mbrun

Good Day MacJack. No, I have no intent to purchase the KG-UV9P Radio. Why you ask? It does not appear to offer better receive performance than the 805G. I already own the KG-UV9P which has the exact same innards and often times I have both the 805G and UV9P side by side tuned to same frequency or scanning the same frequencies. More times than not, the 805G receives the same or slightly better. The radio is not physically built any better than the 805G. The screen is not usable outdoors during daylight hours. The couple of features it has that are of interest don’t make it worth twice the price to me. While I love the true dual receive capability and appreciate a radio with it, the UV9 does not mute the second channel while you are actually talking and thus interferes with your transmissions, so it gets turned off frequently because it is a hinderance. I don’t need another scanner. Hope that helps. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

They vast majority of repeaters in Cincinnati (GMRS and Amateur radio alike) ID only when in use, in accordance with the FCC prescribed interval. There a couple that ID on the top and button of the hour (regardless of use) and also announce the time. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Same here. From the original Motorola Talk-Abouts purchased in the 90s and up until now, all consumer radios I have had my hands on to date have had the ability to disable CTCSS/DCS. I would not buy a radio without this fundamental capability. Honestly, where I live there is so little interfering traffic that when in simplex mode I do not even use them. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Good Morning gjbartel. Do you own a second GMRS radio? What model do you have? While I don’t rule out the possibility of you having a defective unit, it is truly more likely that the two radios are simply not configured correctly (not configured in a complementary way). Since you are having issues, you need to start simple. Read the manual on your radio. Determine which memories (channels) on your radio that actually capable of being used for transmission (MicroMobile radios are not permitted to transmit on all channels and frequencies, some are receive only). Reset your radios to factory defaults, if that is an option. Pick a common simplex channel with frequency that both of your radios are both are permitted to transmit on. Configure both radios so they use that same frequency. Disable CTCSS and DCS codes for the channel/frequency you picked, and do this on both radio units. Set squelch control to minimum value, for any model you use with adjustable squelch (it may be a menu option). Now try and communicate between the two radios while in relatively close proximity (25’ or so). By eliminating use of any CTCSS/DCS codes, you eliminate the chance that it is your code settings that are preventing you from having success, leading you to believe your transmitter is defective. For basic simple operation: Both radios must be configured to transmit and receive on the same frequency. Both radios must be capable of transmitting on the chosen frequency. Both radios must be powered on. Both radios must be within radio range, with squelch settings low enough to permit the receive radio to unmute when the other radio is transmitting. Both radios must be configured with compatible, complementary CTCSS/DCS codes (or both with none at all). Any ‘group mode’ settings on your midland radios (if they have them) are turned off. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

I forgot mine. 40 years in the rearview mirror. Still remember the handle though, ‘Frogman’. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

If a GMRS repeater is open to the public and/or used by other the individual and family that owns it, then the repeater is required to identify per the FCC rules. Section 95.1751 provides the rules for identification. In that section in clearly lays out that all transmissions must be identified. 95.1751 c provides the only exclusion for a repeater. It reads: “© Any GMRS repeater station is not required to transmit station identification if: (1) It retransmits only communications from GMRS stations operating under authority of the individual license under which it operates; and, (2) The GMRS stations whose communications are retransmitted are properly identified in accordance with this section.“ Based on that wording (and take note of the word ‘only’ and the joining word ‘and’), if anyone other the licensee (or licensee’s family) uses the repeater, then the repeater would need to identify according to the same 15 minute interval required of individual users as stated in 95.1751 (a). In summary, if I had a repeater, used it to talk only to my immediately family, and family members always identified, then our repeater would not need to self identify. The moment we use the repeater to talk with non-family members the repeater must self identify. Hope that helps. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Per the letter of the law (FCC Rules) the only radios permissible for use on GMRS are radios that have the Part 95 certification for GMRS. This is either the current 95e or the older 95a (grandfathered). So, unless the radio model in question has one of those certifications it is not legally permitted. As you read in this forum you will find that many people use higher-cost, higher-quality commercial grade Part 90 radios. Many have stated that there is not a single incident that can be found where the FCC has cited someone for using these higher quality radios. The FCC in one document indicated it was not their intent (when they revised the rules) to exclude the use of Part 90 radios in GMRS, but they have yet to make it officially legal. No, even an licensed amateur is not permitted to legally use a radio in the GRMS that is not type certified. There is no radio made for amateur radio that is legal for use on GMRS, although many can be ‘modified’ to open it up for GMRS, but even then, it is only permissible to be done by and for use by certain individuals. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

I own this one, the 4” screen version. http://www.randl.com/shop/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=75145 NanoVNA are not for the faint of heart and can be overwhelming to the novice whereas the SWR has shorter learning curve. I agree it is fantastic tool for the radio enthusiast to have. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

All part of the learning journey. Welcome to GMRS BTW. Radios that are repeater capable will be clearly advertised as such because they have the added repeater-capable feature. It is easily for a newcomer to be mislead and or to misinterpret things, like the manufacturer stating the GTX1000 radios have a 36-Mile range. I bet we would all be amazed at the number of consumers that have fallen for that intentionally misleading marketing. BTW, the GTX1000 radios are a carryover from when radios were allowed to be both FRS and GRMS (so-called ‘hybrid’ radios). At the time, FRS had only 14 simplex channels, and GMRS had 8 more. The hybrid radios included all 22. When the FCC revised the rules in 2017 all hybrid radios that were less than two-watts were reclassified as FRS, anything more than 2 were reclassified as GMRS. When the rules changed, FRS gained more frequencies and so did GMRS. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

OK, we will soon have our first candidate radios for testing. RadioGuy7268 and I are working out the details. Two pairs of motorola radios will soon be available for the tests, each pair a different model. I have reached out to another member of this forum and another local long-time GMRSr and ham to assist. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

That is what we are here for. Enjoy. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Good Morning cbrown. Glad to here you had success in connecting to the repeater. BTW, repeaters are private property. Make sure you reach out to the repeater owner to obtain permission to use it. Regarding “private com(m)s”. A you asking how you can set up your radios so that no one can else can hear communications between your family? If so, the answer is you cannot. All communications are public. They cannot be masked, scrambled, encrypted in any way. Anyone within radio range of you (or the repeater you’re using) can easily and readily hear you. Since you were successful connecting to the repeater, it would seem to suggest that you have learned how to setup squelch codes on your radios (aka ‘tones’, CTCSS, DCS, PL, DPL, etc). That is fantastic. Although these are often referred to a privacy codes, they do nothing to make you communications private at all. What they do is give you an ability to limit which communications YOU hear. If you have a transmitter and you assign a 100 Hz CTCSS/PL code to your channel, your radio transmits a continuous 100 Hz tone. Receivers that are set to open squelch (ak ‘un-mute’) when a 100 Hz tone is received will open squelch so that only transmissions containing a 100 Hz tone are heard. If the receiver has no squelch code set, ALL communications above some user set level are heard by the person using the receiver. If private com(m)s means something different to you, please do clarify. I hope that helps. Regards, Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Good Morning O-B-1. Nice work on the antenna. Isn’t it amazing how simple it is to make a 1/4 wave ground plane antenna is? I have made versions for GMRS and amateur VHF. They tuned up quite nice. Love the low profile nature of the GMRS version. Did you use welding rods for yours? When I was tuning my antennas I used a NanaVNA to help me visualize the effects on SWR & Impedance. I could see the effects of driven element length, angle of the ground plane, and proximity to other objects. What a cool instrument. I see the picture shows the antenna close to the side of the house. Will you be raising it up above the roofline to improve coverage and eliminate the interference caused by the side of the house? Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Here is the reply I received to my inquiry. Passing it along as promised. “I asked Wouxun and they said the radio is designed to hold up to heavy TX. They recommended that in a heavy TX situation, like a public repeater, they do suggest using the feature that automatically activates the fan based on the temperature (menu 37, and this is already the default). They also suggest using the TOT and TOA menu settings (menu options 11 and 12) to limit the maximum time for a single TX to at most 60 minutes.” I have also asked that they push the issue further to get some official numbers. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Anyone willing to send (or meet up with me with) a pair of high end LMR 90 HT radios programmed for GMRS simplex @ 5w so that a side-by-side A-B comparison of their range can be done in my local environment relative to a pair of Wouxun KG-805G? I read a lot posts where opinions and experiences are shared. It sure would be nice to see/experience/share some real-world side-by-side range comparisons myself between radios. Evaluation occurring on the same day, times, location and conditions. Cincinnati, Ohio. Anyone bold enough? Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

I was thrilled with the price dropped to $70 ($7 avg/yr) considering that on my two prior renewals is was $90+ ($18+ avg/yr). So the new fee of $35 ($3.50 avg/yr) is a steel. Even at $70, is it far better than what it was. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Welcome JCBearrs. Enjoy GMRS and the Forum. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

I do not own any BaoFeng/BTech equipment so I cannot give you model specific assistance. What I have gathered however from reading posts of those that use the Part 95e certified BTech models is that there are only select memories (aka channels) that can actually be used for transmitting, effectively the same as the midlands. My current understanding (and I solicit correction if I am wrong) is that only select memories can be used for transmit. While you can configure many memories to receive additional frequencies, the memory that it is assigned to is a factor in whether it can transmit. I will have to let those that own the model you’re referring to provide additional assistance with this one. Regards, Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Very true. And since they won’t have a license and will not be in tune with sources that cause them to see the warning, it really is all for not. Nothing wrong with the reminder though. Yep, it caused all of us to be reminded of it. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

I know that an address is required. A P.O. box is equally as acceptable as a physical address. While there may be a rule that clarifies differently, I would think that any address you use, so long as you personally legally can receive mail there you would be ok. My current understanding is if FCC mails you something and it is returned as undeliverable the license is suspended or revoked. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Michael Martin, thanks for posting that. That notice was a topic on amateur radio yesterday, but mainly because it is so unusual for the FCC to issue anything on weekends. Seems to be a indicator that the rule may play in to the charges/prosecution/fines against some trying to overthrow our democracy. Some folks do not realize that when the break the laws they do know about, they often break laws they don’t know about. I would not be surprised to learn that perhaps less than 1% of GMRS licensees read the rules. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

I have watched the video series as well as a number of other others LCARA has done. I enjoy the content. Keep up the good work. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Welcome to the forum Rick. Enjoy your time here. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

CTCSS/DCS Codes are used with and without repeaters. They are the same “privacy codes” used by the bubble pack FRS radios you buy at Walmart. Two radios operating on the same frequency and that share the same CTCSS/DCS codes will typically operate together. Non-HT radios are not legally permitted to transmit on GRMS/FRS channels 8-14, so even the 50X1 should not allow communication on those channels. Non-HT radios are only permitted to listen on those channels. UV5R is not legally permitted for use on GMRS or FRS. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

My understanding is that Midland does not support this capability. Unofficially, they offer limited support for this capability on their MXT400 through the use of an external computer program, just not from its front panel. I am not a MXT user, so I a passing along what I have picked up from other users of this forum. I am willing to stand corrected by an MXT115 owner. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM