MichaelLAX

Listening is always an unlicensed option.

Strangely they still do not allow Wideband on Cannels 1-7?!?

Do some research online and here about your radio choices. I am not sure that Midland is the best choice, but you have to determine that for your needs.

I personally have no experience with Midland radios. The major "feature" of these radios, as I read about them on this forum, is their simplicity to use out of the box; but not necessarily price. Have you tried using a different radio in your base and repeat the experiment with your brother? Perhaps the Midland just has a bad "front end" which hobbles its receiver. UPDATE: I just read @Shannonsame suggestion! and your reply, but did you try a different radio other than Midland?

I don't think that most of the Wouxuns have the ability to be "opened" to transmit on alternative frequencies; I've only owned one of them over the years, a Ham tri-bander; long before I discovered GMRS and sold it on eBay after acquiring a Baofeng tri-bander that used my other Baofeng UV-5R accessories. Which is too bad, because Wouxun makes a quality product. I did ultimately acquire a Ham HT that opens to GMRS: the TYV-UV88, which appears to look like a Radioddity GM-30 clone, although I think it predated the GM-30's release.

No one asked you to!

Yes: Alpha-Delta which also has a 4 output model. I have both: one for HF antenna to two radios and the other for my Comet VHF/UHF tri-band antenna to four radios. Avoid cheap knockoffs that perform poorly.

I ourchased my Anytone AT-779UV and mag-mount whip here and my TYT-UV88 with unlock code: Lets Get Ready!

That statement is based upon the incorrect assumption that anyone may easily use low power to transmit back to any signal that they can hear on their radio. If they cannot hear you at 2 watts, and you have the ability to transmit on a higher power and you choose not to avail yourself of that ability to help in their emergency, that is your choice; but not mine!

The confusion arises from the difference in terminology and the use of different examples between these two different threads. The important consideration is that once a Part 95(e) GMRS radio has been "unlocked" and then "relocked" back to just GMRS, there is just no practical way to discern that this radio is any different than it was when granted certification. Those that agree this is "a thing" can sleep at night even after using their "re-locked" GMRS radios and the remainder of the GMRS population will just ignore or not even be aware that their radio may possibly be "unlocked" and sleep well at night as well. This guy, below, believes, as expressed in his video, to the contrary about use of radios during emergencies. While he cautions that he is not an attorney, his common-sense approach to the issue, would seem to protect one's use of their radio during an emergency (that of course does not interfere with other necessary emergency communications): As to emergency communications, some people believe to the contrary:

Can I test it in a non-emergency situation?

...

And now we have gone full circle on this topic!

Take it up with @wrci350here

Who said I was operating on GMRS when I am scanning? As confirmed by another member of this Forum wrci350, when I program my radio back to GMRS for purposes of transmitting on GMRS, it is back to being Part 95(e) certified as well. You are perhaps thinking of the Special Master who chided Trump's lawyers...

The OP said: The post just previous to mine is full of hyperbolic BS, but the important issue to be rebutted is that in an emergency anyone can transmit an emergency message to park rangers etc! I personally would stay away from frequencies being used by First Responder and other SAR communicators, as they are the experts here. Furthermore, I have added the MURS channels to my GMRS radio with the capacity to transmit at the full 20 watts that my radio provides, if in an instance of scanning through these channels (I rarely use MURS), I hear an emergency transmission and hopefully my 20 watts can power through to communicate with this person, as and if needed.

Why not send it to me; I'll scan it, add it to my digital library and post it here as a pdf?

I'm new to PLBs; are there urban uses to them? Plus, I think that my new iPhone 14PM can communicate through satellites in an emergency, too!

Sure: good idea. If you actually hit the "Quote" button under my post, it not only quotes me in your post, it alerts me that someone has quoted me. I did not see your new post until just now otherwise.

Additional research indicates that the latest software for the Radioddity GM-30 will work with the GM-15 (but do not use the firmware software to change the installed firmware). This is version 2.06 running on Windows XP emulated by Parallels on my Mac: Radioddity GM-30 Software:

Surely you know that you can reprogram the side buttons to other functions and NEVER use your LED flashlight! And don't call me Shirley! ?

I went back and reread the OP, and I don't see anything about his inability to reach his home with his HT while standing outside his car; Maybe I missed it in a later post? In any event he is looking for solutions to communicating to his home while driving around his town which is about 4 miles from his home.

At the end of the day, I have found over the years that the biggest problem seems to be installing the proper driver for the USB cable you are using. That being said: More information would be helpful: • Is it a Radioddity GM-15 or the Baofeng GM-15? I do not see a Radioddity GM-15 listed on their website. The Baofeng GM-15 shown on Amazon looks like a clone of the Radioddity GM-30/TIDRadio TD-H5/Ruged CMRS2 and Pofung P15UV (which I own and gave to my grandson). • Where did you get your software? • Have you been able to get CPS programming software to work in the past, if so, which radio? • From where did you acquire your programming cable?

I just picked up two of these for less than $30 from Amazon (and apparently even cheaper on eBay): Pofung BF-T11 TWO WATTS on Channel 3! And programmable with my Baofeng UV-5R cable, too!

And Channel 9 is limited to 0.5 watts.