wayoverthere

I will second @Sshannon...receive tone is optional. Imo, the easiest way to think of it is like a filter. If you set a tone, you only hear signals with a matching tone. (This is why you need a tone to use the repeater). Leaving the receive tone off is equivalent to no filter, so you hear all the signals that are stronger than your squelch setting. While it can be nice to filter to only hear a repeater on the repeater channel, not all repeaters use an output tone, and it can complicate initial setup because it's an additional variable to make sure is correct...confirm things are working at the simplest level first.

Eh, I'm just relying on a small bit of anecdotal evidence, there may well be more above what I've heard. I agree that "most all" may be a bit of over-generalizing if we're considering all radio traffic...the phrase may be accurate for amateur traffic, but I suspect air traffic is pretty significant in the overall scheme of things.

What I've heard up this way (mostly the air traffic control) was around 118 and 121mhz, but yes, definitely AM....I guess that's the bit excluded by "most all".

Also good to mention, though maybe not as common...these may be called DCS, or DPL.

You'd look at the listing for the repeater to see what tone it wants for the input. On your radio/software, it may be called PL tone, or it may be called ctcss. My btech/baofeng stuff shows the menu item as "t-ctcs" (transmit ctcss tone). Some radios just use the straight tones (like 141.3), while others like many Midland and the wouxun kg935g use codes that correspond to the tones. For the latter, there is usually a table in the manual that shows what code matches which tone.

This, sometimes it isn't so much an issue with the site, as either an issue with the data pushed out from FCC, or where FCC has an issue pushing out the data at all (happened for a bit in oct,iirc).

I voted no as well..won't knock it if someone else wants them though. I figure the antennas are enough of an advertisement as it is, given most times the truck is wearing 2, and sometimes 3 if I want to hook up the 6m handheld or the cb.

It's not so much "hooking up to it" like it's a connection ....the repeater is transmitting on a frequency (the "output"). The way gmrs is arranged, the repeater output channels each share a frequency with a simplex (direct user to user) channel. If you're listening on the same frequency that it's transmitting on, you'll hear it if you're within range (unless some other setting prevents it). In most cases, yes, either those people are part of a group that set up the repeater, asked permission, or the repeater was set up as "open" use. Granted we have a little more elevation here in CA, but there's repeaters 30ish and 60ish miles out (both gmrs and 70cm ham) that I can reach with a handheld.

Pretty sure I've seen reddit posts that someone was successfully able to send aprs messages between the gmrs pro and a yaesu ftm400.

https://www.arcantenna.com/products/tra4503-m2m-400-490-mhz-white-low-profile-omni-antenna https://www.arcantenna.com/products/tra4500n-m2m-400-490-mhz-white-low-profile-omni-antenna If I'm looking at the right antennas....4503 requires a ground plane, 4500N does not; both are NMO bases.

Such as this? https://theantennafarm.com/shop-by-categories/shop-all/antenna-accessories/misc-antenna-parts/11713-taf-disc346-detail

New one for me as well. It's also a little funny reading the article @Lscottllinked talking about how busy .52 gets, because it definitely doesn't in my part of central CA...may be different elsewhere. I've caught a couple SOTA/POTA activators, one up toward Yosemite and the other in Kings Canyon/Sequoia, but outside of them, a couple local hams that pop up once or twice a month, and someone that has their APRS beacon set there, .52 is largely dead.

Would a pouch in lieu of the clip be feasible? I got a 2 pack with a belt loop for $20 off of Amazon, which also included shoulder straps (which I don't use)...have them attached to my backpacks. Looks like the ones with a clip are a little more... https://www.amazon.com/Carrying-Arcshell-BaoFeng-GXT1000VP4-Unication/dp/B091G3M83X/

Was a little slow on the uptake last night...forgot I had a different pic on that side vs the forum ? that one isn't even one of mine, just something I found on the net awhile back and the expression amused me

Like for yours.... https://mygmrs.com/user/michaellax comes back with this:

It's not something that has a link, but it can be done via url...the format is: "https://mygmrs.com/user/username" ...just replace "username" with the user you want to look up, and it will come back with the user page that also displays their callsign.

This...not so much that they're visible within the forum, but from the main page (mygmrs.com), if you look up a call sign, it will show if that callsign has registered on the site, including if their username differs from their callsign

The best way is via the 'contact us' link at the bottom of the page, as that goes directly to the admin. That said, your call sign is generally still linked to your profile regardless of your username, even if a little less obvious than if it's your display name on the forum.

So...I had a longer post put together on mobile browser, all typed up, used ARRL's RF Exposure calculator, had a screenshot...and the forum said "NOPE!" and deleted the whole thing. The shorter version is that running the calculation using 5 watts, 33% duty cycle (5 min tx, 10 min rx), at 462.550mhz and 2.1dbi, it spit out a safe distance of just shy of a foot for controlled space (informed operator), and not quite 1.5 ft for uncontrolled (uninformed bystanders), though perhaps 2.1dbi is a little overestimating a rubber ducky. bumping up the power and/or duty cycle pushes the distance out further. IIRC, when i ran my calculations for my "shack", it was something like 3 ft at 50 watts, controlled, and either 4.5 or 6 uncontrolled, for UHF, and a bit more for VHF. Based on that, i read that "occupational use" disclaimer as the manufacturers' attempt (even if FCC forced) to ensure the operator is informed of the RF exposure involved, and can adjust their exposure accordingly, whether with less TX time, lower power, or moving the radio away via remote mics. i suspect many of the 5 watt limits came down to balancing allowable exposure with being able to keep a reasonable amount of talk time.

I had a longer post I'll rewrite later on a computer. In short, i take it as needing to be aware of exposure requirements.

My vertex standard handhelds all display a similar label as well, both the newer dot matrix and older segmented EVXs, the p25 824 and 829, and then straight analog 924.

If you're wanting to talk simplex, the Midlands aren't a bad option. While their simplex channels are indeed narrowband, it's not really any issue if the radio on the other end is set for narrow as well. They're also about as foolproof as it gets, save having to reference a table in the manual to translate tones to codes in the menu. The db20-g is a solid option as well, though a hair less foolproof in gmrs mode, and allows a lot more freedom unlocked...great all arounder (I have 2 of the anytone version, at779uv). They will have to be reprogrammed when switching between modes (locked vs unlocked). Also very close in size to the mxt115...there's comparison pics somewhere in another of my posts (that I'll try to find). Edit: they're in my "gear" album.

i'll have to look at it again, but i think it did; it's currently tucked away in the spare parts bin now, to futz with another day. it has a coil in the middle, but it's the wound into the wire type (like the MXTA26), not adjustable/removable, so it'd just be the base. if i dig into trying to tune it, i'll dig out the nanoVNA, see where it's actually happy. in the end, i think it's just a little short to be very happy on 2m.