repeater users needing permission on GMRS?   
    Using another repeater falls under the cooperative use clause and restrictions by the owner fall under 'individual licensee duties' of 47 CFR §95.1705:
     
    Repeaters are still classified as 'stations.' This section is why many repeater owners require permission, as they're technically required to keep a list of control stations.
    Key takeaways:
    "Shall determine specifically which individuals, including family members, are allowed to operate (i.e., exercise operational control over) its GMRS station(s)"
    (2) May allow any person to use (i.e., benefit from the operation of) its GMRS repeater, or alternatively, may limit the use of its GMRS repeater to specific persons;
    (3) May disallow the use of its GMRS repeater by specific persons as may be necessary to carry out its responsibilities under this section.
    "Specifically" in that first paragraph implies that a repeater's licensee must specify who you allow to act as a control station (which is any station using a repeater) over your GMRS station (in this case a repeater). This pretty much means that you have a duty as a repeater owner to keep a list of users to be compliant with this rule.
    This is aside from helping to tune out the noise caused by people who take others' hard work for granted and cause trouble.
    I don't think anyone stumbling onto a GMRS repeater is breaking the rules as a control station since it's hard to post a repeater as locked down in a matter fitting public notice; but the repeater owner does have a legal burden to keep track of you as a permitted user which users need to be aware of and thus should notify repeater owners of their intent. Of course, per the above, they can tell you to get off their equipment too and it's entirely within their rights to do so.
    In practice; is this ever enforced and does the FCC care? I doubt it - but it is in the rules.
  25. Like
    JeepCrawler98 got a reaction from WRKC935 in ANSWER.... What are the proper steps to putting a GMRS repeater on the air?   
    See:
    I interpret "it retransmits only communications from GMRS stations operating under authority of the individual licensed under which it operates" as individuals authorized to use the repeater owner's license only (ie. authorized family members). Then for bullet number two, you can't guarantee that everyone using your repeater will identify properly especially if you turn it open to the licensed public, so it's best practice to have the machine ID on that merit alone.
    The only time you're in the clear if the repeater doesn't identify is if it's a private, family-use-only repeater and everyone ID's.
    Sauce: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-95#95.1751
    There was a comment a ways up about intentionally not having repeaters ID to keep them unknown - while I understand the sentiment, it's a bad idea in the sense that GMRS doesn't have a frequency coordination body. Since we're all supposed to play nice and not cause interference, self-coordination becomes more difficult if your machine is undetectable; I can't avoid a repeater if I have no way of knowing it's there. List it on myGMRS and have it beacon if you want to discourage other users from parking others on the same frequency, then use split tones or other mechanisms to lock it down to your use only, otherwise don't be surprised if someone shows up with their own repeater on the same frequency one day. The beacon can be less frequent than the 'active traffic' identifying requirement; even if you do it on the hour or every few hours it's enough to be noticed by someone monitoring for a free frequency pair.
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