gortex2

I do not. In my LMR world my meter costs many thousands more than the ham meter so in practice it gets used and put back in the box. At home I use my trusty BIRD when needed and put back in its leather case. If per say you did not have good grounding and took a hit to the antenna you will buy a new meter on top of radio. As long as your antenna is a solid unit it should not change much over time. I think checking them yearly is the only time I use my meter, unless something changes.

Part of the issue is GMRS is normally not intended for open communications. Many folks have systems to use with their families and such as I do. I don't have anything linked that another user can access nor do i offer it to the public to use. It serves my purpose of a community system for my family and friends only. There is a misconception that GMRS is like CB and Amateur radio and many do not use it that way. I know some do and I think in CA its more used like ham. Easy way as you said is your own repeater. Location is always the issue for coverage but the RT97 with the linking module and a good antenna/line will get you on the air quick. Depending on location you can mount the RT97 to the mast just below the antenna and run the power to it to lesson the loss factor of cable. (and price). Just something to think about.

I guess that's my question. Other than remote head what does the KG offer that a basic GMRS radios does not ? I find that most of the feature people ask for are more for HAM stuff they do than GMRS. Just trying to understand. Quick search shows 30 channels as with Midland. Is it the other bands you listen to that you like the KG better for ? I'll use my APX for that stuff. I also noted the KG costs the same as the 500.

So because some one on Youtube says its so everyone will believe it. Why not just use 446.000...I mean no one gets GMRS licenses so why bother with amateur...Heck and most $25.00 baofengs already have it programmed !

Do people actually need more than 30 channels ? I guess I don't live near 300 repeaters. In NY I just had 3 to choose from so it was simple. 99% of the folks that will use this radio wont even use a repeater. those that do use 1 maybe 2 repeaters. All my repeaters use the same tone so its simple. I dont even setup "other" repeater channels as I just change to CSQ if I'm out of my area. With the 500 its pretty quick and simple to change a PL. Guess to each there own but coming from 8 GMRS channels in the past to now doesn't change my mind much. BTW on my APX I use MPL which allows me to change PL on the fly. I normally leave it in monitor while driving the east coast in my work truck. In my Jeeps I just use the midlands and keep the APX for PS stuff. As for Frequency you can add that in the programming software. While I like the idea I would probably use something like 20-675 or 20R-675 and not the entire frequency. On Ch1-7 I don't care about the frequency as those only get used with folks nearby on handhelds. In reality this radios is a step up from the 400 and the other Midlands of late so glad they did some good changes. Oh and the NMO 1/4 wave antenna is a huge step from that POS little mag mount they used to ship.

Not sure what features you think are missing. For a out of the box simple radio thats a good deal. They will sell thousands of these with out batting an eyelash. Everyone bashes Midland but they are one of the few folks out there that have been making GMRS radios for decades. I'll grab the 575 when its released.

Not sure who you talked to but both CAC and Wireless will work on GR1225. Sounds like maybe you called the 1800Motorola number and not the actual shops.

Stanby Generator on house with a 1000 gallon propane tank (Furnace, Stove, Generator). All radios are powered via 48V DC plant that will run everything for most likely 4-5 days. Also have many battery packs and portable generators along with a 35' MH with another 7K generator on board....

Being you dont list a location its hard to recommend a local shop.

ICOM, Yasue and Kenwood all make quality amateur gear. I have a Kenwood TM D700 that has been beat to hell. In my new JT I picked up the FTM-400 and its also a nice clean mobile. I know a few who use them as a base now and really enjoy it. I'd look at one of the name brands before I'd spend money on a CCR. Many are not much more than those. My FTM was picked up at HRO on sale for $499 during a xmas sale.

I have had the pleasure in the past to work with the FCC. Mostly public safety related but did have one come check my GMRS repeater site. More out of curiosity of his. As said funds today are hard. Whats harder is the same as every field. Finding folks who want to do the job. They are still out there but the chance of a guy knocking on your door to check your radio is slim to none.

Rich good job on the website changes. Appreciate all you do for the community.

Definately a Cell Phone antenna. Converted many in the past to VHF and UHF. There were 2 models. One had a 6/32 thread on the whip/stud and the other was 1/4-20. It would allow a standard ASP stud to screw on and then an ASP whip. By the time you replace the TNC and find the whip and stud its probably cheaper to buy a new NMO Mag mount.

Just got home from a 2000 mile vacation. Lots of interstate and back roads (Despise interstates). Had my APX on the "original" GMRS list. Dead silence. Did have my HT scanning 1-7 and heard alot of chatter on and off on CH1 depending on location. Most of it sounded to be family traveling. Down in some of the "historical" areas we stopped alot of chatter on 1-4. As reference my CB was pretty busy on 95 thru SC as it was dead stop for an hour at one point. Even out on the beach rides CB still had chatter.

I wouldn't put a Rt97 on that much cable. Thats close to 2 DB of cable loss. On a Low Power repeater about half of your power will be gone on 75' of LMR. I wouldn't run much more than 25' of cable for a RT97. YMMV but the shorter the cable the better for low power.

What do you think is strange ? Some have DCS and not CTCSS. Without looking up the repeaters its not uncommon.

Not all repeaters are linked and if they are doesnt mean they go all over. This isn't HAM radio although many try to make it that way. There are all sort of reasons why a repeater may or may not be linked.

To find out what it really is you can pick up a cheap SDR receiver and try to decode some of it. If its encrypted you wont be able to hear audio but the data should say if its DRM or what. On the DMR topic the other issue is the CCR market. I had a guy hand me his radio when he couldn't talk to others on the jeep ride. It was a Baofeng DMR radio. After a few minutes realized he had all his channels set for digital. Many folks dont know how to program a radio so thats adding to the issue. I told him to throw out the radios and handed him a new set of motorola talkabouts. Worked great all weekend.

Id grab the Laird GF4500 antenna and a 3' or so LMR style jumper. Heck 1/2" harline would be ideal. Think you;ll be happy with the FG4500. I run it on my Motorhome with the RT97 and it works great. I run about 12' of RG142.

So lets move this discussion to the ham forum.

The DB404 and 408 is a rock solid repeater antenna or home antenna. If this is a true repeater site that's the only antenna I'd use. I run the DB404 and 408 on all my repeaters except on my Motorhome. With the proper hardline to the antenna you will see a noticeable difference.

So first where is your antenna for the 275 ? I run the midland in both my JT and JK and have no issues. Do you have after market LED lights (headlights) by chance. on my JK ii bought ebay LED lights and it killed the 2 mtr band completely.

Norwich also has a 2 way radio shop. Ham store isn't going to be super use full for GMRS gear.

I never said I was confused by REV vs TA. My old Alinco had the REV button. I thought it was stupid. It came from Hams who thought that was a better way. Ive never subscribed to that mentality. Apparently many still do. To each there own. I run commercial gear on all my bands. I like quality. JMHO.

RG58 made by beldon is 6.5 db loss at 100' on UHF..... If you got cheap cable you could have 4-5db of loss just before the antenna. Thats over half your power.