FrankNY

You're very welcome. Ham Nation is a part of the ever-expanding Leo Laporte NetCast Network. By the way, if you like the ARRL Web site, the RSGB site may also be of interest. Like the ARRL, they offer some very useful publications. Frank.

And to add even more insult to injury, if they've enabled encryption. But not to worry, the UV-5r will not tune the 800 MHz band in any case. There are 800 MHz band capable portable receivers on the market, however. Personally, I use an Alinco DJ-X11K, but it's a straight up analog radio with no support for any digital modes and it doesn't trunk. Regards, Frank.

Matty, I'm not familiar with the Motorola model that you mentioned, but be aware that if your interest is actually in GMRS communications, the Kenwood radio that you listed is a Part 90 LMR (Land Mobile Radio) product that comes preprogrammed for 16 itinerant business frequencies, although it can be reprogrammed by the dealer, preferably at the time of purchase, for different frequencies. The TK-3402-U16P is not FPP (front panel programmable) and your GMRS license doesn't allow you to use LMR frequencies. Especially since you're just starting out with this, might you not be better off using a genuine Part 95 GMRS radio such as a Motorola MS355R or a TERA TR-505? Other Motorola GMRS models include the MS350R and the MR355R. Another choice in a GMRS radio, similar to the Motorola offerings in price and features, would be the Midand GXT1050VP4 although unlike the three Motorola models and the one TERA model mentioned above, the GXT1050VP4 is not repeater-capable. Or, as has been suggested by gdavis316, choose one of the low cost Baofeng/Pofung models such as the UV-82C which is a Part 90 radio that you can program yourself using freely available computer software. Additionally, if you happen to have a Technician Class amateur radio license, the UV-82C is legally usable on the 2 meter (VHF) and 70 cm (UHF) ham bands although strictly speaking, since it's not Part 95 certificated, it's not really legit for GMRS usage although many people ignore that fact and employ it in the GMRS anyway. Regards, Frank.

Ken, for amateur radio related information, don't forget the ARRL site, but do note that their publications can sometimes be purchased at lower prices through Amazon. And if you haven't seen it yet, be sure to check out the Ham Nation shows on TWiT TV. Regards, Frank.

Hello Ken, and a big welcome to the myGMRS.com Forums. Personally, I've never come across an in-depth write-up that specifically addressed the area of repeater theory. Radio theory, both on the receiver side and the transmitter side, yes, and general radio theory, sure, including multi-inch-thick books, but never anything that targeted repeaters in particular. The best that I can offer, if you haven't already seen them, are the following two links - the obligatory Wikipedia article and the well-known "The Repeater Builder's Technical Information Page" - that may of some use to you. Maybe someone else can point you to better resources. Repeater - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repeater The Repeater Builder's Technical Information Page http://www.repeater-builder.com/rbtip/ There are some very knowledgeable people on this forum who can help you over any rough spots, should you decide to take the plunge and assemble your own GMRS repeater. Regards, Frank.

I have a fleet of five trucks, sir, and they run on the same five frequencies used by your high-end state-of-the-art Radio Shack Realistic Five Channel FM Transceivers! We will require "frequency coordination"! You play with your radios during the day, and I'll operate my fleet of trucks at night. Problem solved! Regards, Frank.

If I get any interference on my radio-controlled toy truck, I'll know who to blame! Frank. P.S. Good luck with the radios! PPS. I believe that these are the five frequencies that these radios use. Channel 1 - 49.830 MHz Channel 2 - 49.845 MHz Channel 3 - 49.860 MHz Channel 4 - 49.875 MHz Channel 5 - 49.890 MHz

Just out of curiosity, what was the make and model of the radio that went up in smoke? PG: I hope that it wasn't as bad as that image would imply! Frank.

You're quite welcome. If the SetupGU16GMRS.exe file is working for you, that's great. Back in the day (two years ago), it was the officially-distributed software for programming the GMRS version of the GU-16. As to how I located it, that was easy. Since I've done more than a few Web sites for people over the years, I know basic X/HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and needless to say, I've examined the source code of many a Web page that was created by persons other than myself. Because of this, I'm very aware that some Webmasters have a habit of leaving old code in their pages when they update the page. So in this case, I looked at the code for the page at http://www.powerwerx.com/wouxun/usb.html and saw that it still contained references to both the Commercial and GMRS versions of the GU-16 radio, even though the code in question was no longer being rendered by the browser and therefore wasn't visible to a visitor to the page. If you do a 'View Source' in your browser (all Desktop browsers and some Mobile browsers have a View Source function) for that particular URL and then do a 'Find' operation for "GU-16" (without the quotes, of course), you'll see what I'm referring to. And here's some additional information about the GU-16 that I came across after I replied to your post. The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine can sometimes be a highly useful source of information. GU-16 (GMRS version) Instruction Sheet - October 12, 2012 - 382,982 bytes http://www.powerwerx.com/download/GU-16-GMRS_Users-Manual.pdf The GU-16 (GMRS version) is CE & FCC Part 95 certified, FCC ID: WVTWOUXUN08 GU-16 (GMRS version) product information archived July 4, 2013: https://web.archive.org/web/20130704150520/http://www.powerwerx.com/two-way-radios/handheld-wouxun-radios/powerwerx-gu-16-gmrs-handheld-radio.html --- GU-16 (Commercial version) Instruction Sheet - August 26, 2012 - 249,620 bytes http://www.powerwerx.com/download/GU-16_Users-Manual.pdf The GU-16 (Commercial version) is CE & FCC Part 90 2013 Narrowband Certified, FCC ID: WVTWOUXUN03 GU-16 (Commercial version) product information archived October 19, 2013: https://web.archive.org/web/20131019024105/http://www.powerwerx.com/two-way-radios/handheld-wouxun-radios/gu-16-single-band-uhf-commercial.html Regards, Frank.

Yes, you should have downloaded the the programming software at the time you purchased the radios, as I believe that they have since been discontinued. They don't appear to even be mentioned on Wouxun's China Web site. However, I can offer the following... If the radios that you have came from Powerwerx and were the GMRS version, then you might want to download and run the following program. Powerwerx GU-16 GMRS Programming Software (2,782,440 bytes) http://www.powerwerx.com/download/SetupGU16GMRS.exe If the radios that you have came from Powerwerx and were the LMR/Commercial version, then you might want to download and run the following program. Powerwerx GU-16 Programming Software (2,768,808 bytes) http://www.powerwerx.com/download/SetupGU16.exe Please note that this is only a suggestion. I accept no responsibility whatsoever for any damage done to your radio(s) or your computer as a result of using either of the above programs. Good luck and if you try this, please do let us know how you made out. Regards, Frank.

quarterwave, the question of whether closed (Private, Paid, Members Only, etc.) GMRS repeaters should appear in the MyGMRS.com repeater list is a different question from whether such repeaters should exist in the world. Personally, I feel that closed repeaters should be listed in the repeater directory if only for the purpose of alerting others (who may be in the process of thinking about setting up a new repeater, for example) that the given frequency is in use and that some coordination will be required in order to avoid potential interference. As to the issue of whether closed GMRS repeaters should even exist, I can only point to the amateur radio community where a certain number of repeater systems are closed. These are often repeaters that were installed by and are being maintained by a local ham radio club where members are expected to pay annual dues and where one of the benefits of club membership is use of the club's repeater system. This is legal for hams to do, as it is for GMRS repeater owners. I would prefer that no repeaters were closed, but I'm not in charge of the world. Regards, Frank.

This has already been discussed in the following thread. https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/405-mini-non-technical-review-of-anytone-termn-8r/ zap started it all with post #11. Regards, Frank.

Mainly a way to run old DOS games under various versions of Windows, where they were never intended to run. More info at the following URL. http://www.dosbox.com/ Of course, some people use it to run old DOS radio programming software. Regards, Frank.

Steve, I'm pleased to hear that you got it working. Wonder why Win95 compatibility mode in XP didn't work though.

Steve, you may not need an actual Windows 95 system in order to run this particular program. Give the Windows 95 Compatibility mode option in Windows XP a try first. How to use Windows Program Compatibility mode in Windows XP http://support.microsoft.com/kb/292533/ Regards and good luck! Frank.

No local issues, per se, but suddenly I notice a large number of children's voices on FRS channel 1, for some reason, usually saying "Can you hear me? Can you hear me?". I expect that this chatter will die down within a week or so as the newness factor wears off.. Frank.

And a mobile is for talking your way back to a (nice and warm and cozy and well-fortified and provisioned) base?

I hope that they remembered to get a 'license' prior to the ceremony. It's required by law, you know; unlicensed operations are not permitted. Side note: Here in New York, there's a 24-hour "cooling off period" between the point in time where the license is issued and the point in time where the wedding can occur. This is in case either/both party/parties to the union should come to their senses and decide that getting married (at least to each other) may not be the most appropriate thing to do.

Thanks for the information, gentlemen, I understand better now, and best of luck with the project John! Regards, Frank.

I vote for electrification, too! 50 kV, no less! John can install a few solar panels to provide power and make the project more interesting. By the way, John, wouldn't it be even better to bury the line as it runs between the foot of the tree and your shack, or would that be overkill in this particular situation? I don't know what sort of cable run you've got, in terms of actual physical distance, between the tree and the shack. And I guess that this is all happening on your own private property, but I think that we probably all know how destructive kids can sometimes be. Some of them might find the sight of that pipe running down the side of the tree to be of irresistible interest, if you know what I mean.

I believe that the SHTFLI group are in the process of setting up a second GMRS repeater as well - and also a mesh network using re-purposed old Linksys wireless home routers loaded with custom firmware. I expect that each node in the mesh network will be quite resilient due to use of solar-powered battery backup capability. The primary purpose of the mesh network is for the sending/receiving of text messages and the transfer of files, not for Internet access. Reference on mesh networks, for those not familiar. Mesh networking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesh_networking Regards, Frank.

captdan, the SHTFLI (Stuff Hits The Fan Long Island) repeater does indeed have good reach. I'm able to monitor it quite well even from here on the Lower West Side of Manhattan, with some truly massive high-rise buildings in between me and the repeater. It was put together by some hams for use by the general population out on Long Island, sort of in preparation for the next storm - or whatever bad things might happen to come their way in the future. Many of them really suffered after Sandy. The registered members of the SHTFLI group usually run a net on Sunday nights, in case you want to tune in and listen. Starts at about 20:00 hours. Regards, Frank.