SteveShannon

The requirements are clear. A base station is allowed to talk to other base stations or mobile or portable stations. A fixed station may only communicate with other fixed stations. Both are stations in a fixed location. What hangs people up is that they cannot imagine how they would use them within those constraints. One other thing that I think is interesting (apparently I have no life) is that fixed stations may transmit on the 467 MHz main frequencies, but only up to 15 watts outpu. Base stations may not transmit on the 467 MHz main frequencies, but they can transmit up to 50 watts on the 462 MHz main frequencies. There’s a very long and contentious thread that’s probably named “What’s a Fixed Station?”

You’ll truly never miss that loss in power. I wouldn’t worry about it.

Measure it before it goes into the duplexer. Does it do the same thing?

It depends. You have to check the regulations for the frequency you’re curious about. Some frequencies are limited by ERP and some are simply measured power at the output. Unless otherwise specified, handheld radios are limited the same as mobile radios. § 95.1767 GMRS transmitting power limits. This section contains transmitting power limits for GMRS stations. The maximum transmitting power depends on which channels are being used and the type of station. (a) 462/467 MHz main channels. The limits in this paragraph apply to stations transmitting on any of the 462 MHz main channels or any of the 467 MHz main channels. Each GMRS transmitter type must be capable of operating within the allowable power range. GMRS licensees are responsible for ensuring that their GMRS stations operate in compliance with these limits. (1) The transmitter output power of mobile, repeater and base stations must not exceed 50 Watts. (2) The transmitter output power of fixed stations must not exceed 15 Watts. (b) 462 MHz interstitial channels. The effective radiated power (ERP) of mobile, hand-held portable and base stations transmitting on the 462 MHz interstitial channels must not exceed 5 Watts. (c) 467 MHz interstitial channels. The effective radiated power (ERP) of hand-held portable units transmitting on the 467 MHz interstitial channels must not exceed 0.5 Watt. Each GMRS transmitter type capable of transmitting on these channels must be designed such that the ERP does not exceed 0.5 Watt.

The ID-O-Matic is popular. It’s probably not as simple as plug and play.

I liked his videos better before he started trying to make one each day, but fortunately this video was from before then. I liked Stan Gibilisco’s videos too. I’m sorry he passed away. He has a good one about how J-poles work also. Unfortunately I lose focus trying to watch Ed Fong explain the same antenna. It looks like if you straighten out the J it looks just like an off center fed dipole with a delta match. Here’s Stan’s video:

Sign up for notifications for the Raspberry Pi boards from the official dealers. They are pretty available at good prices. I think I paid $15 for a Pi Zero W and $35 for a Pi 3b+. Adafruit gets them in and notifies you and you buy them immediately. They sell out quickly but they don’t gouge.

It is a short circuit for DC, but this is ultra high frequency AC where you have waveforms and reactive impedance. Here’s a pretty good explanation:

Let us know how it goes, please. Edited to add: I apologize if you feel like I’m not trying to help you. Your statement below made me think that maybe you didn’t understand the point of leaving the RX tone clear in your radio. I was just trying to explain why it works. It’s just another tool to help diagnose problems:

True; I alluded to that but didn’t do a good job of it.

You must have the correct TX tone (input to the repeater) or the repeater will completely ignore you. If you have the wrong RX tone (repeater output) you’ll never know if the repeater is ignoring you, you’re out of range, or if you’re getting through. By leaving the RX tone empty, you’ll hear everything the repeater transmits, which makes it easier to troubleshoot possible problems.

Retired (best job ever!) I like my SBB5. It’s not good for GMRS, but it’s great for 2m and 70cm. But it doesn’t have a spring or even a folding whip. Comet does have spring bases though. I haven’t researched them.

It should be possible, but it’s not nearly as simple as you describe. You would need a repeater controller. The ID-o-matic should work. You would also need a duplexer and of course cables and an antenna. However, people have tried doing things like that before and found that the receiver half desensitizes itself. The solution to that is shielding and/or distance. Be prepared for a lot of experimentation. Some of us enjoy that.

They are. Unfortunately, I’m working on two different manuals and NFPA submissions right now so I don’t have the time.

If anything I have ever posted would help, I have no problem if someone uses it in part or completely.

I think it’s a great idea. We answer the same questions over and over. But it does no good to give them lip service in the forums. People who are willing to compile the questions and answers that already exist on this site should put something together and write to Rich, offering to maintain them. Or even start a new thread called FAQs.

I understand what an FAQ is. I said I haven’t seen one, meaning on this site.

No, if you leave out the receive tone you receive everything. Add the receive tone after making sure you have the transmit tone correct.

And it’s on sale now. Please let us know how well it works! https://www.retevis.com/bluetooth-app-controlled-mobile-radio-rt99-us?gclid=Cj0KCQjwuZGnBhD1ARIsACxbAVjmaVDzTUjw8wrno62Ffp4BQeX7VWRsYfVBpmtIyQKAQsWv2nw31QwaAkwnEALw_wcB

The OP lives in Lyman, which is well outside of Line A. Does the MyGMRS repeater map display Line A? No - that might be a good suggestion though.

There’s no reason to expect different results for plexiglass than you experience with glass. I would expect identical results. Of course it’s relatively easy to just drill through the plexiglass or clamp the mount to a roll bar. Best wishes as you work through this traumatic experience. More importantly make sure you use an antenna that doesn’t rely on a ground plane.

Become a ham and buy a mobile that incorporates GPS and APRS.

Yes, so it won’t be left on top of a car by someone who’s not worthy of a good radio.

I know, right? Just google PicoAPRS.

Nice, but this is real and does APRS: