wayoverthere

On a side note, I wanted a spare harness for a t-type connector (easty transfer of my "base" radio...looked over what dxengineering listed, and picked one for a radio with similar or higher power rating (ft-2900r). unlike the Amazon cheapo, this one has blade type fuse holders...good stuff.

Could do a fender bolt mount (like this: https://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/ford-f150-2005-2008-1189 ) or lip mount, mag mount is an option, but not the best for your paint...

So..I have 50x1 as my 'base' and a wouxun 805g, and a similar situation of 2 repeaters on the same channel. Where the btech makes the first 30 rx/tx and everything beyond rx only, the wouxun allows all the slots to be rx/tx as long as they're in bounds for gmrs. I have the normal 30, 3 local repeaters, then another set of the repeater channels to have extra spots for repeaters when travelling. Btech was also rather unhelpful when I emailed support about what was in this password protected menu that came up. Haven't had Any luck getting into it yet either.

I was actually contemplating doing a repeater build with one of those, for rx, the btech for tx, with a surecom to interface them...but then I'd be in as much on those as I would be on a proper repeater

I've been running the Midland mag mount as well, without the isolator, sometimes sitting in direct sun for a couple weeks at a time, with no noticeable issue. Not sure where the issue is, tbh. I haven't done much transmitting, but we do see a lot of triple digit heat in june-aug And some of Sept, with low humidity. And again, the lack of the rubber isolator.

Midlands are limiting for hobbyist usage, but they're hard to beat for simplicity, and standing behind their products. My gmrs 50x1 has been solid, though I don't know about the level of support from btech. I know my contact with them was less than helpful (questions on a menu)

if you don't have it, the manual is here: https://midlandusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/MXT275-Owners-Manual.pdf out of the box, you probably have to enable the repeater channels in the menu (look for option 'rp' and set it to 'on'). next, pick the repeater you want to access, note the frequency and tone, and figure out which channel it equates to. (pg 27 has a chart of channel to frequencies). switch to that channel, then back into the menu, and you have to set the tones. page 28 has the code charts; see what code the tone equates to, and set it in the menu. from there, you should be set on the basics.

i haven't tried it personally, but as long as it gives you access to the physcial ports, it's worth a shot. i currently have Chirp on a couple computers; one is a 10+ year old intel atom-powered netbook running linux mint, the other is few year old intel atom-powered compute stick running win10; works fine on both.

didnt find anything about it in the directory, but one thread on radioreference.com seems to indicate was open (no pl/dpl required). https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/kag0353-462-675-ny.384267/ an older thread on this site mentioned there being more than one input tone, though. (2017/2018, talking even further back)

Find a repeater near you using the repeater directory here (or other means, if that's easier)...you'll need to note the frequencies and the tones it uses. tune your radio to the right frequency/channel (the offset transmit/receive is already set up...it'll be REPT15-REPT22), then go into the menu (button on the mic, or press the left knob), and scroll to "T-CTCSS" or "T-DCS", depending what the repeater uses; press menu again to scroll through the tones, and one more time to select the correct one. then hit the exit button (mic or radio). as long as it's within range, that should get you started.

I believe the menu labels them r-ctcss, r-dcs, t-ctcss, and t-dcs, maybe not in that order.

take a look at where the cable plugs into the radio..i noticed it when trying a baofeng speaker mic with the wouxun, there's a rubber gasket around the plugs and the cutouts may be a bit misaligned and in the way of the plugs going all the way in.

i haven't found a limit on my wouxun. i currently have 41 channels programmed (all gmrs) and all of them allow transmit. i was pretty frustrated when i found that 'only the default 30 channels can tx' limitation in my gmrs 50x1 too.

I think part of the issue is the different manufacturer names for the same features. A simple way to think of tones is keys to get through a filter. The repeater only listens for signals with the right tone, and ignores everything else. Setting your radio with a tone squelch is the same for your received signals....ignoring everything without that tone. If you leave your tonesql blank, you'll hear everything on that channel. For example, I have 2 repeaters in range on ch18. I have separate entries (with appropriate tone squelch) in my programmable radios for each, so I CAN only listen to a specific repeater...or I can just listen on channel 18 with no tonesquelch set and hear both, and anything else on simplex (since the repeater output and simplex are on the same 462 frequency)

had to actual pull up Chirp to work it out (working from a uv5r image too, actually). working with the memory slot in question, it was a little finicky with chirp trying to second guess me. it seemed to take the settings if i set the "Tone Mode" Column to "Tone" first, then set both "Tone" (your tx tone) and "ToneSql" (your rx tone) to the appropriate tones, and the "Cross Mode" column changed, as did the "Tone Mode". You should end up with "Tone Mode" set to "Cross", "Tone" and "ToneSql" with the appropriate tones for the repeater, and "Cross Mode set to "Tone->Tone" that said, you don't actually NEED the receive tone set to use the repeater; since it works as a filter, not setting a receive tone will let you hear everything on the channel, both traffic from the repeater and everything else, where setting the tone only lets you hear traffic with the appropriate tone (such as the repeater).

Yes, you're on the right track. Once you have the ctcss tone from the repeater owner, you'll have to check the mxt275 manual to see what ctcss code number that is in the radio (for example, the 141.3 hz 'travel tone' is #22). The repeater option just makes the channels with the right tx offsets available (tx 5mHz higher, vs tx/rx on the same frequency for the simplex channels).

I've had no problems running chirp in Linux (mint mate), also, though installing is slightly more involved than windows.

I don't think they exist. Outside Midland, gmrs is pretty much ignored in the mobiles (with the exception of btech). If you're use is primarily simplex with other Midland users, or users willing to switch to narrowband, it should be fine

It may just have been quiet time on the repeater. that tone is definitely CTCSS though. The Tucson thing is a giveaway that that repeater is linked to others, at least some of the time. there are a number of repeaters linked via the internet, and a weekly nationwide net via those links. there's more information on the linking and the nets here. on a side note, i almost slipped myself, and barely caught it before i clicked the post button, but a few of us are slipping on the not posting PL/CTCSS codes in the public forums. i edited it out of the quoted post. not sure if Ed can edit his guest post or if the mods will need to do it, though.

referencing here, since i don't have chirp in front of me at the moment: https://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/MemoryEditorColumns what value do you have in the "Duplex" column? if it's set to "none", Chirp will think you're just using that channel as simplex. you can either set the column to "+" (in which you'll enter the offset value in the "offset" field) or to "split" (you'll enter your transmit/repeater input frequency in the offset column)

One that comes to mind not radio-related is TBH = To Be Honest Is there a radio related meaning for SMH? only one i've see is "Shaking My Head".

I agree...very informative post, and even if someone disagrees with HOW things are, that would make it hard to argue they don't understand WHY. on a side note, I wonder where in CA that repeater is linked to

It IS a compromise, no doubt. How much of a compromise depends on what you have going on, construction wise. If you have a metal roof, or radiant barrier insulation (foil is a dead giveaway), it's less feasible, as that will block a lot of the signal. If it's more basic wood/tar paper/comp shingles, it's less of an issue, and the fact that I have solar panels toward the front and back of the house from where the antenna sits hasn't seemed to be an issue, and not having to worry about weather overall has seemed worth the trade so far.

connector wise: the ad shows it with a standard uhf female (so-239) connector which will be the same as what's on your radio. the matching cable will be uhf male (pl-259) which is fairly common. having an idea of the length needed before you buy is best; it's minor, but every connection loses a little bit of power. (good example with pictures here) one other consideration with mounting outside is lightning protection...some people choose not to. being mostly plastic/fiberglass does reduce the chances of getting hit, but not eliminate; disconnecting when there's lightning around is cheap insurance. here is a bit i was able to gather off of the web, but hopefully those with more knowledge than i will chime in. https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/1828-antenna-grounding/?hl=lightning http://www.arrl.org/grounding https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/60-proper-antenna-grounding/ i've avoided the issue with my current setup by parking a smaller antenna in a corner of the attic (midland 5/8 wave, mag mounted to a chunk of sheet metal for ground plane). the tram/browning 5/8 over 5/8 would be more gain, but won't fit the current space it's hiding in. i'm throwing a bit more power at it, but it works well enough to reach a repeater a little over 60 miles away on high power, reasonably clear.

in either case, some height will definitely help. another option to look into are the ed fong antennas...as far as i know, they'll fall between the base ones you linked and the mobile i linked in size, and they're a bit less expensive than all of the above. they may also score a little better on the wife approval scale. i remember there being at least a couple members on the site with experience with them, too. edit: some links. https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/2076-newb-questions-about-gmrs-roof-antenna/?p=18186 https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/2070-looking-at-two-antennas/?do=findComment&comment=18141 https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/2034-rollup-slim-jim-antenna/?hl=fong https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/1671-what-base-antenna-is-the-best-bang-for-the-money/?do=findComment&comment=17749