wayoverthere

IIRC, they used to be separate, but Rich got them standardized a year or so back, and they SHOULD now be the same login. However, the login doesn't carry over between the main site (where the map and repeater list live) and the forum.

I'm not saying they're the BEST choice, but hey, if someone wants to pay that price for simplicity, that's on them. they're low on the list of what i'd be likely to suggest. that said, i have owned a couple, because it was what was easy to find on the shelf at the time. (handhelds, and a mxt115)...gave them away to a coworker with a jeep to use with her daughter.

They market to the Jeep crowd, including via event sponsorship. Excluding some quality issues with a couple of the recently introduced models, it seems like more of the complaints boil down to the limitations of the radios than something actually being "wrong" with the radios. Some of this may be attributable to their marketing, or just unmet expectations. Midland has their marketing down pat, and they do the simple "plug in and go" pretty well, and while they've improved on it with some recent models, they're still somewhat limited feature wise, especially for the price point....if they work for you as they are (and you're okay with the price), they aren't a bad choice.

A facepalm, or banging head on the desk comes to mind, especially when I'm failing especially badly at the touch keyboard

Honestly? I straight up skipped mine and did my own thing, and that's pretty much still my MO almost 30 years later. Still don't use my ham gear on GMRS though.

I suspect some touch typing difficulties, honestly. I've made similar typos posting from my phone, but usually fix them before posting.

Fair point...I didn't dig through the whole thread, as the attitudes kind of put me off most of the radio subs on reddit awhile ago. I agree that "fine" isn't very specific....comparison is about solid numbers. One of my Anytones is rated "20 watts", but the real world numbers are more like 18 on VHF, and 14-15 on UHF.

You bet. The current wording of 47 CFR 95.1761 does disallow gear usable in amateur radio service from being certified, so I agree it follows that 400-470 would be disqualified under the current state of affairs, though it appears the door is still open for the 450-490 or 450-512 radios to be dual certified (90/95E). Whether the manufacturers see it as worth spending the money on is the question, though based on what's available it seems like mostly not. I did a little digging in the prior version of the CFR (prior to the sections being shuffled in 2017 and GMRS was under 95a), and I'm not finding any similar wording disallowing overlapping between services. Really the only thing I found regarding certification pointed to the OET page, and referenced a list of certified transmitters that doesn't seem to exist anymore.

The Part 95 certification combined with having the range to fully cover 70cm (as I had my eye toward my ham license at the time) was one of the big factors in choosing it And found the ID, it's K6610354640 It's not fully side by side, but there's a thread on reddit where a user tested power outputs of a few popular MARS-modded ham handhelds on GMRS; the FT5D was one that was noticeably down on power on GMRS.

I'll have to find the FCC ID for it, but IIRC the Vertex Standard VX-4207 carried both 90 and 95 certification for both the 400-470 (g6) and 450-512 (g7) versions. No luck with searches, so I'll have to find the ID for my g6 (aka dig one of them out). The g7 is FCC id K6610354740

They're also well into the San Joaquin valley as well, with the Joaquin Ridge machine; I can hear that one in Fresno area, and if the range is anything like the CARLA machine, it's likely got some coverage to parts of the Sierras.

I have the prior version (GMRS 50x1) and after a year or two of use, mostly monitoring with minimal transmit time, it no longer holds power on high. It'll start at 44-45 watts, and start dropping almost immediately, leveling off at 25 or so after around a minute. It's currently living on the shelf.

while there's been lots of valid points raised already, I'll mention something I noticed looking at the specs for that glass mount...wouldn't 1.5dBi effectively be negative gain antenna in the real world? (dBi vs dBd and all) that aside, I've absolutely run into auto glass on newer cars impeding the signal, which would be an issue with that glass mount inside as well. aside from the mentioned "hatpin" (uhf 1/4 wave, which are quite inexpensive), Midland's "ghost" (MXTA25) antennas seem to get decent reviews, and that would be fairly unnoticeable hard mounted on the roof without compromising ground clearance (they're less than 4" tall).

Did some digging on the repeaters, and I see a couple possibilities; I suspect the reality is a combination of more than one. My half educated guesses would be: First, you may be hearing linked repeaters. Less likely for the GMRS side now that the rules have been clarified to disallow connections via the internet, but not impossible. More likely on the ham side; i didn't see any notes or common call signs that would solidify it digging a little on repeaterbook, but there are a few repeaters west and north with matching frequencies. Second, an unhappy transmitter/amplifier throwing harmonics. that 446 frequency is a bit, but not horribly far off of 3x the 147 frequency. Third, you have a repeater (or a ham) transmitting close by with a fair bit of power, and it's simply overloading the front end of your radios, so it seems to be bleeding through on other channels it isn't actually on. While it sounds like they've improved somewhat (varying between models and even examples of the same model), it's still a definite possibility. (one of my UV5R's will go completely deaf (desense) with as little as 1/2 watt in close proximity, even on a different frequency).

In the past I've referred to it as 'ham lite' or 'frs plus', depending how it's treated in a given area...not intended as a dig, just GMRS can be a bit less complicated way to play radio, and some areas have just as much enthusiast involvement as ham, while others it's really a "stick to your group" crowd .

Yeah, lesson learned The instability is new to me, and makes RT Systems' software tempting when it shows up. I do the multiple versions as as well, radio model and date, and save new versions as i go. I do also save base code plugs before i start editing for the first time. I was working from the latest codeplug for the vx7r, and just skipping the 6m items, but in the end went the spreadsheet route; exported it all as a CSV, and installed Open Office on that computer so i can open it.

Well, the 935h is here. Grabbed it from the post office tonight, and started working on programming. Had to put it aside for tomorrow...had the program open once, doing something else, and hey, I thought I minimized it, not closed it. Reopen....spend awhile working on the code plug...program disappears and loses all the work I've done. Tab and arrow keys in the program are a bit wonky. Initial impression of the radio itself is solid, good feel in the hand, and lots of options in the menu. Programming to be continued, will probably run a small adapter to use a diamond triband antenna k have in lieu of switching out the two it comes with (one 2m/70cm, one 2m/1.25m). Battery charged fast, got a 2nd and had that charging via USB-c.

Factory software, in this case, is functional but a pain too...little things like copy and paste not working, tab not working in an expected pattern through the form... There's definitely a balance of cost vs convenience, though I know how that balances is a little different for everyone. Definitely considering it, since chirp seem to have stalled on these.

along with those of use that are just straight up using it as an inexpensive ham radio

I fight the urge with the Vertex stuff...there was one I had my eye on, but apparently software and cables for that are NLA, along with a p25 mobile that only seems to be available in 450-512, not 400-470... (Edit: it was the vxd-720, which looks to be a near twin to the moto xpr6xxx series) i did give in on a Midland P25 handheld, though. something new to futz with. Have it in hand and it's a nice solid little device. Haven't had a chance to dive into programming yet.

Good luck...currently waiting for my 935h to ship I was debating between that and the Q10H for want of more 220 gear, but the price difference and the fact that I already have a 6m (vx7r) handheld left me giving the 935 the nod. Truth be told, I have another 220 handheld (uv7d), but it's vhf (1.25 and 2m) only...current plan is to throw that in the truck with an amp.

It gets to Fresno easy, they say as far up as Modesto and i don't doubt it. On the south end, I agree that coverage to some point in the grapevine (I-5) is pretty likely, as I know one of the ham repeaters lower down (on Bear Mountain) is usable to partway up the Grapevine. You do probably have the bigger ranges over there in AZ, as I think you have a bit less obstructions around your peaks, where Cali has that little "kink" in the valley, and the wall of the Coast Range blocking the coastal cities from LOS to the Sierras

Park Ridge 675 is probably the widest coverage machine I know.

Good to know...I have RT for my 2730, and I've been eyeing the id50/52 (not that I really need more radios, but the near repeater thing would be nice)

I was happy with the sbb-1 on the roof as well; it easily cleared the work parking garage 7' clearance, supposedly) on my old compact truck mag mounted on the roof. I ended up going to a fender mount to be able to run an antenna with some gain, and switched to the sbb-5, which still cleared everything. On the new truck (full size 4x4), even the sbb-1 wasn't short enough on the roof, so I'm running another fender mount. Sbb-5 didn't like that location on this truck, but the ca-2x4sr is happy, so that's what I'm running for now. It does scrape slightly in the parking garage, but nothing major.