gortex2

There are some online programs to show you range. As said above height and antenna gain is everything. You can put 50 watts out on your garage roof and not talk as far as 5 watts on a 2500' mountain top.

This has been sold, Thanks for looking

I just picked up a GR1225 for $300 and power it to 25 watts for family at home then move it to RV and Jeeping.  This new purchase can run on standby 12 volt battery and trickle charge off of 110v plus I have solar charging in RV as well as an inverter that I will plug it into.  O and in the RV site plugged in... so not running battery dry.  So my two KG-805G working off our family repeater will really work well for us.
Jack 

I took your advise in reverse.... even you did not give it... I just picked up a GR1225 for $300 and power it to 25 watts for family at home then move it to RV and Jeeping.  This new purchase can run on standby 12 volt battery and trickle charge off of 110v plus I have solar charging in RV as well as an inverter that I will plug it into.  O and in the RV site plugged in... so not dry like you are talking about.
Jack 

There is a nice GR1225 ready to go for $300 on this forum from a member...Id spend that before buy 2 baofengs, a vox repeater controller and a amplifier...
 
https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/2372-motorola-gr1225-for-sale/

Look into a Band pass/band reject duplexer. I found that despite terrain, switching from the flatpacks to BP/BR duplexers usually increased range quite a ways.
 
 

There is a nice GR1225 ready to go for $300 on this forum from a member...Id spend that before buy 2 baofengs, a vox repeater controller and a amplifier...
 
https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/2372-motorola-gr1225-for-sale/

It will work fine, however you need to remove the raptor on the top under the mount also. Most NMO mounts are desighned for thin metal and adding a "thicker" surface may cause some issues with install. It really depends how thick you sprayed it. On my JK its pretty thin on the exterior parts and my antenna mount if fine.

OK. You need to explain this one. There are 8 GMRS frequencies only. Repeaters always transmit LOW and is how many of the GMRS radios sold on the market support. I dont understand why you would not use defined frequency plan. I mean do you mean different TX and RX pairs ? IF so not sure why again.
 
Please explain your question.

Totally true. Usages cases are different for different people. Cobbled-together repeater with cheap diplexer works wonders in the mountains or in the woods where there is no RF interference. 10 miles - sure possible with tall antenna. Even more if you place your repeater in a good place, up the tall tree or high on the hill. Same system will be deaf and mute in urban or suburban setting.

I'm aware that the GMRS license can only be used by family members. Any friends would use the old FRS radios (but we usually travel solo).

Some operators would choose to ID every 15 minutes with no breaks as a way to advertise their "presence" on a channel. If you were trying to locate a repeater to use in your area, picking the ID off of the one you hear the best could serve as a way to put you in touch with the owner of the machine. Not everyone posts their info on MyGMRS.
 
Also, if you're going to invest the time and money to put up a genuine high elevation repeater with good coverage area, having a constant ID would serve as a way to Mark your Territory, letting others know that you're already on that channel.
 
Also, having a unit throwing out an ID constantly can serve a "heartbeat function", letting the owner know that there's power to the site and the transmitter is still able to transmit.
 
Those are just 3 of the reasons I can think of, there's probably more.

For exactly the reasons/problems (plus more) you note in this thread, virtually every organization that makes serious use of two-way radio specifically instructs their members/users to not use any form of tone/code squelch.  BTW, I will not say it can't happen... But, I have never heard of a radio in which PL/DPL could not be completely disabled.  The problem is usually the operator and not the equipment.

Many farmers and ranchers use MURS for gate alarms, controllers for irrigation pumps, et cetera.

I may have missed this in previous posts, but are the Baofeng radios technically legal on any frequency range?  GMRS? I'm seeing what I think are mixed views on whether they are GMRS legal, or not.  They are popular with 4wd and car clubs, and I know many are using them, sometimes on GMRS frequencies, without a license. I've cautioned them on using them and also about using GMRS frequencies without a license but none seem to care.  So can a licensed GMRS user communicate with them on a GMRS channel legally?  And it looks like they are not technically legal for FRS, partly due to too much power.
 
I guess I'm confused as to why they would be permitted to be sold if they aren't technically legal at least somewhere.  That'd be like an illegal drug being permitted to be sold but not used.  Then again, with the federal government, nothing really surprises me.
 
Maybe legal for licensed HAM operators?
 
I just thought of one use that should be 100% legal.  They receive FM radio! Lol!

Any good discussion on radio grounding and surge protection should point you to the Motorola R56 guide as required reading. I believe the latest version is over 700 pages. Copies of previous versions are available online with a quick Google search.

Lightening protection should go at the point of ingress to your house/garage prior to the radio. If you have an antenna on a mast run cable down mast and as soon as you enter building you would put protection there.

A repeater will not get you into the net either although many that do tie in via repeater. 
 
Also as reference Warrenton did have a repeater (I used it in the past). If you look at the map and click outdated listings the info should come up. I doubt it is connected to any nets but may be wrong. 
 
I can say none of mine are connected to any network's.

I have 3 of the MTX275 and have yet to have an issue with needing more power than it has built in. Not sure the need for one with more unless your trying to use it for simplex over large areas. On all my repeaters it works much better than a handheld in the vehicle and on my jeep rides I still talk to folks miles away on simplex. 

In a nutshell if you plan to use repeaters near you (after asking for permission) then you would use wideband as the majority or repeaters are wideband. If you only plan to talk radio to radio and never use a repeater FRS and narrowband is fine. 
 
I could type a entire document on pro and con of each but if you search you will find a ton of info.

In a nutshell if you plan to use repeaters near you (after asking for permission) then you would use wideband as the majority or repeaters are wideband. If you only plan to talk radio to radio and never use a repeater FRS and narrowband is fine. 
 
I could type a entire document on pro and con of each but if you search you will find a ton of info.

Mbrun is correct. The Midland micro mobile units have very limited custom capabilities. When one privacy code is selected, that’s what you get in and out. He is also correct about the MXT400 but there are only 7 frequency slots available to program split tone or custom frequencies. Midland makes great radios but they are also made to be as simple as possible. I recommend these to people that don’t want to learn anything about radios - just want them to work when they’re needed. For the rest of us, I recommend something else so you can make them work the way you want.

For all of you who are due to renew soon .... In accordance with Murphy's Law the fee reduction will take effect the day after you renew.

Holy smokes... an APX8000, a flagship in the Motorolian Empire... and they call me the snob with a handful of XPR7550e hahaha... 
 
G.

I don't really care much where a product is made. As has been said here before - CCR has simply become a shorthand for any "Radio on a Chip" design that uses the RDA1846 or a similar chip. Those radios claim to do some spectacular things, and in a way, they do. However, they don't do it very well in the Real world. The one we all live in. One where there are other radio transmitters on nearby channels. I'd much rather start with a radio that has good front end filtering and effective sensitivity combined with selectivity - than to have an FM broadcast receiver, or a flashlight. Especially if I'm building a Repeater.
 
As for buying stuff of Ebay - yes, you do need to be more careful. However, if I bought something off Ebay that wasn't working - I'd send it back & get a refund. Ebay makes that pretty easy.
 
Just because someone calls out a radio for being well marketed garbage doesn't mean they're a Snob, or anti-Asian. It doesn't mean they're stuck in the Stone Age or admiring the glow from vacuum tubes. It just means they've seen this movie before, and they know how it ends.
 
Take my advice, or don't. BuyTwoWayRadios.com is marketing something. I'm giving some free advice.