SteveShannon

Go ahead and use it for awhile. The difference between your radio and the 935g will be in little features that might make things more enjoyable. Otherwise they’ll probably talk just as far as each other. I would recommend going to a radio club somewhere so you can get your hands on some different models. You might find that the things that irritate you grow on you.

Great advice!

How can you tell? TSQL on 26 and no tones on 18?

I have and in a very short period of time. But mostly with antennas that get moved around from one vehicle to another Over time they pick up pieces of magnetic grit or even steel shavings and grind them into the clear coat and eventually the underlying paint. It’s very important to make sure the protective boot and the car roof are completely clean before attaching the antenna and a layer of clear protective film is really helpful.

What were the SWR values and did you measure at both the 462 and 467 MHz frequencies?

I’m interested in hearing how you like it.

Technically, you should pronounce each character, but realistically, for GMRS nobody cares. The fact that you even attempt to ID is better than most people do.

See if this helps: https://www.air802.com/files/CN2NMOLP-TM.pdf

Yes

If you get a certified GMRS radio you won’t have the ability anyway. FCC won’t certify a radio for GMRS that’s capable of being easily tuned to transmit on other bands.

Here’s a snippet of the spectrum chart. Unfortunately it doesn’t really help much: Here’s the chart in full:

No, GMRS users may only use the 22/30 channels assigned to GMRS. Those other frequencies are used all kinds of other things, including business bands. I’ll see if I can find a spectrum chart (or maybe someone else will).

Welcome! 1. Listen for traffic. Depending on where you are you might hear a little or a lot. 2. I would program all of them. The repeater channels (15R - 22R, or 23 - 30 on some radios) receive on exactly the same frequencies as the simplex channels 15 - 22. 3. The 462 MHz frequencies are where your radio receives from a repeater. You transmit to the repeater on the 467 MHz frequencies. You transmit to the repeater’s receiver. The repeater transmits to your receiver. You encode a tone to open the repeater. You can either use a decode tone to hear the repeater or you can leave the decode tone empty and hear everything on that frequency.

Exactly right. programming a radio with a computer enables a person to get the most out of it, but for those times when a computer isn’t available, the ability to program and use your radio without one is a necessity. I don’t want to have to carry a computer with me every time I travel.

Thanks! That helps. Of course they probably don’t use reed switches anymore anyway so matching a mechanical vibration isn’t necessary.

How did they get the timing right?

Welcome to the forums, Dave!

CW is not permitted. Morse code is allowed when identifying, but it’s just tones on FM. Transmissions are only allowed on the channels established by the FCC in part 95e. Therefore they are not authorized between the channels. Neither of the frequencies you mentioned are approved for GMRS. Also, users must observe the rules regarding bandwidth and power output. I’ll paste the section that establishes the individual channels by frequency, but for the other limitations you should really visit the regulations. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-95/subpart-E § 95.1763 GMRS channels. The GMRS is allotted 30 channels—16 main channels and 14 interstitial channels. GMRS stations may transmit on any of the channels as indicated below. (a) 462 MHz main channels. Only mobile, hand-held portable, repeater, base and fixed stations may transmit on these 8 channels. The channel center frequencies are: 462.5500, 462.5750, 462.6000, 462.6250, 462.6500, 462.6750, 462.7000, and 462.7250 MHz. (b) 462 MHz interstitial channels. Only mobile, hand-held portable and base stations may transmit on these 7 channels. The channel center frequencies are: 462.5625, 462.5875, 462.6125, 462.6375, 462.6625, 462.6875, and 462.7125 MHz. (c) 467 MHz main channels. Only mobile, hand-held portable, control and fixed stations may transmit on these 8 channels. Mobile, hand-held portable and control stations may transmit on these channels only when communicating through a repeater station or making brief test transmissions in accordance with § 95.319(c). The channel center frequencies are: 467.5500, 467.5750, 467.6000, 467.6250, 467.6500, 467.6750, 467.7000, and 467.7250 MHz. (d) 467 MHz interstitial channels. Only hand-held portable units may transmit on these 7 channels. The channel center frequencies are: 467.5625, 467.5875, 467.6125, 467.6375, 467.6625, 467.6875, and 467.7125 MHz.

Not the entire range. The FCC has identified four sets of specific channels. 30 in all on frequencies in the 462 MHz range and the 467 MHz range. 463-466 MHz are not GMRS. We stay to those channels and we don’t get to twist our VFO knob and pick a clear frequency wherever we want. Channels 15-22 are used for simplex communications, where people transmit directly to each other, taking turn transmitting and receiving on a single frequency. If you add exactly 5 MHz to each of the 15-22 channels, you get the frequencies used for channels 23-30. So, 462.550 MHz becomes 467.550 MHz. Channels 23-30 are used to transmit to a repeater. Generally speaking that’s almost the only traffic on these channels: to the repeater. Then, the repeater generally transmits on the corresponding channel in the 15-22 range. So, channels 15-22 are shared between simplex communications and transmissions from repeaters. The fact that these are shared and limited to these eight channels is one of the shortcomings of GMRS.

No, they do not need to live in the same household. You are authorized to allow your adult children and their children to operate using your license.

Nanovna Saver is a software program that makes the nVNA much easier to use and visualize antenna characteristics.

The GMRS antenna might be slightly shorter.

Record the Morse code ID and post it here. Someone will decode it.

I would agree that it sounds like it’s something to do with either the feed line or the antenna. It could be that the antenna has a high SWR on the repeater frequency but it could also be that the cable or the mount are damaged or that the antenna itself is broken. I had a capacitor fail in an antenna once and it made the antenna go high SWR. Do you have access to a different roof mount antenna you can try? I use an MXTA26 antenna on a Midland NMO mount. My roof rack doesn’t seem to bother it in any detectable way. A few other random thoughts. An SWR meter shows the SWR of the antenna and feedline combination. It doesn’t show where the antenna is resonant. It’s very commonly thought that resonance is where the SWR is lowest, but it’s not true. A reasonably low SWR (usually described as 2.0:1 or better) is helpful. Cell phone antennas frequently have SWRs around the 4 or 5 to 1 and they do fine, but I have tried to use a GMRS antenna (the MXTA26) on 2 meters, a frequency that wasn’t even considered when designing the antenna and couldn’t be heard 6 blocks away with 20 watts.

That’s correct. Not only that, but you are expected to control their operations.