SteveShannon

Ahhhh, I see. Yeah, I have to set up my Digirig for my ft891 someday also. When you do get to the ic7300 this site has some written settings that might help: https://k5tmt.com/2019/09/07/wsjt-x-settings-for-the-ic-7300/

Yes! We applied and received a nice grant for our repeater last year and the foundation told us to be sure and put in for another this year.

Just wait until you get some long path stations!!!

Very nice!! How is the SWR on 467 MHz?

What’s really nice about the new Mk2 is the sale price of the original 7300!

The thing that has bitten me a couple times is making sure the radio is getting its TX audio from the rear port instead of the microphone. Of course that’s with my Yaesu, but it’s the kind of thing that could cause problems on any radio.

Yeah, other people just don’t realize how much work a repeater can be. Good luck finding the problem causing the high SWR. Hopefully it’s at the bottom, not the top.

I assume you’re using wsjt-x?

As I recall they had a problem issuing refunds. This red light/green light process may have been done to prevent taking payments that for licenses that won’t be issued.

We had an RC-210 connected to our DR-1x repeater but we disconnected it when we visited the repeater last fall. Twice in past years our repeater locked up and had to be power cycled in order to recover. Unfortunately, a lock up like that can last several months before we are able to get back on the mountain. During the winter, snow and the narrow goat (okay, Jeep) path we have to follow to get to the site prevents us from getting there, sometimes until June. We thought the repeater was just getting old and ordered a Hytera replacement. It didn’t arrive in time to put it in service before snow blocked our access. Then, I found an article on the Arcom site that describes lockups of the DR-1X when connected to the RC-210 and as a result we disconnected the Arcom and reverted to using the built-in CW ID provided by the DR-1X. Nearly immediately we noticed a cleaner signal and better range. I ordered a new West Mountain Radio Rigrunner back in September that we plan to add to our system to monitor and control the power going to our various repeaters (VHF, UHF, Digipeater) and microwave link. Unfortunately it’s backordered. When I ordered it their website said “back ordered until December 31, 2025”, but in January one of their employees sent a response to my status request. He was obviously frustrated by their inability to fill back orders by the earlier quoted date. He said they have a lot of backorders and they just don’t know when they’ll be able to fill them. I actually feel bad for the guy! We still plan to replace the repeater when we have access, but now we’re not sure if we’ll reconnect the RC-210. If we do we will completely rewire it in case the wiring is part of the problem with signal quality. Sorry that none of that helps with your SWR. I just thought you might be interested in our experience with the RC-210. We have had it for years and really never operated without it until recently. We like the audio reporting that it provides, but we have to figure out why the repeater works better without it than with.

Yes, but that’s your center frequency. Your signal has a width to it. It’s up to you to understand that and avoid having the width of your signal go outside of the band limits.

Our old Yaesu DR-1x repeater transmits its CW ID at a slightly muted level and mixes it with whatever audio is being repeated. That way the ID can be heard, but so can the transmission.

No. It’s a matter of very simple arithmetic and personal responsibility. The FCC established simple band edges. It’s up to each of us to understand the bandwidth of our radios and keep our transmissions within the bands.

No, it goes no higher than 10 meters.

Is it possible that you were hearing a simplex transmission? Did you ever hear any call signs? Are the transmissions still continuing? GMRS repeaters can cover a large radius if their antenna is located at a high elevation. Sometimes they’re placed on towers that were built for other purposes. Best wishes for your future pursuits, but don’t give up on GMRS so soon. Once it clicks for you you’ll feel better.

I use GPS with GMRS when I’m out launching high powered amateur rockets. Because I’m out in the hills of sw Montana my fellow rocketeers are able to see my location on their radios (people in my rocketry group use Garmin Rhino radios). Also, if I find someone else’s rocket I can mark the location and give it to them so they can retrieve it.

You’re going to be amazed at the capabilities of the 7300. It has the ability to sweep SWR of an antenna also. In many ways it’s a nearly perfect first radio.

Yes

At the top of this page is a menu choice that says Repeaters. Click on it and look up the repeaters for your area. Or introduce yourself to us and tell us where you want to use a repeater and someone will probably help.

Here’s the same radio, but at a different price and with reviews: https://www.amazon.com/TYT-TH-9800-Cross-Band-Mobile-Radio/dp/B00I53VUEY/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 A friend of mine bought one. She had problems with it. Weird things like tuning just not working correctly. I wouldn’t waste my money on it. Especially if I was looking at getting my general license and getting more into HF. Every $200 you spend on something like this just sets you back from getting something like this: https://www.gigaparts.com/icom-ic-7300.html?utm_term=sku-zic-7300&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23169450131&gbraid=0AAAAAD_py5Eqa8XQAv_t3yTg5nizIVj52&gclid=Cj0KCQiAy6vMBhDCARIsAK8rOgnkMgjFpbYMKlrnXdGogfEnx1FYuEK-O5XIuGA1i5LN-aHdXUR-hMkaAonAEALw_wcB

Yes it will, but will it do SSB? Personally I absolutely agree with @WRYZ926 in his post right above.

Yes 467.600 MHz 462.600 MHz Whatever DCS code the repeater owner/operator set Whatever CTCSS tone the repeater owner/operator set (they would choose one or the other, not both) The offset for GMRS is always +5 MHz because the FCC set aside the frequencies that way. Your mistake is in not researching the specific CTCSS or DCS for the repeater you’re attempting to use. There is no specific CTCSS or DTCSS (same thing as DCS) used in conjunction with all repeaters on 462.600 MHz.

It all depends on what you’re doing. There’s always some kind of compromise. NVIS is great for communicating on HF from a mostly fixed place to another mostly fixed place, but because it’s HF it requires a large antenna placed mostly parallel to the ground. VHF/UHF allows for very clear voice and data mobile communications. If you can place a repeater high enough you can communicate voice and data and even video over a hundred mile radius using very small radios and antennas.

Exactly. FT8 and phone are different uses but a person doesn’t have to choose one and forsake the other for all time. FT8 has a very narrow use case, logging bare minimum contacts quickly. On a good day it can be fun chasing FT8, but at another time a person might just want to talk to someone. Or play with one of the many other modes of amateur radio communication. There are so many different ways to communicate and fortunately we can play with all of them.

I think I shared this with you before, but if not I apologize. This is the Marine Corps Antenna Handbook. It does a great job explaining antennas, propagation, frequencies, and distances at a level that I think most people can understand. For instance page 117 is the beginning of a chapter on NVIS and how it can be used to achieve continuous communications at distances that would otherwise fall within the “skip zone”. https://www.marines.mil/Portals/1/MCRP 3-40.3C With Erratum z.pdf Here’s a snippet: To communicate over the horizon to an amphibious ship on the move, or to a station 100 to 300 kilometers away, the operators should use NVIS propagation. The ship’s low take-off angle antenna is designed for medium and long-range communications. When the ship’s antenna is used, a skip zone is formed. This skip zone is the area between the maximum ground wave distance and the shortest sky wave distance where no communications are possi- ble. Depending on operating frequencies, antennas, and propagation conditions, this skip zone can start at roughly 20 to 30 kilometers and extend out to several hundred kilometers, preventing communi- cations with the desired station. NVIS propagation uses high take-off angle (60° to 90°) antennas to radiate the signal almost straight up. The signal is then reflected from the ionosphere and returns to Earth in a circular pattern all around the transmitter. Because of the near-vertical radiation angle, there is no skip zone. Communications are continuous out to several hundred kilometers from the transmitter. The nearly vertical angle of radiation also means that lower frequencies must be used. Gener- ally, NVIS propagation uses frequencies up to 8 MHz