tcp2525

Nice!! Definitely will need to collect some 5w slugs up to 2.7GHz Like I said, once you start, there's no end to it.

The only problem with Bird meters is you can't have just one. It started out innocent enough, but I just been finding sweet deals on them and now I have five of them. The one in the pic is hooked up top my GMRS radio pushing 47 watts. I won't even tell you about my slug and dummy load collection.

One other suggestion. Start going to local hamfests when they pop up in your area as you will always find some deals there. Plus, you can always find other stuff radio related stuff you never new you needed and want.

As others have said, commercial radios are really nice, but you have a learning curve. Finding equipment dirt cheap is relatively easy if you take your time. I was able to snag two brand new in the box Vertex VX-4207s for next to nothing. Nice 45w radios with over 500 channels loaded with features. Well built with lots of heat sink that keeps it cool when you get long winded. The software took getting used to and at first had to roll back the computer date so I could program wide band. After playing with the software I was able to get into "developer mode" and no longer have to screw with the computer clock. I was even able to extend the frequency range into the 70CM ham band and program in a bunch of repeaters as well. Just take your time and have fun with it. Oh, and buy a Radiodity DB-20 for less than $100 new and have fun with that till you snag some commercial gear.

Here's a pic of the old overcrowded tower. The GMRS antenna, a Tram 1486-B, is on the left rear side standoff. It's time to get the second tower up if ever I get off my lazy butt to do it. One day it will go up. Nothing worse than leaving 120' of tower unused and unloved.

One has to use the right tool for the job. Is the Baofeng a piece of crap? Yes, but you have to put things into perspective. The merc has a job to do and is given a set of tools to get that job done. The Feng will get the job done just as long as you don't put an external antenna with decent gain on it in a congested urban setting. It's all about the numbers, give the mercs a sub-$50 radio or a $500+ only to be trashed or captured. Igor is getting a Feng!!

Nothing wrong with a Baofeng. I have to say my old UV82 is leaps and bounds better than any of the HTs the big three put out in the amateur market.

Yep, I remember those days. It's the beginning of dumbing down America.

You guys worry too much! The Russians are smarter than you think. We had code talkers back in the day and the Russians have hired inner-city youth to speak ebonics.

That is correct.

Yes, I figured that, but I had to ask to rule out stupidity on my part as I've been known for high levels of it.? I'm now totally bewildered at why they would even put in an export feature when I already have my frequencies typed and/or written down. I know the backup file holds everything including the settings, so I'll just rely on that like I have always done. Thanks again for the help.

I know this is going to sound like a really dumb question, but since this program has an "export" function I'm assuming it also has a way to import this data as well? I see no options to import CSV data. Am I overlooking something or is there a convoluted way to import. I'm hoping someone with more experience using Vertex software has a solution as it's easier to do all my editing in Excel and import. Thanks.

Just want to give you guys an update. I had time to go through the radio and did confirm it was a bad ceramic filter. I ordered new filters and just changed them today. It doesn't get any better than this, a $3.00 fix and 30 minutes to rip the radio down and hit it with the desoldering station. All working great and the recieve is hot. Thanks, guys, for all your help as it is much appreciated.

EME on GMRS will be a fun challenge with only 50w. Gonna have to build one hell.of an antenna array.

Wow, I can see the spot you are in and I hope you got it sorted and found a reliable source for these batteries. I'm surprised what exorbitant prices Grainger charges they didn't do due diligence and confirmed they were authentic OEM batteries and not knockoffs.

Thanks. I am going to take a break from it till the weekend when hopefully I should have more time. These look like well built radios so I want to get them in peak performance.

Ok, now since I have both radios receiving I have a new issue. Radio #1 has really poor reception when receiving our local repeater while radio #2 is much better. I've never played with these Vertex before and am wondering if it's a hardware issue or do I need to align it? This is all wide band for GMRS, not narrow.

I think I solved it by a roundabout way. These are new in the box radios and the first one I went to program I downloaded from the radio so I can have a virgin file and saved it. I'm now thinking I didn't get a virgin. I did the same with radio #2 and saved it in a safe place and programmed that radio and it worked perfectly. I went and programmed the first radio and it's working. So, now I'm happier than a tick on a hound dog. Thanks everyone for all your help as I was getting beaten into the ground. I always find the stupidest problems!!!?

Thanks. I'll go through that and see what I can do. What's really odd is I enabled "Off Hook Signalling" and it does intermittently receive. I am playing around with the squelch setting, but not having much luck.

Thanks guys!!!

First off, I did all the research and thought I should be able to fool the software (CE59 V4.01 USA) by backdating to 2010 as was mentioned here. The software did accept W5 and I was able to upload it to the radio just fine. It would transmit as it should, but it will not receive at all. I found if I go back in the software and select N both receive and transmit work as it should. I just can't get this to wide band. Radio has Firmware V1.85. I found a copy of (CE59 V2.24w) which supposed to be export software and loaded that and it did the same as above whether I back dated or used the current date. I'm not sure if this is pilot error and I'm overlooking something stupid or is there something in the radio's firmware preventing wide band? I know the radio is designed for narrow band due to FCC rules, but from what I've read people have been successful at using this radio on the ham bands or GMRS. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Baltimore Aircol makes the best towers for GMRS repeaters, even better than Rohn.

The real question here is why the hell would anyone buy from Graingers, even with a commercial account as they are so overpriced that it is cost prohibitive to do so. Like I always tell the Grainger salesman that crawls around our facility is that I can't afford to buy from you even with our discount. Better prices elsewhere. As for the batteries, glad they are taking them back.

You got it. That's why I use VMware on my Windows and Linux machines. Like you said, I can use one image on many machines. Plus, having the benefit of taking a snapshot before installing new software protects me in case I get a Chinese parasite. Just roll back to the snapshot and I'm back up in a few seconds. It's getting to the point that not using VMs for business is counterproductive.

I got rid of all my Hikvision cameras back in 2010 due to security risks. All my systems from then forward has always been Bosch. Great hardware and I don't have to worry about Chinese parasites finding their way in. As for radios, I only use a VM with all my programming software, no matter the brand. WM stays off until programming is needed and shut down when completed. Way too much crap in all this software.