LegitByDefault

There's nothing stopping you from using FRS radios. They should work just as well for the purpose and likely cost less, simple operation, etc If using GMRS, everyone on the security team using a GMRS radio would need to be licensed. The only exception would be for those (if any) of you that are blood related... Father, son, brother, sister, etc.

I would recommend ~50% charge and to check them every 3-6mo. Remove the batteries from the radios. Don't store them in a rigid sealed container, in close proximity to one another, or in a way that the contacts could be shorted. There are specific products intended to store Li-Ion batteries, such as fire resistant bags which can be pricey, but it's a worthwhile investment imo. Charge batteries from 30-80% to extend the lifespan and reduce chances of failure. Having extra batteries is useful - if you use them. Otherwise they'll likely end up irrecoverably dead.

My take may differ from others, but assuming you're licensed I would just key up and find out. Be respectful, monitor the repeater output briefly before transmitting and use your callsign. If you can reasonably attempt to request access through a listing, such as what you can find here, by all means. If you don't get a response within a reasonable amount of time (it's subjective, but generally speaking I think a week or two is reasonable) hit it up and find out. It may not even be active. The listings of repeaters and frequencies aren't always kept up to date, so if the listing hasn't been updated recently I wouldn't expect a response any time soon. If you're using this site to program your radio, be sure to click on the repeater name and scroll all the way down. The owners often comment below the coverage map and other stations comment below that. One thing to keep in mind is that some repeaters are seasonal and/or temporary, mostly due to weather conditions.

I dig the old school appeal. First I've seen that wasn't made four plus decades ago! Neat find

Sounds like your radio works just fine, but being inside a metal box isn't conducive. A magnetic mount antenna on the roof thereby using the roof as a ground plane and gaining height over your HT. That is where I would start. If you don't think that'll work, you can mount an extendable mast to gain height over the other trailers. Be mindful of overhead lines.

When I worked for the DOF, we used a Larsen antenna on the end of a coax feedline, ferrite ring choke and a length of Paracord (x2 the feedline) which worked well enough on VHF. Let the antenna dangle inverted. You'll need a weight secured to the end of the Paracord, such as an arborist bag, nut, or anything that is unlikely to snag a nook in a branch or tangle with the Paracord itself. I personally use a CoCo stick for the same purpose if the forest isn't dense, but I like the idea of a roll-up J-Pole. Aim for a long sturdy branch away from the trunk, and let the cord slack otherwise the weight will swing back and wrap around the cord or branch. If that happens or it otherwise gets caught up - don't pull! Stand underneath it and try to whip it loose. Look for an opening in the canopy or near the edge of the tree line. Once the weight is past the point where it's possible to tangle, use the swaying motion of the weight to your advantage, in order to weave around lower obstacles... Such as branches with numerous offshoots, overlapping branches, etc. Keep the line free of knots, lay out your cord in big loops if you can, and keep a blade handy. You might need to cut the cord and let the weight drop if it's unable to be pulled back up. If you can get it above the majority of the canopy, whether via a tall tree or hillside, you'll have better coverage. Different antenna have different propagation. So choose the right antenna for the area where you plan to deploy it. Feedline choice becomes more important at length. Low loss = more useable height, before diminishing returns. Always test your gear before you have no choice but to rely on it.

Lscott, That's been my understanding. Moreso as I learned about the type of people that generally use one, and their common lack of understanding RF theory and/or not caring about other users in a shared space. Not everyone is a considerate user, and even those who are, likely step on others toes unknowingly while using scrambling. That can happen enough as it is, when users misunderstand CTCSS/DCS and key up without at least hitting the Moni first. MarkInTampa, no cable TV here. Just a Roku. Not even a broadcast tv antenna. If that's even still a thing. SteveShannon. That's my understanding. All compression and expansion happens outside of the RF side, purely on the radio itself. FT-65 is direct conversion, whereas the FT-60 is superheterodyne. I don't own the FT-60. To reiterate the interference I'm facing, regardless of the radio used... If the compander is turned on, SQL set to 2. The interference occasionally opens the receiver, and I hear the interference which sounds like voice inversion. Some days it opens the receiver frequently. The interference is clearly audible, as can be heard in the poor recording that I uploaded earlier, which was taken via phone mic. The duration can range from a quick "cht" or multiples, to a few seconds long inversion. (Initially I assumed the "cht" was purely a distant station just out of range) While compander is still on, I can also hit the Moni key while the radio is silent with no indication of a transmission being received and I hear "voice inversion" interference still ongoing. My radios just didn't stay open for it. If compander is turned off, I only hear something cause minor 'interference' in the form of light crackling and very faint "voice inversion" if I hit Moni and it's almost indecipherable from the noise floor but clearly there. If I turn the volume up uncomfortably high, the interference stands out well enough to know I'm not imagining it. On one of the radios, I can hear a very faint "how how how how" sound within the noise floor as well. I'm unable to RX on 309 MHz. My presumption was that frequency being the second harmonic, if the interfering station were transmitting on 154 MHz, thereby making 462.6125 MHz the third harmonic. Signal strength ranges from 1-3. I began this journey of searching for the source of interference on 462 MHz. The transmission bleeds into all of the frequencies within GMRS/FRS, and some of the other frequencies outside the service, including within 2m and in 70cm. Receiving devices are Laptop with SDRSharp w/external USB antenna, FT-65, Retevis RA89, and once in a rare while on my son's Midland X-tra Talk LXT560 radios. My radios are unlocked dual band FM. The transmissions are heard within 2m, 70cm, MURS, and GMRS. I haven't scanned outside of those yet but I will when I get a chance. No. Changing the bandwidth has no effect on the interference. Hopefully I covered everything without too many typos. Hard to respond using my phone.

I think I figure it out. Since I last posted, I had been trying to narrow it down and locate the source of the transmission. It was much more difficult than it should have been. I have numerous antennas. Various DF loops, Yagis, CoCo, lossy antenna, baking sheet, body shielding, even SDRSharp and DeInvert were used but had no luck with any of it. Even going to a higher elevation with a clear line of sight across the valley had no effect on strengthening the signal. My last solution was to test how I could make the signal vanish... Well, I managed to do just that. Removal of the antenna had no effect, so I knew the signal was either very close or very strong. Placing the radio in the gas oven had no effect, nor did the microwave. When I placed the radio inside my refrigerator with the antenna still removed, the signal cut out a moment after the door sealed. I'm currently under the impression that the signal must be transmitted from a hospital pager system about 10.2mi away at 300-500 w ERP, and perhaps even retransmitted by a nearby fire station. That would explain the long hours of continuous operation. but I still don't understand why I'm hearing it. I understand how the compander works, but perhaps I don't know enough about the intricacies of the feature. With the compander turned off, I don't hear the transmission because it's well below the noise floor. I know the Yaesu FT-65 isn't the FT-60 with superheterodyne, but it also hears the transmission when the compander is on. Does this sound about right? Is this normal behavior for a hospital pager system to be picked up by a radio with the compander turned on? To reiterate, I don't hear it on any radio with it off. It does suck that I can't use a nice feature without interference transmissions from a FCC prioritized source. Could it be a defective antenna on their system? MarkInTampa, I thought something similar and tried to rule out a nearby transmitter overloading the front end. It occurred to me that if they were nearby and using a very poorly constructed radio on higher power they might not actually be transmitting one GMRS and that the third harmonic might be on 426.6125... so I popped over to VHF on 154 (iirc) and sure enough it was there too. That theoretically placed the second harmonic on 309... The odd thing was that my S-meter showed a weak signal... That had me thinking they were nearly out of range. SteveShannon, I did end up contacting a local ham club and received no response. Unsure if their club is still active or if this particular issue is something they get requests about all too often. TNFrank, You're right about that, for sure. After hearing what a DMR sounds like - it reminds me of a taser arcing, which isn't what I heard. Voice inversion scrambler with frequency hopping was my best guess until today. So many youtube videos claiming 'if you do this/legal workaround' and misinformation being spread elsewhere, it's inevitable that some people are going to do it. dugcyn, Yes, I think we would all prefer a friendly contact making a request over a government official stepping in. The problem is how some people can react or even retaliate, feeling as if their privacy is being invaded or they're being told what to do. Never know how someone will take a harmless input/request. Maybe this is a defective matter. Thanatos, The scrambler on a sloppy CCR was on my list of possibilities, and like I said earlier in the thread, I really don't care if someone is using a scrambler as long as they are considerate of others and don't behave like they own the allocated service, thereby ruining it for others. The issue was interference band-wide across the spectrum, which perceivably included business/commercial and even Federal/Military presuming the second harmonic theory... That will get the FCC's attention.

If my radio is sitting idle or scanning, it will open the Squelch but I hear nothing at all. When my Squelch is on (2) I don't hear them but the radio shows RX. The transmissions are barely audible solely via Moni, I can just barely make out something else among the noise - almost indiscernible from the white noise/floor. However, with the volume turned up and RX ENC enabled (Environmental Noise Cancelation) their transmissions are easily audible, but unintelligible. When I key up I don't hear any interference on my transceiver - pure silence. But if another radio is listening to my transmission emanating from this area, that radio does hear interference... interference that isn't there when I'm outside this area. Same goes for me attempting to listen to other radios that are transmitting from this area. Our transmissions are broken up as if being stepped on I assume. The stations causing interference are quite literally transmitting non-stop back and forth all day long. It's nearly midnight and still going. As to your last question, I am hearing the same disruptions across all channels, with signal strength fading as I approach channel 22. Same account if going lower than channel 3. I uploaded a short sound recording, which sounds to me more like voice inversion (after doing some yootoob searching) At the begining and end of recording. Note the noise floor when they cease transmission. https://jumpshare.com/s/fPchPR02LOTLj3GABr5w I don't particularly care that they appear to be using a scrambler - as long as they can hear other transmissions - which they don't seem to be able to and treat the service like they own it. The out of band transmissions and band-wide spurious transmissions throughout each and every day all day long without consideration for others... is unacceptable. What I meant by "voice tone" earlier is differentiation between male/female/different male/ so on. Occasionally I hear a very low sound wah wah wah similar to what LeoG posted, not nearly as pronounced as SteveShannons audio clip. Although I don't associate that sound with the transmissions causing the issue as it is sparsely heard.

In the off chance they happen to be a member here or they stumble across this thread through a search engine, they should know that their interference has been thoroughly documented over the past month and a formal complaint will be filed if their transmissions doesn't cease.

Confrontation is unlikely to work in my opinion and may be hazardous, although that would be the preferable route in a perfect world. Record audio/video showing the interference across channels. - Note dates/times when it occurs - If possible, note approximate signal strength or bearings - Include receiver make/model and settings used Inform the FCC that an unauthorized station appears to be transmitting on FRS/GMRS using a DMR radio. - The exact channels and frequencies impacted - The spurious emissions affecting other channels - Your location and timeframe of the problem Accurate and detailed reports are much more likely to be pursued. Reports lacking essential information is half the reason why most complaints go unresolved, the other half being limited enforcement agents, overwhelming quantity of violations nationwide, and time/priority. Depending on your circumstances, there are a variety of methods of reporting that may apply. The best method is through filing a formal enforcement complaint through the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau’s Spectrum Enforcement Division (SED), rather than the consumer informal complaint method. If there's a public safety or business nearby, you can even inquire as to whether or not they have experienced interference and if so, offer to provide them with a copies of your documentation. You can also call the FCC Contact Center directly at 1-888-225-5322 to file a complaint if it's such as this. Otherwise, document it as thoroughly as possible and submit an informal complaint.

Lol @ Greenland It sounds like I'm trying to tune a AM/FM radio by rotating the dial too fast. I noticed their signal is strongest on channel 3. That is to say, if they're using DMR on a Baofeng, on FRS/GMRS, centered on channel 3, and I can hear them all the way up to 462.72500... their transmissions are being received well below the FRS/GMRS band, through business/commercial, and interfering with numerous bands, which I believe includes public safety, state maintenance, etc.

That's not a question. People in my area are using DMR - out of CCRs no less - and their emissions are spattered all across the band... From channel 1 through to 22. This is a daily, continuous problem. What say ye? I don't use DMR so I'm not certain that's the case, or if it's some form of scrambler/encryption, but I'm unable to decrypt it, and there's no CTCSS/DCS tone which the Moni key would have bypassed. A friend said it might be DMR. By continuous, I don't mean unrelenting... The breaks between their transmissions are clear static and much louder than their transmissions because my volume is up. They're not on a timed schedule. The voices change tone - clearly different people communicating. This isn't environmental or other machine interference.

Hmm.. programming it might be difficult? I hear Motorola is quite stingy with their software. Otherwise I would buy a charger and programming cable for it.

Motorola RMU2040 It's lightweight and durable, but it lacks a charging base and is on the commercial band. I found it today in a parking lot... It's the most expensive free radio I own, and is also useless to me.