gortex2

UV-5R is not certified for GMRS use. Greensboro 675 works ok on a mobile radio.

I have yet been able to get into Alexandria. I try every week and never been able to bring it up. If you friend needs a repeater he is better off gettting his ham ticket.

It depends on the use case. The MVA is just that. It allows the radio to have an outside antenna and mic and speaker with the portable in the base charging. I used many with the XTS5000 radio and have a APX one in my vehicle. They do make amplifiers for them but unless your VHF or UHF dont see many.

I would remove all those adapters. I assume your tests are with the cabinet closed ? Without a real service monitor its hard to do a true test but it appears the TX is still getting in the RX. I doubt its a power issue. I assume the CAT5 is not shielded so I'd start with some ferrites on that.

I carry my APX8000 for SAR most of the time but do grab my FT1DR sometimes. I dont see a need for GMRS/MURS most of the time anyway. If I can't do what I need with ham I grab the 8000

So have you tested this into a suitable dummy load on high and low power ? If your still getting desense it could be the jumpers between the duplexer and radio. If it does not do it with a dummy load check the antenna and antenna line. I have seen antenna's with high reflected cause different issues. Also how far away is your test setup from the radios ? If your using an HT in front of your bench its very possible the HT is getting into the mobile radio. This happens alot with non shielded radios. Mobiles were not designed for repeater use so not all are properly shielded for high RF around the box.

Yes. Seal up the antenna connections.

Most FRS/GMRS radio are fine with water resistant. Unless your swimming or walking thru a hurricane I think your ok. I have yet to cover a radio up.

The MTX speaker is pretty weak. I run an external CB speaker and it works well. I jammed mine under the dash. Being the Andy 2 is pretty small you could mount that via bracket then use velcro or double sided tape to hold the MTX to the bottom if you want it there.

https://mygmrs.com/map/#/ Click on outdated or offline. Only ones that have been added in last year, or updated will show up with both off.

I drilled 7 holes in the roof and installed NMO mounts. That's the proper way to install an antenna. A single UHF quarter wave in the center of the roof on an NMO almost disappears to 99% of the community.

When I talked to them at the last vendor show they indicated Q4 but guessing it will be Q1 of next year before the 500 is out.

IF it is a listed repeater you should be able to request access from this site under the particular repeater. If its not listed and you can find the call sign you can contact them via FCC info. Last resort would be to get on the repeater and ask. Not all repeaters are open. I have one of 6 that are open for use.

I had a set for a while. Good little murs radio. Works better than FRS...

There is no issues mounting on a aluminum truck such as the f150. I have 6 NMO mounts in my current F150 and 4 in my last one. Radios have been installed in fire trucks and ambulances for years in aluminum. I prefer a quality NMO mount but any NMO will work fine. I run 1/4 wave on both my UHF radios and they work fine for 99% of the stuff I do.

Search for "5-in-1 NET 51TNC APRS WX/iGate/digipeater/Tracker/TNC/Bluetooth device ham radio" on ebay. Its basically a plug and play TNC. Used for for a bit but my digi doens't have trouble getting to another Igate so sent to to a buddy.

I would check for desence. If low power eliminates the issue that's most likely your issue.

As an FYI not sure why people think they need to scan 100 channels. If your scanning more that 10-16 channels you most likely are missing a ton. The CCR market scan but its so slow you can miss complete conversations. I run all MSI equipment as Ive stated before and never ran into "oh poop i can't scan that too" . When home there is only about 2 VHF 2MTR repeaters in my area and with PS channels I still dont fill 16 channels. I guess if your live in a major metropolitan area and have 50 repeaters to choose from it may be critical but I just don't get it. Even when i lived in NY I never listened to more than a couple of repeaters. Now the only common channel in my scan list is 146.520 and if on UHF the UHF call channel. When using a ham repeater I just tune to that repeater.

What are you talking about ?

No you need to purchase a GMRS ticket. I would also suggest you researching what ham frequencies you are authorized on.

The 7550 uses a specific antenna adapter sold by motorola. Its not cheap. 99% of the market uses the rubber duck. People forget B&I doesn't use external antenna's on a portable. They use a mobile radio. Radio isn't marketed to ham and GMRS users so real no need to have it. I agree a SMA would have been nice, but engineers have reasons.

Not sure why this is even being discussed. Its been in the rules for years. Ran into this for SAR work 25 years ago. each operator needs a license. Simple.

I hate to laugh but with that list your talking a $500 radio....A reputable manufacturer does most of above if you look at part 90 stuff. Radios dont come programmed, software is tried and true and firmware releases are tested.

I drive to Charlotte a lot from VA and rarely do I hear chatter on the 8 Standard GMRS channels. As said if your CSQ you may have a chance to hear something. Every once in a while the other "LP" channels in the midland will pick up a driver following another or something. Normally have a half mile then its gone again. There was a repeater in Greensboro and Wilmington although I've never heard either.

I would almost bet 99% of midlands mobiles get used simplex only mode. I know I have heard stories about the split tone issue but I've never encountered a repeater that I needed to use that had split tones. Todays marketing email from Midland was to Farmers. They have many markets. I asked the REP at Jeep Invasion about wideband and repeaters and he said they hear from very few about those issues. I am guessing he is indeed correct as many of the folks I talked to and asked about radios last week knew nothing more than we were on channel 4 or 16. On top of that most had no license....entirely another topic...Is what it is.