jenksjr

Thanks for the reply. I look forward to chatting with you.

Just got a new Retevis RT97 up and running in East Anchorage. Location is near Boniface and Reflection Dr. Using 3 element Yagi pointed south from my Condo balcony. Transmissions to the west are mostly blocked. Hopefully, this will work most of East Anchorage and possibly toward Eagle River if mobile or base is used. Best reception should be good on the Hill Side. Will need testing to see what the actual coverage is? The initial tone setting is 141.3 for input/output. At some point I plan to change to a DCS Tone. Please be mindful of other users of the frequency. All GMRS frequencies are used on a shared basis. No one owns any particular frequency. So, before you transmit to access the repeater determine the frequency is not already in use. If you use Tone Squelch you may not hear other uses of the frequency. In order to determine if the frequency is clear you will need to open your squelch in some way. Use your Monitor feature if your radio has it or use another channel on your radio that has carrier squelch. If possible, just set your repeater channel to use carrier squelch instead of tone squelch. Also, remember you are required by FCC regulations to use your FCC issued GMRS call sign when you are finished with a conversation. There's no need to repeat your call sign after every transmission. If you are in a long conversation, you must repeat your call sign every 15 minutes. However, let's not tie up a repeater for that length of time. Others may be waiting to use the repeater. Try using a simplex channel, if you are close enough to the other station, to continue a conversation. If you have an urgent need or emergency you may break into a conversation by saying "break, break, break". Others on the channel should yield to you. If you would like to join a conversation just you drop you call sign during a break in the ongoing conversation. Let's keep all conversations family friendly. And above all be courteous. One last thing. If you are running a business don't use this repeater (to run your business). There are licensed frequencies available specifically for businesses. You can obtain a frequency that is not shared by others. There are other license free frequencies available on a shared basis in the MURS or Multi-Use Radio Service. These fall under Part 95 rules but are not likely to be used by the general public. If you are not familiar with the rules governing the GMRS please refer to FCC Part 95 subpart A. CFR-2009-title47-vol5-part95.pdf (govinfo.gov)

Loaded program on another Laptop. Bingo!

Thanks for the feedback. I tried that after reading your answer on post you made to someone else. I'm wondering if it could be Windows Security? When downloading the program from Retevis the program Windows Flags it as "possibly unsafe". However, I'm able to override the that and continue to downland and install the program. Apparently, it not a well-known problem. I have searched the web for a good while and found that your post is the only one that comes even close to answering the question. I might try another laptop. Thanks again. Jim

Running Windows10 tried several times to uninstall/reinstall programing software. Also, tried Compatibility Troubleshooting. Program will not start. Any ideas appreciated. Jim

Bill, Thanks for the reply. Will be glad help where ever I can. Would be great to get a wide area repeater up so can expand our presence in the greater ANC area.

Hello All, Just joined the Club. Conner WRVL 467 let me know about the club. I didn't realize there was a place for GMRS clubs on the MyGMRS site. My not new to GMRS but always open to new information and ideas. There's always more to learn. I actually had a GMRS station in Kenai way back in the 1990's. It was pretty basic and there weren't any other users at that time. I then got into Amateur Radio. About 5 years ago I got back into GMRS while living in the Seattle area. There were quite a few repeaters in the area and were ECOM groups using those repeaters. The was a lot of activity on GMRS. One group was helping people study up (over the air) for the Amateur radio tests. I remember you could put out a call anytime of the day and you would likely receive a reply. I have some info on the repeater situation here in Anchorage. The repeater owned by WRCA670, to the best of my knowledge, is not on the air. However, there is a repeater on the same channel with a tone of 100. Since about Oct of 2021 I have been trying to find who owns the repeater. There is no IDer. It appears to work fairly well all over Anchorage. I have made my calls on the channel but have never received a reply. Well it's nice to know there is a group of GMRSers in the area. Hope to chat with all sometime on the air waves! Jim WQCG 563

Thanks for the replies. I was actually trying to reduce modulation. I just need talk very soft to keep it down.

Anyone know if there is an adjustment for the microphone gain?

WRFP399, Thanks for keeping your repeating up and running. I was wondering about your repeater. It seemed like it was performing better in the Anchorage area. Now I understand why - new antenna. What is the gain on that one? I have ideas about setting up an RT 97 in area of Birch and O'Malley. I'm hoping my daughter will allow me to set up the repeater in one of their out building. It's your system that has got me interested taking on the project. Thinking ahead a bit, would you be interested in linking your repeater and mine, Or, is it even technically possible with the RT97's? Thanks, Jim WQCG563

Hello All, Name here is Jim. GMRS call WQCG563. I agree with WRTT642 about having a club to get some more repeaters up and running in the Greater Anchorage area. Personally, I would like to see repeaters linking Homer to Fairbanks and all points in between. However, that would take great deal of time and money. We would need to get lots of folks from many locations interested in funding these repeaters. But, if we could get Anchorage and the valley linked up with good coverage of the whole area, we just might see a lot more interest across the state. WRTT642 if your willing to start up a club, I'm willing to help out as much as I'm able. I have several family members who, I believe, would be willing to help in some way. I have a question for the group. There is a repeater in Anchorage operating on 462.700/467.700 (Ch 21) with tone of 100 HZ. I appears to have good coverage in Anchorage. But, I have no idea who owns it, because there is no ID transmitted. This repeater is not to be confused with the repeater WRCA670 had operating on the same channel. His system has been down for months. I have made many calls on this unknown repeater and have never received a response. It's strange that a repeater like this one would be installed and no one using it? So, anyone out there have any info on this repeater. If we could get a few folks using it we just might find out who is responsible for it. It would be great if this repeater could remain operational and possibly linked to other repeaters in Alaska.