wayoverthere

Are you testing with the two handhelds in basically the same location? If so, since the repeater is passing the transmitted audio in realtime it's entirely possible that the audio is getting through, but the nearby signal from the transmitting radio is causing the other radio to desense (or "go deaf"), so it doesn't "hear" the audio coming back.
Having done a little testing for/with desense, the behavior in practice is pretty much what you described ...receiving radio shows an incoming signal, but no audio.
Unless there's some pretty severe barrier (like a hill/mountain) to the signal (or a pretty bad blind spot near the repeater), getting into the repeater from a couple miles away should be doable.

When you are at this dialog box, just as you enter radioreference from Chirp, change the zip code to the location you want:

Yeah, I don’t think a person can post in the classified section unless they have a Premium membership. 

Expanding on this with an example ..I think of it like you and a friend in a room, 6 ft apart. In the absence of other noise, you can carry on a conversation at a normal speaking volume just fine. Desense is the equivalent of now you have a rock concert speaker stack playing next to you, while you try in futility to hear your friend....you see their lips moving, but can't hear anything they're saying.

Ive used both for checking into nets outside of RF range, in the sf Bay area and Seattle. Both can also be used to access a home radio when travelling, but depends on interfacing a radio to the computer (echolink) or node (all-star)

Expanding on this with an example ..I think of it like you and a friend in a room, 6 ft apart. In the absence of other noise, you can carry on a conversation at a normal speaking volume just fine. Desense is the equivalent of now you have a rock concert speaker stack playing next to you, while you try in futility to hear your friend....you see their lips moving, but can't hear anything they're saying.

Expanding on this with an example ..I think of it like you and a friend in a room, 6 ft apart. In the absence of other noise, you can carry on a conversation at a normal speaking volume just fine. Desense is the equivalent of now you have a rock concert speaker stack playing next to you, while you try in futility to hear your friend....you see their lips moving, but can't hear anything they're saying.

Are you testing with the two handhelds in basically the same location? If so, since the repeater is passing the transmitted audio in realtime it's entirely possible that the audio is getting through, but the nearby signal from the transmitting radio is causing the other radio to desense (or "go deaf"), so it doesn't "hear" the audio coming back.
Having done a little testing for/with desense, the behavior in practice is pretty much what you described ...receiving radio shows an incoming signal, but no audio.
Unless there's some pretty severe barrier (like a hill/mountain) to the signal (or a pretty bad blind spot near the repeater), getting into the repeater from a couple miles away should be doable.

Are you testing with the two handhelds in basically the same location? If so, since the repeater is passing the transmitted audio in realtime it's entirely possible that the audio is getting through, but the nearby signal from the transmitting radio is causing the other radio to desense (or "go deaf"), so it doesn't "hear" the audio coming back.
Having done a little testing for/with desense, the behavior in practice is pretty much what you described ...receiving radio shows an incoming signal, but no audio.
Unless there's some pretty severe barrier (like a hill/mountain) to the signal (or a pretty bad blind spot near the repeater), getting into the repeater from a couple miles away should be doable.

Although I don’t use it on GMRS, it’s a fine little radio. It fits nicely in a jacket pocket. I use it mostly for short distances and I put a stubby antenna on it for that reason. 

Good point.  It's easy to get caught up in all the different flavors of digital, but it's worth looking at what's on the air in your area, or areas you frequent before going down one of those roads. 
I have mostly Yaesu mobiles in use (mainly for the APRS), but there's basically no Fusion repeaters around me, so that feature is not super useful.

Good point.  It's easy to get caught up in all the different flavors of digital, but it's worth looking at what's on the air in your area, or areas you frequent before going down one of those roads. 
I have mostly Yaesu mobiles in use (mainly for the APRS), but there's basically no Fusion repeaters around me, so that feature is not super useful.

Checked the requests....doesnt look like any updates or progress for months, at this point.
https://chirp.danplanet.com/issues/9241
https://chirpmyradio.com/issues/8953
 

Checked the requests....doesnt look like any updates or progress for months, at this point.
https://chirp.danplanet.com/issues/9241
https://chirpmyradio.com/issues/8953
 

My buddy is using this Larsen on his Chevy truck, with a hood lip mount and his Icom 2730. It’s only 18” total and seems to work really well. It’s apparently designed for use with public safety agencies, so I expect it’s durable (it certainly seems sturdy in person). I just ordered one for my 4Runner too, to run when I go HAM down the road. Mine will be in the existing NMO in my rear roof.

Pulse Larsen NMO150/450/758 Tri-Band VHF, UHF, 7/800 MHz Antenna
Part Number: NMO150-450-758

I suspect they said Chirp but this was a reference to the radios program software in general. It certainly seems Chirp isn’t moving forward for this radio for whatever reasons, though I’m sure it would be welcomed as the radio is so popular in its various forms. 

As there is for almost all radios! 
Congratulations and Enjoy! 
NOTE: I hate this "feature" where posts are default listed by votes and I have to manually change to Sort By Date, so that I do not miss any important posts!

I’m definitely in that stage….

When it becomes "you know, xxxxx would be nice to have".

If you are asking, its already too late.

I checked mine and it was under 2.0 on GMRS channels. I don't remember the exact numbers though. The first time I checked I did it inside the garage which gave horrible SWR reading on GMRS. Once I pulled my vehicle outside the SWR readings were fine. 

In the event you "should" need a shorter antenna at some point, I can recommend the Comet SS-460B-NMO which has also has a spring base.  It's 18" tall without the NMO mount, and with that ground plane you'll do fine on 2m, 70cm, and GMRS.  MURS is its weak point though, if you can live with that.  Its sibling antenna, the Comet SBB2-NMO has similar characteristics, but no spring base.
 
SS-460B-NMO - Tested on top of an extended cab Silverado using a RigExpert Stick Pro, center-mounted with a 3" NMO mag mount:



Comet SBB2-NMO (same vehicle, same mount):

I think most will agree with you on that. I am running the Midland mag-mount for my Comet SBB1 dual band and Tram 1174 antennas on my vehicle and another one with a Comet 2x4SR on my SxS.

Hi Josh,
Please check the format of the callsign. It must be 4 letters and only 3 digits. You probably have an I not the number one. 

People usually announce it on public forums.