SteveShannon

Welcome!

From the announcement:

No, the Fox is sending a one way transmission, which is only allowed for certain reasons. Foxhunting isn’t one of them. Here is the list of approved one-way communications: b) One-way communications. The operator of a GMRS station may use that station to transmit one-way communications: (1) To call for help or transmit other emergency communications; (2) To provide warnings of hazardous road conditions to travelers; or, (3) To make brief test transmissions.

Of course a person could just buy the right gasket: https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/TE-Connectivity-Linx-Technologies/OR-SMA-R?qs=K5ta8V%2BWhtZ1tkc6ewZLpA%3D%3D&mgh=1&utm_id=17222215321&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADn_wf2XqvV72QQ6JKkpnT7XWMyfV&gclid=CjwKCAiA6aW6BhBqEiwA6KzDc6HPwOFdJwdgYTMBo70X5seqX_IPbsvkaFgPLO-zHuuN0YnHMP2LSxoC0-sQAvD_BwE

We had two instances of this. In one instance the microphone jack had failed such that the PTT worked but the audio line was broken. We knew who it was because of his Roger beep. I soldered his mic jack and his UV5R was back in business. In the second instance a guy actually had his microphone hole plugged with some food.

I would agree; I just don’t have experience with them.

Or a different service. FRS and GMRS are both oriented towards families and use by children. The licensing model of GMRS should make that evident.

I understand the allure of making a repeater out of two transceivers. It certainly sounds easy, right? After all, a repeater is just a receiver and a transmitter wired in such a way that they can work at the same time. But transceivers don’t require the kind of shielding that repeaters do. A receiver picks up signal measured several orders of magnitude less in power than a transmitter puts out. It’s like putting two people in a phone booth where one is supposed to listen to whispers from across the street while the other person is screaming at the top of her lungs. It’s challenging at best. If you look inside a Retevis RT97 you’ll see that the receiver and transmitter are isolated from one another in every way, much more tightly than nearly any transceiver, except for some commercial grade transceivers that were designed for possible use as repeaters. If I transmit in the same room as my friends Baofeng, he doesn’t receive my transmission. If he transmits in the same room my Yaesus or my Alinco hear his transmissions just fine. His Baofeng is more susceptible to desensitization. That shouldn’t be surprising.

Excellent! I haven’t looked at the Ham Radio Prep course. HamStudy does most of that also. I suspect they’re very similar. Best wishes as you go!!

I don’t know if you’ve found it, but HamStudy made it very easy for me to actually learn the material. It’s free to use although I spent a very few dollars and bought the app for my iPhone and iPad so I could study while disconnected.

Good for you! I greatly enjoy being a ham. Because you have an inquisitive mind I bet you’ll do great on the test.

This is exactly right. Developing the skills needed to build various radio systems doesn’t require a person to become a ham, but it’s often easier if a person has engaged in studying the basics in preparation for the ham tests or has worked in commercial or military communications.

Notarubicon separated the antennas but having the two radio boxes near each other still caused desense. He ended up solving that by placing them in separate metal compartments as I recall. They just weren’t shielded enough. Commercial Motorola radios are capable of being used clamped together because of their superior shielding, but the price difference is significant.

The controller provides the necessary switching and provides level matching as well as sometimes providing the ability to identify the repeater at various intervals as required by regulations. The speaker of a radio is probably between 4-16 ohms. The microphone is a higher impedance than that. For best results the impedance should be matched.

The YouTube channel Notarubicon tried it using two Wouxun KG1000 radios. These radios were built with this capability as part of the design. He has two or three videos describing what he did honestly. Randy, the social media influencer who produces and performs in the Notarubicon videos, is @OffRoaderX on this forum. It wasn’t a failure, but I don’t think he would describe it as ideal either. If using two antennas you need a lot of vertical separation or much much more horizontal separation; a duplexer really is the way to go. Even considering the loss of power through a duplexer it is worth it. Randy ended up using a dedicated repeater and duplexer. Here’s the first in his series of videos on building a repeater: If I wanted to set up a quick GMRS repeater for my family I would use the Retevis RT97S.

Mobile radios can sometimes be paired to create a decent repeater. But many of them are just not shielded well enough and so the transmitter desenses the receiver.

No, I have the DJ-MD5XT, which is a dual band ham radio with DMR. It’s nice. I like this Alinco radio but it’s actually a slightly re-engineered (improved) Anytone radio on the inside. I like my Yaesu radios too. My favorite GMRS radios are my Garmin Rhino and my Wouxun KG-805g, but I have no experience with the D-G46T. If it’s like other Alinco radios it will be well thought out.

None of my Yaesu radios use the same pin out spacing as my one Alinco.

What regulation limits the number of kids per frequency?

Morse nania allows you to practice “keying” on the touchscreen and some people have worked on interfaces to physical keys and keyers. Also, my Yaesu FT-DX10 radio allows me to practice without transmitting.

In 1969 I was in the 8th grade. We put on a play that called for an on-stage telephone to ring. I hooked up a crank generator that the school had to an old dial phone I brought from home. It rang great!

Marconi is proud of you!!!

Happy Thanksgiving 🍽

Also 95.377 specifically says tones or other signals: § 95.377 Tones and signals. Personal Radio Service stations that transmit voice emissions may also transmit audible or subaudible tones or other signals for the purpose of selective calling and/or receiver squelch activation. These tones and signals are ancillary to voice communications and are considered to be included within the voice emission types, e.g., A3E, F3E, and G3E. (a) Tones that are audible (having a frequency higher than 300 Hertz), must last no longer than 15 seconds at one time. (b) Tones that are subaudible (having a frequency of 300 Hertz or less), may be transmitted continuously during a communication session.

Just reset your Apple password.