rdunajewski

Guess you weren't a new user but still hit the same problem. Either way, glad you're in!

I just did a big database migration the other day. There's a lookup that happens when a user who isn't registered on the forums tries to sign in the first time, and their account is created off their myGMRS username. Looks like that call was failing. Are you able to log in now?

Until this week! Retevis submitted the RT97 for FCC Part 95E approval and got it. The FCC ID is 2ASNSRT97. The interesting thing is they are only certified for 5W whereas the other RT97's are rated for 10W output. The best part? You can preorder yours now from myGMRS! I have 2 on the way from China and will place an order for more based on demand. Current ETA is mid-June for the first batch, but no idea how accurate that date is. Shipping to the US has been very slow lately due to the lack of flights from China. There are things I've ordered from early March that still haven't left the country, but they were not Express shipments. I think these have potential to explode in popularity for GMRS. Everyone wants cheap repeaters that are plug-n-play, and these are about as cheap as you can get while being type-accepted and not just 2 HTs taped together.

Hi Scott, Welcome! Once you get your GMRS license it will take another 24-48 hours for our website to see it (unfortunately a delay caused by the FCC). So be sure to come back and register as soon as you're able! GMRS repeater linking traditionally has been a contentious issue because the Part 95 rules were not clear on it. The rules were written before linking via the Internet was even a thing, so there were old rules which covered interconnection to the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) to prevent autopatch use on GMRS. Rules referenced other rule parts that no longer existed, for example, it was a real mess. Everyone had been confused for many years and the FCC did not provide any clarification until the recent rule changes in 2017. Now, network connection (but still not via the PSTN) is permissible. There are blanket restrictions in Part 95 against linking, but there are overriding rules in Part 95 Subpart E which covers GMRS. This is much clearer than what we had in the past, and opens up repeater linking. There are still other rules to be mindful of, like not causing interference, making sure unlicensed users cannot transmit, cooperative channel use, etc. I have started the myGMRS Network, which uses a customized version of AllstarLink software running on Raspberry Pi computers (although you can also use 32-bit or 64-bit x86 computers as well). These run Linux and use a radio interface to connect to the repeater itself. Right now we have over 50 repeaters on the system across the US, and it's the system we use to run the National GMRS Net every Sunday. Anyone with a real repeater (no simplex nodes running at someone's house) are allowed to join the network. We sell linking bundle kits which give you everything you need except an interface cable to your repeater (and we may even be able to build a custom cable for you, depending on the repeater model). Currently there is no membership cost to join the network. Your repeaters would not need to be connected to any of our other repeaters, it's up to each owner to decide who they connect to and when. You'll see on our linking map that most repeaters are linked regionally most of the time but on Sundays they all link to our National Hub (Node 100) for the weekly net, and then disconnect to go back to being regional systems. The idea here was to have one unified system that is interoperable, but we're not forcing people to link. It's better than every group having their own setup and no common technology. myGMRS Network Map (red lines show which nodes are currently connected, red dots are currently receiving RF traffic, blue dots are offline) myGMRS Repeater Linking Bundle

I think this thread has run its course.

Topic locked for the greater good.

Your callsign was in today's update that just came in. You should be able to register now. Seems the FCC is an extra day behind this week.

As luck would have it, I just found out they are on backorder until mid-May. Midland is out of them, and your order will ship directly from them when it's back in stock.

Use the following link to have a 15% off coupon applied. You'll see it taken off during checkout. Valid thru May 1st, 2020 and limit one use per customer. https://shop.mygmrs.com/discount/MIDLANDBASECAMP?redirect=%2Fproducts%2Fmidland-xt511-gmrs-base-camp-radio

Changing from repeater to base mode will stop the automatic repeat function of the built-in controller. Instead, it will behave like 2 radios, one receiving and one transmitting. Then it's up to the external controller (whether that's the linking bundle or the RC210) to decide when a valid condition happens and repeats the audio to the transmitter (and keys it up in doing so). It doesn't change how the 16 programmed tones work. You can even set the Arcom to do the decoding. I will have more in stock in about a week, but the prices have gone up $10+ for me, so I'm going to have to bump the price a little. I think the supply problems are driving the price up, which is a bummer but at least they're still available.

I've reached out to my reps at Midland and they said nothing new in the Spring, and nothing to announce for later in the year yet. I think any plans they had are put on hold because of the pandemic. I'd expect something out by Q1 2021 realistically.

The OP wants to support multiple tones on his repeater, so only one PL tone will go over the link and another can be local. I don't think any of us on the group run it this way, we only link wide-area when we want to (i.e. for the net). Asterisk/app_rpt support PL decoding in the software, but it's slower and less reliable than letting the repeater do the decoding. Even then, I don't remember offhand if you can program one tone to be local and another to be linked that way. If he really wants to do the multiple tone thing, then he'll need a controller that will activate one port for the myGMRS link when the proper tone is received. If anyone has experience with multi-tone panels, that's what he's asking about. If you're the only one keeping the linking commands (rather than handing them out to every user on the system), then you can be in control of how and when you're linked. You don't need to be connected to another repeater 24/7, it's up to you. https://link.mygmrs.com/map If you look at the map above, you'll see some repeaters are linked 24/7 regionally (i.e. the midwest) and some aren't connected at all normally. Then when they want to, like during the weekly net, they connect to another node such as 100 to go Nationwide. So that's why none of the systems really need a private tone just for linking.

Yes, we're expanding our lineup to include the XT511, as well as some of the E+Ready products from Midland. Hoping to expand the product offerings in the next week or so.

That sounds like everything is set up right. All I can think of off the top of my head is that maybe it's not putting out the PL tone on TX like you think it is. If you have a scanner or another radio that can be tuned to 467.675, you can rule that out by having the scanner listen for the tone before it opens squelch. If the scanner sees activity but won't unmute, then you're transmitting without the tone. Could the Kenwood be in talkaround mode? Where it's set to TX on 467.675 but it's trying to talk direct on 462.675? I doubt that only because you'd hear the Kenwood on the Midland just direct and not through the repeater. Hopefully someone else has ideas or has that software so they can take a look at your programming.

Are you sure the Kenwood is putting out enough power? It's not set for low power or has an issue with the final amplifier such that it's putting out much less power than it should? How far away is the repeater? If the Midland is on the fringe, the Kenwood may not be able to make it, especially if the power output is a factor. Are you using the same antenna and coax for both radios (swapping out the radios) to make sure there isn't a problem with the antenna or coax that the Kenwood is on? Does the Kenwood have a transmit indicator like a red LED or tower icon on the display that activates when you key up? Making sure that transmit isn't inhibited by the programming. Lastly, can you configure the Kenwood and Midland to talk together (both TX and RX on 462.675) to make sure the Kenwood is working properly and can be heard by the Midland? Bonus if you can separate the two by a good distance to help prove the Kenwood is putting out a decent amount of power. If the finals are bad, you'll hear the Kenwood get noisy and cut out as you drive down the street (assuming you have it in a car). Wideband vs. narrowband can make a difference as well, but shouldn't be a make it or break it factor unless you're at the edge of the repeater's range.

Traitor. Just kidding... We actually ship direct from Midland for any orders made with us, so your experience and warranty coverage are exactly the same.

myGMRS runs a network that has grown pretty big. Corey linked to our linking bundle which is a Raspberry Pi 3 with an interface board of your choice to connect to your repeater. You just need to supply your own cable from the board to the repeater. Typically we can help with that as long as there isn't a proprietary connector on your radio except for the Motorola Maxtrac/CDM 16/20 pin connectors. Check out a map of our network: https://link.mygmrs.com/map Corey's group has some more information, too: https://mwgmrs.com/linking/

It's like being angry at the guards for catching your kids playing around on Area 51's land. "How dare you scare my kids that were breaking the rules?! I want to speak to your manager!"

Make sure you get an antenna that doesn't need a ground plane for the best performance. With it mounted so close to the edge of the roof, you'll be missing an effective ground plane to the rear which might cause your radiation pattern to be directional. Height might be an issue but if possible look for something that doesn't need the ground plane. Bonus if you can find a covert or short antenna that can do it.

Cool. It's entry level, but it seems to work quite well. If you had any negatives, I was going to suggest bringing them up with BuyTwoWayRadios, as they worked with Wouxun to have this radio made for GMRS. Any issues could be brought up and resolved for a future generation of the radio.

I'm curious, did you have any problems with it? Or just moving on to bigger and better things?

I'm open to guest authors who want to help out with articles like that. Articles in general are one thing I want to add that has been missing. The site is functional for looking up repeaters, but lacking in substantive content that will drive traffic to us.

If anyone wants to try out Slack, I created an account for myGMRS. Here's the link to join: [Link removed, moved to Private Discussion] I recommend putting your callsign after your name in the "full name" field (first name only is okay if you prefer).

We had a chat on this board before, but I didn't renew the license for it. Nobody was using it. Instead, we could use a service like Slack or Discord to hold discussions. Then we would get notifications on our mobile devices if we so choose. I think a chat on the forum means everyone needs to be logged in and sitting on the chat page, which is exactly why nobody used it.

We have several projects planned that are in various stages of development, but I'm trying to figure out priorities based upon what the members want (and some things that I haven't thought of yet). I think we can all agree that Problem #1 is outdated listings that never got removed but are no longer on the air for one reason or another. We have plans to address that, but it requires a major redevelopment of the site. In the meantime we have the toggle switches on the map that allow you to hide anything that hasn't been updated in the last year, as it could be stale. So, what do you think myGMRS needs? What do you personally wish we had that we don't? Here's some projects that are being considered or are already in the works: Finish working on the mobile apps. We have a beta version of the iOS app that has some issues before it can be released to everyone. That effort needs to be revived soon. The Android version has been released but there are new features that we want to add (and will also be in iOS). A complete site redevelopment. Much of the code powering myGMRS is over 10 years old. It's the main reason new features aren't being added -- we need a fresh modern platform to work with. Some early experimentation has been done and we think we have the right combination of technology, but need to build it. Then we can begin adding new features once we have covered all the current functionality. Launch of our store and securing reseller arrangements with various suppliers. This has been a small success already that we're hoping will grow with time. Most of my energy has been spent here lately, trying to get products that our members are likely to want to purchase. We're always looking for suggestions on products we should add, so please let us know. Expand our repeater linking project. We have had success with adding systems to our myGMRS Network over the past few years but we haven't pushed to expand very hard. Interested parties have come to us asking to join and we have approved them on a case-by-case basis. It's time, I think, to ramp up the project and try to get more high-quality repeaters on board across the country. There is a lot of work involved in making this something that can scale up without taking huge amounts of my time, however. Upgrade the forums. We're using an older version of the IP.Board software, and I want to migrate to the latest version soon. We'll have to migrate all the accounts and topics over, but hopefully it won't be such a tough process.I also have a really cool project in mind that I'm going to remain tight-lipped about. It would be an app which would be of interest to the entire two-way radio community, not just GMRS and Amateur operators. I'm working on a proof of concept that could expand into a whole side business if successful. So again, what do you think this site is missing? What kinds of features do you think would be worth paying a small subscription for? The core features of the site will remain free. Since incorporating, we have had to look for ways to monetize the site so it pays its own bills and can grow with time. One example might be an ad-free experience for paid subscribers. Another could be advanced tools for helping to compile a list of repeaters along a trip or commute. Dream up some ideas and hopefully we can launch them all!