mbrun

Yes you can do this, and it is exactly the way I operate from home. The ‘best configuration’ is truly relative to your goals. In my case, GMRS receives top billing on top of a HD fiberglass mast. The dual band amateur antenna is mounted about 16-18 feet lower using a custom side-mount arm fabricated from PVC. The lower antenna is offset 22” from the main mast and the coax that feeds the upper antenna. I am able to operate well on GMRS, 70cm and 2m (one service at at time of course) at 50w each without any negative issues that affect me. Yes, if I am transmitting on GMRS, 70cm reception suffers a little while I am actively transmitting due to desense (which is to be expected) and the opposite is true as well. But I do not detect any appreciable desense from 2m to GMRS and vice versus while operating. What this means is I cannot carry on simultaneous conversations on both 70cm and GMRS services at once, nor can my wife be operating GMRS while I operate 70cm. That is perfectly OK, since she only uses GMRS to talk to me while I am out. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Seconding those before me. Yes, you need a separate license for GMRS. Apply for it online and you will likely have it within 12-48 hours. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Agree. Very cool story. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Good Day Jim. Welcome to myGRMS. Data Transmissions in GMRS (the methodology used for sending texts and location information) is regulated by the FCC. The one second duration limit, and the frequency at which messages can be sent is defined in article “§ 95.1787 GMRS additional requirements. “. Here is link to the rules where you can read the compete details: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/part-95/subpart-E The number of characters that can be sent is not expressly regulated in any way that I have read to date, but I would imagine that the 1 second limit in combination with the technology used by the manufacturers to send them imposes the limit. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

I recommend just placing you order if that is the radio you want. They come back in stock frequently but get snatched up quickly. The only place to buy that model is still BTWR. Not sure how long they have an exclusive on that model. BTW, I own that radio for use in my home and do like it. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Good job going out and getting close to the repeater. A few things come to mind if you do not have success when seemingly close to the repeater. - Verify you have the physical location correct. You may need to call or message the repeater owner to confirm. - DCS codes include an inverted and non-inverted version of the code. The 935G supports both, so try both. The non-inverted ends in ‘N’ and the inverted ends in ‘I’. Message the repeater owner if neither works to confirm you have the correct one. - During initial testing, do not enter any code in your radio for Rx. Ensure you enter only the Tx code you believe is needed to open the repeater until you have had success opening it. Afterwards if you want to enter an Rx code, feel free to do so then. - Are you hearing traffic on the repeater that you can’t access? If you are hearing traffic, practice using the tone scan capability of the radio to learn how to us it. Tone scan only works while you are receiving a signal. No signal, no scan. Try both CTCSS and DCS scanning. If the incoming signal is strong and the radio stops scanning while someone is transmitting and you can in-fact now hear them, the radio has correctly detected the code the transmitter you are hear is sending out. Note that code and/or store it in your radio if you wish to us it. Hope this helps. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

I am not a TYT owner. A quick look through the manual I found online leaves me thinking the radio does not support split tones. It appears you have two opens. A common tone for Tx and Rx (or a tone for Tx and none for receive. For DCS specifically, it looks like there are options to invert the DCS on Tx, Rx or both, but again I do not see an option to use independent codes for Tx and Rx. Perhaps an experienced user of your model will jump in to confirm. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Good point. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

You bring up an interesting scenario. I suspect somewhere in some prior legal proceedings “control over” and “access to” have have already been settled. But all we the general public have ready access is what they put in the rule book, not how some judicial body has ruled in case law. You know what, in 10-20 years or so we will look back and see that FCC shifted to a licensed by rule methodology for GMRS and this will all be a mute point anyway. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

To be clear I said ‘I look at it this way’, intending to clarify how I personally interpret and put the rules into practice. But let me explain how I get there. First, I believe most would agree the FCC is pretty clear that GMRS licenses are granted to individuals. I also believe it is equally clear that immediate family members may operate under that individual’s license (the operative word here being “may”). Article § 95.1705 of the regulations uses the term ‘may’ many times. Upon reading, one will see it that ‘may’ in is referring to discretionary permission of the licensee, such as “Any individual who holds an individual license may allow his or her immediate family members to operate his or her GMRS station or stations. “. Upon further reading one will see the FCC identifies who the licensee may grant (by extension) to use their station(s). In other words, 95.1705 clarifies who the licensee is permitted to grant permission too. In practical terms and by example this means that, in part, I can grant permission to my son or daughter to use my license if I choose, but I am not obligated to. If one child is responsible and the other is not, I might not choose to grant it. The next part is the use of the ‘station’. A station is the apparatus necessary for transmitting (aka ‘operating’). In its simplest definition this is a transmitter. Each transmitter is a station. In its most popular form, a handheld portable transceiver is a form of ‘station’. If I purchase a twin pack of GMRS radios I have purchased two stations. Again, in 95.1705 it states “Individual licensee responsibility. The holder of an individual license to operate GMRS stations is responsible at all times for the proper operation of the stations in compliance with all applicable rules in this part. “ and “The licensee must maintain access to and control over all stations authorized under its license. “ So, if a licensee purchases, and thus owns, four (4) handheld transceivers they may grant permission to select (or all) family members to operate those four stations, so long as the licensee has access to and can exercise control over those stations. This is easy to do when the family members live with them and or are attending an event in which the licensee is also present. Not so easy to do in the licensee is in New York and the radio is in California. Further, I have zero authority to give permission to anyone to use your station equipment. Only you have the authority to do that. In a similar way, I have no authority to give my children permission to use station equipment that is owned by their aunt or uncle, nor can I grant permission to their aunt and uncle to use the transceivers they have purchased on their own. They are not mine to grant permission to. Bottom line, I can grant permission to use only stations I own and have control over, nothing more. Here is link to complete 95.1705 text for any that care to read it. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/95.1705 Hope this provides some clarification. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Regarding ham repeaters not sending out codes. While that may be a choice that has been made in some areas, that cannot be said as a blanket statement. The amateur repeaters I am using in Cincinnati all send out a code. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

You are correct that you do not need CTCSS or DCS codes to listen. And you are correct that despite the term ‘Privacy’ in the acronym PL (Privacy Code), use of codes offers zero privacy. Codes are not used to encrypt or decrypt a signal in anyway. Codes are ALWAYS used by the squelch circuit of the receiving as a means to filtering out signals. If a signal does not include the code, the receiver’s squelch will not open up (aka ‘Unmute’) and thus the transmitted audio does not pass through to the speaker. There is zero difference in behavior between a cheap FRS radio and an expensive GMRS repeater in this regard. They are used as a means of limiting what you hear over a frequency that is otherwise shared by many. In the case of a repeater, if the repeater does not detect the code it seeks in a signal it receives, it does not retransmit it. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

That is the worst think about forum’s, text messaging and emails. All the reader has to infer from are the words they read. No inflections, facial expressions, gestures or other other to alter their meaning. Words are everything when an author commits them into writing. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Your conclusion is fundamentally my conclusion as well. I look at it this way. A person can use one of my stations (HT, Base or Mobile) and my call sign if they are an immediate family member, with permission. If they are an immediate family member but not living with me and operating their own equipment, they need their own license. A separately licensed individual may borrow and use one of my stations, but they need to use their own callsign. Friends need their own equipment and callsign, or just use FRS. While not expressly or permitted, I do seriously doubt the FCC would take exception to third party traffic so long as the licensee is in complete control of the station (i.e. the licensee is adjacent to the third party while they are operating under permission of the licensee). … But I have been wrong before. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM Edit: Correct phrasing.

Separate licenses purchased for each model. FT-991A, KG-1000G, KG-UV9P. License for each model installs separately but one is able to copy and past between them as well as export and import compatible data between them. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

No, not likely, especially if you are using the default settings. In many places there is very little activity so it is radio silence. GMRS is not CB with endless noise and chatter. The first thing to do is what you are doing. Just scan all the channels (but make sure you have no CTCSS or DCS codes set up in your radio since these work as filters to limit what you hear). When you have no codes set and if there is any activity near you you should her it. Once you hear traffic and you want to communicate back, then the CTCSS and DCS codes may come into play. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

I am right there with you. I recently purchased RTSystems software to use with all the radios I own that it supports. While still not as feature rich as I thought it would be, it is at least a professional experience and is supported. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Welcome to myGMRS. The 905G does have the ability to display frequency in large characters instead of channel numbers and Names. Menu function 34, titled ‘CH-MDF’ is where that change is made. If the radio has not been custom programmed and you need to, you should be able to reset it to the factory defaults. Press Menu, then scroll through the menu options until you find ‘Reset’. If the radio has been custom programmed, that option may or may not be available to you. It is is not there, you will need the manufacturer software to do so. The factory defaults IMO should be the base settings you start with. Thereafter, it is up to you to decide you need in your area. Hope that helps. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

No. One input frequency and one output frequency (aka “Repeater Pair”) at at time. And despite the ability to change frequencies on the radio, expect performance to suffer if you set the radio’s frequency to something other than what the internal duplexer has been optimized for. Hope that helps. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Welcome to myGRMS. Make yourself at home. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

BuyTwoWayRadios needs to be given credit for the improvements that the have made to happen with the recent crop of Wouxun Radios. I can’t honestly say that I can attribute any of the recent improvements to the manufacturer directly. Some background for you. I received one of the first shipment of KG905G radios. I had preordered it the first I learned it was in the works. Within the first couple of hours I discovered major flaws. Wouxun thought this was perfectly acceptable apparently, because no respectable quality control department ever would have passed it. They must think we Americans are to stupid to notice. Within a short time after reporting the issue to BTWR independently verifying the issues, production on the radio was halted. I believe early action on their part saved the 905G from being a disaster and I suspect it was likely a major contributor to the long delay before Wouxun got the issues resolved and product begin shipping again. They earned a lot of respect from me for this. Since that time I have had many interactions with BTWR regarding product performance and have assisted with pre-release testing of product, including the two most recent releases. I am pleased to report that many issues were caught by both parties and corrected before units went into full production. It is sad however that it is taking a distributor to do the manufacturer’s job for them, but for those of us that own Wouxun GMRS radios we should be very thankful they are involved. And as far as the UI improvements in the latest crop of radios, we have BTWR to thank, both for opening the door to external collaboration but also pushing the manufacturer to do a better job. I am actively lobbying for still a much improved user experience and a way of doing field programming of channelized radios. Comments in this thread may prove helpful in making the case further that change is necessary. mrGMRS, I agree with you. The 905G (or its successor) can and should be able to be fully and conveniently field programmed, and it should be able to be done faster and more conveniently that any of the current crop of GMRS radios, even those with keypads. The story is written. The question is whether the manufacturer cares. However, all of this is mute if everyone wants radios at bottom of the barrel prices. If there is no money to be made… Just my two cents. I must admit I was thrilled to see this thread start. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

BTWR has unveiled another GMRS radio from Wouxun. It appeared on their website in the last few days. The radio appears to be a dual receive mobile version of their recently-released KG935G Handheld. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM Edited: Corrected Model Number

Welcome to myGMRS. Glad you are here. Wayoverthere sums it up pretty well. His suggestion to get close to the repeater is a really good one. Try to get within a mile or less if you can, and they work you way back home after confirming you can open it up. I have done that many times and can be very enlightening. What I have learned since using repeaters in GMRS is that most repeaters are low profile, meaning that their range is truly very limited, some not more than a mile or few. And often, you will find that listed repeaters are no longer in service. Depending upon where you live (like me near Cincinnati), you may be blessed with a repeater that is extremely high profile (covers large area), perhaps even covering your whole town. As a reminder, repeaters are the private property of individuals. You are authorized to use it only if the owner gives you permission. Some will grant it, some will not. Some will list and identify their repeater in an open forum like myGMRS as an open one that does not individual permission. If you find yourself using a particular repeater, consider supporting the owner with donations to help them cover their operating and maintenance expenses. Good repeaters are expensive to purchase, operate and maintain. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

You are on the right track. Now imagine a field that displays the last number of confirmed cases of repeater accesses in the last 30/60/90 days or something like that. Then imagine scraping location and ToD from the app and device that confirmed it. Through a coordinated crowd sourcing effort one could begin to assemble enough data on the backend to determine the true effective usable range of a repeater. BTW, not too unlike how the network broadcasters did it back in the early days of commercial radio and TV. For example, if I am traveling around town and have a given repeater tuned up on my radio and app, I could help the repeater owner and myGRMS by pushing a button on the app that scrapes my callsign, geolocation, ToD, and perhaps even my radio profile information and write it into a profile log. Thru the use of rules, permissions and statistical analysis it would be possible to build a coverage profile from registered uses with permission that could be mapped. Big ideas to ponder. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Thanks for sharing the idea. Yes, I think such an app would be useful for travelers. No, I am unaware of such a GMRS app existing. Searching by proximity to repeater is more useful than searching by city, state. There is an similar app for amateur radio repeaters. I have it and use it. It is the companion for the RepeaterBook website. IMO, any app like this needs to have ready access to contact information of the repeaters owner so one can get permission to use it if it is not designated as open. Probably good to color code the listings as well. Open, Private, Permission Only. Plus filters to limit displayed results. May even be food to have a button that one could press to designate if activity from the repeater has been confirmed. Such information could be uploaded to myGMRS as a means of getting feedback to the site when the last time the repeater was heard. Something along these lines could be helpful in determining when a listing might be outdated. Regards, Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM