wrci350

There is no "other side". Part 95a clearly states "A station at a fixed location". THAT is the ONLY definition that matters for any of the Part 95 services. The fact that it might be defined differently in Part 97 or 90, or that you think it means something else, or someone tells you that it means something else, matters not one bit as far as GMRS is concerned. The rules were written by (or with) lawyers, so they can be a bit obtuse. Find a lawyer to interpret them for you if you need to do so. Your original post was basically, "Oh no I'm scared that the FCC black helicopters will come and take me away if I buy a mobile GMRS radio and use it in my house." The regulations CLEARY STATE that is not the case. But I'm done here. Do whatever you want. If you don't think it's "legal" to use a mobile GMRS radio in a home installation (with external antenna and power supply), then DON'T DO THAT. Matters not one bit to me. I'll just keep using my "control station" to talk through GMRS repeaters, as will most other users of these forums and and legions of others that have a GMRS license.

Yes, we all know that you used your 2-channel GMRS radio when you rode a dinosaur uphill both ways in the snow to school. But we do not care, since the only GMRS rules and regulations currently in effect are the ones that went in effect in 2017. Go read the definition again. It clearly states MAY control repeater, not MUST control repeater. It really doesn't matter what YOU think the definition of a control station is. The FCC has spelled it out, and a "mobile radio connected to a power supply and outdoor antenna" clearly meets the definition of a Control Station for GMRS, whether it ever actually controls a repeater or not. The fact that you don't agree with the definition in Part 95 and think it should mean something else doesn't change the FCC rules.

As far as "base stations" go, 95.1763 states that they can transmit on the 462 main channels (GMRS 15-22) and the 462 interstital channels (1-7). It does NOT list "base station" as being allowed to transmit on the 467 main channels, which are the repeater inputs for GMRS 15-22. If you read the definitions, then "the radio at my house on a power supply connected to an outdoor antenna" is considered a "base station" if it transmits on 1-7 or 15-22, and that same radio is considered a "control station" when it transmits through a repeater. Whether or not that radio actually "controls" the repeater is irrelevant. Confusing? Yeah, I'll agree that wording it that way is odd, since to most people, a "base station" is exactly what I described above. Either way, if you were to survey the participants in these forums, I bet you would find out that at least 75% (and probably more) have "a radio at my house on a power supply connected to an outdoor antenna" that they use to talk through GMRS repeaters. The rules also clearly state that doing so is OK.

Not sure what to tell you at this point. If you don't believe that Part 95e allows you to use a mobile radio connected to a power supply and outdoor antenna to communicate through GMRS repeaters ... then don't. Matters not at all to me. I have quoted the section of Part 95 that defines what a control station is. In that definition it says that a control station CAN be used to control a repeater. It does NOT say that it HAS TO BE used in that manner. Either way, you aren't a fixed station. Stop being ... fixated on that. Sorry, couldn't resist.

@UncleYoda GMRS is Part 95. Parts 90 and 97 don't come into play, so don't worry about them. If you buy a 20, 25, or 50 watt GMRS radio, set it on a table in your house, hook it to an antenna on the roof, and power it with a power supply, you are free to use it at full power on GMRS repeaters. Anyone who tells you otherwise is wrong.

From the manual: [42: SP-MUTE] Speaker Mute Function: Speaker Mute settings Options: QT/QT+DTMF/QT*DTMF Default: QT QT: All signals on the same CTCSS tone/DCS code will activate the speaker QT+DTMF: Only those signals which include both the same CTCSS/DCS and dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signal as the radio will activate the speaker. QT*DTMF: Only those signals which have either the same QT or DTMF codes as the radio will activate the speaker. You want "QT". I really don't think you want to mess with DTMF tones, even if the other radios will do them. "What does the DN and the DI mean?" Digital Normal and Digital Inverted. Usually "Normal" is used. Either will work, but has to be the same on all radios. So have you been able to get your radios to talk *at all*? If not, two things to try: 1) Pick a channel and don't set any CTCSS or DCS tones on it at all. Does that work? 2) If not, have one of the kids go to the other end of the house (or even better, other side of the yard) and test. Many less-expensive radios (especially Baofengs) are very susceptible to receiver desense, and if you are trying to test them a few feet (or less) apart you may hear nothing.

It really doesn't matter what "you consider". Part 95 is clear: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-95#p-95.303(Control station) Control station. A station at a fixed location that communicates with mobile stations and other control stations through repeater stations, and may also be used to control the operation of repeater stations. The distinction between a "base station" and a "control station" (in 95e) is that "base stations" are simplex, and a "control station" uses a repeater to talk to other stations. Note that the definition says MAY also be used. That means, "you are allowed to". It does not mean, "you HAVE to". So using what most people think of as a "GMRS base station" (mobile radio with a power supply and a rooftop antenna) to access repeaters is perfectly legal under Part 95. Oh, and fixed stations talk to other fixed stations: Fixed station. A station at a fixed location that directly communicates with other fixed stations only. Your GMRS "base station" is not a fixed station.

Because the RR database is crowdsourced, and not just pulled from the FCC license DB. Submissions are based on actual monitored traffic. That would suggest that someone heard this railroad using FRS radios with that PL tone. Under the 2017 FRS/GMRS rule changes, that would be a permitted use. With that said, I also searched and was not able to find "Turtle Creek RR" in the database. I Googled that name and found numerous references to a small industrial short line in Pennsylvania, but that ceased service in 2009, and there is no RR listing for it under PA Railraods. Maybe this isn't the right one? Not sure why this year old thread was resurrected for this discussion, but whatever.

Uh, mostly incorrect. You need to look at Part 95A and Part 95E. But here's a chart that summarizes it for you. Look for the "post 2017" table. FRS/GMRS combined channel chart - The RadioReference Wiki

Coordination is irrelevant, as is physical location vs mailing address. If you are comparing GMRS to amateur radio, the most important fact is that nothing in Part 97 applies to Part 95e. The rules for GMRS repeaters are right there in 95e. Oh, and the FCC does not assign call signs to amateur radio repeaters either ... they operate under the call sign of the owner or trustee, either individual or a group. Same applies for a GMRS repeater. If someone stands one up, it operates under *their* call sign. There is no requirement that the repeater be located at the owner's mailng address. (Same is true for ham repeaters, but again, that's not relevant.) The rules are right there in 95e. If you don't like them and choose to ignore them, that's on you. That doesn't make them go away.

You are. You left out: "(1) It retransmits only communications from GMRS stations operating under authority of the individual license under which it operates; and," Note that subpart 1 ends with AND (emphasis mine). So (c) is only true if BOTH (1) and (2) are true. In other words, if someone stands up a repeater for the private use of their family ONLY (all operating under one GMRS license) and the users ID, then the repeater doesn't have to ID. Otherwise ... it does. Jinx, @Sshannon ?

I think you may have been looking at the programming cable for Wouxun mobile radios, which is sold out. The one you need is here: https://www.buytwowayradios.com/wouxun-pco-001.html

The FCC doesn't see it that way. A GMRS license is an individual license. Members of the license-holder's family are allowed to operate under that license, but the license is still issued to an individual, not a group. "John Smith", not "The Smith Family". It's also not a matter of "using ham as a guide". The regulations for station ID are spelled out in 95e. The suggestion is to use call sign + number to identify member of the family. The only exception is for a private repeater only used by individuals operating under one license (i.e. a family). § 95.1751 GMRS station identification. Each GMRS station must be identified by transmission of its FCC-assigned call sign at the end of transmissions and at periodic intervals during transmissions except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section. A unit number may be included after the call sign in the identification. (a) The GMRS station call sign must be transmitted: (1) Following a single transmission or a series of transmissions; and, (2) After 15 minutes and at least once every 15 minutes thereafter during a series of transmissions lasting more than 15 minutes. (b) The call sign must be transmitted using voice in the English language or international Morse code telegraphy using an audible tone. (c) Any GMRS repeater station is not required to transmit station identification if: (1) It retransmits only communications from GMRS stations operating under authority of the individual license under which it operates; and, (2) The GMRS stations whose communications are retransmitted are properly identified in accordance with this section.

I have no idea why you felt the need to involve me in this discussion, but since you did, here I am. You are slightly misrepresenting the exchange from the other thread, however. The discussion there was about "re-locking" a radio, not just about programming GMRS frequencies. Honestly I don't even know if that's a thing ... there are lots of magic key sequencies to unlock various radios available on the Internet, but I haven't run across any that will re-lock one so that it is type-accepted again. If a such a sequence (or flag in CPS, etc.) DID exist, then I would argue that it would make the radio type-accepted again. If one unlocks a GMRS radio, then it is no longer type accepted, since 95.1761(c) disallows certification of a radio for GMRS if it has the CAPABILITY (emphasis mine) of transmitting on a non-GMRS frequency. The only exception would be a Part 90 radio that also has Part 95 certification. So the instant a GMRS radio is "unlocked" it is no longer type accepted. Whether or not one actually has MURS (or any other) frequencies programmed in the radio is irrelevant. And BTW ... the whole "in an emergency you can transmit on any frequency" thing is a myth. Nowhere in FCC Part 95, 97 or even 90 will you find that.

I misspoke. I used a galvanized fence post. Definitely not soft material. It's been up for nearly two years and we've had some pretty good wind storms. No issues at all. The wind load on a 5 or 10 foot vertical is pretty low.

Sure. I'm using two of these, which are similar but not as long I don't think. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00068YUN4/ Another option is a gable mount, like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UVMDT6E/ Get a piece of fence top rail to use as a mast.

I know that's a rhetorical question, but if they "lock" the radio back to GMRS, then it is type-accepted again. But you knew that already.

The FCC doesn't "certify" *any* radios. It does grant "type acceptance" for Part 90 and various subparts of Part 95. There is no "certification" or "type acceptance" for Part 97 (aka ham radio). Amateur radio is by definition an experimental service, and any radio can be used, even a home-brew one. So if someone buys a DB-20G and "opens" it and uses it on 2m or 70cm, they are not breaking any FCC rules. However, if they turn around and use that radio for GMRS or MURS, they *are* breaking an FCC rule, since the radio is no longer technically type accepted for Part 95e (GMRS) and was never accepted for Part 95j (MURS).

Do you read through old threads looking for places you can "contribute"? Was it really necessary to add this statement to something posted over 4 months ago? The fact that maximum transmission power on the interstitials is expressed in ERP does not in any way prohibit a removable antenna, which is what I was commenting on. It does, however, place the onus on staying under the limit on the user of the radio ... not that most people care, of course.

What kind of radios? Do they actually have their own 'custom version of Chirp', or is it their own programming software? As far as the second question, since FRS and GMRS share the first 22 channels, if you import both "FRS" and "GMRS" you are going to end up with 44 plus the 8 repeater channels, or a total of 52. Pre-programmed FRS radios come with 1-22 (set up narrow and FRS power). Pre-programmed GMRS radios come with 1-22 (set up wide [other than 8-14] and GMRS power) plus the 8 repeater channels.

Search on eBay for "repeater duplexer" and you'll see lots of them.

Yes if you look around you'll find several other radios that look like an 878 and are more than likely made in the same factory. The DJ-MD5 has a different form-factor but on the inside I'm pretty sure it's the same radio as an 878, or very close.

I had to look it up, so you can probably guess the answer. Sounds like an Icom thing, yes? Nothing like that, but one nice thing about the DJ-MD5 (and other DMR radios) is the use of "zones" that you put all your channels in. So you could have a "home" zone and a "beach" zone and easily switch between them.

Alinco DJ-500TB Analog $140 Alinco DJ-MD5XTG DMR/Analog $196 Both are Part 90 radios, so no diode clipping, resister removing, or magic power-on sequence needed. They ship with a 136-174/400-470 antenna, which certainly must be better at *some* of those frequencies, but usable at all of them.

Take a look at LMR400UF (the UF is for UltraFlexible). A bit more loss, but very easy to work with.