Raybestos

Some, though thankfully not most, repeater owners have some major control freak issues going on. They have lengthy lists of "thou shalts" and "thou shalt nots" which may be frequently added to. One such repeater, a friend sent me a link to last night. The dude who owns it sounds to be on the verge of a major mental/emotional breakdown of some type. The group for the repeater I am a part owner of try to be laid back about it. All we ask is a reasonable effort to follow the rules (ID at appropriate intervals, no profanity, etc). As has been noted, try not to argue too much with the owner if you want to use it as it IS their repeater.

Thank you and gortex2 for having actually read and understood my comment! As of now, the problem seems to have disappeared so maybe someone at MyGMRS rectified the problem.

I see reading comprehension is not a strong suit on this thread, today.

Hi Steve! Once again, ads were always here and were not a problem. "RECENTLY", in the last two or three weeks, they intermittently would cover the bottom portion of the repeater page for my (or other) state, making it impossible to see any but the top few repeaters on the page. Not only does it cover the bottom ones listed, it also makes inaccessible, the selector which allowed you to choose 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 repeaters that could be viewed per page. THAT is the problem, not that there are ads. Before today, I could usually make the offending ad go away by refreshing the page or similar. Today, the ad just sits there, blocking the lower part of the page and nothing makes it go away.

Oh man, that used to be so annoying on ham. Some guy would get his license and do that unnecessary "over" thing after each xmit. Every newbie for miles around would then think it was somehow necessary or proper protocol and start emulating it. I know how Brian felt with Stewie doing it.

I get that there will be ads, but ads covering a large portion of the page which renders it unusable is not good in any way. As I noted above, this problem is a recent development. It has been going on about two, maybe three weeks. It was intermittent until today. I could make the ads go away by refreshing the page or similar maneuver. Today, the ads won't go away.

Recently, on occasion, I note obnoxious ads taking up the bottom half of the page on my Galaxy S22 when trying to view my state's repeater list. This is annoying as not only does it block the bottom half of the page, it also makes it impossible to select the number of repeaters available (10, 20, 30, etc) for viewing. BTW, is there a way that you can set the number of repeaters viewed, go view a given repeaters page, then not have to select the number of repeaters viewed on return again? Or better yet, how about do away with the selection for number of repeaters viewed and just default it to 50 (or even 100)? In the recent past, shortly after these ads started, I could make them go away by refreshing the page. At the moment, they are there and I cannot make them go away and cannot view any repeaters on my state's list but the very few at the top of the list.

Aye! Also ignored was OP's observation that, "Some days this can go on for a long time as if someone is having a conversation.", which leads me to believe this is a CW QSO rather than simply a repeater's Morse ID.

Yeah, let's just go with the simplest explanation, even if is likely the wrong one.

Sounds like you might be picking up actual CW from an HF, VHF, or UHF, source. CW used in conversation is far more common on HF (aka short wave), but there are hams who use it on VHF and even UHF in the "weak signal" portions of those ham bands. Morse ID's on repeaters (often erroneously referred to as CW) will contain a tone with each dit or dah. CW or Continuous Wave (interrupted by the use of a key or keying device) will normally sound like someone keying and unkeying a mic with no voice or other intelligence added. Most of the CCJ (Cheap Chinese Junk) radios on the market today have direct conversion receivers and little if any filtering, so your picking up actual CW from one of the aforementioned ham sources is entirely possible. If the signal is not strong or it mixes with other signals or modes, it very well could sound like buzzes or static.

I agree! Had a ham callsign plate for some years but with the road-ragers and other weirdos on the road and elsewhere, I decided to do away with the ham tag and get a regular plate. A ham, or GMRS, plate is much easier to look up online and find your address. The regular plate makes it easier to be the proverbial "grey man" who blends into the background when convenient to do so.

NO! Not the fart sound! I got in trouble with a ham club using their 2m linked network once because of that. I was in a conversation and let one rip while I had the mic keyed. The computer system supporting the link read the sound as a digital data burst shut-down command which turned the network off. Talk about a bunch of sad hams!

I still kinda wish all of the radio manufacturers would make a Roger beep (or courtesy tone, if you prefer) option that sounded like a half second (or so) squelch tail. In other words, a burst of white noise, like the old police and business radios from the 1950's thru the 80's or so used to make on the receive end.

I know! Just when I thought that Midland had finally hired some GMRS design engineers who had a clue... They did great, as I understand it, making this radio dual conversion. I believe this is the first ever GMRS by Midland to include that feature which does make a difference in areas with a lot of RF pollution. Even though NAR experienced long battery life in his test, not allowing for procurement or attachment of spare batteries if out in the wilderness for days, is just short-sighted. If the attached antenna works well, I can live with that being incapable of removal, but why? I always hated that style of belt clip, preferring the rigid, one-piece, style that is more common. Midland seems to really play up that minimalist "keeping it simple for the non-radio person" rot, but it isn't necessary. Any Wouxun ht or mobile is just as simple if you choose to not program in PL codes for simplex or repeater use. The thing about the Wouxun design is, their radios can easily and readily grow with you, your knowledge of radios, and your needs; allowing for addition of more repeater or simplex channels with differing PL/DPL codes in them. I am now expecting any day, to see Midland introduce the absolute ultimate in minimalist communications for the non-radio-geek. Picture it! "The New Midland TCCC" (Tin Can Communications Center). "Midland R&D has just developed a new communications device which will revolutionize communications with family, friends, and neighbors. Our new TCCC never requires batteries, needs no license, and has exceptional privacy! The TCCC comes complete with two tin cans and a 100 ft length of high-quality, communications grade, string. It allows for reliable, network-free contact when afield, between rooms, between houses, and even between automobiles! Extra 100 ft lengths of communications grade string may be necessary for vehicular operation. Be prepared for your next outing, road trip, or EMP incident! The new Midland TCCC is impervious to EMP, Government eavesdropping, and other hazards. It needs no programming or knowledge of radiocommunications principles to work. Get yours today!"

We are supposed to hear sound on here? Seriously, what kind of sound? Music? Voices? Flatulence? Something else?

Would this include the time when I was twelve, and I swiped a bottle of my sister's hand lotion and later that day, touched myself in an impure manner?

If that makes you happy, go for it! Me, I'm saving my points for that toaster oven with the ARRL logo emblazoned on it.

Marc and Sven, great comments! I ran out of upvotes but will get to you guys, tomorrow! I am convinced that the average citizens/voters in our country are little more than literal sheep, easily led and easily pushed; by politicians, media, and others, with cliche's, sound bites, and zero critical thinking. When I was a cop, back in the mid and late 2000's, there was a big push to get South Carolina a "cell phone law" similar to the abomination that Georgia now suffers under. I believe it has to be hands-free and if you touch it more than once, they can cite you, or similar lunacy. Everywhere I went, convenience store clerks, customers, and others would say "we need a cell phone law" (said in a smarmy, whiney voice). I always replied, "no we don't". I mentioned that for every discourteous or dangerous maneuver that one might do on the roadway, there was an existing statute in the SC Code of Laws which could be brought to bear on the driver who committed that act. All it takes, I noted, is cops familiarizing themselves with the statutes already available to them and utilizing them. Move over into someone's lane and hit or almost hit them; there's a statute for that. Run a red light; there's a statute for that. Sit in the middle of the road yakking on the phone or texting after the light turns green; there's a statute for that. When I saw someone doing something stupid like the above, I stopped them and ticketed them. I also let them know, when applicable, that it appeared that the reason for the violation, and therefore the ticket, seemed to be that they were engrossed in their cell phone. I advised them to pay better attention to the road. Some people can multi-task well. Some cannot. I never got the point of creating another law, penalizing people for what they "might" do wrong instead of just going after the ones who are doing wrong. Who is the greater danger to the public, the guy or gal driving, with a phone to their ear, obeying all traffic laws and operating their vehicle in a competent manner, or the one who veers into an adjacent lane for whatever reason, including adjusting the climate control, adjusting their AM-FM radio, adjusting their underwear, or whatever? Target the ones actually creating the hazard, not the ones who "might" do something wrong. This is about as ludicrous as most gun laws. They operate under the perception that because you are wearing a gun, you somehow will not be able to constrain yourself from committing a crime with it. Gun laws only impede the law abiding, the very people who are not the problem. Criminals, being criminals, are mostly unimpeded by gun laws. A year or two ago, I read an article where some honcho in the SC Highway Patrol was whining that our current texting law was too difficult for his Troopers to enforce and that we needed something closer to what Georgia has. I remember thinking that he either needed better Troopers or needed to re-train the ones he had. Instead of creating a new class of violator (to enhance revenue collection, perhaps?) go after the ones who are making dangerous maneuvers on the road. I mean, if talking on a cell phone is THAT dangerous, you won't have to follow them far before they commit a ticket able violation, right? Finally, I will leave you with a quote my late maternal grandfather used to regularly repeat. He was right. Marcus Tullius Cicero

Great idea! There used to be a company that made such antennas for VHF and UHF ham applications. I believe their name was Ventenna, or something like that. If they are still in business, surely they could be persuaded to make a GMRS version. Edit: Sorry. I just read elsewhere that the gentleman who owned Ventenna retired and closed up.

I was not aware they had expanded the channel capacity of the 500 by that much. I stand corrected on that. Thank You!

...

I have long suspected that Midland GMRS design engineers suffer from some form of arrested development. So many things, they missed the boat on. With regard to ht's that are promoted for use in the wilderness (also their Base Camp radio), they have woefully deficient battery capacity. I believe most of their ht's are packed standard with something like a whopping 700mAh battery. Additionally, and as far as I know, none of the Midland ht's are repeater capable, yet they promote use of their ht's and repeaters (along with mobiles) for farm and agriculture use. The mobile designs also are a mixed bag of weirdness. Some mobiles may only do narrowband FM while others are capable of narrowband and wideband on GMRS. Some of the smaller mobiles may not allow for different encode/decode CTCSS/DCS tones on repeaters that use differing encode and decode tones. The biggest issue with their mobiles that I see is they do not allow for programming additional repeater or simplex channels above the standard 22, 23, or whatever they come packed with. This means if you regularly travel into and out of areas where the repeaters might use the same frequency, say 462.675, and one repeater uses a 141.3 PL and the other uses a 67.0 PL, you will need to pull over and change PL's when driving out of one repeater's coverage area and into the coverage are of the other. Midland lamely tries to excuse this deficiency in design by saying they are making their radios simple to use for those who just want to hook up their radio and talk. Never mind that as you gain knowledge and/or benefit from the experience and wisdom of friends, you will likely want to expand the capabilities of your mobile radios. If your radio doesn't allow for such expansion, you are just out of luck. None of the Midland GMRS mobiles include a cooling fan, something you will quickly understand the need for if making multiple key down transmissions in a short time or extended transmissions. As WRYX926 correctly noted above, you will get a much better bang for your buck with a KG1000G or KG1000G+.

With growing children, a small attic antenna (provided you aren't using a metallic roof) hooked to a repeater might be great for your family, or other friends in the neighborhood to use. Something like the low-power (5-10 watt) Midland or similar repeater would allow for decent portable-to-portable coverage around the neighborhood, especially with something like the tiny WLN KDC1 ht's. Yeah, they technically are ham radios but I "hear" they work great on GMRS freqs if programmed for that. Of course I have no actual experience using them for such.

A few months ago, watching this Mr Ballen YouTube video, I couldn't help but wonder if a ham, CB, or GMRS, radio in their car would have gotten this family help much sooner. Ideally, they would have had all three but even a CB or 2m ham mobile might have made the difference and the husband and father might be alive had they been in possession of something other than their cell phones. A firearm would have provided additional comfort given the interest that bears were showing the family in their unenviable situation, but this was the West Coast and they were from California, areas where the government keeps citizens generally disarmed.

Not sure as I have never owned or used an 805G.