Citizen

When I knew I would be traveling to the Denver area, rather than contacting each individual repeater owner, I contacted the Denver GMRS club as a non-member, and asked for permission to use the various repeaters around Denver and Co. Springs. Their response was a friendly [paraphrased] "Why don't you just join us? We get lots of requests for travelers (e.g. temporary repeater users) and we encourage them to just join up, which gives you access [tones] to ALL or our repeaters, no permission necessary." So I signed up, and used their repeaters, and talked to the guys there. What a great bunch. They were welcoming, friendly, talked freely, etc., all to a stranger and temporary user of their system. I thanked them publicly, and promised to be back, and so I am retaining my membership with them. I highly encourage responsible local GMRS clubs. ...

What radio are you using? The only 550 repeater that I know of in Houston that is online and not stale, is Memorial Park. It uses a DPL. Join/Log into TexasGMRS.net (it's free) to find the correct DPL (don't reveal tones in open forums like this that can be viewed by the general public, because unlicensed trolls can find them and abuse the repeater). Set your transmit DPL to the correct tone you previously found. Note the "N" or "I", for Normal or Inverted. If not specifically stated, the tone should be Normal. The Memorial Park repeater has great range, but still make sure you are close enough to it (drive to within 5 miles for an initial test if possible). Beware that currently this repeater is experiencing some technical problems (like timing out to soon), but it still does work, as people still do use it. If all else fails, PM/DM me and I will help. I live in the Houston metro area and use the Memorial Park repeater occasionally. Note also that there are other linked repeaters in Houston that you might be able to use, depending on where you are in and around Houston. Good luck. ...

I have one RT76P. It is my go to radio for an HT. I like most things about it. For simple changes, it is super easy to program on the fly right on the radio front panel. This is an advantage over so many other (mobile) radios that have such difficult menus that you must program using software, and complicated HTs that require you to take a copy of the instructions with you. I hate that. And the RT76P seems to take beating, and keeps on ticking like the Energizer bunny. I have used it hiking in the mountains and it performed well with the original antenna. I was able to contact the Front Range Metro (Denver) repeater from Mt. Falcon. (Yes, I was high in the mountains, but still obstructed by trees). Also, I used it locally on the Chatfield (Littleton) repeater with crystal-clear coms both ways (distance unknown, but not high in the mountains). To change from narrow to wide band on any given channel: Press menu once Use arrow keys to find menu item 5 “bandwidth” Press menu again Use arrow keys to select narrow or wide (on mine “wide” is misspelled as “width”) Press menu yet again to SAVE Press PTT once to exit menu (or just let it time-out, approx 5 seconds) That’s it! Yes, for about $40, I think it’s a good choice. Sorry, I don’t know anything about using the RT76P as a repeater, or the Tidradio Bluetooth working with the RT76P. But you really don’t need it, the RT76P software is free from the Retevis site, why not just use it? You will however, need the cable, if you are going to only program from a computer. Good luck. T. ... PS. BIg Thank You to the Front-Range GMRS guys & gals for letting me sign up and use your repeaters, as I was a visitor there (and loved my visit, and just like Arnold, "I'll be back"). : )

The Midland MXT115 has been a useful and reliable radio for me. I own two of them. I very much like the small size, which Midland has coined the term “Micro-Mobile”. It is rugged and seems to be very good quality. The only complaint I’ve heard from other people is that they can’t hear me as well (or as loud) as people using wide-band radios. So Midland has now upgraded the MXT115 (and added 10% to the price). The newer MXT115 is (reportedly) wide-band capable and can do split tones. I’ve considered buying two more of these just for the wide-band capability (I currently have no use for the split tone capability, but may in the future). It’s just such a shame to decommission my two existing radios and I hesitate to do so. There’s just got to be a way to convert the older MXT115’s to be wide-band capable. I know it’s my problem, and cannot expect anyone else to do my work for me. But I don’t know where to begin. Does anybody have any leads on if or how this could be done? Maybe the Chirp guys are working on it already, he said hopefully…. ...

+1 I also have repeater input frequencies programmed in my scanner. With 200 channels available, I struggle to find frequencies to scan, so why not put in the repeater input frequencies as well? Also, if I hear someone on a repeater input frequency, it tells me they are close enough to me that I could talk to them on simplex, possibly even better than using repeater duplex, as the repeater may be 10 or 20+ miles away. If I can hear his repeater input, he's probably within just a few miles from me. ...

If your only need is for camping, you could get by with Midland GXT1000's if you are OK with simplex only, We use them for hiking. Very reliable, crystal clear coms on low power, very simple to use and durable. ...

I retired from a large company that had numerous buildings, some blocks apart from each other. To their credit, they ran a shuttle bus service, sort of like an airport rental car shuttle bus. They were equipped with business band UHF radios. The base and every bus had the roger beep on. Just wait ‘till you find yourself held captive on one of the buses, and all the drivers and base carry on a convo of short, 1-5 word sentences back and forth at near full-volume for about 10-15 minutes! Yeah, that’s right, you’ll get tired of the roger-beep REAL quick. It’s already been said that the radio(s) belong to the owner, and not me, so I know I didn’t have a say in the matter. So I never complained. And I suppose I didn’t have to listen to the conversation either (I could have just gotten off the bus and walked, right?). But it sure would have been nice if the programmer would have shut off the default roger beep on all the radios before mounting in the buses. And it would have been a heck-of-a-nice courtesy if the driver had turned down the radio a few hundred-thousand decibels, as I'm sure I suffered hearing loss. But who am I to say…. ...

I know, old thread, but I'm just now seeing it. I can second what has been said about the Midland GXT1000 radios. Very good quality, durable, reliable, crystal clear TX & RX. True they are not repeater capable, but if you can get past that, they are my choice for simplex operation. We use them car to car, never more than several miles apart, so simplex works well out where there are no repeaters anyway. ...

Well, I found where I read that the AT-779UV should put out 25 watts, at least in VHF (and only 20 on UHF). I knew I wasn't going crazy.... Let me explain: I have two AT-779UV's that I bought separately. Before I got the radio(s), I donwloaded the AT-779UV Instruction manual. On the last page (p9), under Transmitter Power, it shows "VHF: 25/5W, UHF: 20/5W" (see image). That said, and in conflict, the hard-copy instruction booklet for Transmitter Power shows "UHF>18W VHF>20W". I double checked myself to make sure I'm not mistaken. And these are only what the instructions "say", which probably are not accurate. Oh, the CCR instruction manual writers strike again! Unfortunately, I do not (yet) have a power meter to actually measure the two radios myself, so will rely on @OffroaderX's video as stated. ...

Uhm, I believe the correct spelling would be "Geez". ? : )

I have in my notes that the AT-779UV at high power is actually 25 watts. Don't remember where I read that, but it lead me to specifically make a note of it. ...

Wondering how you might do that? AFAIK, the MXT105 does not allow programming. It also does not allow FRS channels 8-14. And, the only power settings are low/high, 1w/5w respectively. ...

I have two of the Anytone radios mentioned (the AT-779uv), they don't have a lock on the mic. Inevitably, I hit a button I don't want to, and that's while driving or stationary sitting at my desk in my shack. Usually it's the up/down buttons on the top, which changes the freq at the most critical time when I just pickup the mic to talk. Hate that. I also get the welding sound in my vehicle when in motion. When stopped, it does ok. My HTs don't have this problem. Other than those two things, the Retevis/Radioddity/Anytone radios seem to be very good for the price for a 25w radio. Back on topic, as the OP posted about the RT98. This seems to be the base radio from which the Midland MXT115 is taken from. I don't have the RT98, but I do have two of the MXT115's, and I get good performance out of them. Main drawback of the MXT115 is it can't be programmed away from GMRS (that I know of), in case you wanted to use it for Ham. Main drawback of the RT98 is that the mic does not appear to be detachable. On both, I like that there are no buttons on the face of the mic. To me, the attractiveness of both these radios is the size, while still putting out 15w. You'll notice they are both smaller than (almost) any other GMRS or Ham radio on the market (except the MXT105, which is a bit smaller, but is GMRS only and is not repeater capable). I have come to highly appreciate the smaller sizes, in both my shack and especially in vehicles. ...

That absolutely clears it up, thanks! I love radio, but while old, I'm still a newbie. T.

Marc, As low UHF frequencies are actually higher than the high VHF frequencies, I don't completely understand why lower UHF would yield better range/results than higher VHF. In no way am I disputing this, as your real world tests prove, I just don't understand it. Do you have any further insight as to why lower UHF yields better results than higher VHF? Thanks, Thomas ...

Thanks for that info. Correction to my earlier post: My mistake, I DO see the 500 channel slots when I pull up the software. I too was going by memory and must have been thinking of another radio that has only 128. T.

+ 2 on the Anytone AT-779UV. It solved a few problems for me that a more expensive base radio was having (details of which better discussed in a technical thread). I even bought a 2nd one for my vehicle. One thing though: WyoJoe: I am using the Windows based software and I only see slots for 128 channels and can't seem to go any higher. How are you able to see 500 channels? It would be helpful for me, because I like to match transceiver channel numbers with my scanner & other radios. Thanks.

Agree with MichaelLAX, temporarily delete the receive tone and test. Reason for only temporarily deleting the tone; in addition to a second repeater, there could also be simplex traffic from kiddos down the street on that channel. ...

This is a very good thread, and well worth our time, so I'll add my comments. There has been for some time now something called the 3-3-3 Plan, which in an emergency situation, everyone who agrees adheres to. Basically it advocates turning on your emergency radio for 3 minutes, every three hours, on channel-3. More info can be found here: https://radiofreeq.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/3-3-3-radio-plan-for-shtf-communications/ It's a more detailed read, so here is an excerpt of the best benefits of the plan: 1. Easy for everyone to remember the “Rule of Three”. 2. Conserves precious battery life for walkie talkies. 3. Gets everyone on the air at the same time. 4. Sets a schedule of 8 times per day to call each other. 5. Avoids impractical hourly schedules that can be a burden in real-life scenarios. 6. Enables the use of short transmissions for optimum success and security. 7. Three hours between contacts is enough time to rest in a survival situation. 8. A person can walk 8 miles in 3 hours, the practical distance limit of handheld radios over average terrain. 9. 3-3-3 is fully interoperable and compatible with the alternative 3-2-1 plan. "Channel 3 is CB-3, FRS-3, or MURS-3. CB, FRS, and MURS are the most common types of radios used by survivalists and preppers." FRS-3 is the same frequency as GMRS-3, so is available on GMRS radios. Could also include Marine-3. The site also mentions Ham national call freqs, since Ham doesn't have channel numbers. In summary, I think there is no need for us to reinvent the wheel trying to decide to use FRS-1, or GRMS-19 or 20, or CB-19, or whatever. If everyone agreed to the 3-3-3 plan, there would no need for all the back-and-forth discussion about what to do on what service and on what channel. Agreeing to this 3-3-3 emergency plan does not negate, promote or interfere with the GMRS channel 19 or 20 travel channel debate, IMO. Thomas ...

I have the Retevis version of the radio (RT76P), and I bought the battery eliminator for it off Amazon for $11. Haven't had the need to use it yet, as the battery I have has been outstanding, but having the eliminator for $11 is cheap insurance. Here's the Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Retevis-Charger-Battery-Eliminator-Self-Driving/dp/B08SW433VC Tested and work s great. Should work on all the clones, I think. ...

Marine channel 16 (156.80 mHz) is the USCG International Distress calling frequency, recognized by most civilized countries. Although not required (I believe), the CG asks all boats/ships to monitor Ch 16, so good job there, Tye and Jeff. Although not a mariner, I monitor marine ch. 16 on my scanner at home, as I’m close enough to the coast that I occasionally hear the CG broadcast calls for assistance when vessels are in peril around Galveston, or persons are reported missing or in the water. Heard one just 2 days ago (capsized kayak in Galveston bay, person unaccounted for). Additional useless notes: Marine ch. 13 (156.65) is for ship bridge-to-bridge and ch. 9 (156.45) is the general boater calling frequency. I also scan these, but have yet to hear anything. …

As this is a GMRS forum, some readers here who are not Hams may not know, so just to clarify: 446.000 mHz is designated as the national call frequency for UHF (for VHF it's 146.520 mHz). ...

Oh yes, I'm aware of Windows birth being a market chase of the Mac. No disagreement there. But I'm also old enough to remember the Mac OS was borne of (or at least is a flat out rip-off of) Xerox. No, not disparaging Apple products at all as far as quality. I'm sorry you got that impression, so no need to strongly disagree. Apple products are reliable and popular. Oh, I assure you, I do not fear Apple products. ... I'm sorry my remark about personally not touching Apple products offended anyone. I was hoping to NOT go into a discussion of Apple, as it digresses. But if necessary, and to my own demise I'm sure, we can move discussion to another thread and recount the geopolitical cavorting of Apple. It won't be pretty, and I don't want to go there, but so be it...if we must. ...

I absolutely hate buttons on the mic (other that PTT of course). You don’t need it. Here’s my observations, sorry if this steps on some toes. 1- Base or mobile, inevitably I hit one of the buttons that changes the radio, usually it’s the channel up/down button, and I lose the conversation temporarily. Very frustrating! So I have to employ the keypad lock (if available), which also means I have to deactivate it when I DO want to make a change. 2. Very unsafe while driving. Takes two hands, which takes both hands off the steering wheel. Now there are those that will say I should be able to do it with one hand, and I can, using my thumb and some dexterity, but with difficulty and while looking at it. So it forces me to take my eyes off the road to look at the mic. Very dangerous! Of course one can say the same applies when using buttons/knobs on the radio face plate. But I can glance down only for 1 second to find the radio and put my hand on it, and do the rest by feel while watching the road. When I first got into GMRS, I was very annoyed that probably 98%+ of the radios have keypads on the mic. So I get it, that’s what the customer wants. But I’m in the 2% that don’t want it. One of the few GMRS radios I could find without a keypad on the mic was the low power/simplex Midland MXT100/105, and I have a couple of those. I like placing them in family cars (other than my own) because it reduces the chances of non-radio-savvy family drivers from messing up the radio accidentally. But for my own personal, non-family use, I was forced to buy several other radios as well to be able to use repeaters and have more power output. Thus, I have a couple of Anytone AT-779UV’s and MXT115’s, and they are very good mobile radios due to size, but I wish they didn’t have a keypad on the mic (I normally pre-program new radios on my computer before installation in a vehicle, so don't need it in the car). Now for full disclosure, I DO have a Retevis RT76P which does have a keypad, and I very much like that radio for a number or reasons. But it is an HT, so whenever I use it, I’m either sitting in my chair at home, or hiking, and in both cases I have both hands available and there is no danger from distracted driving. Just my 2 cents. ...

I too loved XP. Vista was a total disappointment. But you know what was worse than Vista? Yep, you guessed it....Windows 8. I still have 1 machine with XP, and I hated to stop using it (it was a real work-horse), but after many years of use, the plastic shell began cracking with age, so the screen hinge failed, and also the battery tray clips broke and so wouldn't hold a battery in place. Windows 7 was pretty good. It was the last MS OS before MS tried to look like Apple. I started using W7 because of a forced upgrade, as my company upgraded all their PCs (later, they skipped W8, thankfully, and went strait to W10). I got use to W10, but now am worried about being forced to go to W11 someday. I used to be a Microsoft fan, but lately every time they "upgrade" something, other things begin to not work right. Still, won't touch Apple products, but that's another story. ...