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Many commercial radios have what is called Talk Around (may be referred to as direct on some radios) which is a programming feature where the radio is initially set to be used with a repeater offset but can be used to both RX and TX on the RX frequency. Another feature which is present on fewer radios (usually only those with displays) is that of MPL. Allows you to change tones from the radio menu. Those two features often eliminate the need for true FPP, especially on channelized services. Sent from my Venue 7 3730 using Tapatalk

Using adapters for testing is fine...but you'll do better with UHF-N RG-142.

Spanish is fine (ID has to be in either English or Morse). Predicting UHF over a mile in vehicles is difficult...not something I'm really cut out for.

That's actually a USB to Serial adapter. I'm set up for a mobile router…I actually work for a WISP and we've been talking about installing a 4.9 GHz system for mobile broadband. I've got the routers, but not the radios. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Is having use of conventional batteries manditory? Secondly, define programmable from the face...what do you want to do with the radio?

Hutton Communications and Tessco are where I would buy feedline from.

The trouble you can run into is caused by the construction of LMR cable. It achieves its low loss by using a foil shield in addition to the braided shield. This has been known to cause some harmonics from the dissimilar metals creating noise on the receive. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The head can be used with Astro and Astro 25 radios. Astro 25 radios can also use the O3 and M3 heads. That one is connected to an Astro Spectra (110 W VHF). The RF deck is about to be swapped for an Astro Spectra Plus (Astro 25). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Works well. One can also use this method and remote receivers to have a common transmitter site.

The lower cost Chinese radios have notoriously wide band pass filters on the receiver. As a result, the suffer in the adjacent channel isolation. 40 dB versus the standard 65 dB. Even split there will be issues without running separation or a duplexer. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think it's buy subscription...but MOL discontinued commercial series production last year so probably don't have too much longer before they go out of support. I actually sold them to a friend who runs a family farming operation. One of their work trucks (90's era T100) has a quick release mount for one already installed but it was like that when the farm bought the truck.

You need roughly 10 feet of vertical (or 30 feet of horizontal) separation to keep those things from desensing one another.

There is an article on RBTIP about using a yagi array for an omni directional pattern.

If the option is enabled in the CPS, the user can go into a menu and edit the PL from the front panel. If you look at the codeplug I sent you, you may notice I have that feature as well as the hang up function active. This was for two reasons. One was so I could mute out IDs when casually monitoring repeaters that feature ID without tone. Second was so when I changed the TX PL I could either take the mic out of the hanger or hit monitor to deactivate the RX PL. Sent from my Venue 7 3730 using Tapatalk

I've heard good things about these: LNA for All I've really never really thought about running a LNA (on analog, things are awesome on DMR). Maybe if I had a nice quiet site I'd consider it but so far nope.

I said I wouldn't when I got them but today I decided to sell my two UHF M1225s today. I've always liked the 1225 series radios. Simple, compact, easy to program (in Windows) but was disappointed they lacked MDC out of the box. I did fall in love with the CM300/PM400 radios that were their successors due to user select-able PL in nearly the same form factor (with a better display, MDC, multiple scan lists, etc). Sold them to a friend for farm radios... Did I mention these were 16 year old radios still in the box that I initially acquired for free? http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/zap_uh_lack/Mobile%20Uploads/8C5AF22D-6F65-49B3-BE96-5F3A2D62E1E2_zpsxxvnuqqz.jpg http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/zap_uh_lack/Mobile%20Uploads/63453B72-D012-42A4-A694-769709BAA3B5_zps0jl0nl1d.jpg Oh well, at least I had a good reason for selling them...I needed to buy a slightly pricey programming cable for a radio I recently bought.

That's really not unusual. Not having activity is not unusual for a GMRS repeater...nor is it unusual for an amateur repeater.

If there is another repeater on frequency, it generally easier to select a different frequency. You could run different PL in sort of a poor-man's voting configuration but becomes a pain as some program their radios for a RX PL, other's don't, and others (like me) take full advantage of the hang up mechanism built into most modern Motorola microphones.

The repeater builder website is the best place to start. Repeater Builder Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If your budget allows for hardline (even 1/4") you may look into some heliax. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hark, another forum I've found you on. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It doesn't have a circular radiation patter. It's more balloon shaped. Handy when you need a little more gain in one direction. Say you have LOS but you need a little more punch through in a direction to compensate for foliage or brush you'd turn the antenna to put the 14 dB lobe in that direction. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've found this on the Hytera site...be a nice little base for a off-grid system. It's still networkable (I don't know if Hytera can be networked in analog like Simoco can) and uses what is essentially a circulator as a duplexer. http://www.hytera.us/Catalogs/Products.aspx?id=43

There is a local 2m repeater that has what we have dubbed "ID Maddness". It's a homebrew controller in a 100W Micor. ID's (in voice) every 10 minutes and then has a 5 minute TOT that also IDs at the end of an initial transmission. So if your feeling like playing some shenanigans, you get it to transmit "N5ZTL Repeater Lubbock, PL 88.5" every 5 minutes. Of course it's one of the best performing repeaters in the area...and never gets used to UHF being the popular band.

Quantars are PS grade machines. They'll run full duty (which is rare on GMRS but not on amateur) regardless. Power sells in LMR...so generally PS agencies tend to get the most they can afford.