mrgmrs

The Crete 600 repeater fills a NE Illinois / NW Indiana void that was created by the departure of the Schererville, IN repeater. It is very capable, having a large footprint. And it's part of the linked Midwest GMRS Network. Please consider donating to it. A gofundme link is included in the repeater's entry on mygmrs.com. The owner of the repeater is not looking to make money on it. He is simply asking for the yearly operational cost of approximately $2000, which works out to $167/month (e.g., the backhaul to link the repeater to the Midwest GMRS Network). This doesn't even factor in the initial significant $$$$ expense to get Crete 600 on air. And it might also not include a recent significant $$$$ expense to replace faulty equipment. The repeater owner did not ask me to create this post. I did so on my own because I value this repeater. I'd hate to see it depart if yearly operational funding were to become an issue. Thanks for your consideration.

Good luck to all youtube GMRS content providers - I mean someone - on pursuing and getting their ham license.

Currently retevis.com has their RA25 version of the DB20-G for $76. For $85 they have the "farm tractor bundle." In the bundle a programming cable and mag mount antenna is included. *** IMPORTANT *** On Retevis' web site they offer both a dual band ham version of the RA25 as well as the GMRS version of the RA25. Notice the model number is the same. So look at links and/or drop down menus carefully if it matters to you which version you get. Let's say you get the GMRS version and use the simple button mod to open up the radio. It's true that you could xmit on the ham bands in this case. But type acceptance wise that is not valid. So if interested primarily in GMRS, get the GMRS version. Along the same reasoning, if interested primarily in ham radio, get the ham version. Physically the RA25 looks the same as the Radioddity DB20-G. However, I seem to recall someone (MichaelLAX ?) once posted that the Radioddity and Anytone versions of the radio could share a code plug with each other but the Retevis version could not use the Radioddity or Anytone code plugs (?). If so, potentially this suggests at least a small difference in the Retevis version regarding its settings or firmware. Comments @MichaelLAX, our resident DB20-G and variants fan?

@WRAM370I appreciate your response. Thanks.

Hi Michael. Not an Ozzie. But I have had shrimp on the barbie and Fosters oil cans. Apparently there are differences of opinion on how well Fosters is regarded in Oz.

For those with experience with the Wouxun KG-UV9D Mate HT, did you experience any negatives which soured you about the radio? There are not many reviews/comments to be found. There are a small number mentioned in Amazon. There are also some in youtube videos. One negative comment is that the display is hard (if not impossible) to read in a sunny setting. As another negative, one commenter stated that with an RX tone in place, squelch was broken by an undesired data/pager signal. That person added that the radios they owned from the big three did not break squelch in that scenario. Someone else mentioned another negative receive issue, though I don't recall the specifics. Due to the low number of reviews/comments about this radio, I though I'd ask the readers of this site who own or have used this radio about their experience. To be fair, there were positive comments also. Unless it was a comment I came across by someone about a different Chinese radio, that commenter mentioned a positive receive aspect that was better than those of the big three. For those with experience with this radio, I'm interested in your observations. Thanks.

Pinned comment: BTW Randy, in case there's a resolution issue with the emoji in my post above, that's an *index finger* pointing to the word 'you.' P.S. I've been an Extra class ham for 5000 years. ?

I was surprised to see new activity on this thread. BTW, some person, "some person" ?, released a newer Youtube video seven months ago about the updated 2.0 version of this device. You ? (dramatic pause) are our favorite GMRS Youtuber. On another note, @Wrue597, hope you are able to restore your radios.

The title of this post states that south central Kentucky needs a GMRS repeater. However, the body of the original post states that Kentucky [implied as a whole] doesn't have one GMRS repeater. As far as Kentucky as a whole, there are 25 GMRS repeaters. And there are more if stale (which may or may not be in service) and offline repeaters are counted. I'm not pointing this out to be a smart alec. Just pointing out that there are in fact GMRS repeaters in Kentucky as a whole, in regard to the sentence in the body of the original post.

@MichaelLAX @WRPS580 First, @MichaelLAX, reviewers typically didn't provide details whether their radio and the target radio were both set to wide band. However, @WRPS580 did mention of the two GM-30 radios he has, both were the same firmware version, same programming, and same bandwidth (wide/narrow). So without knowing if he was using his two radios for a transmission test to each other or if he used his radios separately to talk to a different radio, at least the parameters of his two radios were the same. To be fair to Radioddity, reports of low audio are inconclusive. Maybe the majority occurred if a GM-30 that was in narrowband tried talking to another GMRS radio that was set to wideband. Or if there was a problem early in the GM-30's release, perhaps Radioddity fixed it, possibly quietly. There have been quite a few positive reviews of this radio stating there was no low audio issue. Therefore, the first response by @MichaelLAX to this post offers good advice. If purchasing a GM-30, when asking for radio checks, explicitly ask how the tx audio sounds. This is actually a good thing to ask when getting early radio checks for any radio purchase you make. And as Michael stated, if the GM-30 (or any newly purchased radio) exhibits low tx audio, be prepared to return it within the exchange/warranty interval. Thanks again for everyone's comments. In Summary 1. Plenty of people say this radio is good and does not have low tx audio. 2. As with any new radio, ask for radio checks and explicitly ask how the tx audio is. 3. If there is a low tx or other issue, exchange the radio within the exchange/warranty window.

First, thanks everyone for your responses. Regarding making sure that the radio was in wideband mode, some of the reviewers had stated there was low tx audio even after verifying the radio was set to wideband. Perhaps the people who reported low tx audio happened to get an affected model. I don't remember if it was here, on Amazon, on RadioReference, or a comment in a Youtube review...someone thought a possible explanation could be that remnant flashing from the manufacturing process maybe blocked the mic partially. It's been awhile since the GM-30 was introduced. If there was a manufacturing issue, maybe Radioddity addressed it. If so, they didn't let on in their response to my email in which I asked if they were aware of reports of low tx audio. Again, thanks for everyone's responses.

back4more70, a few minutes ago I created a new post in the Equipment Reviews section. The post mentions that some Baofeng radios which supported broadcast FM reception might not do so due to chip shortages. My new post provides additional info.

According to a Reddit article titled "No FM broadcast on new UV-9G"... Due to chip shortages, some Baofeng radios which supported broadcast FM reception might not be equipped to do so. In addition to the UV-9G, the UV-82 was mentioned. According to copy/paste responses from Baofeng and Radioddity's tech support, they confirmed the missing functionality was due to chip shortages. Also, Baofeng stated that due to the number of batches, it would be difficult for them to confirm whether a particular radio is missing broadcast FM reception for this reason. So if some of your Baofengs are missing broadcast FM reception that you expected, this may be "normal." The new normal.

I am considering purchasing a Radioddity GM-30 GMRS HT. Of the various negative comments made in reviews, one that is disconcerting is reports of low TX audio. Commentators have said "you need to practically eat the mic to use it" or "if you're more than an inch away from the mic TX audio is nonexistent." Purchasers, including some on this forum, have returned the radio for this reason. For the folks on this forum, especially if you own a GM-30 and have used it for some time, what is your assessment of its TX audio? Thanks.

Since you're interested in txing on GMRS but not HAM, of those two antennas the UT-72G is the one to get. That antenna is optimized for GMRS (i.e., 462-467 MHz) as well as for the MURS radio service. In fact, the "G" at the end of the antenna's name represents GMRS. Incidentally, I am using the G version as a base antenna. I plopped it on top of a steel pizza pan, which serves as a ground. I'm happy with the results. Since I don't use the antenna as a mobile antenna, I cannot comment on its performance for that scenario. If you have a chance, can you update this post to let us know how the UT-72G is working out for you? Good luck.

If you register an account with myGMRS (this site), you can access the repeater tab. If you find one or more repeaters you're interested in accessing, for each you can click the "Request Access" link and provide your info. If/when a repeater owner approves your access, if required the access tones will be provided. Note that some repeaters are closed and/or for paid members only. When you look at the repeater info, the description will convey such cases.

You're correct. The access tone will be provided if/when the repeater owner accepts your access request. Also, you may need to register with myGMRS (rather than guest mode) to request access to repeaters on the site.

JB007Rules, thanks.

MichaelLAX, thanks again for your prompt suggestion.

MichaelLAX, thanks for the prompt suggestion.

Though I could test access the next time I'm in the Crown Point area, I'm in the process of programming my mobile now.

Is the Schererville 650 repeater available for use? Looking up the repeater in myGMRS, text says it's open for licensed GMRS operators. However, the access tones are unlisted and request access indicates disabled by owner. If the repeater is still up and available for licensed operators, how does one obtain permission and the access tones given that access requests are disabled?

Is the WQPM727 (Crown Point, IN) repeater available for use? The reason I ask is that this repeater is considered "stale" in myGMRS, presumably due to the time that elapsed since its last myGMRS update.

Addressing the 'Not sure why you want to rehash this issue all over again, 6 months later' comment, there is a difference between that previous post and this morning's one. That previous post was a general question about whether non-licensed friends can transmit legally using a license holder's GMRS radio - any GMRS radio. This morning's post was designed to discuss the Radioddity GM-N1 and FS-N1 radios (i.e., differences, appearances, and caveats). The intent was to aid prospective buyers in purchasing the correct radio based on their needs. It didn't help that Radioddity listed the GM-N1 in their license-free portion of the CPS and user's manual download section. Due to that incorrect label, a non-GMRS-licensee might buy and use that radio at odds with the rules. I also wanted prospective buyers to know that at least front-panel wise and possibly rear as well, that the two radios look similar. I stated this so that if the FS-N1 is included in a product page in the future, a buyer would be warned that due to the radios' similar appearances, if the buyer happened to glance too quickly they might buy the wrong model. In fact, I was not aware of the FS-N1. Searching for "GM-N1" in youtube, the Ham Radio 2.0 review of that radio popped up, or so I thought. When I took a quick look at the thumbnail of the video, I thought "yes, there's the GM-N1." It was not until the presenter mentioned FRS FS-N1 [and not GMRS GM-N1] that I realized there was a similar-looking but different FS-N1. I wanted to make sure that buyers knew that there were two similar looking but different versions, one FRS and one GMRS. Just trying to look out for people proactively.

For anyone interested in purchasing the Radioddity GM-N1 GMRS radio, there is inconsistent/incorrect info floating around in various sources. First, on high power this radio is 3W not 2W... On Radioddity's product page for the GM-N1, under it's picture it states the radio is 3W. On the same page, scrolling down further there is a disclaimer that states that a license is not required to purchase the radio nor to listen to it, but a license is required to transmit on GMRS freqs. Downloading the online manual, the spec section also shows that high power is 3W. Looking up this radio on amazon, the description states the radio is 3W. Also, in the question section on amazon, a customer asked about the GM-N1's output power. Radioddity's reply: 3W. So despite all the places that state the radio is 3W, unfortunately on Radioddity's manual/software download page they listed it under the "LICENSE-FREE SERIES" section, which can steer someone incorrectly. Given that the GM-N1 is 3W, which exceeds the FRS radio service's max allowable 2W output power, the GM-N1 is truly a GMRS radio, and hence requires a license if transmitting. For sure a license is needed if using high power or when utilizing GMRS repeaters. Without a license, I'm not sure if one could use the radio legally on low power if sticking with FRS freqs and not using GMRS repeaters, but the answer may be no. I have sent Radioddity an email stating that this radio as well as other GMRS radios such as the GM-30 should not be listed as license-free. Another thing I wanted to alert readers about is the difference between the GMRS GM-N1 version and the potential somewhat lookalike FRS FS-N1 version... There was supposed to be an FRS version named the FS-N1. It was supposed to be introduced via a kickstarter campaign. I don't know if that ever came to fruition. Interestingly, the guy in the popular "Ham Radio 2.0" youtube channel reviewed the FS-N1 a year ago. However, a year later, this FRS version (which looks similar to the GMRS GM-N1 version), does not appear to be available for purchase. Maybe the kickstarter campaign is behind schedule or Radioddity is re-evaluating whether to go ahead with this version? Anyway, if the FS-N1 is ever released, I wanted to alert readers that it looks similar to the GMRS GM-N1 version from the front and presumably back. Pictures I've see of the proposed FS-N1 show it with either blue or red sides, whereas the GM-N1 is all black. Note: who knows whether the blue and red sided FS-N1 pics are only mockups or whether its side panels will truly be colored and never all black, if that radio is released. Because the front of the FS-N1 looks like the GM-N1, if the FS-N1 is released, I wanted to ensure that people wanting the GMRS GM-N1 version get that radio instead of the FRS FS-N1 version. Otherwise, instead of getting GMRS/repeater capability you'll get the less powerful/FRS/non-repeater capability. And again, if you do get the GM-N1, a license is required when transmitting. Similarly, for those who do not need the extra capabilities of the GM-N1 nor want the expense of purchasing a GMRS license, they would want to purchase the FS-N1 FRS version [if it's made available] or another FRS [not GMRS] radio. Just trying to provide proactive info so folks buy the appropriate and legal radio for their needs and also to help avoid the need for exchanges to get their proper radio.