gortex2

CTCSS/DCS Codes are used with and without repeaters. They are the same “privacy codes” used by the bubble pack FRS radios you buy at Walmart. Two radios operating on the same frequency and that share the same CTCSS/DCS codes will typically operate together.
 
Non-HT radios are not legally permitted to transmit on GRMS/FRS channels 8-14, so even the 50X1 should not allow communication on those channels. Non-HT radios are only permitted to listen on those channels.
 
UV5R is not legally permitted for use on GMRS or FRS.
 
 
Michael
WRHS965
KE8PLM

I'll bite.
 
So, if you are going to use repeaters to chat with other GMRS licensed operators, then any UHF radio will work. If you want something just to get started then go with a Baofeng BF-888s. It doesn't get any cheaper than 9 dollars, which is, if IIRC, what I paid for one of those last time. Don't expect to break any simplex long range contexts with it... but it will communicate with GMRS repeaters just fine.
 
After playing around with GMRS for a while, then evaluate what you really want, and what the typical usage scenario would be. Is simplex range what you want? or you prefer chatting with other GMRS owners in repeaters? Maybe what you want is Ham radio, and not GMRS, which is a very different license than GMRS. In GMRS there are just 22 channels, so things like VFO, etc... are not needed, you only need to scan 22 channels. Most hams, used to VFO on their radios like to have one, which was probably the thing to have 20 years ago, when everything was FM..., nowadays, however, most, if not all radio communications in UHF are digital modulation (P25, DMR, NDXN, D-Star), which most of these FM radios won't do... so having the ability to scan the entire UHF band won't be of much use when all you'll hear is bleep bleep, thunk thunk thunk thunk (DMR) or a hissing noise like a good old modem (P25, D-star) etc.. So, again, for ham operation a VFO comes in handy since most of the ham stuff is all FM analog. but the rest of the world is moving away from analogue communications.
 
Keep in mind, though, that if its long simplex GMRS range what you seek, you'll need to pay to play.
 
G.

+1 on the ICOM. If you are going ham, then get a ham radio. The purpose of GMRS is not the same as amateur ham operator.
 
CCR = Cheap China Radio. (are cheap, have low performing receivers, tend to have dubious FCC certification, potentially illegal to TX on any band, and they usually put out spurious, or dirty, RF signals out too)
 
I don't understand what MacJack is talking about Motorola radios not being what they used to years back, or the gotcha, maybe he can elaborate a bit more on that?... but the fact, tho, is that they still outperform CCRs by an ample margin.
 
So, I think the ICOM you stated will make a fine first radio. But, if you just need something dirt-cheap to get started in GMRS repeater operation, then know there are much cheaper alternatives to CCRs than the Wouxuns, with identical performance for GMRS repeater operation. My vote goes to the Baofeng BF-888s, at 9 dollars a pop. (or a pair nowadays? ) you can never go wrong with that, the ultimate disposable radio. I have more than a dozen or so of those... 
 
G.

Given the poor receiver selectivity of most of the CCR import radios -- I'd be really hesitant to use a Wouxun as a Repeater radio. Especially since you could buy two quality used mobile radios and do the same thing - at probably half the cost.
 
Simply put - there's a lot of better options available to anyone who wants to run a repeater.

Maybe reach out to commscope who makes the antenna now ? 
 
https://www.commscope.com/product-type/antennas/base-station-antennas-equipment/base-station-antennas/itemdb404-b/
 
In the past I tried to replace one on a VHF version and the cost of the harness was close to a new antenna. If the antenna has been up long enough for the cables to deteriorate it may be worth the new antenna. The antenna is less than $400 online. I guess if one was really in a bind you could try to rebuild the harness but normally need decent test equipment to do this.

Welcome to the group...
 
I have the same handheld as Michael and as my first step into GMRS, I too got information overload.  One thing I wanted is flexible use in car/Jeep/hiking/RV and home.  Also wanted radio certified by FCC to be legal.  I have kids and GMRS fits my needs to teach them.
 
Check out other posts made for whatever radio you are looking at.  You see radio is a personal thing and a lot of "IMHO".  
https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/2373-type-accepted-transceiver/
 
Jack

What is your repeater ? While they are close a distant radio should not open up both repeaters on the PL. I would look at both repeaters and do a full check with a monitor on them.

Midland actually has a good link to step by step info.
 
https://midlandusa.com/why-do-i-need-a-gmrs-license-how-do-i-get-it/

Professional Series CPS runs fine with W10. Yes subscriptions cost money, but the CDM is a real radio and not a CCR in a box. You want good results you pay to play.

You are exactly right and thank you for posting! 
Yup, the Pro Series is a steeper learning curve than some, but it’s a well- built and highly functional family of radios. There’s hundreds of thousands of them still in daily service.

In that price range, I'd recommend a used XPR6550 - hands down. You can buy them in good shape and working for less than $100 with charger on everyone's favorite auction sites. A decent new battery (prefer the Motorola OEM Impres batteries that would last 3-4 years) would run you less than $70. Audio quality is excellent, spec's are very good, and they'll do DMR digital - useful if you're a Ham, or just want to scan other stuff.
 
If you don't like to deal with Motorola software - then go for a used EVX or VX portable by Vertex. Look for an EVX-539 for a Digital capable keypad radio - or the VX-459 if you want an analog radio with keypad. Other Vertex models don't have keypads - which aren't really necessary for GMRS and I've snatched up VX-231 or 261's at less than $20 each in good shape. Vertex parts, batteries, and software are cheap and available. Their radios have decent specs and quality, and they're good performers with a low entry price.
 
If you're still not satisfied - look for a Kenwood portable. I'm not a Kenwood expert, and someone else could probably give you some better specific model advice, but in my experience - Kenwood has excellent audio & build quality and they're easy enough to work on. Parts and software are also cheap and available.
 
ANY of those 3 are better choices than a new CCR.

Only for licensees. The rules don’t change because of a major incident
 
GMRS/FRS is already commonly used by CERT and other local response teams. My own community has GMRS in its plan.

There are no certified part 95 radio that have murs also. As stated above there are some part 90 radios that will allow programming of both.

I would recommend you download the service manual for the radio and read through the manufacturers specifications.
 
https://www.qrzcq.com/pub/RADIO_MANUALS/YAESU/YAESU--FT-60-Service-Manual.pdf
 
The first thing that pops up is the frequency stability is only 5PPM. I believe on the GMRS frequencies it needs to be 2.5PPM.
 
The second thing is the narrow band performance. The better radios, typically the commercial radios, have two filters in the receiver section, one narrow band and the other wide band. They are switched in depending on the band width programed. The cheap Chinese radios, and most of the Ham gear from the major manufacturers, save money by using the wide band filter for both. The only thing that gets switch is the max deviation setting and audio gain, increased for narrow band. That means trying to operate with closely spaced stations isn’t going to work so well. 
 
While the radio will “work” the poor frequency stability may cause issues with adjacent narrow band channels. All radios will drift in frequency with temperature. The better ones use temperature stabilized reference oscillators to minimize this. The receiver filter issue may result in interference from an adjacent narrow band station’s transmitter.

I think there is an ongoing impression, especially amongst people new to GMRS,  that repeaters are somehow part of GMRS and generally available to licensed GMRS users and that this site, or any other, is somehow involved.
 
It has been posted here before, but perhaps it needs to be made sticky, that:
A GMRS license includes the right to use simplex communications on all 22 GMRS channels, subject to the published power and bandwidth limitations. While a licensee also has the right to operate a repeater, the license does not include the right to use other repeaters. Any such access, if permitted, must be done in accordance with the operating practices set by the repeater owner. 

Not everyone lists there repeaters. I have multiple that are not listed and know of others out there. Its a volunteer thing to go in and ujpdate and many don't care.

berknet I understand that fully. I guess I understood the question of radios coming out of the box ready to talk on GMRS. No ham transceiver does. Most offer simple modifications to open up the band to allow this. Its really no different than commercial part 90 radios being able to be used on the GMRS bands. My APX8500 mobile can do it but was not certified to do it. Maybe the op could clarify his question for us.

What kb2ztx said.  I have an N connector Bird 43 meter and love it.  I have 2 UHF slugs for it and a couple of others.  I like to have more than one slug handy for a particular band to serve as a sanity check if there's ever any question about the results and to check that a slug is not damaged (BTDT before).
 
With a Bird 43 Thru-Line meter, there is no need for a "SWR meter."  When tuning an antenna, your goal is to minimize the reflected power reading as much as possible.  You simply measure the reflected power directly with the Bird 43 while tuning to minimize the reflected power.  SWR is easily calculated from the forward and reflected power measured on the Bird 43 if you really want to know SWR.

The perception that narrow band are not compatible with ALL GMRS repeaters is false. I know of many, including my own repeaters that run narrowband. I know the normal is wideband but they are out there and more than folks think. 

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. 

First, I'm sorry if this comes off as cross, however the way you had typed and worded this message promotes the air of "I want it therefore it should be given to me" type of attitude, which to many repeater owners, translates to abuse of equipment they paid for and maintain. Everyone has a gripe, its discussion of the concern or issue in an adult manor that brings some form of resolution or at very least a little more respect for you as a person.
 
Now second, if you have read the FCC rules that you agreed to, you will find the following:
 
47 CFR 95.1705 (D) Individual Licensee Duties, The holder of an individual license:
(2) May allow any person to use (i.e., benefit from the operation of) its GMRS repeater, or alternatively, may limit the use of its GMRS repeater to specific persons;
(3) May disallow the use of its GMRS repeater by specific persons as may be necessary to carry out its responsibilities under this section.
 
Another words, as a repeater owner, I have the authority to refuse access to users who fail to follow FCC rules, or fail to follow rules I have set for the use of the repeater (Including collection of any club fees associated with maintaining said repeater/repeaters) or if you conduct yourself in a way that may be harmful or interfering of any communications through said repeater. I have banned people for prolonged "key up" times where they were intentionally jamming the repeater in hopes of damaging the unit. I also banned a user who tried to tell me I had to pay him for the use of the repeater I had bought and set up.
 
This means that when you contact the FCC, they will likely ignore you, or if you do get a response, it'll likely be "The system owner has legal authority to restrict the systems use to specific individuals."

Those antennas can be ordered with the amount of down tilt you need to offset the squished doughnut enough to regain the coverage needed.

Front end? what front end?
 
Lets not forget those things put out all kinds spurious RF noise all over the spectrum too... so you are screwing everyone over as well.. .but who cares... when the CCR range is only 1/4 mile all you need is that cheap 50W CCR PA, and crank that sucker all the way up like a boss,... lets boost those spurious dB even further, all that just to extend the range to a whopping 2 miles simplex... 
 
So, you don't mind the interference?, but what about others? so, what happens when your CCR spews all kinds of RF noise all over the band? That doesn't matter? There are some of us who care and spend a lot of money trying to avoid interference to others... 
 
G.

I use an MXT-400 and the radio does use wideband on the repeater frequencies, out of the box. I have no problem using it on local repeaters.
 
I do use narrow band handheld units in simplex with the MXT-400. The only thing you need to do is turn up the volume to hear the handhelds. If a wideband radio keys up the volume will be loud. To reduce the number of times that this happens I usually use a PL tone on simplex.
 
Midland does sell a programming cable that allows you to set up split tones or change the bandwidth. I don't have the cable and have never had a need to change the stock configuration of the radio. There are several good YouTube videos if you want to learn more.

If you want simple and easy to use Id go with the midland. If you plan to use alot of repeaters and into it more it may not be right but for simplex its a solid basic unit.