citizensoldier16

I wired my mobile directly to the battery, both positive and negative. Positive has a fuse in-line. Haven’t had a problem.

I have a 2m on a fender mount, GMRS on a mag mount on the roof of a Silverado. No problems.

I assume you mean a mount between the hood and the fender. I use a 1/4 wave antenna with NMO mount for my 2M amateur radio. SWR is 1:1.2 in the middle of the band. Great reception and I can hit repeaters 25+ miles away on low power. Fender mounts are great, unless you’re in a Jeep for some reason. Remember, police cars and ambulances have used them for decades. You should be good.

FRS radios do not require a license, and therefore can be used by anyone. You’ll be perfectly fine operating a GMRS radio with a license and an FRS radio at the same time.

In your manual, in the back, there should be a chart with the ctcss codes and their corresponding numbers in your radio. Set the tone to the correct code (I think it’s 22 in the Midland radios) on your channel 16rp and you should be good. WREX979 KO4CWG

Congrats! I recently got my technician license as well. Most of the repeaters in my area are 2m so I bought a Baofeng UV5r with a Nagoya 771 antenna as a handheld, and I have a Kenwood TM-281a in my truck with a Laird quarter wave antenna on a fender bracket. I can hit repeaters 20 miles away on low power. It’s a great 2m setup if you ask me, and including the antenna, radio, coax and bracket, it set me back about $215. Not bad at all!! 73, KO4CWG WREX979

Welcome. Despite what you may read, the UV-5 series radios are decent radios. I use one on GMRS as well as amateur bands. Get yourself an aftermarket antenna and you’ll be well served. I recommend the Nagoya 701. Again, welcome and enjoy. Read as much as you can and there’s plenty to learn. 73, WREX979 KO4CWG

For John T and Zectron, thebrepeater channels in the MXT115 will have a small “r” next to the channel number. Reference the charts in the back of your manual and select the channel that corresponds to the frequencies in your area. Then you need to set the CTCSS code. This code will be listed on the map when you select the repeater you want to access. Follow the instructions in the manual to set the CTCSS code on the specific channel you chose. You should be set. It’s pretty easy once you get the hang of it. I guess what I’m saying is read your manual. Using repeaters isn’t just “plug and play”. 73, WREX979 KO4CWG

If your antenna can “see” the repeater with an unobstructed line of sight, I don’t see why the 115 wouldn’t work. I have the 115 in my truck and can hit repeaters easily at 12-15 miles using the stock antenna. Amateur radio operators talk to the ISS with 5w Baofengs, so it’s not all about wattage. I would check your SWR first. Should be less than 1.5 if possible. Other than that, you could try a Yagi antenna and focus all the RF towards the repeater and see if that works. Best of luck and 73, WREX979 KO4CWG

Enter 462.625 while in VFO mode Hit MENU, then scroll to SFTD Hit MENU, then select + Hit MENU to save Scroll to OFFSET Hit MENU, then enter 005.000 Hit MENU to save If there is a PL tone: MENU then scroll to R-CTCS MENU then select the correct PL tone MENU to save MENU then scroll to T-CTCS MENU then select the correct PL tone MENU to save That should do it.

I’ll just give my call sign and say “monitoring” or “listening”. That usually gets a response if anyone else is listening on the repeater.

FYI, the Nagoya 771 will actually reduce your transmit abilities on GMRS frequencies. It’s meant for 2m/70cm and the antenna itself is tuned to operate up to I believe 440 MHz. GMRS is 460 MHz, and outside the optimal frequencies for the 771 antenna. You’re better off with the stock antenna or a 701.

I have a UV-5R plus and can say from personal verified experience, the 771 is not as good an antenna for GMRS use as the stock antenna. It’s optimal TX frequencies are outside of GMRS ranges. I can hit repeaters 13 miles away from downtown Columbia, SC with the stock antenna that I can’t hit with the Nagoya 771. The only thing you gain with the Nagoya is reception due to its length, but that length actually hinders performance across the GMRS frequencies. The 771 is a dual-band amateur radio antenna optimized for use on 2m and 70cm. GMRS is outside those frequency ranges. The 701 is probably better than the 771 for GMRS but it will not get you anything more than you get with the stock antenna.

I’m currently running a Midland mxt115 in my truck and am using the stock mag mount antenna which is about 6” long. I’ve considered moving up to a longer 6dB gain antenna but I don’t want to drill holes in my roof to mount it. I have my CB antenna mounted on the side of my tool box using a right angle bracket. I’ve got my SWR on the CB down to about 1:1.1 with that setup. Would I gain anything from moving up to the 6dB antenna with it mounted on the opposite side of the tool box? And how would this affect reception and transmission versus the small mag mount antenna on the roof?

Okay, I have the radio and the cable all hooked up. Computer is talking to the radio. I have my frequencies set as the receive frequencies for the GMRS Repeaters in my area. TSQL is selected so that the tone will be used on transmit and receive. Tones are all correct. I have duplex set for +. Offset set at 5.0000. Mode is FM. Power is set to high. Here is my problem: I upload to the radio and everything works as it should, except I cannot hear any audio from the repeater on the BaoFeng. I hear the repeater kick, or "kerchunk" at the end of a transmission but I do not hear any audio when I perform a test using my mobile radio. I also cannot hear anyone else on the BaoFeng. They can hear me, but I cannot hear them. All I get is the kerchunk from the repeater, or the morse code of the repeater ID'ing itself. What have I done wrong? Please help!