gortex2

Well to a point I agree but I also disagree. We ran into issues in the past with HAMS who wanted to help with SAR. In the end we had to rescue a HAM from the field which took resources away from the actual incident. Regardless if its urban SAR or wildland its not always walking down the yellow brick road. The area this incdient is taking place in is rough when its not destroyed. Its worse now. Im not saying hams are useless but know the limitations. And if groups work with local resources ahead of an event its simpler and more effective. There are reasons RACES and other groups are asking for folks to take ICS and other class's. I've been a ham for over a 1/4 century but none of that that got me into more public safety and even carreer stuff. Its a great tool in the tool box. 

Most of the scanner feeds and linked stuff in the area is offline either due to power (none), internet (most cell down) and other reasons. The 2M repeater above has been active. ADSB is fileld with helicopters flying stuff from Hickory and Stateville as well as NG and Military Helos.
VIPER is up and active with traffic on operations. 

No thanks. No need to know me or where I am in my opinion. GMRS for me is a utility and not a hang out to meet folks. They have websites for that.

Well, tuning my Laird/ TE Connectively B1442 Non-Groundplane antenna was very eventful and educational and I wasted a perfect and my last spare mini-UHF connector for nothing. I guess I got sorta impatient and less-than-confident with myself regarding installing the connector on the antenna coax.

My VSWR reading was buried in the infinity zone and my 50-watt radio was measured with 10 watts forward with a bunch of reflected power according to my recently calibrated Bird 43 meter and slug. Humm, I may have a short or open circuit somewhere in the coax or at the mount.

So, just be on the safe side, I get my Telewave In-Line RF Watt meter and check the readings again and they were the same. Also, I disconnected the antenna lead and connected a dummy load and I was transmitting 50 watts.

So, thinking that I may have screwed up the installation of the mini-UHF connector on the coax, I decided to whack off the mini-UHF connector and install a PL 259 connector. The VSWR reading was no different than the mini-UHF connector at that point, I thought that I may have whacked off and wasted a perfectly installed mini-UHF connector unnecessarily.

I decided to use a magmount to check the antenna and the VSWR was 8 or so but, I haven't cut the antenna yet. So, I cut the antenna based on the cut-chart for my targeted center resonance of 154 Megs which I whacked off 6 inches of the antenna element. The VSWR was 4+. Ok, at least the antenna is good and heading in the right direction and no doubt that the antenna element at full length was contributing to the infinity reading.

So, I decided to start checking the antenna grounding system. My newly installed ground strap definitely had ground continuity to the mounting bolt, but not to the mounting bracket. I removed the bracket and wire-wheeled the paint off the bracket and reinstalled the bracket, and I had ground continuity at the bracket for the antenna coax mount to make a bonded ground.

I reinstalled the antenna and mounting bracket to the vehicle, and I decided to start tuning the antenna with a Rig-Expert AA-650 Antenna Analyzer. I got to 1.4:1 VSWR at 154 Megs by cutting off 4 more inches of the antenna element to make a total of 10 inches that were cut-off and 4 inches less than what the cut chart specified.

I decided to check the forward and reflected power with the Bird and my readings were a tad 50+ forward and what I estimate something way less than a watt reflected and the needle movement came pretting close of representing a VSWR of 1.3:1. That made me very happy.

Very valuable lesson learned and I have extra mini-UHF connectors on order, but, I'll leave the PL 259 on the cable.

Mt. Mitchell 2m repeater (145.190, no tone).  Spivey Mtn. (146.910, 91.5) was also doing similar yesterday.  There's also a net on HF, 7232 I think but I don't have that to confirm freq.  Have not heard of any coordinated GMRS activity.  Note that State Emerg. Mgmt. has poo-pooed hams doing on the ground welfare checks; phone and email are allowed for what that's worth (mostly useless).   Also 147.105 (91.5) on Bearwallow Mtn in Henderson Co.

I'm just finishing up with a third radio in my 23 Wrangler Rubi 2 Dr. to complement my Motorola XTL5000 High Powered Remote Mount UHF radio and my Cobra 25 LTD Classic AM/FM CB Radio. My third radio is a Motorola XTL2500 Remote Mount 840 Channel VHF radio. I 'm going to use a Laird TE Connectivity B1442 Base Load Non-Groundplane antenna hanging on the driver's side at the cowl with a Rugged Radio mount.

I have the radio installed and the electrical connected however, I am waiting on a Powerwerx Anderson Power Pole Distribution Block. I had to remove my CB, Garmin Navigation Systems from the existing distribution block in order to power the newly installed radio.

Essentially, all I have left to do, is finished up on the antenna mount grounding system, running the NMO antenna mount cable, install the Mini UHF connector on the cable, and tune the antenna.

I intend to do that tomorrow. I called it a day at 3PM Arizona time. I've been out in the garage since 8AM and it was 113 degrees.

Then, I will need to program the radio.
 

Well, he certainly called out NotARubicon on that.  
The parties over.  Lets leave this to die.
There are other options.  But no one seems to want to go that route.  Easiest is change frequencies and bring the nodes up on ham. 
Ham repeaters can be closed, as in if you don't have a valid GMRS license and were part of the GMRS linked groups, your not allowed on the new ham repeaters. 

Today was my first opportunity to try out the CB FM mode. I had a friend help me with my own CB radio, I took out of my Dually Diesel, and put it in his Avalanche. He was the transmitting source. I actually like the audio quality of the CB FM radio mode.
If I remember correctly, my modulation peaked at 85% and my CB radios are not modified.

About a month or two ago, there was a discussion on that the CB Radio FM Mode may be something that should be looked at to consider bringing back the use of the CB radio for uses such as Off-Road Trail Comms.  I stated that the CB FM Mode would probably propagate or provide better communications than the CB with AM modulation, and even better than FRS.
Some Forum members disagreed but no one could cite any facts or back up their statements.  I related that I think the CB FM modulation would have a better signal-to-noise ratio thus, better communication Farz.
I also stated that as time permits, I would conduct a radio comparison test.  Well, that day came, and I conducted the subject test comparing the communications with FRS, CB AM, and CB FM.  I kept the test simple, and I did not record any RSSI (Radio Signal Strength Indicator) readings.  I just did the ol’ hoot & howler type test to see if you can hear the communication and determine the usable distance and audio quality between the three subject radio transmissions.
The test was conducted essentially in a desert environment on flat terrain, with a slight dip in elevation for a dry creek bed and a test point was conducted in that dip, consisting a few cacti, pucker bushes, and giggly weeds, with no other obstacles.
A 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche was the Stationary Transmitting Point using a Cobra 29 LTD Classic Nightwatch AM/FM CB Radio with a Firestik II 4 Ft. Antenna in the center of the roof.  CB Ch. 16 was used for both the AM & FM modes and the antenna was tuned at less than 1.1:1 VSWR.  The CB Radio operated in the AM Mode with a Dead Carrier, no modulation, at 3.5 RF watts and was drawing 14.01 DC volts at 1.12 amps; and 3.9 RF watts with modulation, at 14.00 DC Volts and was drawing 1.46 amps.  In FM mode, the radio was emitting 3.7 RF watts with essentially no difference in power draw.
The data collection vehicle was a 2023 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon using a Cobra 25 LTD Classic CB AM/FM radio with a Firestik II 5 Ft. Antenna tuned to less than 1.1:1 VSWR and the antenna located on the rear Spare Tire Carrier Bracket near the passenger side of the vehicle.
The data collection consisted of collecting test data every ¼ mile driving away from the stationary vehicle.  The test concluded at the 3.25 mile checkpoint.  The data collection vehicle operated the radio squelch level at the threshold of squelching out the noise.
The FRS radios were two Midland LXT radios with fully charged batteries.  The stationary vehicle transmitted on the FRS radio from inside the vehicle as a user would be doing on an actual off-road trail run and the test collection vehicle was receiving the communication transmission from inside the vehicle as an user would be doing on an off-road trail run.
The RF output power was not checked due to the inability to measure.
The FRS became non-existent passed the ¾ mile mark.
The CB AM signal was good and quiet up to the 1 mile mark.  The next ½ mile, the signal was readable but RF noisy.  At the 2 & 2 ¼ mile marks the signal was barely readable.  At the 2 ½ mile mark the signal was non-existent and covered by possible skip interference.
In the FM mode, the signal was very good essentially full quieting for the first 1 ½ miles.  From the 1 ¾ mile mark to the 2 ¾ mile mark, the signal was readable with some RF noise.  At the 3-mile mark, the signal was very noisy but readable.  At the 3 ¼ mile mark, the signal was very noisy and unreadable.
In conclusion, the FM signal transmissions outperformed the AM signal transmissions.
Based on these results on what would be the best Off-Road Trail Comm., I think the FM CB transmission has a good chance of being a very good trail comm.  I think a test on an actual off-road trail with trees/foliage would be warranted to see what would be best under trail conditions. 
There is no doubt that any VHF or UHF mobile radio with RF output power higher than an FRS would perform better.  I think that I just may conduct that test once I get my XTL VHF radio installed in my Jeep which will occur in the near future so I can conduct a comparison radio test between the VHF & UHF radios on the trail.

Dixie Run at Windrock this weekend if anyone is looking for something to do. We have repairs from Uhwarrier JJ last weekend so can't make it to this one. Fun weekend in Uhwarrie again even with a little breakage..litterly lost the brake line on left rear (steel line near frame) on Dicki Bell and limped to Troy for parts. Then the other half backed into a tree on sunday and we broke a ujoint. Pile of parts at home so busy weekend. next trip is Cumberlands in October. 
 

Dixie Run at Windrock this weekend if anyone is looking for something to do. We have repairs from Uhwarrier JJ last weekend so can't make it to this one. Fun weekend in Uhwarrie again even with a little breakage..litterly lost the brake line on left rear (steel line near frame) on Dicki Bell and limped to Troy for parts. Then the other half backed into a tree on sunday and we broke a ujoint. Pile of parts at home so busy weekend. next trip is Cumberlands in October. 
 

Ahhh, you youngin's are just getting your toes wet. 
Since this is about GMRS, I will leave the number of VHF radios I have out of it.
XPR6550 - I know of 18 that are in 6 bank chargers.  There are more floating around, those are the ones I am sure of.
XPR4550 - Again, I have 6 for sure that I can point out. Probably 10 to 12 total.
I sold off most all of the CDM's I had.  But there was once 20 plus of them before a trip to Hamfest sent them away.  I kept 6 of them for console radios and for repeater setups in the CDR repeater units.
Couple XTS5000 portables
6 XTL5000 mid power mobiles
one XTL5000 high power mobile
One XTS3000 portable
One APX 7000 portable (has VHF too)
One Harris xg-100P (tri-band with VHF and 800)
ONE APX8500 (popped final in the UHF section, needs fixed. Will get around to that.
three MTR2000 repeaters
two MTR3000 repeaters
two Quantar repeaters
three or four (can't remember how many got sold) XPR8400/8300 repeaters
I did buy some CCR Quansheng portable because it's suppose to cover from 18Mhz to 1.3 Ghz.  Firmware updated it and then lost interest in it.  It's sitting here too.
Don't know what else.  Probably a few Kenwood mobiles. 
 
 

Randy had little to do with alerting the FCC about these outlaw linkers.   Myself and many i know sent letters to the FCC over a year ago, well before Randy came out with his factorial video on the subject..  In fact years before Randy's video, this forum was full of discussions on these outlaw linkers..  The fact of the mater remains, GMRS does not have the bandwidth available to permit Linking much less the proven expertise to manage and operate them.. As in the 'SADHAM' world, repeaters take a lot of coordinating and responsibility to run them, something lacking tremendous in the GMRS (Family Radio Service)...   I doubt seriously the FCC would ever consider allowing Linking in the this band simply because the lack of bandwidth.   But who know's,, perhaps if they get someone like George Soros involved, the linkers might find a way to legalize linking and fast track it through the FCC..   Hell,  isn't that worth a try?   🤣 

Not gonna quote, but the point they made that GMRS is a radio hobby and most use it as such, I have to disagree with. I'm of the opinion that most GMRS users are not radio hobbyists but people who get the license to use the Service as it is; short range communications to assist users in their various pursuits. Yes, some are drawn to the Service as an adjunct to the other Services they're involved in, more power to 'em. Some as the so-called "Gateway drug" into the Ham world.  Myself, I got into GMRS as a good way to have short range comm's from Cabin to boat or car up where cells phones are nice looking paperweights. Use sporadically around the home as well, easier than yelling across the yard. Have a couple friends I talk to simplex and rarely use a repeater.

GMRS Live to shut down on Monday, Sept 30. Statement is on his webpage...
https://www.gmrslive.com/
 

This has been my experience, too.
I tested this four different ways using an RTL-SDR with SDR++ software to observe the waterfall, using the NanoVNA as an RF generator, using the TinySA to observe output, and so on. The USB-C version of the MXT275, which I've had since late 2021, uses wideband in the "R" channels.

I live in North GA as well. I've expressed my opinion on here before, probably on a different of the now 10,000 threads on this matter. I hear the same conversation on all but 1 repeater channel, and if I wasn't in the valley I live in, I would most likely hear it on that one, too. It's beyond annoying. I listen to their conversations from time to time and they're pretty friendly to folks that aren't members, but I've only heard a couple non-members pop in and I imagine they'd frown on continued use without a membership. Their network stretches from part of Tennessee all the way down into parts of Florida. I admire their desire to make such a large network and the sheer work it takes to build and maintain something like that is impressive, but to do that on a spectrum that has a grand total of 8 channels for repeaters is a little bit stupid in my book.

The simplest solution is to purchase a product like the Retevis RT-97s or the very similar Midland repeater.  The Retevis is even available in an all-in-one kit with antenna and cable.  you can buy it, put the antenna up, screw the cable to the antenna and the radio, connect power, and be up and operating within a very short time.
Messing around with two radios connected as a repeater can be done and is an inexpensive way to get more power, but requires more support, plus the KG1000g has been shown to have issues with desense when used that way unless you find a way to isolate the two radios from each other. Notarubicon has a series of videos showing him setting up a repeater using the KG1000g.  
If you do decide to go the separate radio route my suggestion would be to go to a nearby ham radio club and ask for assistance.  Someone there will have the experience and the willingness to help you.  

I don't understand the people trying to come up with some loophole for this.  A linked GMRS system in range of me has finally done the right thing and de-linked their repeaters.  The other night, I heard about four to six guys having a pity party on the repeater closest to me about "how wrong it is" that the FCC has taken away their linking.  One or two trotted out the false notion that RF linking will be legal once they figure out how to do that. What was missed by all of them was that they were all on one repeater, having a nice, friendly, conversation, and it was working just fine despite the absence of linking.  Also unnoticed by them I feel sure, is that three or four other repeaters were open and available to others in the respective local areas of each repeater, for similar conversations, contact with family or friends on the road, or other originally intended uses of GMRS.  I have yet to hear a GMRS conversation taking place on one repeater, that the world would suffer if it were not simultaneously broadcast over multiple other repeaters.
I spoke with an old regular contact and over-the-air friend last night who lamented the loss of linking on that system.  I mentioned the advantage in that now, each repeater can carry its own, local area, conversations without disrupting that ability over a 100 mile long path for others.  As he thought about it, he agreed with me.  He did wish for the ability to at least link as needed, but I think he will adjust well to the change, with time.

I don’t care about linked repeaters, but it’s almost like people refuse to use the search function and the same threads happen over and over. I wish people would do just a little homework before flogging the same dead horse.


Also, the latest iPhone software seems to conflict with the Tapatalk app. Whenever I quote a post it gets emoji-bombed.

Now get off my lawn!

:-)

I don't think the RSS based programs were ever downloadable from Motorola. Only some of the early/vintage CPS based programs were downloadable up until last fall. Motorola only has the current CPS available for downloads.
 

Just went over this on another radio forum and the answer was no. 

“Some people” use that app to find cats and dogs when they are hungry. 🤣

People have lives, they work, they have other business to take care of,ect.....if they do talk to who ever then it's  by cell phone...radio is way down on the list of things to do. that's why it's quiet......gmrs/ ham repeaters the same....it is what it is...People will start talking at some point,when things in this country start getting better..🙄

I have 2 Motorola XPR8400 UHF 450-512Mhz repeaters with duplexers. They've been taken out of a working system. They both put ~44Watts out to dummy load. Asking $500 + shipping from zip 60005. They have simple features enables; FM and digital mode, IP Site connect, enhanced privacy, transmit interupt and satelite receiver. PM me please if interested.