PACNWComms

Welcome to the site and forums. My only recommendation is to do a search first, as many questions have been answered before, as some sites also do not like old threads to be brought back to life months later. I only recently joined this site, but have been in radio professionally for almost thirty years now, and there is still more to learn, so do not be afraid to ask too.

Recently I have mentioned to a few people that have gone down the GMRS license path, and recommended UHF GR1225 and GR300 Motorola desktop repeaters. Add in a decent antenna and an old GR series repeater can do very well, especially if you swap the old radio (M120 mobiles in my GR300) for something newer, like an XPR4550 Trbo radio stack. However, one person I made this recommendation to, ended up attaching a Cobra magnet mount antenna (as in 27 Mhz CB), can you say, convoy......

Thank you for the info on their auction site seller name. May have to buy a few more items from them with that additional cost saving. My current employer is also looking for ways to save a bit, and this could help even more. Just did a little price comparison, and XPR7550 UHF radios at $385 is better than new XPR7550e at $1010, with a few options that we do not even use. I also have yet to receive a handheld that really looked used/abused out of about a hundred now. Running some XPR6550's for several years that they re-cased, and the only part that showed wear was the vent element on the chassis. I did once receive a CDM1250 where the front panel had been damaged in shipment, as it was turned outward in the box, and shipped with seven others. They replaced the control head quickly and at no charge. A co-worker said 4-5 years ago they received a damaged XTS2500 that was replaced quickly as well. Great company to deal with.

I have had good luck with Used-Radios.com for commercial grade single band radios that are in near new condition, sometimes even being new old stock. What is not new is also often refurbished, all is checked as serviceable and within manufacturer specifications. Although, my last batch of CDM1250's sometimes showed engraving of police and fire departments across the country. Currently, they do not show any VHF mobiles (CDM1250's) in stock, but UHF is between $145-155 each right now. Get good at scrounging, and higher quality gear is often given away by municipalities, sold for pennies on the dollar or even donated. Obviously, the more connected your organization is to the local community, and the value it brings, will help in funding and donations. Good luck.

This is a common issue with many of the Tram-Browning series antennas. Many users of the three foot long antennas have ended up cutting them too short for UHF use, as well as 800 MHz in my own use cases. Then, it comes down to the skill of the person running the test equipment to check for function and SWR. I have a team member that is notorious for stating that a 5 watt CB radio puts out 35 watts, instead of 3.5 watts, using a Bird 43 wattmeter. (In that case it was NMO-27 base and whips that could be cut down to size per frequency.) It was so bad that there is now a large wood yard stick, marked with the cutting points for different frequencies in use. Sadly, I have seen many of the ones that are too short on the secondary surplus market as my employer sells its scrap, which often ends up in local auctions and later for sale at the yearly amateur radio show/convention/yard sale. These antennas are also often paired with magnet mounts where the base has corroded and the center conductor has broken. Good luck with your antenna. Measure twice and cut once.

Have seven here, DTR410's when they first came out. If you bought six, you had the choice of getting either a seventh radio, or a six bank charger. In 2021, I realize many users of the DTR/DPL series radios leave them defaulted. If some LARPer group were to make their own "TalkGroup" with a custom hopset set, then things get interesting. I only wish Motorola came out with a higher power version of this. (Knowing that the 410's were already limited by their fixed antenna.) I'll stick with Motorola when my life is on the line, and as you and others mentioned, CCR as a gateway to something better. As I mentioned in another thread, it was a little scary seeing a state emergency department with Bridgecom repeaters, Radioddity DB25-D mobiles, and other cheap radios alongside Yaesu, Kenwood, and Motorola. But in that case, at least they are cheap.....as they will need to stack spares deep when they are needed. I live in a state that has lots of tax revenue, but has no clue how to spend that money. At least the protesters have Baofeng's, which are very easy to listen in to with a twenty plus year old scanner.

I always get a kick out of those that buy Baofeng radios, then tune them to some TV station frequency, thinking they are outsmarting well funded government agencies that are most likely using an Oscar Green/Blue spectrum analyzers, or some other signal detecting hardware. The groups I would worry about, would be carrying something more like the Motorola DTR series frequency hoppers, and keep them hidden inside a pocket, using remote PTT earpieces or speaker mics. Baofeng has received some interesting street cred with them prominently displayed by many LARPers, even if they are getting built to better specs now. Interesting thread for sure.

Still use Windows XP and 7 for many of my radio programming needs. At work it is Windows10 and XP as there is everything from old HT-750's to APX8000's in use. At home and for hobby use, GMRS for example, I still use DOS and Windows XP. But then I am programming Maxtracs to a Harris XG-100P Unity in that case. For GMRS, it is usually a Motorola mobile, FRS might be an old Talkabout, and a Realistic scanner from the 1990's, like I suggested for the use case in this thread.

I have done some work with applications such as Zello, which works great if the end points are somewhere that is useful to the end users. I have found a few interesting sites in the middle of the California desert for example, connected via the Internet and the Zello application to radio. Works much like a hotspot, and in some cases you need to email the "provider" of the end point for permission to use it and transmit. Instead of a dedicated radio looking device as shown above, I used by Samsung Galaxy series smartphone loaded with the application. Reminds me a bit of the Motorola WAVE system that ties radio and telephone via the Internet.

As others have noted, there must be some medium connecting to different geographical areas, with radio coverage at the end points for this idea to work. Every working day, I have to explain this, with a nationwide radio network that pieces together: Internet, intranet, Internet Protocol interface devices to Motorola P25 Phase 1 and Phase 2, Trbo DMR networks, and analog conventional networks. Each time, those at a particular site think their solution will work everywhere else. What is always missed is infrastructure, interoperability, and any mitigating circumstances. The one common denominator for success is to keep the solution simple. The simple solution has less points of failure, and room for error, but also addresses the problem. In this case, I would have to concur with the idea that a video application and/or social media method would work the best in this use case.

Did not know this wireless programmer adapter existed until this thread. Nor the particular model of Rugged Radio as well. However, I have had dealings with Rugged Radio for UTV comms, and I now stay away from them after having several hundred radios purchased being deemed "illegal" by the FCC. I admit they have brought a lot of people into the radio fold, which is always a good thing. I only wish they picked their products, with some thought on long term legal issues in mind.

When my own son was younger, I used a Motorola FR50 so he could talk to other kids in the neighborhood, or me. To listen to VHF and UHF radio users, it came down to a cheap old Realistic scanner, one of the first that did not use crystals, and allowed for push button programming. He was able to listen to aircraft, some local amateur types on UHF, and yet had no capability to transmit back, requiring the need to identify himself. The scanner could scan, and also had weather band and weather alert capability. While the radio bug phased out over the years, this worked for the intended purpose while he was interested. And it was a cheap and simple solution, usable by a young child.

Great information posted here about the limitation of using a handheld radio and being able to "hit" a repeater. I currently live on top of a hill, the highest point in the area, and have GMRS and P25 repeaters within only a few miles of my house. However, due to the metal foil insulation used in the house, I must be close to certain windows, or on an outside desk to hit both GMSR and P25 repeaters. The P25 repeater is for work, and there is also simulcast coverage in the area as well, both impacted just as the GMRS repeaterand my ability to reach them via handheld, by the metal foil insulation. Mobiles do better, with outdoor antennas and more power to get through the windows, but the handhelds are already lower power, less capable antenna (even with a counterpoise "rat tail"), and effected by the human body holding it as well. Thank you all for sharing information.

Interesting thread to read. In a previous life, I worked on many P25 radio systems, and 911 Public Safety Answering Points in Loudon County, Alexandria, and Warrenton areas. Seeing some interest in GMRS repeaters in this area is interesting to me, as everything is monitored, regulated, and population density is there to benefit users. Keeping an eye on this thread for my next trip to the area, may be using GMRS on that trip the way it seems to be going. Thank you all for sharing info.

Have used Motorola Astro Saber Model 3's for GMRS in the past as well. Still have one of them, but gave several others away to others that are still using them, with new batteries and chargers due to the changing battery chemistry of course. They work well for this, but even with a newer and smaller battery, they are a big though thin radio. I do get comments on it the most as many old school first responders recognize them instantly.

I own a lot of personal Motorola equipment, but still have one Harris XG-100P Unity handheld that was sold to me as a demo unit many years back now. Used, they are decent, but as others have stated, they are not very durable. Then there is the programming software, cable, and needing to have a dedicated computer for that software. Radio Program Manager is not like Motorola CPS, you can't just load it onto as many computers as you wish, each computer must be registered on the Harris server to be then used to program a Unity, or many other models included Harris radio. Better to buy something you can readily get programming software for, and is more popular and able to find parts to repair if it breaks. UHF Motorola radios, commercial or public safety grade is a very good way to go for GMRS use. I use an older XPR6550, but sometimes test XPR7550e radios work has given me to try out. Even HT-1250's do well, and at a lower cost than the XPR7550e, but higher cost than a Chinese made radio. I must admit to owning some Chinese radios for GMRS as well though, GM-30, Radioddity DB20-G, Anytone 878.

+1 on only worrying and reacting if you experience problems. The only situation I experience in a stick built house, with lots of cell phone towers, HF equipment, and electronics, is when I key up a TDMA digital radio too close to a CB (27 Mhz "Rubber Duck" style CB, not Europe/Australia UHF CB) radio. You can here the TDMA flutter between time slots on the AM radio when keying up the DMR radio. In some cases, choke coils, physical separation of power and signal wires, buying better radio equipment, and even Faraday cages and aluminum foil have been used to mitigate interference. One other note, was one of my Trbo radio sites said they experienced "interferance" which was other users on their: channel, frequency, and TalkGroup (Trbo trunked network). Well the problem with that was they were hearing voice and speech on an encrypted licensed channel, and then admitted they had lost some radios. The local construction company was later found to be using them, as their voices were heard on my companies radios. This was resolved pretty quick with law enforcement assistance, and the fact that these missing/stolen radios still had company engraving on them....and it was not "interference" but actual communications taking place.

You ill have to update on the Garmin Rino position data going through the repeater or not. As for Afghanistan, the included map data was sufficient, but I was often on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border, and with commercial GPS receivers only receiving the un-encrypted signal (anti-spoofing and selective availability have been turned off/broke for years) they were not as accurate as the AN/PSN-11. Now the new receivers have mapping, receive even GLONASS and other constellations, and generally work like a larger rugged Rino, but connect to a Harris AN/PRC-152 series radio through a connection cable.

Welcome to the site. Current engineer here, and also worked on ICBM's for a while. Still use Garmin Rino 120's and 530's for various outdoor activities. However, my first use of the Garmin Rino 120 was in Afghanistan, in a sort of intra-team radio role, and to double check the AN/PSN-11 Rockwell GPS receiver, that did not have a map installed (or capable of showing one). What kind of range are you getting from the Rino's in rocketry recovery use?

You may have a worn lightning arrester cartridge......higher than normal SWR for your OPEK LP350, as this is an indicator. https://www.americanradiosupply.com/lp-350a-arc-gas-lightning-transient-voltage-surge-protector/ I only use Polyphaser at this point, but you could have an OPEK unit that needs a new cartridge. Trying with it (entire OPEK LP350 device) removed as mentioned above would let you know what the next step should be.

I have never used that model of Tram antenna, but that SWR seems a little high as well. Which model of lightening arrester did you use? May have high insertion loss. LMR-400 and that antenna spec out to lower SWR from other users on sites I am also a member of. I would also make sure the lighting protector is installed the correct direction, there usually is an arrow to show the direction toward antenna and to the radio on them.