SteveShannon

I bet it did. Some discussions are just lightning rods for uncivil behavior. It’s really a shame, too, because our civilization needs civil discussions of politics.

I have an Alinco MD-5 DMR VHF/UHF Radio. Under the plastic it would appear to be an Anytone, but I prefer the Alinco implementation. I use it with the local UHF DMR repeater and I use it with the local analog 2m repeater our ham club provides. I also use it with my hotspot. i also have a Yaesu FT5DR, which does VHF and UHF. There are no local C4FM repeaters, so I use it with my hotspot. I also use it for analog 2m on the club repeater I mentioned above.

It’s a violation of part 97 requirements to interfere with transmissions of another, so the jammers are in the wrong. Nothing else that I say should be interpreted as justification for their actions. Freedom of speech is limited with ham radio. There are authorized transmissions (97.111), prohibited transmissions (97.113) and there are rules set by the repeater owners/control operators. Many repeater owners/operators/clubs prohibit political discussions. That’s their right. Each repeater has a single channel and it’s the only channel available to anyone using that repeater (some digital repeaters might have two channels). Monopolizing that one channel to discuss politics could be seen as inconsiderate by other users; political discussions force everyone waiting for the repeater to listen to political views which could be very divisive. Rag chewing on simplex channels is another matter. But it’s still a violation of part 97 requirements to interfere with transmissions of another, so the jammers are in the wrong, regardless of their motives.

I have one of the Comet window pass-thru jumpers. It’s well built and works very well. I use it for an HF transceiver. Note that it’s only rated for 40 watts for UHF.

Here’s the regulations regarding frequencies. Note that repeaters are only permitted to transmit in the “a) 462 MHz Main Channels”: 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.

Don’t worry about the tones. Just set the frequencies. As long as you don’t use a tone to control squelch you’ll hear everything on the frequency.

As I recall, from a regulatory perspective, repeaters are not explicitly permitted to transmit on the 467 MHz channels.

I’m not arguing against your logic or your ideals. I’m just pointing out the reality of the situation. Most people don’t get licensed for GMRS and for the most part their activities don’t affect those who do.

Now you’ve got it. Most people do ignore the license requirement and GMRS accountability is a myth that even the FCC disregards the unless someone does something really bad.

I didn’t make it very clearly. My point is that 90% of the GMRS users with whom I’m personally acquainted use it simply as a communications medium when they’re many miles away from civilization. They don’t know about or care about repeaters; they’re using simplex in the 462 MHz frequencies. They use it because cell phones don’t work where they’re recreating. For them it’s not a hobby or a vocation. It’s simply a tool that enhances, and in some ways enables, the enjoyment of their hobbies. For most of them the Garmin Rino is the only GMRS radio they’ve ever owned. They chose GMRS strictly because of the ability to see where the others are and to mark locations to share with each other. I cannot disagree with you about why we should be licensed, but the fact is that most outdoor recreational GMRS users never will unless they get deeper into it like those of us on this forum. We on this forum are not an example of the average outdoor recreation user of GMRS and probably never will be.

You kind of missed the whole point…

I’m using an iPad and yes, emojis are not appearing in posts. More evidence to suggest that something ist kaput.

Yeah, maybe it’s broken today. I don’t think you or I are troublemakers who deserve repression! ?

Hi Paul, Yes, each of you closes out by identifying yourself. You can add a unit designation, such as “WRQV411 unit 1”, but there’s no requirement to do so. You could have your entire family closing out one after the other with the same call sign.

Today I’m unable to give any posts a like or a thanks. I see a message saying that I cannot add any more reactions today, but I haven’t added any today, at least in my time zone. So I am curious. How many reactions am I allowed daily? How does that quota work, is it a sliding 24 hour window, a finite limit per calendar day, or what? When does it reset? Do premium members have a higher limit or possibly even no limit? Why is there a limit? Thanks! Steve

Even though this is the first post I’ve read today, I’m unable to “react” with a like emoji, so I want to say this is an absolutely excellent post! As far as licensing goes, that’s how it is here in Montana as well. I’m literally the first person I’ve met in Montana with a license. I requested an FRN many years ago (pre 2005 I think because it was before my job change) for the purpose of obtaining a GMRS license, but then the FCC said they were going to request to make GMRS licenses free. So, I thought I’d wait. I and everyone I know who owns GMRS radios have been using them ever since without licensing, until I decided to get legitimate in 2021. None of the people I speak to using my GMRS radio have a license and most of them couldn’t even describe the licensing process. Our usage of GMRS radios happens entirely at our monthly rocket launches so we can keep in touch if we need to. We don’t have conversations on the radio. We have conversations while we’re sitting together, but when we’re recovering a rocket the radios allow us to check on each other, or to offer suggestions “I think it was more east than that!” Most of us went to an outdoor sporting goods store and bought a Garmin Rino for the mapping ability. When we’re walking around in the hills looking for our own rocket we appear on each other’s maps screens, at least the last known location. We may only speak on the radio for a few seconds once a month, but those few seconds are important to recovering rockets that might be worth thousands of dollars. Having radios also allows us to react in case one of us has a medical emergency. Many of us are in our fifties, sixties, or seventies (some are even older) and hiking up and down rock strewn hills stresses the human body. Plus, it’s easy to get turned around on an overcast day. We don’t use networks or repeaters and we never ever hear anyone else on the channel we’ve agreed upon. I have toyed with the idea of setting up a portable repeater on one of our hills to keep in better touch, but that will result in losing our ability to see each other on our maps. I still have only physically met one other GMRS licensee, other than on this forum. But I know a lot of unlicensed people who use GMRS for purpose driven communications just like I did. They don’t know or care about the regulations and they’re not hurting anyone. They’ve never even heard the word “interstitial” before.

I should have included that. It’s usually the first reference I cite. It can be overwhelming, but it is an authoritative source.

Chirp is updated very frequently, to the point where there’s a daily check for updates built into the program when you start it.

Exactly- you don’t (and shouldn’t) need a bunch of radio theory to use GMRS, but you have agreed to follow the rules (cryptically written though they may be) so a licensee needs to know and understand them.

Mine make me look like I have an different kind of social life: But I’m really not even looking to avoid ads. I just want to be able to support the site at a level that I’m comfortable with.

The Mike Holt videos are excellent on YouTube. He understands and clearly explains the actual requirements of the National Electrical Code as seen by a Professional Engineer . Here’s one of his more recent videos discussing antenna grounding: https://youtu.be/WRv8AKVAfyc Ward Silver does a very good job of explaining it from the perspective of an amateur radio installation. In fact, he wrote the book for ARRL on Grounding and Bonding. Here’s one of his videos: https://youtu.be/WizvvhQgtoA The short answer is that yes, your tower, antenna, and coax may share a ground. In fact, their grounds are required to be bonded (connected) to each other and to your electrical system ground. Here’s how I understand it: A four legged tower would have a ground electrode for each leg. Then, all four ground electrodes would be bonded to each other with a ground conductor ring and a sufficiently sized solid ground conductor would then run from that ring to the electrical system ground which is connected to your electrical panel. The bonding is as important to the grounding because it prevents differences in ground potential (between ground electrodes) from creating currents that flow through your radio equipment. You really want those currents to flow through the ground conductors or bonding conductors rather than through your radio or your body. Then, where your coax enters the house, it passes through a lightning protector. The lightning protector is connected to a ground or ground plate, which is bonded to the electrical system ground. Inside your house, all of your devices (radios, power supplies, amplifiers, etc.) are connected to a single ground point (frequently a copper bar), which is also bonded to the electrical system ground with a decent sized conductor. Steve

Unfortunately, there are dicks everywhere. That’s offensive (or at least should be offensive) to all of us. Unless listening is required because you need situational awareness of some kind, I would just block that channel from being scanned. If it continues, record it and turn it in to the FCC, but chances are they won’t do anything about it. If you feel personally threatened (not just offended) then call the police.

Amen! We had a case of P&B control relays which were designated to be used in automating a hydroelectric plant which we had to replace because mice urinated on them. Plus, a lot of times when an electronic device is submerged the water has contaminants in it that become deposits as the water evaporates. All that must be cleaned off in order to assess damage and possibly restore functionality.

Some of what you posted is accurate, but some is distorted and some is just plain wrong. Although GMRS is used by people as a short range radio communication medium, at least for the people I know in radio, it's not an alternative to ham radio. It's just a way to communicate. I use GMRS for one reason only, to stay in communications with my friends when I'm out chasing rockets. Someday, I'll also use it to talk to my grandkids. I've given them FRS radios to play with. I don't ever leave my GMRS radio on so I can have conversations with people. Even when I use my GMRS radio for rocketry I don't have conversations. I simply use to to provide directions or notify someone of an impending launch. But there are a lot of other reasons I am a ham radio operator. Primarily I am interested in the technology and learning more about it. I learn about antennas, digital modes, propagation, etc. Occasionally, I listen to other people talking and sometimes I join in. You're wrong also about ham radio losing participants. The growth is not phenomenal, but it is positive. I didn't check on CB. At the end of 2018, the total number of hams in the US was 755,430, following steady growth for the previous several years. At the end of 2022, the number of hams in the US was 768,942, 13,512 more than in 2018. I didn't find the statistics for 2019 - 2022, these were the easiest statistics I found. The fact is the GMRS is growing, not because ham radio is shrinking, but because it has changed into something that attracts more people. Perhaps repeaters are part of that. Certainly, extremely lenient licensing is a driver. GMRS is suffering growing pains. To blame those pains on any other service misses the mark. To change the other services to fix GMRS is ludicrous. You might just as well suggest that GMRS licenses go back up to $70 and for a shorter term, or implement theory and regulation testing to slow down the growth, or prohibit networking repeaters. Or issue a test to weed out sad hams. You cannot blame the problems in GMRS on amateur radio. Nor can amateur radio problems be blamed on GMRS. I suppose that means I should GFM. That also isn't going to happen.

So the problem with GMRS is that too many hams are rag-chewing on it? ?