gortex2

I test every radio I get in my house. I dont video them or normally document a ton of stuff becasue if I did I'd have piles of documentation that I just dont have room for. I utilize both a R2670 General Dynamics and my Anritzu LMR Master (later mostly now). Personally @marcspaz spent way more time I would arguing with someone over did he or did he not test something. Some of on this forum work in the LMR field and do indeed have knowledge and equipment to do this. Sorry if many of you dont understand this but its a reality. I didn't get where I am working for a lead LMR manufacturer by not knowing what I was doing. @marcspaz is in the same boat. There are others on here. Learn from those folks. WE have lost a few good techs from this site over threads like this.

ITs been like this for a week now. I have multiple changes to process. Guessing the squirrels took a nap.

They only put out 5 watts on TX. I run the VHF version for some of my SAR sites and they all run thru a TPL 100 watt amplifier. Thats how they would ship when purchased new. They are a solid little unit so If your looking for a commercially made unit that will last this is one to use.

Correct. I have MSI radios in every vehicle I own as well as all our SAR folks and friends all run Motorola. I have Midlands in my parents Jeep and my Jeeps for simplicity. Thats why I dont have RAS enabled at this time. But its not been an issue for me. If it does I'll swap my parents Midland out for XTL's. They are really the only non MSI radio using the repeaters as I use my APX when I'm on repeaters. All the rest of us use MSI radios.

I guess this really goes back to use case. Each use may be different. I own 6 repeaters. 1 is an open repeater although not listed here. All of mine are funded and maintained by myself. They are for my family and friends use only. Personally I dont want to wake up at 2am with 2 guys jabbering about his big toe that needs fungus removed. Between electric and tower fees its not a cheap endevor for some repeaters so thats my take. If someone wants a repeater to talk to there family I can see it being closed. Ive been doing this for ovder 30 years and while GMRS has changed I still use it for the same reason my parents used it for. Internal communications. Back to topic on hand. As said it can't be blocked but can be limited. All my repeaters used split DPL/CTCSS tones. Motorola offered RAS on some of the repeaters and has been used with great success. I've not needed to use it yet but if it gets to a point I may turn it on.

Laird 4605 on house and DB404 on Garage/Shop.

I run the InReach Explorer and from a SAR experience side I'd recommend a Montana or 67. The Explorer is ok with navigational stuff but its limmited. I still carry my Garmin 60CSX along with my InReach when on a misison. The one nice thing about the Explorer is it does have a vehicle mount. I'd like one for my JT so the wife alwasy has one. Both will also sync to my Garmin Overlander GPS and its way easier to send messages on the tablet than the little screen.

Starting with a base would be smart. If a base can't talk then a repeater wont fix that. Go with good cable and a decent antenna and you'll get a good idea on coverage.

Sorry I thought we were on a GMRS website. We get spun up in arguments over ID'ing your repeaters and everything else but daily conversations over how to mod your ham radio to use with GMRS. This is a HAM radio. Go to a HAM radio site and talk about it. Its also a CCR in a box. If your annoyed call Baofeng and tell them. Most likely they dont give a rats a$$ about it. But then again if it fits your youtube stuff I guess its all your gospel.

The local club near me still offers an in person class.

First this is a CCR. Deal with it. Second this is a HAM Radio.

My InReach works just fine without HF.....I get it worked but too many people rely on ham radio when it wont work.

Jungle Site for me...comes as one kit

The problem with that solution is you tie up multiple frequencies sometimes in a large area. the best way is called simulcast but its not cheap and requires the proper gear. I ran a simulcast system for some time and it works great. Many public safety systems are simulcast which is how officers have on hip portable coverage. There are very few out there who run simulcast on GMRS and HAM just because its not plug and play. For myself I run multiple repeaters. Most are all same frequency with different RX DPL tones. Same TX CTCSS. This is referred to as a poor mans voter but works well for my use case. I dont need to talk 100 miles and if I do I pick up my cell phone.

Had one in my old camper for GMRS and would work all weekend on one battery. I carry one in the back of the jeep with my tools.