wayoverthere

The 50x1 and v1 also program with chirp..on those there simply isn't a software setting for transmit or no transmit, it's set in the firmware and I've not found a way to override that. I will note my uv5r based radio have a "tx disable" setting on a band-wide basis, vhf and uhf. In the case of your gt5r, does baofeng have their own software for it? If it's a very recently certified version, it may be that the chirp isn't quite compatible with the new firmware needed to lock it down for part 95 certification. That lines up with the info I found on radioddity.com as well. 2m/70cm only, rx only outside that.

That may be it right there...What info i'm finding on the GT-5R seems to indicate these are locked down to transmit on ham frequencies only, which would explain why it's not allowing transmit on GMRS frequencies. That aside, if there's a GMRS legal version of the radio that i'm missing, it may also depend on the method used to lock them down for part 95e compliance. While they've made some progress with the GMRS-V2, the earlier Btech models (GMRS-V1, GMRS 50x1) forced compliance by not allowing the user to program ANY additional transmit channels. They got the base 30 (22 simplex, 8 repeater) from the factory, and anything else added by the user was RX only, whether it was in bounds for GMRS or not.

There's the added wrinkle of that requirement of not being able to operate in unlicensed services that I believe was added when GMRS moved from 95a to 95e. For the 450-512 radios, no real issue, but, but the 403-470, and some of the newer crop that do 400-512 out of the box...no go. Starts limiting how far they can spread that certification cost

that's one of the kind of confusing parts of GMRS; some of the simplex channels/frequencies (15-22) are the same as the repeater outputs (RPT15-RPTin terms of CH 19/Rpt19, Club650 is the closest. there's a couple further east on the same frequency, DB650 toward diamond bar, and another by Redlands. I found another in the listings called Crescenta; the listing shows online, but the description says it's offline, last updated 13 years ago....it also lists no input tone. given the location (and your location), it might be possible to reach the listed location if it were online. https://mygmrs.com/repeater/491 (crescenta) https://mygmrs.com/repeater/1270 (club650)

What are your local codes like for masts and such? I would expect the tin roof to somewhat work in your favor in terms of reducing rf into your house, and getting the antenna up would also help, along with improving range. Radio wise, perhaps the best option in gmrs may be the wouxun kg1000g, in that you can have the control head at your desk (with microphone), and place the actual transmitter a bit away. You'll find similar option on the ham side, both the kg1000g's ham cousin (uv980p), and from a variety of manufacturers (icom, yaesu, Kenwood, and others). The ham side does also have some remote operating gear that pairs up with remote head radios, though I don't know if either option has been tested with the wouxuns. Swapmyrigs uses a VGA cable for the connection, and if I remember right, the limit is 150ft. Remoterig goes further (fully remote) via the internet, though like some of the other remote options like echolink (ham) or zello (somewhat common in gmrs) apps, or the remotehams option, being internet dependent isn't a good emergency plan. In the interim, you may see if someone you know has either a ham or gmrs mobile they could set up temporarily, with a mobile antenna on the roof, and see if the rf from that is an issue...that may be a good starting point to decide how close will work for you. As @kaf6045 mentioned, there are measures you can take to further reduce the rf as well, if need be

I don't see a repeater on mount disappointment, or one with that name. I did find round table 725, though (see the screenshot). On a side note, if you got the angry fireman when trying for round table 725, this may be what you were actually hitting: https://mygmrs.com/repeater/4408

Am I missing where it shows that? It has dropped to what the map regards as "stale" (aka no updates in over a year), but I didn't see anything indicating it was offline. (On the map, hit the gear in the upper left, and toggle the "show stale repeaters" option)

I'd have to dig out the baofeng mic to say for sure, but if I remember right it's a metal circlip that holds the belt clip on the center pin. If you can get that out, you should be able to open up the mic, remove the center pin, and screw a replacement hanger button in its place ( 'microphone hanger button' would be a good term to search for options) Like this: https://www.rightchannelradios.com/products/replacement-hanger-button

You're on the right track. The small variance...since repeater outputs overlap with the simplex channels, with rx tone 77.0 set, you'll hear simplex transmissions and repeater outputs that have a tx tone of 77.0.

Rx tone and qt/dqt tone are your end of things, and think of it as a filter on what you hear...signals not matching that tone don't pass through the filter. Input tone is the transmit tone, and is what gets you through the same filter on what the repeater hears. setting your rx tone to 'off' means no filter, hear everything on The frequency.

we can see which poison i've chosen...tinkering. better half asked me the other day..."when did you get so many radios?"

as i understand, all three are based on the uv82/uv82c hardware, so i'd expect them all to be interchangeable. on the LEDs, i wonder if they're trying to copy the commercial stuff with that. my vertex stuff goes from solid red to green flash when it's 90% charged, and then solid green at 100%. my uv5r/bf-f9 cradles do the fast red/green for no battery, but otherwise solid red for charging, or solid green when charged.

If that WAS the repeater....given the repeater is listed as "open" (along with the other info on the repeater page about 'open to all'), it occurs to me to wonder if the "upset fireman" was actually a fireman, someone with authority over the repeater, or just some random yahoo on a power trip. Did the individual identify at all?

If you're willing to go ebay, does this look like your charger? https://www.ebay.com/itm/274907781614 That said, if you want to jump to a new radio it isn't a bad time.

Definitely some in central CA. One network covers a good chunk from Sacramento down to around Bakersfield (N6LYE). Another, the central valley out to the coast, mostly around Monterey/Santa Cruz, with around half the nodes being P25/analog mixed (Salinas Valley Repeater Group). One of the local clubs also (K6ARP/CARP) has a standalone p25/analog machine. SVRG and the K6ARP standalone are UHF, N6LYE is mostly UHF with a couple VHF.

Yeah, I'm not sure where they stand either, other than no repeater access, similar to Midland HTs. I had things like the Talkabouts in mind (branded Motorola, but are they even made by?) with the 'bottom of the line' comment...bubble pack class.

On echolink, there is ability to specify who is allowed to connect; I haven't looked at it in a bit, but I want to say you wlcould blacklist or whitelist regions/countries specifically, even get down to whitelist-only access by call signs. (Haven't gone down that road yet, but planning to, for remote access to the base setup) Being that you have to be a licensed ham to access echolink, it'd pretty much be limited to dual licensed users if you wanted to do a "echolink to repeater" setup, and you'd want to be really careful with who you granted access to. Looking at comparables without actually going into the ham side, zello is probably the closest, and there's a number of repeaters out there with access via app. Simplified, you'd have the repeater connected to a channel, and restrict access to transmit in the channel to licensed users only.

I just have mine as "ask" ?

right? the wording for 95E is a bit clearer, too contrary to what they say their understanding is, the definitions of "interconnected" and "non-interconnected" in that FCC opinion seem to hinge on whether you can receive telephone calls from the publicly switched telephone network or not....which would seem to make even DSL without telephone service meet the "non interconnected" definition (and therefore good to go).

Or just trying to give her a nudge when she lacks the interest to complete the process herself. I know my better half (and kiddo) couldn't be any less interested....as soon as I mention the words "radio" or "antenna", their attention is gone.

Seems plausible to me, based on what I've experienced. Ive managed 75ish miles on uhf with a 5 watt HT and signal stick antenna (likely line of sight over the valley), close to 120 on a 50 watt mobile (and 2x5/8 mobile antenna) to another uhf repeater, and have a gmrs machine 60ish miles from my "base" that I can use on the btech mobile on mid power (though clearer on high) with a 5/8 wave antenna in the top of a closet (definitely not clear LOS). I wonder where they're coming up with that 36 mile figure.

Good looking out. Perhaps the OP was intending to try to register a 2nd and then transfer it?

I've seen posts here and there referencing having more than one FRN, generally related to having lost access to the first...with that in mind I could see it as possible to have two FRNs, and a gmrs license under each On transferring one, the legalese seems more to say you can't transfer one in a way that violates the Communications Act, rather than a blanket prohibition on transfers altogether. Word is that while the FCC website is a trainwreck, the help desk is actually pretty helpful. It might be worth giving them a call to ask if they'll be amenable to updating one of the two to girlfriend's info (whether you have more than one FRN, or need to set her up with one). Also, high probability she'll need to be present to do so. If not, they should at least be able to set yours straight under one license and one FRN.

that's the thing; i'd submit that other than feature limited gear (Midland, and the very bottom of Motorola's product line), the manufacturers basically abandoned the GMRS market. there may be a couple/few grandfathered Motorola and/or Kenwood commercial models out there still sold new, but with model changes/upgrades/replacement, i suspect most/all of those have gone EOL, and they don't seem interested in dual certifying anymore. the market was wide open for whoever was willing to make radios for it, good or bad.

Oversimplified, two big factors: Height- being above everything else will give them great line of sight. Height is might, as they say. Antenna gain (and resulting ERP, or effective radiated power). Repeater antennas generally waste a lot less energy upwards, focusing on out and down. Where your average mobile antenna is 3 db gain (may even be dbi, which equates to more like 1dbd), where some repeater antennas are more like 9dbd.