AdmiralCochrane

This is why there are Part 95 certified radios.

No problems whatsoever, but knowing the TYT 9800's reputation, I waited until they were on sale and bought an extended warranty. If you noticed the mic has more buttons than the normal TYT DTMF mic you are correct. I did a lot of research before I bought the 9800 and the mic upgrade was one of the things I read about multiple places, so I went ahead and did it. The mic was very inexpensive and required a minor rewire, I think it was around $20. In freezing weather the chip in the mic won't engage the transmitter until it has warmed up. If I am anxious to talk right away I have to hold it on the heat outlet for a couple of minutes the first time I transmit. After that it stays warmed up.

I've built a few for less than $20 at times. It's possible to make a functional vertical antenna for even less.

I resemble that

With a scanner or SDR receiver you can find Fixed Stations transmitting data streams in my area

Sometimes you are too generous. I don't know where you find the time.

Even more simplified: if you were standing out in the clear would you see the repeater antenna with a telescope? Would you see the person with the HT without a telescope?

Probably more than half are using them without a license.

Thank you Miss Emily Litella

I'm not sure

Knife edge refraction works best with hard surfaces, esp on UHF (GMRS is in the UHF range). Large, hard deep rocks are more likely to give knife edge than soft soils.

This is probably the best one for original poster https://www.repeaterbook.com/gmrs/details.php?state_id=42&ID=84 I think the idiot was on .675

But ignore that one in southern PA. He will be quick to tell you it is his personal repeater and you do not have permission to use it. I was below Cecilton one day and he was giving someone hell for keying up on it.

Duh

Where's my tinfoil hat?

Agreed. Changing existing frequency use to narrow band is a fantasy because there is too much existing equipment that people will not discard just because the FCC changes rules. If the FCC allows any proprietary digital protocol in GMRS I would forever suspect bribes were paid.

Your brother's antenna wire length and quality might not be as good as yours. Total coax length is important on GMRS. Unless his radio is right under that 20 ft antenna height, he may need LMR400 equivalent as well.

I am interested in trying NVIS, but much of what I read about it says it is DIFFICULT. That won't stop me from trying

I'm sorry I don't remember the model of the Diamond antenna on my vehicle. It is a fold over, but it has a locking collar that has to turn 3 full turns to release. Basically impossible to be folded by road wind. I did have some trouble with the cheap coax end on the coax that came with it, it was slightly undersized and if I hit a tree branch the whole antenna fell off the truck. Until I replaced it with a proper end, I kept a safety string attached to the antenna so when it decoupled, it was still where I could find it.

Never thought of that. Also neglected to understand capacitance load of plain open circuit paired wires until I watched a Youtube by AlphaPhoenix challenging people to predict the action of electron flow in a DC branch circuit with open and closed branches.

On 2m I have heard ducting all times of the year when the approaching weather front was STRONG, from maybe 14 hours before the storm until an hour before.

65cm is damn close to 70cm. My antenna is under 1.8 swr all across both bands.

Popup blocker stopped me from reading it live, but it was downloadable. My comment: New enforcement nightmare. Just because people should be licensed to be legal doesn't mean they will be. If this was approved, within 2 months a new Baofeng GMRS+ would be on Amazon and about 3% of users under the new rules would hold + licenses.

I think I have the same antenna that is on the back on the back of my Wrangler. I had it on the top of my ladder rack on my big Ford van for a while.

I feel the urge to ... no, never mind