wrci350

The post mentioning DMR and the Anytone AT-D578 reminded my of another radio that fits in the "lower power on 220" category: Alinco DR-MD520, which is the tr-band version of the DR-MD500 DMR radio. (If you ever see them side-by-side you'll quickly discover that they are cousins to the D578.) The MD520 will do 55 watts on 2 meters, 40 on 70cm, but only 5 watts on 220.

I actually have all three and the Alinco is the one that's in my shack ... the others are in their boxes. I really like it. It only has three reviews on e-ham (two 4 and one 5) so I think that's pretty good. As far as HTs go, Kenwood has a history of putting out tri-banders that do full power on 220 (TH-F6A, TH-D74A, TH-D75A) so I"m hopeful that the mobile will do that too. Pretty sure the TYT TH-350 does 5w on all three bands too. I had one and it's a decent radio, IMHO a notch above some of the other CCRs. The Yaesu VX-6R *does* fit into the "lower power on 220" category though, and that's kept me from buying one. So far.

Chances are pretty good that all those people you hear are using FRS radios, and traffic of that nature is explicitly permitted by Part 95B. FRS is licensed-by-rule, so no call signs. As of 2017, there are no "FRS" channels, since GMRS and FRS share the same frequencies with different max power and (in some cases) bandwidth. The only exception is that FRS radios cannot transmit on the repeater inputs since repeaters are not allowed on FRS. If the schools, construction workers, bus company and nursing homes are using FRS radios (on any channel 1-22) there is nothing to "enforce".

@WRPV394 Were you able to get that Amazon multi-cable to work with the Alinco DJ-G46T? Here's what I said in my mini-review about the cable: While the radio has a K-type accessory connector, it does NOT use a K-type programming cable. That means the Baofeng cable many folks have lying around will not work. Instead, an Alinco ERW-7 or ERW-15 cable is needed. Expect to spend at least $25 to get the correct cable. I'm also curious to hear if one of those Amazon multi-cables works since that might be a cheaper option. Fortunately for me, I already had the RT Systems equivalent cable (USB 29-A) since it is used for a number of other Alinco radios, both HT and mobile.

My disclaimer is that I am not a GMRS power user by any means, but I do have all three of those radios. Many consider Alinco as the fourth of the big three Japanese amateur radio manufacturers. I have a number of Alinco radios (I'm also a ham) and I really like them. The DJ-G46T appears to be built on the same chassis as some of their commercial radios. Nice little radio and not cheap-feeling at all. I posted a review here: https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/6817-amateur-radio-maker-getting-into-the-gmrs-market/page/2/#comment-72115 Couple other posts in that thread talk about the RT Systems sofware and cable.

A couple more options: Radioddity GM-30. Black Friday special. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08SLR7W7F/ Radioddity GM-30 Plus. Black Friday special. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D8752P5L/ Alinco DJ-G46T. Also Black Friday ... put in cart for discount price. https://www.mtcradio.com/alinco-dj-g46t-portable-5w-gmrs-ht/ RT Systems has software for all three which I highly recommend but there is vendor software for all three as well. Either way you'll need a programming cable if you don't already have one.

Again, they have just as much right to those frequencies as you do. Don't like it? Find a different channel.

Wow. Those kids and parents have just as much right to use those channels as you.

As others have said, one of the reasons that only type-accepted radios are supposed to be used on GMRS is that those radios can only transmit on the GMRS frequencies. Obviously the radio you are using is not FCC Part 95E accepted. It's up to you whether or not that is important. But the "private frequency" you picked is a Part 90 business frequency. You are not allowed to transmit on that frequency.

But back to the GM-30 Plus. Available on Amazon (for Prime members) today for $29.59 or in a two-pack for $55.99. As an aside, the GM-30 is $19.99 and extra GM-30 batteries are $12.79. Oh, and RT Systems has a programmer for the GM-30 too!

CPS for a DMR radio is a different beast than that for an analog radio for sure. I was VERY happy with all the RT Systems programmers I purchased until they started releasing (and of course I started purchasing) ones for Alinco and Anytone DMR radios. A lot of erratic and annoying behaviors. I learned to save often. Over time they have gotten better for sure, although still a few oddities when updating a zone or scan list. I've found that sometimes I have to restart the program to see changes I've made. I still prefer them to the manufacturer's CPS though! Also disappointing to hear that was the response you got. I've always found them to be very responsive and a couple times they've fixed issues for me overnight. Where's the DMR calculator function? Haven't used it, but sounds like I should!

No worries. The actual answer (in the category "Radioddity GMRS Radios", is "What is ... buy the RT Systems programmer?"

Yes. You are agreeing with what I said in my post: "I also noticed that there is at least one menu item that isn't in the programmer (or at least I cannot see it). The software lets you pick English or Chinese for the voice prompts but there is no option to turn them off, which you can (thankfully!) do on the radio." You can do it through the menu system, and I found that all by myself without looking at the manual. What you cannot do (and this was my point) is change that setting through the CPS.

Yes. but thjat's for the GM-30 (which I also have). This thread is about the GM-30 Plus, which is a totally different radio.

I downloaded, installed, and used the Radioddity software (v1.0.6) in early September without any issues. It's a typical CCR programmer ... *works*, but leaves a lot to be desired as far as features go, including the lack of ability to cut-and-paste. I also noticed that there is at least one menu item that isn't in the programmer (or at least I cannot see it). The software lets you pick English or Chinese for the voice prompts but there is no option to turn them off, which you can (thankfully!) do on the radio. Grabbed the radio yesterday to play with it a bit more and decided to look to see if there was a newer version of the software. Did an Internet search and the first link was to the Radioddity site, where a new version is available. Downloaded and tried to install and Windows Defender flagged it as malicious. *Could* be a false positive, but it could actually be infected with something. I noticed that the second result from the Internet search was to a programmer from RT Systems. I am a big fan of their programmers so I went ahead and bought and downloaded it (I already have their K-type programming cable but they imply that it will work with other cables). I would highly recommend the RT Systems software. Yes, it seems a bit silly to spend $25 on software to program a $35 radio, but it works SO much better. Just being able to select a range of frequencies and cut-and-paste (or copy) them to another bank makes it worth it in my book. Interestingly enough, I still don't see the "turn off voice" in the settings. Maybe they forgot to include that in what's visible through the programming interface!