jgillaspy

My next purchase will be that same antenna. Currently I'm using a mag-mount dual-band on a cookie sheet in my house. Works great on 2M, nothing on 70CM or GMRS.
JG

I'm' over near Sea World and can't hit anything. Looking to setup my own repeater at this point. Only traffic around here is a couple of kids and Chick-Fil-A. Looking for a good base antenna at this point as well.
JG

Like any of the bad guys care.
JG

Spectacular!  I was too awestruck by your build (or simply too stupid) to notice that you went to the trouble of linking the components.  Very commendable!
Thank you Cactusboy19!
(apparently my number of reactions today has exceeded the daily allowed reactions on this site, but I will come back tomorrow and "Like" this thread)

I dont usually like to post videos here, but I have been so inspired by several of the "experts" in this forum complaining that we should not be using radios made in China that I put together a list of all the American Made radios AND I vow to purchase each one of these American made radios and do a full review of them in the next 30 days..  Thank you to "some people" that opened my eyes about not purchasing radios that are not made in America.
 

One thing I have found is that it’s extremely easy to find groups on Facebook (I assume the same about Reddit) that support a particular point of view.  They exist solely to support and reinforce that point of view and they can’t be corrected.  Anyone who tries becomes a target.  A guy I know compares Facebook to the lead pipes of the Romans.
 It’s better to just avoid them.
i am a member of a couple of antenna building groups and one for the HF rig I own.  We don’t talk about GMRS and so far I haven’t seen any politics or negativity.  Of course there’s always the guy who feels obliged to respond to every question with “RTFM”, usually without having read the actual question.  Some people (sorry to steal your phrase @OffRoaderX) are just miserable and want to spread their misery. Every group has them.
Anyway, as I’m sure you already know, GMRS can be a very fun hobby. It certainly can be used for much more than talking to friends and family if that’s what you want. And obviously there are GMRS groups to join. If not, start one.  
Choosing to take the ham exams is a personal decision that has nothing to do with GMRS.  In my case I was interested in ham radio long before GMRS existed but never made the time to study or take the test.  I got into GMRS because I wanted a two way handheld to talk to others on the rocket range and GMRS was what they were using. I signed up for an FRN a long long time ago, intending to get “legal” but didn’t like the price and kept hearing rumors (at that time) that the fcc was going to get rid of the license fee for GMRS. I never got around to it until last November .  But I was far more interested in the radios and the technology behind them than just communicating on the range.  Notarubicon videos fed that interest, which then led me back to ham radio because it covers an even wider range of subjects that interest me.  For me, it all works together. I use and enjoy GMRS and learn something on this forum nearly every day.  At the same time I continue to expand my technical knowledge and operating experience using ham radio.  I don’t see it as needing to choose between them. Each has its enjoyable aspects.
TL;DR @OffRoaderXis responsible for me becoming a ham. ?

So, there is a difference between the older Part 95 and the newer Part 95e certifications. Back in the day a manufacturer could get an "add-on" part 95 certification for just about any part 90 certified UHF product. That was the Part 95 cert. Now there is a separate certification process and that is the Part 95e certification.
 
I point that out because there a couple of Kenwood and Motorola repeaters that were certified under the old system which are grandfathered in, so we can use them for GMRS. Here are a couple:

Kenwood TKR-820 repeater
Kenwood TKR-850 repeater
Anyway, hope this helps.
JG

Weird.. My Wouxun KG805, KG-916, KG905, KG935G, KG-UV9G and KGUV9GX ALL transmit on simplex pretty much exactly as the same range as my Motorola XTS5000 - easily 3-15 miles, not "tenths of a mile" as proclaimed by you .. and my Wouxun KG-1000G transmits just as far as my Motorola XTL5000 when at the same power setting.
But you know what everyone says...  "some people" as they laugh in your face and shake their heads, knowing that you're FOS ..

Such as me. As far as I'm concerned, as long as you can transmit on it, I'm all for it.

This guy should make YouTube videos - he'd be a hit!

I was researching yesterday and found that it is still $70 (March 8, 2022). Spread out over 10 years it is still worth getting when you want it. Why wait for just a penny a day savings?

"If you build it, they will pay."  - Anonymous
Who knows, we might also include the frame! 

Like any of the bad guys care.
JG

Like any of the bad guys care.
JG

Like any of the bad guys care.
JG

The DB-25 is on sale as well, $96.
https://smile.amazon.com/Radioddity-Repeater-Scanning-Receiver-Overlanding/dp/B09C7JBBVY?ref_=ast_sto_dp

The DB-25 is on sale as well, $96.
https://smile.amazon.com/Radioddity-Repeater-Scanning-Receiver-Overlanding/dp/B09C7JBBVY?ref_=ast_sto_dp

Welcome to the forum!
JG

Deplorable?  ?
 

I've thought of doing this but don't have any LTR capable radios.  It would be set up as a single channel LTR system and with the pulse turned off.  I have heard of exactly this being done to thwart repeater jammers and unauthorized users.
I've thwarted a well known jammer in the past by using DCS/DPL instead of CTCSS/PL.  The jammer in this case had antiquated radios that only had CTCSS/PL capability and no DCS/DPL capability.  He also didn't have a clue about DCS/DPL.  I've heard him screaming on the air about being unable to get into my repeater.  He was continually p!$$ed about not being able to get into the repeater after trying almost every CTCSS/PL tone.  I've heard  of DPL also being referred to as "Definitely Prevents Losers" LOL.  This won't work today with most modern radios having DCS/DPL in addition to CTCSS/PL.
 

There is a clear answer, it was the first response:
 

The software is free. Get version KPG-49d v 6.30.
 
JG

So, KPG-49D Version 4.21 is what I have and it is Windows. See if you can download the file I've attached. MODs, if this is forbidden, my apologies up front.
JG
KPG-49D_v4.21.zip

Coverage maps are hard because GMRS is a line-of-sight communications service. There will be spots where you can be less than 5 miles away from a hilltop repeater and not be able to open its squelch, and there are spots where you're scratchy into a repeater that's 100 miles away. Coverage maps can be very reliable tools if both the mobile station and repeater's powers, losses, and thresholds are properly entered; the correct antenna patterns and heights are used; proper statistical losses are taken into account; and an effort is taken to ensure the topography in the mapping software matches real topography. In my experience, none or very few of these tasks are done when generating a coverage map. Real coverage tends to be much less than the modeled coverage, typically because statistical loss has a huge effect (mobile coverage requires staying above the signal threshold more than n% of the time (I usually model at 70% or 87% depending on band), while spot coverage (often used by default) assumes you're standing still in the peak of a fluttery signal), your antenna (especially if portable) probably has less net gain than whatever mobile station the map-maker simulated coverage with, site noise is a very real thing that will reduce repeater sensitivity, repeater owners may not realize that they are using a directional antenna or tower mounting position, and not many repeater owners are willing to admit that it's possible to have 4 dB of loss between the transmitter and the antenna. Repeater owners and users also like to see good coverage come out of the simulations, regardless of actual coverage, so there's even incentive for misleading coverage maps. So, there's a lot of ways to alter the coverage depicted on a coverage map, and there's so much room for variation (about 25 dB worth) that it's not possible to make repeater-to-repeater comparisons unless the same person made all the maps with correct information.
And unfortunately, it isn't possible for MyGMRS to generate the coverage maps accurately, as there's a lot of room for variation with repeater hardware (dinky little solar power repeater running 5W into a counterfeit Nagoya antenna duct-taped to a chain-link fence, vs. someone running 50 watts into a solid duplexer with preamplified receive and a 10 dBd gain antenna) and repeater locations on the map are not always accurate for various reasons. So, we just generalize coverage into a circle around the repeater's map position. It's easier for a repeater owner to estimate how far their repeater can cover towards population centers than for the owner to generate coverage maps that are correctly parameterized. It's easier for MyGMRS to handle circular coverage patterns than the rasterized geo-referenced images outputted by coverage mapping software.
Radio coverage in general should be taken with a heaping handful of salt due to the wide degrees of variability that are out there, and instead test your actual coverage with a second radio or a friend. And if you know or learn mapping software such as Radio Mobile, you can even make your own coverage maps for estimation if there's enough information about a repeater's location in its MyGMRS listing.

I used the Hamstudy.org app and got 100% on the tech test. I decided to take the General while I was at it. After looking at the first 8 questions and not having a clue I turned it back in. Didn't want to waste anyone's time. Now I'm studying for the General exam, trying to get it before I have to pay for it.
 
JG