tcp2525

Nice ducting this morning on GMRS. Had a Long Island repeater getting into the Baltimore/Annapolis area. I had a momentary "WOW" factor that I would never get with VOIP.

Baloney! My amp idles at 1,300 watts.

Don't laugh, I had one back in the 80s. Definitely a pretty cool animal.

Agree, to me. The point being is if you are talking to someone on the other side of the world over VOIP there's absolutely no reason to get yourself excited as you really accomplished nothing radio related. Do it over the air and see how challenging it can be. Then you will have real excitement.

If you mean "international QSOs" I am assuming you are talking about VOIP using a hotspot? Another boring aspect of digital amateur radio

Oh, I know that there are an extremely high amount of users on DMR as I routinely update the user databases on my 878s. The amount of users is irrelevant as most aren't active even though they are in the database. Only a few talk groups get high use The bulk of DMR conversations are radio checks and kerchunking. As for C4FM, I think that is by far the clearest and best sounding digital mode. I noticed in our area that a few of the C4FM repeaters went back to analog only. The owners finally got tired of broadcasting in an empty room.

And if they finally cracked it using all that wasted effort, they will ask themselves was it really worth it. The fun part would be cracking it. Beyond that, another exercise in futility.

I just don't see GMRS a good match for digital. You are most likely right, it will eventually be here. As for FM on 11m, do people still use it? I gave up on it almost 40 years ago.

With analog fading is fine as you can still hear the transmission, albeit with a little more noise but it's readable.

Why would anyone assume their conversions are "private" when they key mic? Sure, most conversations aren't worth the effort of even listening to, let alone wasting the time to crack it.

Sadly, DMR and pretty much all digital modes are a passing fad. Way to many radio checks and people kerchunking. Plus, the audio quality isn't as natural and pleasing as anal-log. All this in an effort to save bandwidth. Thank goodness the FCC did something right and not allow digital on GMRS.

How so? I think he gave an accurate description of terrain and and other obstacles play a key role in distance and performance. It's totally and other foolish and breaks every terrestrial and celestial boundary of human stupidity to think otherwise.

Smart man! That's a really nice setup you have. You bought a V71a, the best dual band radio in the history of amateur radio. As for antennas, get the PulseLarsen NMO2/70BLarsen for the V71a and a simple 1/4 wave NMO mount for GMRS and you will be extremely happy. https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-000565

Toss the old hardware in the trash and load all your radio programming software in a virtual machine on a late model PC using the appropriate OS,whether 32 or 64 bit, and save yourself a lot of heartache. All radio professionals do it this way as time is money and they are intelligent and refuse to dick around with all these unnecessary problem.

It's and ancient Chinese secret and we are sworn to secrecy. You don't need to know what's in the dumplings you enjoy. Why do you think you have the right to know what someone's antenna height is?

RF Agitator

The last time my antenna was tilted like that I was able to bounce my signal off the moon. It was strange that I made it that far as I was only transmitting 100 mW on GMRS.

Yawn, looks like you got me, Einstein! I would never directly ground a radio with 500 MCM as it's best to feed your primary bonding plate with 500 MCM and then, yes then, reduce to a home run of 250 MCM to each fixed equipment rack. https://www.gordonelectricsupply.com/p/Harger-223T-Tin-Flange-Bonding-Plate/6096051 But, we ground each of our Baofeng handhelds with 4/0 THHN for maximum flexibility.

And you are doing exactly what is expected when considering buying a disposable radio. No shame in buying a Midland if it makes you feel good and it gets the job done.

No assumption, people buy cheap tools from Harbor Freight with the intention of using it once to get a certain job done and throw it in the storage bin when done with the intention of possibly using it in the future. They generally forget about it and it gets tossed in the trash accidentally or intentionally. The same concept applies to these disposable or throwaway radios we buy. Case in point, I bought a Baofeng UV82 10+ years back for under $50 with the intention that it is a sacrificial radio, or disposable as we like to call them. The damn thing far exceeded my expectations of performance and survivability of abuse and is still in use today and doesn't YET warrant going into the scrap bucket. As for Midland, these radios are generally mistakenly purchased solely by name recognition or not taking the time to fully researching prior to purchasing. People see the flashy ads on the seller's site and go for it. Sadly, the majority of Midland purchasers learn the hard way that they made a costly mistake and finally wise up and never buy another Midland product again. In Midland's defense, their marketing is strong enough to bring in enough one-time customers to survive. A moth going back to the flame a second time is delusional.

When is comes to buying disposable radios the only consideration should be price. Not to start a Midland vs. Baofeng debate, one has to consider the facts. Midland products are extremely overpriced and the company only survive by name recognition. Remember, today's Midland isn't your grandfather's Midland. The Baofeng radio is a high quality rugged design built for rough service and high performance. Baofeng radios are feature packed and incorporate every possible feature and option available for your enjoyment. If there's a feature you think you need, you might be borderline delusional and severely mistaken. So, the choice is yours. Buy an overpriced radio with a fancy nameplate or a six pack of of Baofeng throwaway radios for the same price.

Interesting.

I'm still not getting this notification and I am using the same password I set up my account. This is definitely a browser issue for people that are getting these notifications.

Other than one might look slightly better on paper, there's no real world advantage of one over the other in real world use. Too many other variables come to play such as mounting considerations, feed line, and the position of the stars on any given night. Best to install what works best for you intended use and not dwell too much over what the "experts" say.

You answered your own question by keeping PROPER grounding outside so there's no need to do any grounding inside the house.