wayoverthere

as mentioned, what you want will depend on what you want it to cover; a quick search of "450-470mhz antenna found these... similar form factor, probably better tuning:: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Larsen-LPT450NMO-450-470MHz-Shadow-Covert-Phantom-Disguise-Antenna/223179704173?epid=9024582415&hash=item33f68c076d:g:fz4AAOSw5SpbukVQ https://www.ebay.com/itm/Laird-Technologies-TRAB4503-450-470-MHz-UHF-Two-Way-Radio-Phantom-Antenna/224007233881?hash=item3427df2159:g:p~YAAOSwkpxeuZiI for still having some gain these are fairly small (12"): https://www.ebay.com/itm/Laird-Technologies-B4503-UHF-450-470-MHz-3dB-5-8-Wave-Mobile-Antenna/223126659697?hash=item33f362a271:g:~N0AAOSw8FtbisVO https://www.ebay.com/itm/Larsen-LPT450NMO-450-470MHz-Shadow-Covert-Phantom-Disguise-Antenna/223179704173?epid=9024582415&hash=item33f68c076d:g:fz4AAOSw5SpbukVQ and this one is no gain, but about as unobtrusive as they get (6"): https://www.ebay.com/itm/Laird-Technologies-QWB450-UHF-450-470-MHz-Mobile-Antenna-NMO-6/222917653624?epid=668989645&hash=item33e6ed7478:g:Yn8AAOSw-SBay~9m

Bearing Boxcar's point in mind (taking the statements in the regulations broadly, rather than as strictly binding) that does make a definite difference in perspective. I've been looking at the broad amount of information available on repeaters, the sort of "community" in the linked repeaters and the nets, and people sharing their stories of communications, combined with the marketing of GMRS in offroad communications, and I've been thinking of GMRS as a sort of "Ham-lite". I guess the reality that "community" is a lot smaller piece of the big picture of GMRS than it seemed, and both in intent and largely in practice, GMRS is actually a lot closer to being "FRS-plus". I think I've also missed the context a lot of these stories are part of; that most people have a lot more "connections" than i do, that some of this "community" fits into, be it friends, family, or social groups/clubs.

Alternately, it's a bit more expensive than straight bubble packs, but definitely repeater capable, is the wouxun kg-805g. once it's set up, basic operation can be as simple as twist one knob for volume, the other knob for channels, and push to talk, and they're available from the on-site store. https://shop.mygmrs.com/collections/gmrs-radios/products/wouxun-kg-805g-repeater-capable-gmrs-radio

I will concede i'm (perhaps over)generalizing based on that statement. possibly some of it is a matter of perspective from where i sit on the inexperience end of things; i can definitely look back on other areas and notice how my perspectives have shifted some. to me, the "why" behind the statement/stance, is probably the biggest determining factor in how i view it, honestly. if it's a simple 'i don't want to deal with beginners', yeah, that's toward the stronger end of seeing it as an elitist attitude. kb2ztx, the examples you bring up (in a general sense, yours berkinet, as well) illustrate the opposite end; had ongoing problems with users, and while perhaps not ideal to go that route, it's probably the only viable solution left to deal with users that weren't willing to help themselves. i also still stand by the statement that regardless of my opinion of the motivation behind it, i still agree that it absolutely IS the right of the owner to configure however they see fit, include or exclude as they fit, and set whatever requirements they want; my opinion of their motivation has no bearing on that. finally, i appreciate the time you've both put into this topic (and into educating and discussion on the forum overall), and that whether or not we agree, it can still be a civil discussion.

while it may be an unpopular opinion, and I reach that conclusion for different reasons than wrfr886, i kind of agree with that sentiment....i'll explain below. first, i 100% agree that it's the repeater owner's choice to set it up however they want, allow whoever they want (or not), etc. the other side though: it's not a stretch to say that midland is probably one of the most visible off the shelf options, especially at a beginner's price point, so probably what most beginners are going to grab (at least those making an effort to be legal, rather than grabbing whatever radio from amazon that covers the frequencies). and midland certainly doesn't make their limitations clear in any of the materials, nor any of the listings that they're restricted that way (again, especially to beginners who likely won't know to watch out for such limitations). the central issue: i forget if i saw it here or on r/gmrs, but it was stated by a repeater owner that they had configured their repeater with split tones with the intent to keep midland users off their repeater. while that's absolutely their right as the owner, it's hard not to see that as a form of elitism, be it directed toward the equipment, or at beginners.

Reminds me of a "car" I saw at one of those bass competitions back in the day. It was an 80's yugo, with just a wooden bench for a "driver's seat". Literally everything behind that was either speakers, box, amplifiers, or batteries, and the windshield was just plexiglass braced with angle iron. I think it did move under its own power, but only barely.

I'll definitely be sharing as I get it going. Set it up for a few minutes last night, receiving side is plenty loud, but nobody on at that time for a transmit check. Will need to get an antenna up to do some better testing, but receiving the local public safety stuff was good and clear even with just a little unity gain wedged in the window. Haven't gotten into the programming beyond the menu itself yet though...I borked the computer I have chirp installed on trying to update....been fighting with that all day, and then have to reinstall everything.

Knowing what I know now, if I were considering the mxt400, I would hold off til Midland gets the split tone issues sorted (doesn't let you set send and receive codes separately). Initial impression is the "finish" of the btech isn't with Midland, but it seems to make up for it on the features side. (For reference, I'm still newish to all this, and I have a mix of radios; Midland handhelds, a kg805g wouxun, and a Midland mxt115 mobile, with the btech the most recent add)

Just a follow-up on the power supply thing...decided a car battery inside the house wouldn't be a super idea, and bit the bullet and bought a proper power supply. Should have some headroom for anything I might decide to throw at it (for now). https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/ALO-DM-30TR

Noticed it in one of the other threads. Depending on how tight the BOD/HOA is, a ventenna might be a viable option to stay under the radar (saw this in another thread, haven't tried them)...the size for gmrs ranges is only 16" https://www.ventenna.com/Commercial-Pricing.html

Thanks Randy, that looks like it will be a good resource when I get around to setting mine up. Was waiting on a power supply, which is currently at the post office (can't access the package boxes outside business hours).

Very cool setup

i was browsing midland's site last night, and stumbled across the fact that the mxt275 control head accepts the same headset plug as their handhelds. while that's not such a thing in a car/truck (though, an interesting idea), it would be rather cool installed on a motorcycle with their in-helmet speakers and mic, and have a lot better range than most of the other motorcycle options on the market.

Minor disagreement on base rigs. While I think a lot DO use mobile units for a base, there ARE still a few dedicated ham base units out there. https://waycooldigital.com/best-ham-radio-base-stations/ On topic, it depends what you want out of radio. There's a lot more people and options in ham, so more potential variety to converse. You might look into regular nets in your area, or you could take an interest in counting your contacts, distances and such.

Found this in my feed today: https://qrznow.com/fully-remote-amateur-radio-license-exam-administration/ Fits with what was mentioned about some remote testing already in progress

Heck,I still have a radio shack cb in my garage, along with one of their mag mount antennas. It's ridden a few miles or so up and down california, including having an antenna ball pulled off of it in a parking garage. Nowadays it's like "what's a radio shack again?"

I stumbled across something similar in the ham spectrum in CA...it may be similar to what you're thinking of, and you may dig into whether there is info on how their system is set up (I think I saw mention of echolink). (CARLA - http://www.carlaradio.net/thesystem/pl_ct.php ) It's been discussed in some of the repeater linking threads (and I'll leave the details to those with the knowledge...mine is very slim), but I remember there being some potential legal issue with ham focused software for the linking, or maybe it was that linking between ham and gmrs being forbidden.

Thanks for the info...the power supply was one of those back burner ideas that I never got around to testing....guess I won't hold my breath on it. I am using (and will continue to use) actual battery chargers for the car battery, though. For occasional use, a small float charger has been sufficient so far, though I have a couple bigger models around too

Like FfxCo15, I have one, but still fairly new. That said, there's been some other discussion and hands on experience, though the thread title doesn't give it away. https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/1663-right-under-our-own-nose/?view=getnewpost

I'll have to look for the thread, but I saw a mention of the Tucson gmrs club having something set up for desktop/mobile app access to the repeater to join the net. edit: the thread i was thinking of is: https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/1777-gmrs-net/?hl=tucson&do=findComment&comment=15251 there's also this about the larger level net that gets going: https://tucsongmrs.org/index.php/gmrs/national-gmrs-net/

The family aspect of the licensing (vs individual) is a definite plus, as is the fact that you can find some decent plug and play equipment off the shelf. Similar situation here, was eyeing ham, but the family aspect made gmrs a better fit for an immediate need; finding how much is really out there looks like a great complement alongside ham, which i still plan to pursue

(Relative newbie here as well) On the Rept vs gmrs, are you talking about menu settings or channels? If this is channels, yes, both radios would need to be set the same to have a chance of communicating. The regular gmrs channels, the radio transmits and receives on the same frequency, for talking direct to another radio. Repeater channels, it listens on one frequency, but transmits on a different one (5mhz higher, if I remember right...not enough coffee yet this morning), with repeaters set up to listen on the higher frequency, and retransmit on the lower one. On these, you don't talk user to user, you're going through the repeater as an intermediary (usually with tones required for the repeater to "listen" to your transmission). Chirp will help with the settings; I'll leave that explanation to someone more familiar with that radio, and suggest searching the forum as well....there's a wealth of information, and the v-1's have been well discussed, so the answers may already be here

https://qrznow.com/usa-conducts-first-all-online-ham-radio-exam/ Stumbled across this in the Google news feed. Appears to be in the works toward some form of online testing offering, especially important in this current situation. Been dragging my feet getting licensed, and my local options were already shrinking before the whole coronavirus thing hit the scene, so this is a very intriguing idea to me.

Another alternative that came to mind, not a solution, but perhaps clarifying things a little, if the Kenwood dealer isn't able to help at the moment. I remembered some radios offer the option to scan for the CTCSS/DCS tones (Miklor has some info on doing with a uv5r). If i had time to kill, i'd be tempted to get my hands on a radio that can do it, and see if i could nail down what the kenwoods are actually transmitting.

That was my thought as well, saw the tag earlier on desktop, though it doesn't show when browsing now on my phone.