gortex2

Was there a cut chart with the antenna ? I am guessing the whip needs cut for the GMRS band.

Make sure the center pin of the antenna is really touching the center of the NMO mount. You can test from the whip to the center pin on the coax. to me it appears either a short or open.

Well if I want to go to simplex, I push TA on my mobile or portable (Actually labeled DIR in the APX series.) Being I only have one ham radio that I actually use (FTM400) it sits on APRS and 520 all the time. I dont think I have ever used it to talk on a repeater. The APX-8500 does much better for that.

As stated talk around is the repeater output. This is true in the LMR world and every public safety radio I have touched in 30 years of RF work. The idea is if your on the fringe of a repeater or the repeater goes off line you can still talk and users hear you. In SAR we use this all the time for training that way we are not typing up an entire county, or counties. If someone calls on the repeater we hear and can switch to repeat and talk. The whole reverse frequency thing is something from the HAM world and while I somewhat see the point it confuses folks pretty quick. IF i need to get off a HAM repeater onto simplex I just switch to simplex and call.

^^^^^^ What he said. My first repeater was on 462.675 in 1990 for REACT....

Personally I find a standard NMO quarter wave to the best of all worlds. Its small and can't be seen that well and performs very well in city and country areas. If I need gain I can swap the whip but 99% of the time the 1/4 wave is on the roof. Also dont need to pull it for a car wash.

100' of LMR 400 is not helping in UHF. At 450mhz its roughly 2.7db at 100'. That about takes half your power away (3db is half.) At 5 watts out of the transmitter (if the duplexer is tuned correct, you are at 2.5 watts before you hit the antenna. Add in any adapters you may have and your even less. If you have your watt meter I'd test power leaving the repeater and also if possible hitting the antenna. I would verify your duplexer is tuned for the channel you are testing and attempt to get the antenna way closer to the antenna if you want this to perform well. https://www.pasternack.com/images/ProductPDF/LMR-400.pdf

Being GMRS channels are outside the amatuer band and the FTM is not certified for use I'd just use a dedicated GMRS radio . I dont seem to have that issue on RX only in my JT but YMMV.

As said many repeaters are not listed on any site. I have multiple that are not listed, nor will ever list them.

Being most GMRS mobiles don't have 8-14 (as defined by the rules) those should not be discussed as a use case.

How many people actually read their license after they get it ? Yes parts of the ADK park are above line A. Dealing with Canada is a PITA for LMR/Public Safety stuff.

For years GMRS 462.675 was the emergency channel in many folks area's as channel 9 was in CB. Many REACT teams had repeaters for this channel. Prior to SAR in CNY React had a repeater and got given to SAR when React faded. It is still on the air to this day on 462.675. While it was used more for SAR stuff before local VHF systems flourished it was used randomly by hikers on the FLT. There is alot out there on GMRS 462.675 (CH20) being used for this. I knw many monitor this channel while traveling still (my Priority) with the travel tone. As said in the end unless the FCC designates a frequency its going to be up to an individual or area to use what they want. Personally I think CH1 is the smartest channel as most never leave it. On my last Jeep ride that's basically the channel they said to go to if you can't get an answer on the trail channel. My guess is its simple and basic and most radios all match on CH1. If you use the travel PL on it you wont hear all the FRS users who just got a Christmas radio. On a similar topic State of Wyoming designated Channel 3 and PL7 (307) as a search and rescue channel. People are giving 100 reasons why it wont work. So no matter what gets picked some will like it and some wont. As for scratching the Line A idea I can't argue as it takes forever to get public safety and LMR licenses above Line A also, but its the rules. Saying to disregard the rules is not what GMRS users should be promoting. We should be promoting following the rules as well as getting a license.

Thats why we still carry them for SAR. They are simple radios and just work.

Never said it was. Just said if I have a repeater on that pair I dont want to listen to others all the time just traveling thru. Guess it isn't an issue as this will never take off.

A lot more than you think. Syracuse NY is above line A. That's a pretty decent sized city with 2 interstates running thru it and GMRS repeaters in the area. While it may not affect you it may affect folks who live there. In reality many large cities in NY are above line A including Rochester and Buffalo. Going West Cleveland Ohio, Detroit and so on...

Never say never but no. Just pick up a standard 1/4 wave uhf mag mount on amazon.

"A GMRS travle channel should not be a repeater channel simplex only" So what do you mean by this. We only have 8 repeater channels. Are you proposing to use channels 1-7 which are 5 watt low power ? For me I dont want someone camping on my repeater pair or using it as a "road" channel. If your set on a designated channel I'd pick a 1-7 channel.

Line A is an imaginary line the FCC defined that you cannot operate GMRS above. Its stated on your license that certain channels cannot be used above it. https://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/index.htm?job=line_a_c The Line A and Line C Program determines whether an entered coordinate is SOUTH of Line A or WEST of Line C. Line A is an imaginary line within the US, approximately paralleling the US-Canadian border. To the north of Line A, FCC coordination with Canadian authorities is generally required in the assignment of frequencies.

Correct per the flash UHF/VHF. Both Analog and Digital P25 is supported. Appears to be a great starter radio. Get the MSI battery and antenna and you wont be disappointed. Biggest issue will be the software. You need to open an account with Motorola and then purchase. Cables can be had in aftermarket although the MSI cable isn't expensive. 806: ASTRO IMBE Digital Operation QA00571: Primary Band: UHF Range 1 QA00574: Secondary Band: VHF QA00579: Enable Dual Band Operation QA00583: Enable Bluetooth Operation QA01749: Legacy SW System Key Enable Q947: APCO Packet Data Interface

So we are focusing on something that rarely happens and there is no real rule out there to tell us which way to go. Sadly we spend more time talking about non compliant CCR radios and every other topic on this forum than true GMRS chat. There used to be a few good guys on here that were not only knowledgeable but involved heavily in GMRS as well as other services. On a similar topic our threads appear to drift off topic alot.... Done ranting. I'll go play on P25 LMR now...

I guess just don't get it. 99% of the GMRS use for me is my friends and family. If someone calls me and I don't know them I most likely wont answer them. Its not that Im rude but that's what I have GMRS for. If i'm on 2M and some calls on 520 its my option to answer or not. A road channel implies a channel folks will listen to and monitor. When im on the highway my radio is in scan. With that said I have PL on all my channels because i don't want to listen to others. CB was the same for years. The only defined channel was 9 for emergencies back in the 70's. 19 was kinda the trucker channel and 4 was the jeep channel. What is the intended goal ? If I'm on a jeep ride they give us a channel to monitor. If I'm home I monitor my repeaters. To me some just feel GMRS needs more than it was intended for. While some are avid GMRS users with multiple repeaters, many are using it for a 1/4 mile to talk to a car behind them and most likely have no license anyway.

I'll jump on this topic against better judgement. If someone gets on my repeater without permission and is stupid its on them. If i gave them permission i take responsibility. There is no keeping idiots off a repeater if they want to no matter what we do. Just take it with a grain of salt. Back to reqular programming.

This comes up often. there is not one and no need for one. This isn't ham radio.

The APX is the top of the line radio from Motorola and many use it on GMRS and Amateur as well as public safety. It can be flashed many ways.

No wideband key needed for APX line.