SteveShannon

You probably were in the right. I doubt there are very many state constables who know anything about FCC regulations.

I actually used his FRN and did an Application Search for it. I could have probably looked it up in an application search using the “File No.”

That’s what happened. Somehow you had two separate applications and of course you only paid one. The other was dismissed:

Is it possible you somehow submitted two applications (or one application twice) and one was granted and the other was canceled due to lack of payments? The letter doesn’t list your call sign, but your call sign (as everyone else has pointed out) is still active.

I think you’re right.

Welcome, Jeff.

And clowns. They’re terrifying.

That 100 feet of real good wire” that was in the house when you moved in could be the culprit as well. Things can happen to coax that remain unseen but drag the performance way down. A decent antenna analyzer could tell you whether that cable is actually good and what the losses are. And it may be that most of the cable is excellent, but a little bit of the end at the connector has gotten moisture in it. I would want to put an analyzer on your antennas anyway just to see what things look like. I’d want to know cable losses, SWR, and coax length. At GMRS frequencies even 100 feet of LMR400 consumes half of the power before it reaches the antenna. Check out this video by @marcspaz

So, based on the manual, it looks like added channels are for scanner use only, not transmit. Why they allow you to add settings for transmitting on them is confusing.

I don’t see anything wrong with channel 31 that csv file, but I don’t know how the UV9G handles those added channels.

There is no channel 31 in GMRS unless you made one. Look at page 41 in the manual. Notice how the repeater channels go from 23 to 30; see how those channels have different transmit and receive frequencies:

That’s strange because not too long ago a guy complained that his requests never cleared and he couldn’t delete them. Obviously the root cause is that requests are not being processed, but a secondary issue is what should happen if no response happens?

As @KAF6045 mentioned, an antenna analyzer is the better tool for what you’re doing, but unless you intend to do this more than once it really doesn’t make much sense to buy one. The most common truly inexpensive type of antenna analyzer is a NanoVNA, but they require a certain amount of fiddling around. Hobbyists like me enjoy that kind of thing, but if a person just wants a good antenna with a reasonable SWR, I would encourage you to just buy a Midland MXTA26 antenna.

The Klein crimper and dies arrived yesterday. The quality appears very good. They’re made in Taiwan, which is a massive step up in my mind from the unknown brands made in China. The finish on the dies is very much better than the finish on some of my Chinese dies.

Okay, first thing, remove the receive tone. Having a receive tone means you only receive whatever is transmitted on that frequency with that tone. If you get it wrong you receive nothing. By clearing the receive tone, you will receive everything transmitted on the channel as long as you’re in range. Our first step is to make sure you can hear the repeater. You might have to get closer. Then, once you can hear the repeater, we’ll work on transmitting on the right channel. So, on the UV9G you want channel 28. That automatically sets the offset frequency for transmitting. Receive CTCSS (R-CTCSS)set to OFF. That’s menu 11 according to the manual. Transmit CTCSS (T-CTCSS) set to the tone you mentioned before.

I might be able to help. What kind of radio do you have. How are you programming it? 1. Can you hear the repeater when others use it? 2. Are you using a tone for receive? 3. What happens that frustrates you?

Welcome, Henrique, As long as you got a decent quality GMRS handheld radio, the rule regarding bandwidth and power limits on individual channels are baked in. So, if you're going to talk to another member of your family, simply tune both of your radios to anything other than 23-30 (which are sometimes called RP15 - RP21). Then, the one who wants to talk pushes his or her PTT (push to talk) button and speaks. When you're done, you should identify yourself by saying your call sign, then let up on the PTT and let the other person talk.

I’m kind of half joking. I actually like the idea, and the Klein quality is very good, but numerous times the square bit stuck a little too tightly in the heads of screws for an electrical breaker box that I was rearranging and pulled out of the shaft too easily. It was frustrating and eventually it fell to the floor, bouncing off several other things along the way, and became lost. Of course even though it was the middle of the day in a daylight basement I was using a flashlight and the room lights were all off because I had killed power outside at the service box, so I had no idea where it bounced! Then, I couldn’t find a way to order the same replacement bit that both would fit in the handle and had the same missing opposite end. When you lose a bit you lose two ends, right? ? Several months later I found it, right where I thought it should be that day, but I swear I moved furniture, swept the floor, and even aggressively went through the couch that normally sits there, including tipping it over. I feel better now. Thanks for letting me vent. ?

I ended up ordering a Klein crimper frame and Klein dies for LMR400. It may have come out of the same factory as the iWiss crimper I have for Powerpoles; but I’m hoping that Klein at least exercises some QC. Based on Amazon reviews the dies have a better finish than some of the alternatives. I’ll add other dies as needed. I know that’ll be more expensive than one of the $30 crimper tool plus six dies, but I’ve had decent luck with most Klein tools. Except their 11 in 1 screwdriver.

First, remove the RX CTCSS Code. Then see if you hear the repeater. Without a code you receive everything. You will need the right code to transmit, but solve one problem at a time. If you cannot hear the repeater, and you’re on the right frequency, then either it has no traffic or you’re out of range. Yes, PL is the same as CTCSS. You might hear a GMRS repeater ID itself using Morse code. That is allowed. If you hear Morse code right after you tried to hit the repeater, you might have succeeded. There are different LMR sizes, such as LMR 240, LMR 400, LMR 600. I’m just curious which you got. Also, I don’t know what you meant about using two mounts as a wind brace.

I searched eBay for Motorola 100 watt uhf. Here’s a starting point. Consult with the commercial radio guys on this forum if you want more info: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=motorola+100+watt+uhf&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&loc=9021317&mktype=&sitelnk=&poi=&cmpgn=18791967966&rlsatarget=dsa-1680301660446&geo_id=&network=g&mkscid=102&gclid=CjwKCAjwrJ-hBhB7EiwAuyBVXdBClxBs9xhu2a0-AnkHKV1O60k8uu8lsJSQRr5QaZZcKQ3D-0GmOBoCUWcQAvD_BwE&mkcid=2&_odkw=motorola+xpr+5550+e+uhf+403+470+mhz&norover=1&MT_ID=&adpos=&adgroupid=141477363565&matchtype=&abcId=&keyword=&mkrid=711-153677-346401-4&crlp=632513917133_&device=t

Or you can buy a Baofeng that's already setup for GMRS.

When I look at the repeater for Joplin, looking at the details, in the corner it says this:

Good points about finding repeaters! The OP has the UV5X, the X is the factory configured version (type 95e certified) GMRS Baofeng.

Have you looked at the repeater directory on the mygmrs website? There are 47 repeaters in Missouri. That’s where to start. https://www.mygmrs.com/repeaters