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From what I remember of the GR300/500 controllers (minus the RICK which doesn't have internal ID capability) the courtesy beep can be set from 300-3000 Hz if it's used. What I don't remember is whether or not that beep can be sent with PL disabled. What a lot of guys will do here locally (amatuer or GMRS) in conversions is use an aftermarket tone board, not run the audio through the tone board filters (to strip the PL) so it just pushes it out the transmitter. When the repeater ID's or gives a courtesy tone it doesn't have a PL encode so it won't open squelch unless your radio is operating in CSQ or you have a Motorola with the microphone out of the hanger. I think in a bunch of the Motorola controllers it can be set...I just don't know how to do it.

LMR in general has the same foil shield.

It's known for introducing noise due to the dissimilar shield materials. It's fairly well documented.

Correct. That's also why I don't advise having an ider on an open repeater unless it's triggered by signaling. One could argue the license iding is directly responsible for any misuse. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Most GMRS repeaters are going to be private links. Not much networked like amateur radio setups. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Echolink is a service for amateur radio operators. You won't find anything GMRS related on there. What a lot of guys are doing is using the Allstar download and then stripping the Allstar connectivity (leaving just the Asterisk 1.4.23-pre program) and then linking from there. Some are using NXU's or other ROIP gateways.

The rules don't say you can't link GMRS systems together. They just say interconnection through the Switched Public Telephone Network is not permitted. They also state other services cannot be linked into GMRS. When the rules were written VOIP linking was not around and GMRS was more of a family business band.

Uses the frequency of the one you want to link to. So you basically setup a low power radio to use the remote repeater and then just power through there with a yagi antenna. You will want to make sure you have line of sight. Factor in your line loss, antenna gain on both ends, calculate the distance. I can do a little work in splat to get distances and estimated receive signals with antenna gain factors and what not if needed.

No problem. EPSON001.PDF

He actually has stated on several videos that he does hold a tech license as well as GMRS license. It should also be noted in several of his videos (SHTF Radio, Ham vs Commercial, for example) he does state that it is illegal to transmit with a modified amateur radio on the commercial bands. There isn't anything in the GMRS rules that prohibits simplex/talkback repeaters. MURS, there is a statement that no station shall retransmit a received transmission (rules out any kind of repeater and digipeater).

Gurellacom on Youtube has some videos of a simplex repeater installed in a remote location (don't know whether or not it's in national forest or not). For placing in public lands (federal) I believe one is supposed to perform a site survey (it's in the Extra question pool somewhere) or something similarly named. Ideally you's want to try and get the antenna above the trees but depending on how sharp the peak is and the density, you may be able to conceal the antenna. Avoid the LMR400…it's very poor in a full duplex environment, personally I think RG8 does better but I'd switch to hardline of some form.

Yes. I've been having issue with my 4021 displaying ID…it sends just fine. Motorola in my opinion is the easiest to get it setup and working properly. I recently programmed a bunch of PM400s…it was pretty simple to get the MDC working.

Did I mention narrowbanding was good to me? Lots of companies went to relying on cell phones and just wanted their old stuff gone. They are not what I would call budget friendly. I'd call them get something in your price range and then keep an eye out for DB antennas through surplus channels for later purposes.

Maybe I should have stated I have the F4021T...which has the DTMF pad and display.

1/4 inch hard line isn't too terrible in price currently. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Line of Sight communications. Doesn't necessarily rely on power. I'm hoping to get a repeater up on a SO's tower in Colorado, 12k feet above sea level. Ran some path loss calculations on it in Splat. With 10W output (going to a DB420) I assumed 158W ERP...it spat back decent signal reports as far away a Colorado Springs which is almost 70 miles away. Path loss on a 70 mile hop on 467.675 is 67 dB. So really, even a HT at 1W 70 miles away "should" (under ideal conditions) be able to make it into the repeater.

You might get a hold of a TOPO map (there are some that can be found online) and note the high points in elevation. Almost all of my repeaters run DB antennas (free surplus). Personal favorite is the DB420 for a top tower mount and for a portable setup a DB406. I've got a couple of almost all of them…DB406, DB408, DB411, DB413 and DB420's.

HT1250 is not type accepted for GMRS (neither is a Baofeng). I've got a bunch of HT750's (16 channel version). Program in Windows with CPS (I think I'm using version 6 something for my 750's). One of my favorite radios is the Icom F4021. It's got MDC and can be programmed through the front panel, still in current production. I paid $135 new for mine, take the same programming cable as most non-public safety Icom HTs. The JT1000 is the "predecessor" to the HT1250. It can be modified for front panel programming but it programs in DOS like the HT1000.

We have a NHRC 3 on a local amateur repeater. It's okay… I've got one of those Electra's sitting at my house right now. In the past, we've used the kill feature in MDC to kill transmit radios on basic repeaters. All of those controllers are link capable. Personally, ID rather have stuff that is PC programmable versus DTMF.

Not that I'm currently aware of. Almost sounds like a Com-Spec ID-8 crammed into an HT case. Not practical these days but back in the 80's it was certainly doable.

If transmissions aren't being properly IDed, then the repeater needs an IDer. So if everyone properly ID's, then one is not required. Which is what makes GMRS repeaters so much easier (and cheaper) to build. The only real reason I'd put an IDer on a GMRS repeater, is for a private repeater used by those covered under a single license. I'm actually working on a repeater for my family and one for my friend's (who happens to have a family run farm). Those will have IDer's on them.

Bandwidth is a function of element thickness. Usually length is decreased a little as well. I can't think of any Windows programs off the top of my head. A really good one (runs off of DOS though) is YagiMax. It lets you model different designs, element thicknesses, spacing, etc. General antenna gain/bandwidth rule, higher gain=less bandwidth.

I've been trying to rack down a diesel Hilux state side for years for a ranch pickup...near impossible to find without spending a bunch of cash. I ran an optima Yellow top in my XJ...only battery I've ever had that outlasted the warranty. After 8 years sub-zero temperatures, excess vibration, extreme heat (never getting cooler than 100 degrees for several weeks straight) it finally gave out. Currently trying Autozone's AGM in place.

Easiest is shotgunning. If your home repeater is easily accessible, I'd add a link capable controller with a UHF radio running about 1-5W on a +9 dBd antenna. Program the link radio to the input and output of your remote repeater, point the yagi towards the remote repeater, its advised to use a program to make sure LOS is capable for the link, then set your remote repeater up (don't bother with a hang timer as the repeater with the controller on it will handle that). Shouldn't have to say, you probably 10-15 feet of vertical separation for the link antenna from the repeater and you can't use the same pair for both repeaters.

What kind of frequency(s) was that?