Jaybee

I have one on order. With luck it will do the job. Despite ordering from two different places, I think I may have gotten the same adapter twice - and it is not quite right. Thanks for the reply. Jim

I've just gotten a hold of a used cdm1250. Seems like nice radio. I've got the software and cabling all sorted out so I can program it. Simplex seems fine. I have all the channels programmed and all seems to be working. I'm having trouble programming the repeaters to work. I'm pretty sure DPL/TPL codes are right - as I have the repeater working on a baby midland and a different HT. It does not seem to open the repeater. There are alot of other features here I am not familiar with, and I suspect something is interfering (signaling tab maybe?). Are there any good rules of thumb or common gotchas here someone could point me to? Is there just a stock GMRS codeplug someone can point me to or be might be willing to share that I can look at? The only other issue i am having is with the coax connector - the mini-uhf. (that is the great thing about standards - everybody has one). I've purchased two different min-uhf-to so-239 adapters and I am not satisfied with the way either of them fit/thread on. I've just ordered a quality pigtail cable to try to solve that. I suppose half the fun is figuring this stuff out. I would welcome any insights. Jim

Thanks for the reply. I think the power supply (samlex sec-1235m) is ok - it is powering other, larger radios (not at the same time) via a rigrunner without an issue. The repeater I am trying to hit is the rugged575 in naperville - yes I know in the sample the tones don't match. I did not want to publish the actual tones online. I can it it from my Btech HT, and my Midland mx115 without issue. In the case of the midland, using the same feedline and antenna, at much lower power (15w). Ignoring the repeater settings, I can talk to other radios/other channels just fine. I have some other radios that will receive only on the transmit frequency (467.575) so I can see that it is transmitting and hear my audio. It does seem to come down to the repeater settings/tones. Oddly, I expected some amount of fiddling to get the programming cable and software working - once I had those I assumed i was home-free. Pride before the fall. The docs on the radio are a little sparse, but I think I finally have my hands on all the programming and tech documents, and am working my way through some of the more obscure settings to see if there is anything there. Welcome thoughts. Jim

I had a similar issue - and the cable I had had an issue up near where it connected to the radio. While it worked fine on a different baofeng radio - the housing caught just a bit on the lip of the recessed area where it plugged into the radio - and it did not allow the two plugs to quite seat all the way. I shaved a tiny bit of plastic off the cable plug (not the radio), and once it seated properly it was ok. I have no idea if this is your situation, but it sounds very similar. Hope it helps. Jim

I wanted to thank folks for their suggestions. I've tried/examined each of them. I still don't have a working config, but knowing that it is not obvious makes me feel at least somewhat better. I'm going to keep chasing this - and welcome any thoguhts. Jim

Right now I have the tone on rx and tx. If I key the mike and transmit it does not appear I am being heard. I do however seem to hear other chatter on the repeater. It seems the tone the repeater is transmitting are successfully "opening the squelch" on my unit, but the tones I am transmitting are not successful in opening the repeater. On a different thread someone suggested that if the radio was set to narrowband, perhaps it was too narrow for the tones to work, but in the config I have it set to wide. I am relived that at least it is not an obvious problem. The tones in my example are artificial as I did not want to publish the actual tones to he repeater. Any insights welcome. Jim

Anyone with experience programming an (Icom) ic-f621-2 tr - or using the CS-f620tr software? This is a commercial rig, and I am attempting to program it for a gmrs repeater. I have the programming software, and programming cable and all of that is working great. For regular channels (non-repeater) everything is working fine with the programming and the operation. I can program it for all channels and test it with my ht. When I attempt to program a repeater with a dtcs tone, I am able to hear them, but they are unable to hear me. It seems the tone is not "opening" the repeater. For instance: (not actual data) sample line below Tx Freq 467.575 Rx Freq: 462.575 Tx tone: 031N Rx tone: 031N I am successful on the same repeater with an HT or another mobile, both of which are lower power, and in the case if the ht, a lessor antenna (and of course completely different programming software). It seems it might be specific to the radio/setup, with which I am a total noob. The frequency offsets and some of the other settings are a bit more manual than some of what I am used to, it is entirely probable I have screwed up something obvious. It seems I may have similar issues with some other repeaters that use ctcss tones (makes me think it is my setup), but they are further away and reaching them is not a certainty. I would be grateful to anyone with any experience, insights or obvious next steps. thanks Jim

Lots of good detailed information here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpU3Sme7lH4

Ah grounding and bonding. There is a topic that can generate some heat often without much fire. I'd go to youtube and search for "grounding ham radio" and watch a few. Ward Silver (N0AX) has done a number of talks on this, and has a bunch of vids out there - here is one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpU3Sme7lH4 Lots of good info there, and references if you want more. Hope it helps. Jim

There are three I'd like to be able to hit. from the HT I can get one solid, one sporadically, and miss one altogether. Based on chatter, it should not take much more to reach it. Presumably either a better antenna, or more height might do it - both would be icing on the cake.

Hey - relatively new to GMRS, but been on other bands for a while. We've just gotten a new repeater in the area, that make this much more accessible, so i getting set up. I'm looking to add a base antenna to the house. I'm mostly going for height (it will be about 20 feet), and not spending megabucks$$. Since I can pretty much it it from my HT, huge power is not the primary concern. but I'd like to not make any big mistakes. I do start running into issues if the antenna gets too big. I'm looking at two antennas at the moment. If anyone has any direct experience with either of these, I'd welcome the insight. 1) An open stub jpole - either bought or built like this one (I have the a 2 meter/70 centimetre jpole like this and it has served me well):: http://www.arrowantennas.com/inst/OSJ152-462.pdf 2) a BR6157 omni like this one. https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00L8G1O7S/?coliid=I10E2OE6JBA4IO&colid=3OC9EBOLYZLC3&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it Costs would be comparable (I'll spend as much on feedline as the antenna). #2 has a slightly smaller footprint. Arguably a better radiation pattern. an "N" connector. Honestly - it is something a bit different for me which is a plus. #1 is more of a know quantity for me, and is a common type of antenna. I lean towards DIY anyway. It is a bit bigger or more noticeable. It is dual band, on the off chance i ever want to mess with MURS (I don't really see it). Welcome thoughts - or other obvious choices in a similar price range/footprint size. I am kinda looking to narrow things down rather than open them up. Thanks for any insights. Jim