wayoverthere

Good deal I never bothered tracking it down for mine, so if I forget the date, if will force narrowband. There was a comment in that other thread that had instructions to force a "admin" or "developer" mode that would allow it, but haven't messed with that either...haven't needed to mess with programming for a bit.

1. The "W/N" column is what you're looking for. If yours is anything like my VX4200's, you'll have a choice of N (12.5khz, narrowband), W4 (20khz), and W5 (25khz). I've used W4 without issue. 2. Double click the indicator for the row you want to edit. or, single click (you can click, then shift click to select multiple rows) and use the space bar to cycle through the options. i do cheat the forced narrowband by setting my system time to something in 2005 (anything before 1/1/13 works, iirc) before starting the software. 3. I've found the "help" to be pretty good for the Vertex software packages i've used (i'm up to 4 or 5 now). I don't know of any specific documents offhand, but i do have some screenshots of my setup (and a few of the other screens) in this post, though i don't know how different the software or options are between the 2200 and the 4200. bonus curiosity question: is the last 2 characters of the model name on the label G6 or G7? If it follows most of the vertex stuff i've seen, G6 is a 400-470mhz range, and G7 is 450-512.

Except the slice of 10m that Techs have access to is specified for SSB phone (not FM), and all the 10/6/2/.70 radios I can think of are FM only. More generally, are you thinking toward upgrading to General in the future? IMO, the jump in difficulty from Tech to General is a lot smaller than from General to Extra (spoken as a General studying toward Extra). If General is in the cards , consider whether it's worth a "buy once, cry once" jump now, play with 10m, and then you're better set for the future. Also, TX aside, you can listen to other bands all you want, even as a Tech (or not even ham licensed)....if that interests you. Minor correction; FCC lumps General and Tech together in the C & D group calls (1x3 and 2x3), with Extra getting access to the 1x2, 2x1, and 2x2 calls. From personal experience, while I was still a Tech, I chose to request a vanity call ahead of the fee implementation, shortening my sequentially assigned 2x3 (KN6) to a 1x3 (K6), but retained the same suffix as assigned. (Tech in 3/2021, did the vanity 7/2021, upgraded to General 6/2023) IIRC, when you level up to General and Extra, there's a box you can mark to request a new sequential call as well. https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/amateur-radio-service/amateur-call-sign-systems so...a 1x2, 2x1, or 2x2 is a dead giveaway of a higher class (Advanced or Extra)

I will mention to watch the specs on the power supplies; many of them advertise based on their "peak" current capability, rather than their "continuous" figure; depending how a particular supply is advertising, that may not provide the safety margin one would hope for. some of them also vary on much they differ between "peak" and "contiuous" ratings. 25a continuous should be good to run two at the same time with a small safety margin, 30a continuous, a bit more. case in point, my alinco is sold as a 30a PSU, which is the peak figure; its continuous rating is a bit lower, at 20a. in the real world, it's going to come down to how it's used, though. I've had three 45-50 watt radios running off of the one PSU, since, as you mentioned, in the real world it's unlikely you'll be transmitting on more than one radio at a time. each draws less than 1a on receive, and 10-11 amps on full power transmit. (2x vertex vx4200, 1x Btech gmrs50x1).

I wouldn't doubt either...you should have a good line of sight from the valley floor in both locations.

I've used one of the Park Ridge machines (i forget which) that's a little over 60 miles away from the valley floor without issue, on the little 15 watt AT779uv and a 1/4 wave mag mounted on the truck. They claim an estimated 100 mile range, and in some directions that's absolutely believable as they sit at or above 7000 ft elevation. I've also had no problem getting into one of the 70cm ham repeaters on a 5 watt handheld at 75ish miles across the valley. again, elevation helping out as i was sitting around 4000 ft, and the repeater sits around 3000 on a ridge. terrain in between will be the deciding factor.

Hopefully better than that scene in the original "Naked Gun" when he wanders off to the restroom still wearing the wireless mic....

Commode-ium

given the distortion, and some of the reports elsewhere of cheap intercoms from amazon operating where they shouldn't be, the possibility also comes to mind of it being a harmonic of something operating lower down in the UHF range.

took a little drive yesterday, ~3.5 hours (unplanned detour) on state highways and interstates. other than the mess on Ch 6, and what was probably LSB on Ch 38 (garbled, and my radio doesn't do SSB), there was basically no traffic. even tried calling on Ch 19 a few times, and nada. Didn't bother setting it up again for the trip back today, just left it in my duffel with the antenna on the floor in the back.

I'll have to look at whether mine even still has a model number on it...it's got to be from either the late 90's or very early 2000's, as i remember tucking the mag mount antenna into the roof rack on my VW for trips (before i bought a truck, and road tripped that instead)

i've got a 40 channel radio shack CB in the garage that gets turned on occasionally (with a mag mount antenna stuck on my vw), but it doesn't hear much. also have a newer am/fm Presdent (Bill II, I think) that gets thrown in the truck for road trips. Actually have another trip coming up this weekend (Pacificon-bound), and I'll probably have the little Anytone and the CB on board with a couple of mag mounts on the roof.

Ah, forgot that one, my apologies. Iirc, commercial was forced to narrowband effective January 2013, hence that limitation. Before you start the software, jump into the windows settings and turn off syncing with Internet time. Then set your system date to something before 2013 (i tended to use the current date, but dial the year back to 2005). Start the software, and it should now let you have wideband options.

Thanks for the update ...I saw that one on the map, but since the location didn't match I didn't scroll down to the comments.

Honestly, I haven't kept an ear on things, so I haven't heard in a bit if it was up or down. Was searching the repeater listings today, and wasn't even able to find it listed. last I remember, there was some wording on the listing about attempting to track down someone with knowledge of/access to the repeater, but can't see the listing now to see if that updated.