tcp2525

Invest is a good Weller 100w soldering iron and you will have a versatile tool that will last you a lifetime. I have two of them that I've used regularly for over 20 years. Built many coax collinear antennas made from Heliax and soldered countless connectors. The right tool for practically any job. https://www.ebay.com/itm/187466008578

No idea as I installed mine myself.

Time to put the radios down and enjoy the cruise, which is the point of taking one. Plus,you won't be annoying other passengers. You'd be amazed at how enjoyable your trip is going to be when you get together with your family without cellphones or radios.

The biggest misconception is everyone focuses on output power and forget the biggest portion in the equation, it's your recieve. If you can't hear it's game over. When one wants to deploy a repeater they need to focus more on squeezing every fraction of dB out of their feedline and antenna. Also a properly tuned duplexer is key. And as others have said, altitude and and location then should be considered.

Man, I haven't used Winrar since the good old Usenet days. Brings back good memories.

Google Drive is the best and easiest to share large files. Just e-mail or post a link. Also, if zip/exe is under 25MB, e-mail it directly.

Exactly! Getting a high gain antenna up high enough to clear obstacles will rule the day. He can run 5-watts to conserve battery and keep heat to a minimal. Design a portable system for efficiency and performance and everything else will fall in place.

Not an issue. If Yaesu can take two FTM-400s, a radio plagued with severe cooling issues and make a repeater out of them, he can get creative with cooling techniques and have a bullet proof system without worry.

True, but it's how the owner tables the ask. If he's polite and not overly aggressive he will get a nice donation. Piss me off and you won't get another cent from me. One local repeater owner found this out the hard way.

That's going to be a pretty cool portable repeater once you get it done. You are on the right path, but I should add that you do have to lug around a lot of bulk and weight with what you list. If you use what you list then you should consider the Comet CA-712 as it weighs about 2# and no longer than a paint pole when broken down. The Ed Fong garbage is a waste of space and money, stick with a real antenna. As for the LMR-400, it's a compromise and more expensive than using Heliax reel ends, which can usually be had for free for lengths averaging +/-50'. As for the repeater controller, I use and recommend the much loved and bulletproof ID-O-Matic. https://hamgadgets.com/ID-O-Matic-IV-KIT_p_44.html This setup will give you the best performance with very little added inconvenience.

Personally, if i really wanted it, I would send the seller a message him you would buy it for $50 plus the shipping he's asking due to physical and unknown electrical condition. and ask him to send you that offer and you will complete the deal. You'd be amazed at how many great deals that can be had by doing this.

One should keep in mind if they want to travel down that rabbit hole of stupidly paying "club" fees you are still not guaranteed to have full use of it for a year. Just like most other "clubs" you will be subject to the cliques politics or you might unintentionally hurt another "club" member's fragile feelings and get banned prematurely. Best to use a free and open repeater and be friendly and respectful with the members. And if it works out for you there's nothing wrong with making a financial donation or expertise to help the owner maintain the repeater.

The simple answer is because they can. They real answer is they simply want to put up hardware that will only broadcast into an empty room and take up air space so they can brag about their equipment. Now for the reality, it is totally and utterly foolish and breaks every terrestrial and celestial boundary of human stupidity to do so. GMRS was designed to be free and enjoyed by all.

Yep, and that is why we were seeking out older pre-nonsense communities that allowed us to live like normal people without having to deal with individuals that live a miserable existence that found a way to try making others miserable with their HOA restrictions. Been here over 36 years and if I want to erect a tower I can simply by pulling a permit and following county regs. I couldn't imagine living any other way.

Unfortunately, that only tells you how well the repeater and its high gain antenna is performing, not your radio. I can hit a repeater 30 miles away on a handheld transmitting 1 watt, but can't hit a base station 3 miles away with 5 watts due to the other station's installation and obstacles in the path. Best way to test your distance is to get one of your friends to drive to different locations while you are talking to him and make notes on a map. This way you now have consistency with your station and the other person's station. This will yield a better data set of how well your radio is working. You can always ask someone on the repeater to help you with this. Sometimes you can get lucky.

True, but most counties cover all of what you say, but not to such an extreme that it becomes oppressive. You're right, it's about choice and if you don't like it, don't sign up for the misery. Years back, before the wife and I bought this house, we looked into one community and once they showed us covenants book, which was as thick as a New York phone book, we said no way. I consider myself fortunate as the neighborhood I live in is great. All of us get along great and everything is well kept. I don't need people with to much time on their hands telling me how to live.

Do people really sign up to live this way? I can't imagine why any sane individual would spend a $1,000,000+ to have somebody keeping a boot on your neck and telling you how to live, even if you aren't into radio.

If that is the case then that's great. Around here if you live in one of these sheltered communities you will have a hell of as time erecting what you have. Too many people here have an overabundance of time on their hands.

If that is the case then that's great. Around here if you live in one of these sheltered communities you will have a hell of as time erecting what you have. Too many people here have an overabundance of time on their hands.

If the neighborhood Nazis didn't excommunicate you for that "eyesore" there's no reason you couldn't sneak in a Stationmaster and 30' of Rohn 25G. Oh and don't forget to feed it with 7/8" Heliax..

No, you are not denied. If you really want a quick response just go ahead and use the repeater and they will quickly tell you are welcome or not. Most repeater owners will cheerfully accept you.

Most hams are equipment snobs and won't publicly admit they have overpaid for a disposable radio, while us GMRS'ers proudly use our $30 disposable Chinese radios. Long live Baofeng!

Do people really use 11m CB? Since GMRS is now the new CB, why bother with that noise box?

You definitely can't go wrong with a good old Larsen antenna. I've been using them for decades with the regrettable exception of buying and trying a Midland antenna for GMRS.

On it right now talking to a couple of regulars here in Maryland. Using the world famous and much loved made in Japan Vertex VX-4207. Later I will be testing my Chinese radios in the snow as I heard they don't work to well in that environment.