Coffeemaker

I'm at 2350 and both repeaters are about 3300 feet. I've used each repeater with an 805 and a 905. Mostly the 805.

My 5 to 5.5 watt Wouxun (ocean) handheld can carry on a conversation with an Atlanta area repeater 110 miles away, with a little static. It can hit an East Tn repeater 72 miles away clearly. Other than a few dozen trees around me on my mountain property, both are unobstructed line of sight transmissions. With UHF it isn't all about power.

For what I think you're doing, I'd rather have a 15 to 20 HP mini-excavator.

It would sure sound prohibited, but stupidly so. I suppose, in an emergency, after tornadoes, etc. You might well get by with its listening on a shortwave receiver and transmitting on GMRS. Prolly hard to make that hook-up.

Midland's 3 dB "ghost" antenna is 3 5/8" tall. Add about 1" for an NMO mag mount. It works. But is only +3 dB. It comes in a package deal with some of their radios, including a clamp mount suitable for a mirror or roll bar. I'm installing it this PM on my Acty Attack's "roll bar" this PM.

I had to go into Windoz settings and force the com port to port 1, I believe, to get the software to recognize the 905G.

No, but it's close enough I might, someday. Were it Oregon, I'd just forget it.

Ha! Did you just link to this same thread?

Isn't this the best GMRS Forum on the interwebs? Why don't we just pick a non-repeater channel and promote it? I'd recommend Channel 5, 462.6625 MHz, without a squelch code. It's mid band, FRS accessible, and 5 watts allowed. At 5 watts we'd have CB like range,but clearer voice. This would prevent interference with repeater traffic that is substantially "local".

Is that Newport, TN?

Cool! It does make storm water drainage plain.

I'd like to hear about the RV install, too. I have an R-Pod that is fiberglass. So, I may have ground plane and penetration issues.

We are peripheral to any IMS/ICS. They find and forward us work. I regularly call the local Emerg Mgt Agency for updates and info on the areas needing help. So, the answer is a little of both. We partner with a local church and send out volunteer work crews from the church. We provide the volunteers with tools, meals, showers, laundry and sleeping quarters at/in the church. We almost have the capability to setup in a parking lot and run alone, but that's not the best way to do it. As we are not officially part of the ICS, we don't get their comms. Plus, what we need is our own link to our work crews and our base and between "Black Shirts".

All true, but we don't work in Chattanooga often (once). We need communication from our work base to several work crews in the field and from coordinator to coordinator. Sites are most often some random town in TX, LA, or FL. We'd have to have an amateur operator sitting/working with each crew and at the work base. Once the cell systems are repaired, phones work better, but until then, we'd like to be self sufficient. As for height, I may be able to put the antenna on a nearby building, but we will always have the tool trailer when a big disaster happens.

I work for a disaster group. During the first few days to a month of some disasters, think Hurricane Michael in Panama City, there is no telephone, no cell service, no communication. The group likes/tries to use FRS radios, but obviously there is a range limit. I showed them my Wouxun 805s, that are good performers and solidly built and they liked them, at the price. I am proposing building a repeater in a box and putting the antenna(ae) on top of the tool trailer to be used for that first month, or so. For this sort of emergency, how do I legally pull this off without spending hundreds on each HT and many thousands on a portable repeater? I have not yet identified a place in Part 95 that allows it. Is this a business radio situation? Are there decent business HTs for $100? This is a charity org and we can't afford to lose $300 HTs.

I can't answer your primary question, but on my mountain property, north of Chattanooga, I can hit a repeater in Knoxville, TN that's 73 miles away with "5 9s". And that's on a 5W handheld. I can also hear with minimal static a repeater outside Atlanta (~100 miles away) with the same settings. I believe someone in ATL heard me and tried to talk back, but since both repeaters are coming in and everybody wanted to talk to the distant hick, I was never sure.