DownEastNC
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Posts posted by DownEastNC
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11 hours ago, DanW said:
Say what you want about 20. I NEVER hear travelers using simplex 20 as the travel channel. I can get on I70 right now and start talking away and there's a 99% chance NOBODY will respond. At the same time, I can easily get someone on CB 19 to respond, pretty much every time, on any interstate with even light traffic on it.
If it's any consolation I never hear travelers on channel 19. Go figure! You posted earlier that "No one knows about channel 20" yet you dismiss my quotefest that pretty much negates your argument. A lot of people know about channel 20 and its recognition as the traveler's channel. I suppose GMRS being what it is, most folks just don't want to chit chat with strangers. I don't know what else to do to convince you not to reinvent the wheel. I could go on with page two through ten of the search and keep quoting but I figure you would take the initiative if you were truly interested but it sounds like you just don't care. That's fine. None of this is going to work anyway unless someone takes the initiative to reach out to the dozens of other GMRS user groups and forums. In the meantime we can dust off the CB and have at it.
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A simple Google search; "GMRS Travel Channel". I quoted the results in order that had anything to say about a "Travel Channel". I did not cherry pick the results. There were over 10 pages of results but for random samplings sake I just grabbed the first handful. Not one mentioned anything about an alternate travel channel. Every single one specifically mentioned Channel 20(462.675MHz) and most went on to say "with a PL of 141.3Hz"
@DanW I'm an open minded person. Please explain why everyone should jump convention and a set precedent because you think Channel 19 is "easier" ? Here's one even better, try going to some other GMRS forums and make the pitch for channel 19 being the "new" travel channel. I'm willing to wager that you will be informed of the past precedent of Channel 20. From my chair this looks like a done deal and common knowledge that 462.675 is the travelers channel. Does anyone disagree?
Quotehttps://www.reddit.com/r/gmrs/comments/khjzvd/gmrs_channel_for_road_travel/
Channel 20(462.675MHz) with a PL of 141.3Hz is generally considered the 'travel/calling' frequency on GMRS
Quotehttps://forums.radioreference.com/threads/the-history-behind-462-675-mhz-and-the-travel-tone.374402/
I came across the North Shore Emergency Association's website recently and found their club history page interesting:
nsea.com/nseainfo.htm
This link briefly discusses how the "travel tone" of 141.3 Hz and the national calling/emergency frequency of 462.675 MHz came to be. NSEA was one of the very first adopters of GMRS in the early 1970s, then the Class "A" Citizens Band.Quotehttps://www.hfunderground.com/wiki/GMRS
Calling frequency 462.675 MHz CTCSS 141.3 Hz (sometimes referred to as the "travel channel")
Quotehttps://www.survivalistboards.com/threads/wilderness-protocol-and-travel-tones.173425/
The GMRS Travel Tone and unofficial travel and assistance frequency is a way to allow GMRS users to get assistance when they are outside of their home area. It is a specific tone and frequency combo, 141.3HZ PL and 462.675 duplex or simplex that is defined nationwide
Quotehttps://mfcallahan.blog/2018/07/29/the-history-behind-462-675-mhz-and-the-travel-tone/
This link briefly discusses how the “travel tone” of 141.3 Hz and the national calling/emergency frequency of 462.675 MHz came to be. NSEA was one of the very first adopters of GMRS in the early 1970s, then the Class “A” Citizens Band. Here’s a quick snippet from the link
Quotehttps://offroadpassport.com/forums/topic/5775-gmrs-for-beginners/
The Travel Tone - It’s also worth noting that there is a “national travel tone”. This is on CTCSS 141.3 Hz. The idea here is that “most” repeaters will accept the travel tone and allow you to broadcast for travel or assistance related transmissions. This is pretty nice, since you don’t need to know a ton of specific tones for specific repeaters for specific needs. This is reminiscent of Channel 14 on CB, which was a largely accepted “travel channel”.
Quotehttps://www.chemeurope.com/en/encyclopedia/General_Mobile_Radio_Service.html
"675" 462.675 Nationwide emergency and road information calling. Nationally recognized coded squelch for 675 emergency repeater operation is 141.3 Hz.
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Looking at the MyGMRS repeater database, there are 465 repeaters setup with tone 141.3. This includes all frequencies.
Looking at 462.675 (Channel 20) the number is between 103 and 113 depending on if they are using an output tone.
Looking at 462.650 (Channel 16) with tone 141.3, there are 38 repeaters setup as such.
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I guess I better be checking the KG-XS20G. I leave that guy plugged in a lot but the F-250 with 2 massive batteries doesn't go much more than a day without being cranked.
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I found this year old discussion on Reddit, which pretty much covers everything that has been said in this thread. You probably won't learn anything new but at least it confirms that others are thinking along the same lines.
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2 hours ago, kb2ztx said:
For me I dont want someone camping on my repeater pair or using it as a "road" channel. If your set on a designated channel I'd pick a 1-7 channel.
I need some help understanding this. If you are camped out on a repeater channel, with tones, then how will you hear a simplex conversation with no tones? Isn't it the other way around... the simplex guys having to listen to a repeater RX channel or is the concern that simplex is stepping on a weaker repeater receive channel?
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Instead of telling everyone what you can't do, or what you shouldn't do, how about a suggestion on what we can do? Or is all this an exercise in futility?
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If there was a suggested or official GMRS travel channel, I would use it. I've also considered getting my own window decals that essentially say something like "GMRS - CH20" to let other's know what channel I'm monitoring, call sign optional.
I just recently made a two day turnaround, 350 miles each way, and had the radio on scan. I picked up some repeater chatter, a little car to car chatter, and in one city there was a road crew using a channel (I'm assuming on FRS) to direct traffic flow. Not one person chimed in and said "Break for that good looking guy in the pickup truck", so I was a bit disappointed in that respect. Perhaps if I had those decals the results would be different.
Jokes aside, I know that many aren't too keen on seeing GMRS go to the wild side like CB did back in the 70's. I wouldn't want that either but it would be nice to be able to reach out to get a traffic report or local information during the trip and hey, if you were really bored then just have a friendly chat on a side channel. Actually I don't believe two way radio will hit the frenzy like CB did years ago mainly because of mobile phones. Most folks are self absorbed with their phone and that's as far as they want to take it.
So if the GMRS community ever gets organized enough to have an official travel channel then I'll roll with it and if MyGMRS wants to crank out some decals then I'd be glad to pitch in on that too. My 2¢
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47 minutes ago, kb2ztx said:
This comes up often. there is not one and no need for one. This isn't ham radio.
If it comes up often then it sure sounds like there might be a need for one.
DownEastNC sits back and waits on lecture about how GMRS is supposed to be for personal communications
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Just to recap, my inquiry was based on some Marine/GMRS radios that I saw listed on a couple of two way radio sites. At the time I had no idea that those radios, legal some time in the past, have been phased out and no longer available because of updated FCC regulations. I'm still curious why they are still listed on the web sites but marked "Out of Stock". None the less I gave up the search and purchased a Cobra HH600 to take care of my needs. I didn't want to purchase an old radio that was out of warranty and probably not supported. This radio goes kayak fishing with me so I needed a waterproof and floating unit. The HH600 has some additional features such as GPS, DSC, NOAA, and Bluetooth if I want to pair it up with my mobile phone. I initially wanted the GMRS feature for terra firma communications but I have since learned the FCC has relaxed a bit on Marine VHF used on the ground up to 3 miles inland as long as the conversation is related to water based activity. In the past VHF Marine was relegated to "on the water" communications unless you had a station license which some marinas and boat yards need.
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17 hours ago, WRHS218 said:
I live in a smallish mountain community ...
I just shared your story in my Facebook group. It is the exact reason why I created the group and am trying to promote / encourage others to join the GMRS community. Thanks!
PS: Link to group but participation is set to invite only. Residents and visitors to the area are welcome to join; https://www.facebook.com/groups/downeastncgmrs
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22 hours ago, Eltee said:
If I decide to route the coax straight through the interior and out the exterior wall without a bulkhead connector, is there a rule of thumb as to going through vs. over the baseboard? It's a typical painted drywall inside with a flat (no contour) baseboard and the exterior is rough textured stucco.
Ex electrician here. I would cut in a box in the wall at the same height as your electrical outlets and route the cable through the box. When done use a blank outlet plate with a hole in it big enough to accommodate the coax. They do make cover plates with holes in them already if you know what you want. Otherwise do what the cable installers do which is go through the floor as close to the baseboard molding as possible. No offense to cable installers but they tend to do things as quick and as easy as possible so they can get the heck out of there.
- AdmiralCochrane, wayoverthere and Eltee
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There is an anomaly when using the weather alert on the KG-935G and the KG-XS20G. When selected 'On' and scanning in area A, the scan will be continuously interrupted while it interrogates the NOAA weather channels for an alert tone. This is very distracting and inefficient. There are two ways to work around this "feature"; (1) Turn off weather alert or (2) Set your scan in area B where it will not be interrupted. The weather scan only occurs in area A.
If you find your scan still being interrupted by the weather frequencies, no matter what you do, then set Scan Mode to 'CO'
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I just wanted to post a follow-up. I decided to go with a straight GMRS base station antenna instead of the UHF/VHF. I purchased a Comet CA-712EFC. IMO it's a pretty nice antenna as far as construction and the hardware included. Until I can perform a permanent installation with some additional height I have it attached to a 16 foot piece of 1-1/4" schedule 40 steel pipe. Height to antenna tip is about 25'. I used 75' of LMR-400 Ultra Flex and routed it into the RV and into a SWR meter. On the other side of the meter is my handheld KG-935G with a SMA female to PL-259. I had a jaw dropping 1.06 SWR on Channel 20 at 4 watts plus some change. I easily hit a repeater 29 miles away and had a nice conversation with a gentleman who gladly gave me a radio check. He said I was coming in strong. I'm waiting for my lightening arrester to arrive and I'll do another SWR check after that is installed. Sometime later in the day I'll be plugging up the KG-XS20G and see what 20 watts does for me. Overall I'm pleased with the antenna and its performance.
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I saw this video on how close you can mount two antennas. The context is about ham and repeaters and I have noidea if it's applicable to your situation but it may be worth a look at.
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Did you try turning the car off to see if the noise was abated?
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10 hours ago, wayoverthere said:
Sorry not to get back with pictures...work has been killing my daylight hours lately
No problem. I reread your instructions and found a way to get it into the cab without it looking butt ugly or getting the cable pinched.
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On 10/14/2021 at 11:53 AM, wayoverthere said:
I can try to get pictures in a day or two, but for my single cab Ranger-clone, I have the mount centered on the roof.
For cable routing, I tucked the cable beind the back edge of the outer top door seal at the top corner of the passenger door, following along the outside of the inner seal down to the bottom of the door, then looping up and toward the back to cross the seal, to create a drip loop and discourage water intrusion.
Edit: Never mind. I finally figured it out
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Are they announcing their call sign? Could they be using an FRS radio? Reclassified FRS radios can be used for business.
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Another channel worthy of mention is Ham Radio 2.0
He does mostly ham videos but is engaging more and more into GMRS.
- BKmetzWRKZ843 and WROA675
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8 minutes ago, Radioguy7268 said:
60 ft is difficult without a building/tower/structure to lean on - or some guy wires. I've done some 40 ft. utility poles with 10 ft. mast, and I can tell you they do sway and move in the breeze, even with just a simple fiberglass omni, but they work. Forget the fiberglass telescoping fishing poles. More than 10 ft. of unsupported pipe/mast is asking for trouble. You might get away with it for a week, a month, a year, but you won't last through the first decent storm.
Everything is a stepping stone to get me to the final destination. Initially my antenna rig will be quite a bit lower in elevation. Long term I am hoping to set a utility pole (power pole) and on top, attach a flag pole of whatever length, then the antenna. The flag pole I'm looking at is free standing and can withstand over 100 mph wind, anchored to a concrete pad on ground. I'm going to come up with some sort of gin pole / boom to be able to lower / raise the flag pole on a hinged support bracket. This setup is common on sail boats with long masts. Anyway, everything is on paper at the moment.
Near term I will be using my mobile KG-XS20G (20 watts) or my HT KG-935G with the intention of eventually getting the 50 watt KG-1000G as the base station.
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Here's the results that I got from Radio Mobile as originally suggested by @Radioguy7268.
I started out with 20w power, 10 meters / 32 feet height and 6db gain. The coverage was, let's say decent as it reached out 10 to 15 miles.
Next I doubled the antenna height to 20 meters / 65 feet height and the coverage area more than doubled out to 30 plus miles.
For my next trick I doubled the wattage to 40 and didn't really gain any coverage but it did extend out the marginal area.
I do live in a very flat coastal area, much is over water, and tall pine trees are the biggest obstacle. So I guess by just dumb luck it appears that my original desire to get an antenna up around 60 feet is the sweet spot for me and my expectations. I will try to see if I can shorten the coax length from 100' to 75' to eliminate some loss.
Thanks to everyone for your suggestions and participation and especially the education I received here. Y'all are the best!
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4 minutes ago, Radioguy7268 said:
Radio Mobile is the go-to for an online tool that's actual useful and doesn't take more than 30 minutes to figure out the basics.
Radio Mobile online coverage map
Once you've mapped out your proposed initial system, you can toy around with it to see what you're going to be able to cover given certain heights and gain. If you make the areas where you need it to work at 25 or 30 foot, and there's no appreciable coverage gained by moving to 50 ft, then you know it's probably not worth the trouble. If you're still not covering where you want at 50 ft - then start moving upward until you see the coverage you desire. Hint - 5 or 10 ft. height difference usually doesn't do that much.
I've found their coverage predictions to be fairly accurate if you push the desired reliability to 99% and use realistic figures for your wattage & losses.
The antenna height should usually be figured as half the total length for a vertical omni.
Awesome!!! Thanks for this link. It will be very helpful.
Repeater ID change?
in FCC Rules Discussion
Posted
My suggestion is to study the FCC statement carefully and make your own decision because around here you'll get conflicting views. I cite this thread for example, where I questioned the need for an auto ID but was quickly told that you absolutely have to have one;
BTW, when I get a repeater up and running I am not putting an ID on it. I will however make the repeater private and not hand out any PL tones until the person wanting to use it submits a form that reiterates that he or she comply by all FCC rules including the proper call sign usage. This isn't a firewall by any sense because anyone with a tone scanner can figure it out and secondly, anyone can submit bogus information on my request form. At the minimum it shows that I have made the effort to control who access the repeater.