gortex2

Encryption is allowed for remote control of satellites in the amateur bands. That’s the only exception that I know of. 

What does piss off people are those that treat the rules as “suggestions” with no concern for possible enforcement actions, or where they prove inconvenient when they want to do something that’s prohibited. There are several on these forums who think that way. Unfortunately they set a bad example for the newbies.

Yeah, I don't expect that we will ever see encryption on GMRS.  It's been deemed legal in certain situations on Ham, but the key has to be posted sort of removing the security of operating secure.  I don't know that we will see digital modulation in GMRS in the future either.  It's getting along fine without it and the number of license holders continues to grow.  If enough people were to write letters requesting it be reviewed, it might get looked at but I doubt it's gonna happen.
To the comment about linking.  The regulation says the PSTN (public switched telephone network).  Now that gets defined by the FCC during an enforcement action.  Is the Internet (due to VoIP) now considered part of the PSTN?  That would be for them to consider, and argue to a judge during legal proceedings.  But there first has to be an enforcement effort to even begin to have the discussion.  Leading back to the question of when was GMRS looked at for enforcement of any kind. 
Now the difference between 5 watts and 50 watts is 10dB.  One S-unit is 6 dB of change from one level to the next, so it's actually less than 2 S-units. 
 
The height restriction.  This is similar to the control station height limit spelled out in part 90.  That states that a control station antenna, meaning an antenna for a radio that is communicating to a repeater and NOT another station, can be no higher than 20 feet above the highest point of the nearest structure.  Now, a base station is defined as any fixed station that is NOT a repeater in part 90.  Meaning a base station is setup to communicate SIMPLEX with mobile and portable radios directly without a repeater being involved in the communication.  So again, what are they defining as a base station with GMRS, is it ANY fixed station that is not a repeater, or is it only a fixed station that communicates through a repeater?  That is another double speak regulation that deserves a layman's explanation of the written regulation. 
Now here's a thought.  I wonder if you could get an FCC attorney to write a layman's explanation of the GMRS regulations so that it was a bit more cut and dried and not so confusing. 
Lastly, ERP.  there's where the rubber hits the road.  If you were to stick a GMRS repeater on a tower.  Have 10 feet of feed line between the duplexer and the antenna with 40 watt's of output due to losses in the duplexer with a 50 watt radio.  Connect that to a DB-420 antenna with 8dBi of gain. Your ERP is 250 watts.  Park that 200 feet in the air and you are legal in all aspects and talking for miles.  But damn few are gonna do that.  Maintenance on the repeater required a tower climb.  Rigging and lifting the repeater and duplexer up there is gonna be difficult at best and the tower is gonna need to be sturdy enough to support the weight and wind load of the cabinet that it's in.  If you put 300 feet of 7/8 line in there and locate the repeater in the building, you loose 2.4 dB of signal.  Dropping you down to 144 watts of ERP.  Which sounds like a bunch, but since I have an antenna at 180 feet and am only getting 20 watts out of the duplexer (actually a combiner which has higher loss) and it talks 30 miles, I don't believe it's that big of a deal. Now on some tower this is absolutely possible.  But it's a pain to work on the thing.  We discussed it and decided against it and have both the room and the tower to be able to do it.  And that picture is ONE corner of the top deck taken from the center of the deck.  And those posts are 6 feet apart.
 

I see the antenna now that I blew up the picture.  Thanks!

Which ? The roof rack ? If so yes goes around windshield to the top tray then to the rear of the jeep.
 

Just drill a hole and drop a 1/4 wave on it. 99% of the time that will outperform what you need and not require removing it daily t go in a garage. 

Well golly Gee.... it gets hot here too, and we don't have these issues with flex alerts or any of that stupidity.  Can't say we have ever had a MANDATE to conserve energy here. 
And as far as cancer causing materials.  Yep some stuff causes cancer.  It's only regulated there, because state governments in other places expect their populace to be smart enough to not get over exposed to them.  One one state feels like their residents are too stupid to understand that and create stuff like prop 65 to regulate it.  Then again, interacting with some from that state, I can see why they would feel that way about it.

Or as my chemical spill response instructor and CERT instructor called it Methyl Ethel Bad Stuff.
It's funny how the things that can kill you in one specific state are ok to posses in 49 other states.
BTW, how are you handling the fact you can't charge you government mandated electric car while you have rolling blackouts?  I wonder if the blackouts effect the folks that vote for liberals and the conservative voters equally. 

Some repeaters will generate CTCSS when they ID while others don't. 
Your configuration for TX PL/DPL and RX PL/DPL in some radios are separate, other radios will use either a single entry for both or rely on whatever the TX PL/DPL is set to for RX if nothing is configured. 
Try looking for a 'monitor' button on your radio.  That will open the receiver regardless of the tone being received.  See if you are hearing the Morse Code when you hit that button. 
Also, understand that the ID of the repeater is NOT going to happen every time you key it up.  There is a timer in the repeater that if it hasn't transmitted ID in the time set in the repeater programming, typically 13 to 15 minutes, it will ID.  If it has ID'd in the last 14 or so minutes it should NOT do it again. 
There is no requirement for a repeater to ID with the PL/DPL tone encoded.  Ham's typically have this enabled so they can hear it to remind them to ID.  Of course, some of them have talking repeater controllers that will babble on about where the repeater is, the frequency, call sign, time, temperature, how high the tower is, how much power it's running, club membership information, and a whole list of other nonsense that no one cares about.  We have a ham repeater here locally that goes on for 15 seconds with this nonsense every 9 minutes rather or not it's in use.  And for the love of God don't key the thing up after it's ID'd because then the secondary in USE ID will come on and it will ID again.  If it's timed right you can get it to ID 3 times in about a minute.  Hence the reason NO ONE uses the dumb thing. 
Personally I hate talking repeater controllers.  The one on MIDWEST is fine.  It runs once an hour, and has useful information.  But if it was announcing crap every 15 minutes I would be unlinking my repeater.
Anyway, I would be looking to see how your radio handles the PL/DPL configuration and see if you can disable the PL/DPL on receive to see if that helps.
I am just guessing but I am willing to bet that the radio doesn't have some special filter to keep the Morse ID out of the receiver. 
 

So the message he showed is not an APRS message but looks more like a modified version which would make sense being it would need licensed to baojunk. APRS works well in the ham band and works for what it is. Again someone is trying to bring more ham radio into GMRS. I just dont get that fascination. In reality APRS uses a huge network of digipeaters so having a simplex UHF channel sending APRS is about useless.
 

Let also not forget the expense repeater operators go through to construct and maintain a repeater! 

I'm not talking about a couple KG-1000 mobiles with an amazon duplexer, rather a full blown commercial grade, wide area, repeater at a tower site that may or may not have rental fees.  It's not cheap by any stretch, and if a repeater operator wants to ban someone, they have every moral and legal right to do so.  Be thankful most of us simply do it for free and only ban troublemakers.

Was just in MOAB in July. I found no GMRS repeaters, but I also didn't spend a ton of time trying to find them. Very little GMRS/FRS when I was there. I heard more on my CB (CH4, 14, 19, 24) of trail guides. I heard one trail guide on GMRS 462.600 on one day while in Arches but never heard any of the users he was talking to so not sure his location. He was definitely talking to a group and explaining the obstacles before they got there. We had GMRS in our camper also and stayed at KOA. Only heard some kids on FRS1 first night. No other traffic for the 2 nights we were there. 

Really depends on what your going to MOAB for. But if your going out on the trails I found more activity on CB than GMRS. Being EJS this year used CB for all trails rides still it will be some time before you see all going to GMRS. At this point even Jeep Jamboree has said they are switched to GMRS but last fall only about half our group had GMRS. I'm curious to see if this year they will be more strict on the GMRS front or not. Have our first ride in 2 weeks.

By common scientific understanding, lightning rods do not attract lightning bolts. They do provide a short path to the ground for direct or nearby hit, so Instead of you getting a coolest scar on your face and back (looks best when in coffin), you just see the fire show.
There is also a short story by Mark Twain, Political Economy, hilarious as usual, but spreading misconception. But I can forgive Twain.

Definitely an untuned unit... That's a 13.6MHz offset when GMRS uses 5MHz. The "high" port is almost in the range of repeater inputs (467.550-467.725) -- about 600kHz off... But the "low" side is 8MHz off. I'm not going to look for an FCC channel assignment chart, but I'm fairly certain there is no service class that jumps that far between input and output sides of a repeater.
 

Find a local 2 way radio shop. They should be able to do it on a VNA in less than an hours labor. Yes you will spend about the same as you paid for it but it will be done correctly.
 

Duplexer needs tuned. No way around it. Its not on the frequency you are trying to use. 

Duplexer needs tuned. No way around it. Its not on the frequency you are trying to use. 

I'm not so sure of the reception ability of the D878UV design. I had my first generation D878 sitting on a desk next to my Kenwood TK-D340U.
https://comms.kenwood.com/common/pdf/download/DMR_TK-D240V_D340U_K_letter_1124.pdf
Both were monitoring the output of a local DMR repeater. On multiple occasions the Kenwood would decode audio while the D878 just light up the green RX LED and nothing was decoded. I'm doubting the ability of the D878 to reliability decode DMR traffic now.
The best feature of the D878 however is the digital monitor mode. You have no idea what slot, color code, talk group and user ID is being used, well the digital monitor mode shows it all. Unfortunately the higher end commercial DMR radios can't do it.
I have a MARS/CAP modded TK-D74A. The radio is a beast. It's the fastest scanning radio I have, something like over 20 plus channels per second. I've only used mine maybe a few times. Other than the D578 it's the only other radio I have than can run digital voice on the 1.25 meter band. With the prices these are selling for used it's like own a brick of gold. One odd thing is nobody in North American sold a soft case for it. I even contacted the US based Kenwood tech support and they confirmed it. Nobody could explain why. I had to order one from a Ham radio dealer in the UK and shipped it by airmail here.

same thing in the commercial world. Difference being that anything out of the box "should" be checked before it goes out the door. I can site many examples of things like this. Big M SLR programed power 55W- reality 49.5-50 on a calibrated Bird watt meter into a calibrated service monitor. Kenwood mobiles out of the box are for the most part pretty on but do require minor tuning depending on Freq, generally the higher you go the lower the power. AT 450 you might get 48-49 but T-band 42-45 just as an example.

This question has been coming up a lot lately...   "My 50w Radio Doesn't Make 50w.  Why?" 
 
I figured I would post quick highlights of the more common items that lead to low power.  This is just a list of a few items.  If anyone would like a bit more detail, just ask and myself or one of our seasoned operators will be happy to help with further explanation.
 
One of the most common issues that will prevent you from reaching a full 50 watts is the manufacturer.  They have to have their device certified by the FCC in order to be sold in the US.  The radio needs to be sold in the configuration as tested and certified.  If the radio or any subsequent builds tested exceed 50w, even if it's not intentional due to something like component tolerances, the manufacturer will either not get or lose their certification. 
 
To avoid risk of losing certification, when the radios are designed, they are designed to operate at much less power.  I know for a fact that many popular brands target 46w, so they can round-up to 50w for advertising.  However, manufacturing tolerances allow for +/- 4w.  So, a properly running new radio under the absolute best conditions could make as much as 50w or as little as 42w.  Again, only under perfect conditions.
 
Those perfect conditions are typically 13.8vdc "at the radio" (not at the power source), almost unmeasurable losses due to test gear insertion, a proper dummy load, and being on the channel/frequency that the manufacturer centered up the transmit power to.
 
The following issues are just a few that will lead to less than ideal conditions.
 - Not testing on the channel/frequency that the manufacturer tuned for max performance.
- The power source is too low.
 - Power cables are too long, lending to too much voltage loss at the radio.
 - The power cables are too thin for the current draw and length of the power cables, lending to too much voltage loss at the radio.
 - Power cables have connections that are crimped instead of soldered.
 - Corrosion at the battery connectors or other connectors in the power lines.
 - Improper grounding of the radio.
 - Improper grounding of the antenna.
 - A bad or poor performing antenna.
 - Bad or poor performing antenna cables.
 - RF interference from something in the vehicle that is close to the radio, causing improper performance.
 
There can be more than this, but in my decades of experience, these are the top problems I have seen.  Below is a video showing the difference between my amateur radio on my bench vs installed in my Jeep.  Even mine isn't perfect because I wanted to use the factory auxiliary switches, as well as Power Pole connectors for easy removal, and I don't mind losing a few watts compared to the convenience.
 
 

Note that GMRS interstitials (current #1-#7) ARE restricted to 5W max. That said, you are seeing the same proportional reduction 50:35 | 5:3.5 -- so 70% of rated power. If the radio has automatic power reduction for high SWR I could see /some/ reduction on the 50W setting, but not on the 5W level (the power transistors should have no problem handling 5W out and a complete reflection of 5W back as that only puts 10W on the finals).
Do you have some other radio you can test the meter against? (I just cross-checked my MFJ-847 (VHF/UHF) meter against a Diamond SX-200 (HF-200MHz) using the 2m output of my TS-2000 -- both showed about the same output power (85W when set for 100W). I don't believe two independent meters of different ages would have the same calibration error (maybe a 2% calibration difference -- my old eyes have trouble with needles on a scale... 85vs87W?).
Having not heard back from Radioddity, I'm going through the Amazon exchange system -- a "20W" (18W in the manual specs) DB20-G is only showing 10W on repeater channels, and maybe 12W on simplex high power channels. That's a 40% discrepancy against 18W (50% if one insists on advertised 20W) (vs your 30%). The 15W MXT115 that this is to replace reported ~14W on the same meter into a dummy load.

Thank you.  That helped me understand.
So when the CW ID is transmitted, no CTCSS or DCS tone is transmitted.  Anyone who has the tone operated squelch set won’t hear the ID. For all other transmissions the tone is included so those who have the tone operated squelch set will hear them.
Thanks again.

I think perhaps there is another way of looking at this, which could be illuminating to people who may be confused about the situation.
I paid my fee and I now have a GMRS license... so I have the privilege to use GMRS frequencies. But I do not have a GMRS radio. At a park, I see someone talking on a walkie talkie, and I ask him what kind of radio it is. When he answers 'GMRS', I just take the radio from him without asking permission and start talking. After all, I have a license, and therefore the right... RIGHT? 
Your license gives you a PRIVILEGE, not a right, to use the airwaves. To maintain your privilege you must follow certain rules. In the case of using a repeater, you must follow the FCC rules, and also the owners rules. And you must remember that the owner has the right to terminate your permission at any time for any reason.
Another analogy is the drivers license, which allows you the PRIVILEGE, not the right, to use the roadways. To maintain your privilege you must follow certain rules. Obviously, your drivers license does not give you permission to 'borrow' some else's car without their permission... and the cars owner may withdraw that permission at any time for any reason.
 

Yes, and I answered the exact question asked. The code goes in the memory for channel 17rp. The radio make and model have no bearing on which memory gets the code.