DOCSGMRS

MichealLAX … I appreciate your suggestion and may use it in the future … we travel the western states and MYGMRS is a great source to find the local repeater (if it’s open) while on the road. I drive and she looks up the data on MYGMSR and changes the channel and/or tone. It’s interesting to listen to the local chatter and sometimes add to it. Her opinion is it’s 2022 and the site should be totally capable of aligning a couple columns with the Midland Channels. Fishing out the paper decoder is so pre-internet. If MYGMSR can’t do this, that’s the way it is. End of request. Right now, I just take the time and update the freqs when I stop for gas or camp. Your suggestion will work when we finally settle down in one place. I could use the name of the local repeater and our family channelization but that’s a few years away.

I read the responses about non standard channel numbers and it’s a recent change, etc, etc. I got a GMRS license so my spouse can use the radio without taking a Ham test. She’s up to complying with the callsign use and protocols. Memorizing freqs to channel numbers is a non starter for her. The radio has channel numbers and that’s the interface. (Why do I need a magic decoder ring?) I have no good answer for why freqs are used when you can’t enter one anywhere on the radio. If it isn’t too difficult, add a column to the matrix with the corresponding channel number and put MID CH (Midland Channels) as the header. Do that and you’ll gain one more MYGMSR user plus I’ll be very grateful.

I’m going to Alaska via Canada … I’ll enter and exit via the same entry point. As I said, I’d like the option to use it in Alaska, but it’s not imperative. I will call and find out what I can.

Most likely, we will be going in and out the same entry point. Indeed, you can not broadcast on particular frequencies and above certain power ratings. The broadcasting is the prohibited act, not the possession of the hardware from what I’ve read. I have no need to use it, so I’m probably just going to pull the main transmitter (it’s a Midland Micromobile) and avoid the situation. I’d like to have the option of using it in Alaska but that’s minor. I plan to call the entry point and discuss it with an officer.

I’m planning a trip to AK via ALCAN Hwy. I have a RV with an installed GMSR. I understand the rules for broadcasting on GMRS in Canada. I know I can’t operate that radio in Canada. I have handheld CI approved radios to use while in Canada. I need a reference or source clarify crossing the Canadian border. Will I need to remove the installed radio from my RV as a condition for entering Canada? The websites I’ve reviewed address broadcasting, frequencies, power limits, and Canadian FCC equipment approval … Nothing referring to crossing the border. Any insight would help?

Back to the OP ... Jeep clubs are using GMRS more nowadays ... clearer comms than CB ... range is a bit more reliable ... Midland sponsored an annual Jeep event ... so, here’s a group where GMRS popularity is increasing.

Another antenna that may work for dual band use ... Tram 1181 ... covers amateur and GRMS freqs ... I’ve seen a SWR analysis which gave acceptable ratios across the range, not ideal but acceptable.

KB2ZTX ... thanks ... I’m going to distance the antennas beyond the ground plane. I’ll do something similar to what You’ve done. I have a single antenna to cover the scanner which will use the ground plane and I’ll put the GMSR antenna on the side along the top rail ... just have to be careful! I also have a 140/440 HT that I want to hook up to an external antenna when I’m not packing it around but this one will not be a permanent install ... thanks again, it’s always good to bounce ideas off someone else! BTW, I need to look at using a diplexing capability for other scanner capabilities. KC3IDS

I’m installing two antennas on top of my RV. One will be dedicated to GMRS mobile radio and the other to a Uniden BCT15X scanner. I have a 15 inch ferrous metal sheet ground plane installed on top. I’d like to use a mag mount for both antennas and put both on the ground plane on opposite sides. Additionally, both antennas are unity antennas. I’m trying to minimize putting any more holes in the roof ... I have an a three cable coax entry which will accommodate coax for my satellite antenna and two radio coax. I’ve distanced the satellite antenna to allow for an unobstructed view. I welcome any comments, observations, and advice!

I apologize if I left the impression every Ham is a d***. It really was about a lack of interest in engaging with a new guy to the club. I suspected there was a lack of interest in addressing all those new guy questions and I didn’t do myself a favor by getting a BF with scanty documentation. Also, I couldn’t buy a contact on our local repeater for some reason. That being said, I found an alternative in GMRS that gets you on the air with minimal technical impacts and I found other operators who use their equipment. Additionally, my wife can use GMRS and as I discovered, in short order, she was never going to get a HAM license. So, it was more about the communication, rather than technical ... I have had plenty of technical experience being a former EW, so I understand the concepts and terms. Perhaps, there will be a time when the digital capabilities will be of interest but not now. Again, I meant no offense to Hams in general, I was just providing my perspective on why GMRS works for me and the 140/440 range didn’t.

This reply is in response to the OP question ... Here’s another perspective ... I tested and passed my Tech license in Nov 2017. Prior to that, I went to a local Ham club meetings in hopes of meeting and interacting with other Hams. After an introduction to the group, there was little interaction and discussion, I felt invisible. I attended meetings for three months and finally just stopped going. I had a BaoFung radio which was a pain to figure out but I finally got it working. The local repeater was silent ... I’d sign on as monitoring and listen to the repeater call sign. Crickets. I got the big C, retired, and put the radio in a box for two years because I had other priorities. It was like starting over but I did a lot of reading and decided to give it a try again. I ditched the BF and got a Yaesu FT-70 and found a much more useable handheld. I was in Arizona now and again attempted to get things going. Current situation did not allow face to face meetings, and I did get logged into a club net meeting ... much better response, actually had my first conversation with another Ham while I switchEd antennas and checked the response. After that, crickets on the local repeater, so I scanned the spectrum and listened to the local aircraft traffic pattern and other freqs with activity. I blundered on to the the local GMRS repeater by accident. I found an active group of users and just listened ... after a month or so of listening, I decided to get my GMRS license and do what I wanted to do on the radio in the first place - communicate with people and family in my area. I didn’t have an interest in building or tweeking or exploring technical opportunities ... I wanted to turn it on and talk. I wanted to communicate and my experience was limited or no communication on the amateur bands. GMRS did that for me. Ham was just a no show ... my face to face interactions with my first Ham club didn’t help. So, this is another perspective on Amateur vs. GMRS ... BTW, I’m still an ARRL member but not sure why at this point.