gortex2

I would also comment to those who seem to argue this would work, to provide current examples of where it is working (excluding the off road crowd who does seem to have made it work to some degree to support their activities. The off road groups are not, however, traversing the country on the interstates).

Indeed, the more common response/experience to trying to use a 'travel channel' is more along the lines of, I believe the word was 'crickets'.

FWIW I operate an open repeater on the 'travel channel of old' frequency, with the old 'travel tone' (141.3) and, it solidly covers approximately a 10 mile segment of I-40.  Within the range of my system are at least 3 major truck stops.  I've yet to hear anything or anyone using the system beyond myself and a couple of locals.  Indeed, there is substantial, travel related traffic, on CB CH19.

The Channel 20 thing @H8SPVMT mentioned is the very old 'original' travel channel from the early days of GMRS.  Pretty sure even then it really never caught on. 

My own opinion is that the idea really isn't applicable to GMRS, especially these days for reasons such as mentioned by @marcspaz and then some. 

So where travel is concerned, GMRS definitely works for a group of vehicles talking to each other. 

However, traveling on an interstate at posted speeds (outside of a major city and traffic congestion), one would be hard pressed to have anything more than a 10 minute chat with a fixed station, if that, before moving out of range.  It's also unlikely that there would be stations routinely monitoring any channel really, that would be capable of offering, if desiring at all, conversation and/or assistance.

In this age of cellphones and such, the idea of having a modern GMRS equivalent to the 1970s CB channel 19 (or 9 for emergencies) is kind of mute.  Indeed, while most public safety agency don't routinely monitor CB channel 9 these days, odds are one would likely have a far better chance of getting assistance via CB than GMRS, same for travel chatting.

The entire idea of trying to establish a 'dedicated' travel channel on GMRS is silly, in my opinion.  There are simply better alternatives today that are providing that.  To some degree I see this ongoing debate over a GMRS travel channel as an attempt/desire to create what CB, Ham, and cellular phones are already providing, in a radio service that just doesn't lend itself well to the application.

Also, and as I've commented many times before, it's an adoption issue as well.  You can say this channel is a "travel channel", but that is completely without meaning unless people universally adopt and use it as designated.  I just don't see that happening beyond a local geographical area, if even then.

Just an opinion.
 

GMRS and Ham are different services. GMRS is about  50 cents a day. Just pay for the license like everyone else. GMRS is cheap compared to a LMR license. 

It seems the new version of the site offers the option not to allow access requests...not sure if that was there in the old version, since I don't have any listed....if not, that's a definite plus in the new version, and the people that have private repeaters listed strictly for coordination may want to update their listings accordingly.

@PACNWComms  I have a portable repeater to use in the field and a repeater at my house.  Neither of them get turn on unless I need to use them and no one outside of my ARES/RACES team and my household members know how to access it.

I's just put an NMO on the roof with a 1/4 wave for UHF GMRS. Thats 6" tall and will take a ton of abuse. I run 2 1/4 wave on the roof and go thru car washes and parking garages every week. Never an issue. Put the 2M antenna on the fender if needed. I run mine on a NMO on the roof but jsut pop it off if i need a car wash. 

These threads always show me why keeping my portable repeater private is so important. There is always an assumption that other peoples hardware is fair game, just because it is operating in "public" spectrum. Either there are many people that have never been "burned".....or society has become so used to certain things being public domain. While this site is a great resource for those getting into the use of GMRS radios, it will always be impacted/limited by certain expectations.
With known spectrum, as well as tones, anyone with a little bit of knowledge can impact any repeater that they find. Take linked repeaters into consideration, you may have a user several states away. Then you have someone abusing the repeater, swearing, talking about business, or kerchunking all the time. How do you track down the problem? Or do you just shut off the repeater in the hopes the person ceases their action? There are many reasons to require phone numbers, call signs, shutting off Talk Permit tones, even signed agreements to access equipment. A call sign was needed to access this site. This website is owned and operated by someone else. You may find many more repeaters in your area in use if you scan for them, many that may not be listed on this site, as they wish to remain private, or for specific users. 
In my case, I have yet to find one that wanted a phone number, but many that wanted an email sent to them, with a Call Sign,. which can allow a repeater administrator to find that phone number, address, and other information if needed. Put one up yourself, and you will find out why some may want or need that number. Good luck on GMRS.

I see this often, and the backup is usually something very low tech, such as a map, compass and protractor for location, and a cheap analog radio for RF comms. 
At work, I am going through this with some sites that think they need multi-band Motorola radios (APX8000) handhelds, which is hard to "sell" to those controlling the money when only a few people really need that capability, and get along with an 800 MHz radio on their hip and the other band in mobile radios in vehicles/office areas. The only "do everything" type of radios I have used were Harris AN/PRC-152/117 mobile/backpack series radios, and the backup to them was another of the same radio. 
Luckily, GMRS is a lot cheaper with many more options. 

Actually, what people refer to as channel 20, has been the travel channel for decades. There is also a designated pl tone. Many open repeaters use this frequency and tone.

Only this "new breed" and some lunatic YouTube er are calling for 19. Personally, I prefer to talk to the old guard anyways.

Sent from my SM-A125U using Tapatalk

You’re asking to use someone else’s property. This provides them with means to contact you. 

Wow dude, you're hilarious.  My guess is that it wouldn't start with KB8 since that's MY call sign.
Do you really think that's funny????  Or is this yet another attempt to bump your post count or just to see if you can get a rise out of someone?
 
I am thinking that you specifically said a while back you were gonna NOT reply to my posts and stay in your lane.  What happened with that?  Decided that you needed to entertain yourself again and try to screw with me?  I suppose that everyone needs a hobby. 

@marcspazNo argument.

That said, I at least, find very little about the CFRs (where it pertains to communications) that is unclear, especially after years of dealing with them almost daily (prior to my retirement).

However, on the practical side, the virtually complete lack of enforcement, even and especially at the manufacturing level, makes a lot of the 'rules' under part 95 pretty stupid.  If one were take the 'rules' at face value, virtually every Chinese manufactured radio (yes, even the 'good ones') violate the rules because, while not 'published', the ability to easily modify/override the otherwise restrictive 'rules' completely violates their 'type acceptance'.  Indeed, I cannot think of one Chinese radio that doesn't have some 'secret procedure' that will unlock it's other (non compliant) capabilities.

Generally speaking, I do try to remain compliant with the 'rules', but at the same time, and as many others have pointed out, it is extremely unlikely (if any concern at all) that the FCC would, for example, come after someone for using a Part 90 radio. 

Additionally, as others have also pointed out, unless you are causing serious and/or malicious interference to others, there is no way anyone (including the FCC) would be able to know (listening off the air) if your radio is part 95 or part 90.  Actually, there are ways to 'fingerprint and identify' a particular/specific transmitter off the air.  However, if the FCC is resorting to such technical enforcement tactics, I'd say you've been accused and/or suspected of some serious $#@%.

We all know that politics plays a role in a lot of the 'rules', and not just radio related.  I personally suspect some of the more restrictive (yet oddly unenforced) rules, where radio is concerned, came from one manufacturer's lobbying, trying to gain an advantage over the competition and/or generate sales (for themselves).

In a nut shell, if you don't bend the rules so far as to get noticed, odds are favorable that nothing will ever come from it.  That said, a misunderstanding of the rules and operating in a manner that consistently draws attention (and pisses a lot of people off), you might get a knock on the door one day. ("might")

Don't worry about the details, operate in a manner that doesn't piss people off, and at the end of the day, nobody cares.

As Randy says in his videos, they are 'rules' and not 'Laws' and, (the extremely few) people who have ever had their proverbial wrists slapped, are the morons who do (consistently) piss people off.

?


 

I would only put code plugs online for certified GMRS radios. Putting code plugs for other CCR style radios is just promoting no compliant radios. 

None of that sounds right at all.  A VEC is an Amateur Radio Volunteer Examiner Coordinator and has nothing to do with repeaters.  The ARRL doesn't coordinate any repeaters.
 
If the local amateur radio repeater coordinator says an area is saturated and won't coordinate any new repeater pairs in your area, you can still put up an uncoordinated repeater.  You just have no bargaining chips if your uncoordinated repeater has interference from a coordinated repeater.
 
And, still, none of any of that is an impact on GMRS because NO ONE coordinates GMRS repeaters.  Not the FCC, not the ARRL, not VEC's, not coordinator agencies such as TMARC.

I paid by the foot from Primus in Morris, IL.  It's $4.74/foot and I bought 280' of it for the transmitter antenna I had installed.  I borrowed my dads car trailer to get it (See the aforementioned website, it has a pic of the feedline in the pictures section).  Yes, this is a 110W repeater tuned down to 50W.  Days... You mean years.  This repeater *could* do 110W for years on end with zero issues based on the experts that know more about them than myself.
 
Not sure what assumptions were being made (if any), but I want to iterate that I *DO PAY MONTHLY RENT* for this tower.  It's FAR from free.  I also had to sign a lease agreement and carry a 2 million dollar insurance policy.  This isn't some rinky-dink old abandoned tower which I'm getting for free.  I'm a paying customer to the tower owner just like anyone else.  As such there is no way I can just be "booted" from the site like others have mentioned.  Yes, I'm aware of those things happening but will not happen here as a paying customer lol.  As far as the site, there is a guy that checks the site on a yearly basis for issues/clean up and maintenance.  I can assure you that if this repeater was causing problems for others there, or if another repeater there was causing issues for me that matter, that won't last too long.  The offending machine would have to be repaired/replaced/fixed because that would never fly lol.  To take that a step further, it's *NOT* easy to get onto a site like this either.  It took nearly a year of back and forth to make this happen and a site survey was done prior to me going on the site to make sure what I was putting in wouldn't cause issues.
You can check the history of everything here as well.  You can read from the bottom up to see the time-line starting on 4/30/2020:  https://mygmrs.com/repeater/3838
I hope this helps add some clarification.

I was sort of forced to into using a glass mount due to the design of my Ford Edge (with panoramic sunroof) which has almost no usable metal on it (where using a through hole or magnetic mount is concerned). 

Since I don't need a dual band antenna, I went with the Tram 1187 (450-470) mounted on a rear quarter window.  So far it is working as well as any antenna I've used mounted to a vehicle body.  However, due to it's non-center location on the vehicle, it is slightly directional, noticeable when operating in fringe coverage.

 

Besides 2 repeater channels all my frequencies are simplex and over three years now I have run my radio in scan when traveling around town and road trips.  Never heard another traveler on the GMRS with exceptions to maybe four truckers.
Being Jeepers and traveling in small groups we'll talk amongst ourselves over the open road and off, using 462.57500.  Seems no one local even turns their GMRS on or uses SCAN on a day to day ride around town.
Of course I have to consider that I am dealing with "the ONLY TIME" I am on the road and that may just never coincide with others travel routines  during normal daytime/night travel.
 

@WRKC935
I understand that adapters are not ideal, right?, but when you are trying to get something together then that qualifies as "testing" in my book. Also, the OP wasn't being forced to buy that particular cavity I posted a link to. But then again, having anything PL-259 terminated cable is a total waste in my book, even if it is the right connector to that cavity as you state. I wouldn't buy a PL-259 cable, I'll just change the SO-239 of the radio, as I've already done for many radios, to an N female, again, just to not have to buy anything with a POS SO-239 cable. Personally I would've swapped these two SO-239 on that cavity to N connectors, and not have to use adapters, but the OP might not feel like doing that, hence the adapter.
The reason for the adapters was so the OP could start by buying N-to-N cables from the get go... and then just ditch the SO-239 adapters when moving to a better N terminated cavity, or replacing the SO-239 in the cavity, etc, but I guess you didn't read into that.
Also, since you are into what not to do, here is what I would advise the OP NOT to do: don't use RG142 as a jumper cable. Wny? b/c its a solid steel copper inner and it WILL develop micro cracks after bending it a few times, or bending it too much and the unbending it, and cause a crap ton of PIM when using duplex (two radios), while you might've not experienced it, well, I have and it sucks. Solution: if you can splurge it, get RG400 patch cables instead, with either silver N connectors or trimetal, and since RG400 has a stranded inner core, it can take the bending all day long. Oh, yeah, be aware, the RG400 has a hair more loss, but don't buy into the BS that a 0.03 dB extra loss will affect your range much. It wont affect your range the slightest bit, actually. I currently have ~2.3dB Insertion Loss in my feedline setup and my range to portable is over 20 miles... 
Heck, one can get fancy and recommend using 1 5/8" Heliax, Quantars and Telewave folded dipole arrays on 1400 foot towers here too, but the OP just wants to get something going, and there is a middle ground between the Quantar/Telewave and the KMR POS cables that fall apart just from sitting outside two days under the Sun... A simple cavity, any cavity really, will always help any radio front end and intermodulation from getting into the TX as well. If you don't have the cables, then an adapter is fine to get you going.
LMR400 with chrome plated connectors will works on a pinch, to get you going, and so long people are aware that they'll most likely be buying twice, its fine. In addition, from my experience using LMR400, the dreaded PIM on genuine LMR400 cable usually takes a while to develop, so it should be fine just to get started. Also, so you know, I'be been running LMR600 with silver plated N connectors on two of the longest runs on the premises here for a few years now without a problem. No PIM detected. The takeaway here is that LMR cable works just fine for simplex stuff.
Now, my only strong recommendation would be to at least start with all N connectors on all cables, if possible.
@OffRoaderX
You must be living either in really flat terrain, and/or on top of a hill/mountain, b/c to get those kind of numbers, reliably, here in WI for a UHF repeater (keyword UHF, not VHF), you'll need at least double that height in the tower due to the roughness of the terrain. 
G.

http://www.n2mo.org/
 

OK, this is not intended as a 'stupid question', but are you sure you are connecting the duplexer correctly? 

By that I mean do you have the RX connected to the higher frequency and the TX to the lower??  I can get 600 yards on a dummy load!  Even a mistuned duplexer (unless extremely mistuned), connected properly, will do better than a dummy load. 

Have you tested your cables?

 

I don't understand what all the commotion is about.  Talking to people is way overrated.  Most of the time I can't stand talking to people I love.  Never mind strangers on the radio.
 
You guys are weird. 

Not gonna get into manufacture bashing.  I will tell you that quantars and MTR repeaters will at full rated output will act as a control channel on a trunked system.  This means that they WILL transmit at full power for months at a time.  I have PMed more than one of them that the log showed they had been keyed up for more than a year.
I have never seen a Kenwood that would do that.  Not saying they will not, just saying I have not ever seen it first hand.
That being said, EVERYTHING pretty much has a place.  I personally would NOT put a Kenwood repeater up on a tall tower on a busy channel, but I would have no issue with putting one in for a small system for a large family to use on GMRS.  And I even see the applications of the two mobiles in a box.  I sold and serviced countless XPR 8300 and 8400 repeaters and a number of Kenwoods that were pretty much two mobiles in a box as well.  And in the right application they work well. 
But again, real world testing I have never seen the Kenwood that would hear like a Quantar,,, and the MTR3000 and 8400's will hear better than a Quantar from what i have seen in real world testing. 

https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/amateur-radio-service/club-stations
 
There are a pretty decent set of rules to get a club license, all intended to keep a person liable for any operation under that call. The operator using that call must have permission to do so, and either have their license, or be operating under another licensed ham operator (they have to be present to maintain control of the station).

Alright, holy batman thread derailment with horses... 
The point is, don't use hacked anything in a commercial, or LEO tower/setting, as it might cause other problems that can (and will) quickly go over the money it was "cheaped out" by cutting corners.
G.

Bad analogy around me ! I live in the middle of Amish community. Its horse and buggies all day long around my house