SteveShannon

Great! But I'm confused. You said that the repeater was split tone: "where Tx is DCS and Rx is CTCSS." But now you say you're in D Code, which uses DCS for Tx and DCS for Rx. That's not split mode. What did I miss.

So I assume you would need your radio to be in mode “T DCS”, which I believe transmits a CTCSS tone to the repeater and expects to receive a DCS code from the repeater? If that doesn’t work then I would try “D Tone” in case it lists the receive mode first.

Makes sense. So what happens when you try to program split tones? Is the programming giving you a problem or does it simply fail on the radio?

Yes, you have it right. Welcome here!

I haven’t tried it, but you can always just leave the tone out for receive and it’ll work.

Be careful of the trap of spending more and more money chasing traffic that just doesn’t exist. Ham radio might be a better service for you if you are interested in making contacts with others on the radio. Many of us here do both. I could leave my GMRS radio running all the time and pick up very little, but I can hear transmissions from both people near and far on ham radio.

No chop-busting needed. Welcome here! Are you sure there’s anything to receive? In some places there’s just not a lot of traffic. Are you scanning? If you have any tones set on Receive get rid of them so you hear everything. Yes, it’s possible that your antenna isn’t optimum, but it should work well enough.

This site does have a classified ads section. Only premium members can post there, I believe. Or someplace like Craig’s list. I don’t know of any other places, although I’m sure there are probably groups just for selling radios on Facebook.

I don’t have the radio, so maybe this doesn’t help, but I looked up the radio out of curiosity. The frequencies advertised for this radio are as follows: 7-Band receive frequency range: 76-108 (FM Radio), 108-136 (AM), 136-180 (FM), 230-250 (FM), 350-400 (FM), 400-512 (FM), 700-823 (FM) If that is a literal representation of coverage limits baked into the firmware, then it would appear that you can only tune to AM frequencies from 108-136, but above 136 the radio only does FM. The airband extends from 108-137, so if the 108-136 MHz coverage listed above truly reflects firmware boundaries then you just can’t get there (136-137 MHz AM) from here.

I agree that antennas don’t create power and I understand gain. I use my radios with the antenna vertical. For me, having a spherical pattern, like an isentropic antenna, would be wasteful because I don’t typically communicate with something directly above or below me. But I understand your point that having a high gain antenna with the radiation directed in the wrong direction can be even worse. I also agree that a low efficiency antenna is a bad thing. Unfortunately most of us (definitely me) don’t have an easy way to assess efficiency. Real world testing like I conducted are the best I can do.

And if you look at the “Who’s Online“ page you’ll see the call signs listed below the login names for the members who are currently online.

All it does is temporarily (while pressing the button usually) disable squelch for receiving. It does nothing to remove the tones for transmitting .

DMR is allowed on commercial radios and ham radio bands, but not GMRS or FRS (except for some experimental sites). So, you would need to use these radios on an appropriate service. Also, except for amateur radio radios usually must receive FCC certification. I don't know if these radios are certified for any service. I would be skeptical.

The proposal mentioned in the first post of this thread is not something supported by many hams, as far as I can tell. I certainly don't support it. I don't want or expect to be given access to GMRS simply because I'm a ham. I can (and did) pay for a GMRS license just like anyone else. Nor do I want GMRS to be made more like amateur radio. Personally, I want GMRS to remain mostly as it is, easy for anyone to become licensed, simple to access, compatible with FRS, and with reasonable limits on power output. If people want to experiment in order to learn more about radio than needed for GMRS, they should study, take the test, and get their amateur radio license. And quit whining about the tests.

Just leave the receive CTCSS open. I know it doesn't fix the issue, but it'll allow you to operate without issues.

It's just fine. I used my first initial and last name,but most places I use my first name and last name.

Actual measurements of signal strength performed by swapping between the OEM antenna on my UHF radio and a clone of the Nagoya (Tid Radio 771) dispute that. Sitting at my kitchen table I transmitted to a DMR repeater 16 miles away. I watched the signal reports using a Brandmeister connected dashboard. When I transmitted using the factory rubber duck the signal strength was reported as s6. Then I removed the factory antenna and replaced it with the clone 771 antenna. The signal varied between s7 and s8. Going back to the original antenna the signal strength went back down. Those are reproducible data. Since then I have replaced the original antennas on two of my best radios with Diamond 771 antennas. I consistently get good signal reports from other hams on both 2 meters and 70 cm when using these antennas. As an aside, I don’t know what the number 771 indicates.

Every time I read posts like some of the ones on the previous page I am very thankful that my experience has been diametrically opposed. By an overwhelming majority the hams I have met have been generous and helpful. Although I don’t have the experience some of them have they have adopted me and others like me, encouraging us to learn, showing us how they have built their ham shacks, how they have constructed their antennas, and telling us about their own histories. I’m truly sorry for the people who have not had such a good experience. I feel even sorrier for those who have become embittered.

And hope that they transmit using the same tone as they filter inputs to the repeater.

I was really hoping that the separate menu choices to change the repeater shift for 10 meters and 6 meters would help, but I see your point that whatever is set there affects all the 10 meter (or 6 meter) shifts.

First, make sure you are transmitting on a repeater channel. They’ll be labeled either 23-30 or RP15-RP-22. If you’re on one of the Simplex channels (15-22) you will be able to hear the repeater but the repeater will never hear you. Second, make sure you’re transmitting using the correct access tone, whether CTCSS or DCS. Otherwise the repeater will filter out your transmission. Finally, it’s entirely possible that you can’t transmit that far from inside your house on a 5 watt handheld.

Welcome, Nighthawk01, If you look in the repeater database, at the map, you should be able to spot the repeater on that frequency.

I don’t have mine here to test, but repeater operation is covered in the Advanced manual on page 26:

There’s nothing special about the cable; it’s just a USB A to USB B cable. The software alone sells for $25.

I programmed one of mine (which I use for ham radio) using the software, but I don’t remember for certain whether power output can be configured on a per channel basis. I’m thinking it must be in order to accommodate the different power outputs for different frequencies in GMRS. That would definitely be a good idea. MURS is limited to low power anyway. You don’t want to get on there at 20 watts.