gortex2

Per the manual all frequencies are all ready hard coded. It says 8 repeater then 24 additional repeater channels. One of the pages showed these labeled as DIY with a number. It appears all you can do is put a tone in it.

No. The base has a load in it also to make it 108" per say. You need a 6" antenna for a 1/4 wave antenna. Very reasonably priced on amzon.

That's because 036N is not a valid code. 032 and 043 would be standard DPL tones. What kind of repeater is it that requires that code ? Must be a CCR style repeater. The seem to use alot of off the wall stuff.

Why would you swap it out ? Its much more stable with aluminum. Fiberglass will move around.

What is the intended use of both ? This will help answer the question. If this is a throw away handheld to use here and there the choice above is fine. If you want something that will last a a heavy use handheld none of the CCR stuff is in that category.

We spent weeks debating over the use of CH19 as a "road channel" as your not allowed to use it above Line A. Everyone laughed and said no one lives north of Line A. Now we are debating a repeater above Line A. Odd

I still am baffled why folks buy the Ed Fong when in the end they could buy a TRAM or Browning for same price and be a better antenna.

I would start here - https://www.repeater-builder.com/motorola/r1225/pdf/motorola-r1225-sm-6880905z53-o.pdf https://www.repeater-builder.com/zetron/pdfs/zetron-37-manual.pdf https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/41757881/motorola-r1225-gr1225-repeaterpdf-the-radioreferencecom-forums Basically you need to reprogram the repeater for General I/O. Both TX RX with CSQ. Flat Audio out and most importantly Repeater with External Controller. After getting the GR done you need to make sure dip switches and programming is right on the Zetron.

Why dont you just use your radio and dont worry about it ? Radios cost money to buy quality stuff. If you buy a CCR and CCR meter you get what you pay for.

This was discussed in the past. Its highly doubtful you'll be able to put something on BLM land any longer. Find a place in town.

I have used mine in blizzard conditions once and once in rain so hard my DTV was out and both times the message went thru. I'm not saying it will alwasy go thru but those tests did for me. I would anticipate if you know there is a storm coming most comms would be up and sending a "are you ok" message after or during the event would go thru. But I also think 90% of the time a TXT doing the same will go thru. One other thought is alot of times local internet stays up for hours while power is out. If you have wifi there are multiple "chat" based apps that will work as long as you have WiFi or other ethernet connection. I dont rely on text for 90% of my messaging to be honest. Yes a $300 Garmin is expensive but in the end is it really ? Back to your UHF idea. If you get a mobile radio to use as a base get a decent antenna and line. Most folks spend money over and over trying different things. LMR400 is fine if you can keep it under 50' long. The Laird FG4603 is my go to antenna but its more than most want to spend. The Browning BR-6143 is a decent economy antenna that's just install and forget. The other cheaper ones require you to tune and assemble the antenna. Without spending funds on testers and stuff it takes more time. My parents got a Laird 4603 with 25' of LMR400 and a Midland Mobile. It works for them. Not sure he can get 10 miles but 5 miles are fine to another mobile. Base to Base may be further.

Sorry but I don't equate a BTECH any better than the UV5R. They are both CCR units. Depending on location and what you can do with antenna systems there is alot to consider. At my house I have a commercial VHF antenna on the roof and with a 25 watt mobile get 15 miles around the house to a mobile. On UHF I also have a commercial UHF antenna (DB404) and get about 10 miles. Both antenna's are same height. All radios are commercial LMR gear. I don't see you getting 10-15 miles with handhelds unless there is a repeater in the center. And again that repeater would need to be on battery backup and be a good repeater. Height is king with any UHF RF signal so a repeater on a 300' tower in the center will work way better than one on your garage with the antenna at 15' in the air. I hate to say this but a cell site will stay online longer than most ham/gmrs sites. I personally have a Garmin Inreach for emergency use. At least its talking to a satellite. The safety plan is $15 a month and to me 100% worth it even if I don't use it. An option like that may be better for 2-3 family members vs radio.

Personally radio communications for an emergency are limited. If your intent is to talk to family HAM may be a better option just for the resources that are out there. But in a true emergency dont rely on any. 90% of the ham stuff as well as GMRS does not have battery backup or if it does its not for extended use. While I have one repeater in a generator backup building none of the rest are and are off air during power outages.

AS you know by the rules its not allowed. What's done is an entirely different matter. I am confident its used where ever it has coverage. Considering a major amount of folks have no license in the US and use GMRS daily I doubt the FCC would even get involved in it.

I agree. When I was up north we had 3 UHF repeaters. One had really good coverage and wa kinda quiet so a few of us would use it alot for small chatter. Never long draw out conversations but to be honest more like GMRS. "joe im on my way to xyz. meet you there, ok, etc" The local club linked it to a STWD system (before DMR) and now we had to listen to guys clear across the state rag chewing all day. Insert DMR and now not one repeater in that area is a local repeater. Now none of them are used. Since moving I found 2 DMR UHF repeaters. Neither I can hit from my house so dont use them but when in those are's they are non stop chatter and never with guys nearby. If you switch to local its crickets. I use GMRS as a utility 99% of the time. Calling a jeep in front or behind me, talking to my father in his MH in front or behind me or local chat with wife or parents, "grab milk" etc. The thought of meeting folks and being a place for that baffles my mind as thats never been what GMRS was for. Not sure where folks keep seeing thats the purpose for GMRS.

I ask this question every day when hams tell me UHF is full. There are a ton of repeater pairs but many are tied to xyz ham who may put up a repeater someday. Thats the issue with the "coordinators" in my opinion. I live in them middle of no where. Have 1 2M repeater within 100 miles and when i asked for my own 2m got told no. So I just put up one on my pair. But I agree. Tons of spectrum in ham bands

Didn't we just discuss this last month when I asked the question ?

WRAM hit the nail on the head. I had this same issue arise on my main repeater. I've asked about this before and gotten beaten down on all the reasons hams are moving to GMRS. I get part of it. But I don't care to hear what you had for lunch, or why your doctor is asking you to take this or that med. Go back to 440 and do it. I had one repeater that had a great footprint. Working with the AHJ of the area put it in a county park, for folks to ask for help and work with SAR folks on incidents. In less that 6 months it turned into 3 guys gab site. I would hear the same conversation in the AM on 2M while driving to work that I would here on GMRS after lunch. Thats not why I put up the repeater. Not once did I ever hear one of the 3 hams call their spouse, child or parent. It was just a spot they would chat to get away from the 2M repeater. I finally removed it and unlisted it. Over time we have reinstalled it but its not listed. I'm sure at some point someone will find it and as long as we dont get the 2 hour booboo chats it will be fine.

They have that but its called Amateur Radio.

Exact reason none of mine are listed any longer.

being many trucks don't even run cb I don't see them on GMRS. My SIL drive truck. I asked hm why he had no CB and his comment was I use my phone.

Yes in normal cases most repeaters have a hang time. Not all do however. For my case I have multiple that do not have hang time. Only repeat what they hear. I did it for this reason. Had too many folks keychunking and got tired of it. So no delay. It repeats fine when you talk but drops when CSQ And TSQ/DPL drop

As said using commercial software for the most part go to the manufacturer. Ive used commercial radios for over 30 years. One recommendation would be to use similar to what those around you do if you can. Makes programming and testing a bit easier. I'm a MSI fan and all my gear for them most part is Motorola. I have a couple Kenwood and ICOM radios around that I've ended up with but everything I buy is Motorola. Once you get with a "brand" you'll find most are similar to program in that brand. In the past ICOM was a good unit and software and stuff is pretty easy to get. Alot of our SAR folks standardized on ICOM for cost and benefits. Kenwood also has some good stuff. To be honest the old Midland LMR gear was built like a tank. Biggest issue is alot of old gear is DOS based. Find something newer and you will be good.

XTL is a solid little unit. I ran a VHF and UHF one in the JK until I swapped them for the APX. The W Series heads are nice but I prefer the 03 in my JT. Handheld controls seem to compliment the jeeps a little more.

The only true test is a dummy load on your meter and verify you see high power into the dummy load. If its 25 +/- 10% then you can dig into antenna system but without a true known level its hard to know if its the radio or the meter.