SteveShannon

I believe that's probably the case, but I'm having trouble trying to find something in the regulations that limits handheld portable radios to 5 watts for GMRS. I know that for the 462 interstitial channels there's a limit (as quoted below), but like I say, I'm having trouble finding the part of the regulations that limits all GMRS handhelds to 5w.: 462 MHz interstitial channels. The effective radiated power (ERP) of mobile, hand-held portable and base stations transmitting on the 462 MHz interstitial channels must not exceed 5 Watts.

I dealt with them in the early 2000s. Their stock went from $4 to $44 and then they were acquired. Although their CAD-CAM market share disappeared their Utility AM-FM business still does well. That’s the system I worked on.

I agree with KAF6045; make sure you know how to sweep the antenna first and that you see something that makes sense to you. Then sweep the antenna using the other port on the analyzer to make sure you're seeing the same results on both. Only after you have confidence in the analyzer and your ability to analyze an antenna will you feel comfortable performing a two port analysis of a filter or one side of the duplexer.

The most common type of PL tone is also called CTCSS. There’s also DCS To determine it you ask a repeater owner or you can scan for it with some devices.

I was project manager and programmer on an Intergraph FRAMME system between 1999 and 2005. Ours was PC based but I spent many hours working with folks in Huntsville that you might have known.

I see what you did there … ?

I don’t know if you watched these videos but Randy (@OffroaderX) discusses some of these things:

@OffroaderX discusses the desense issue in one of the (Notarubicon) videos he did about building a KG1000G based repeater.

It looks like you posted this question in two different places. I responded in the other.

They probably cannot be that close together. The receiver will desense. Also, how are you separating the transmitter signal from the receiver signal? Are you using two different antennas or a duplexer? If two antennas how much separation do you have?

The 2 meter repeater here probably has one or two conversations that last a few minutes each day, until our club holds a net each week, when it has to transmit for 15 to 20 minutes nearly continuously. So except during that time duty cycle is not crucial, but it it weren’t able to transmit continuously at least 20 minutes it wouldn’t be useful for emergencies. For a family repeater I agree with you, it’ll be very short transmissions with lots of cooling in between. For that matter, with the KG1000 radios, if you burn out the transmitter just swap them and make the one with the pristine transmitter the new replacement. Or you could always run it at medium power. You might never have a problem with less power running through it. I’ll be really interested in what you decide to do. For my rocket club I have plans to pick up an RT97s. We would use it one day per month for eight months of the year and probably only ten minutes total each of those days. I’ll simply ask my members to say my call sign every so often to ID the repeater. The only reason to have it is to allow people looking in gullies to be able to radio back to base.

Honestly I wouldn’t even worry about the duty cycle. I’m sure in some places repeaters get a lot of use, but most of the ones I hear in Montana are seldom transmitting more than twenty minutes continuously. Run it until it needs to be replaced, then you’ll have a pretty good idea.

You’ve got it! Best wishes getting that set up!

I didn't vote. I'm not one to put stickers on my vehicles, though and I really don't drive around with my radio on. I only use my GMRS radio when my kids are at our cabin or when I'm launching rockets with friends. I don't use GMRS the way I use ham radio, where I might sit at the radio an try to listen to distant stations or join in a local net. For me, although I'm interested in the technology and regulations, GMRS is just a way to communicate while enjoying other things.

It can be as simple as instructing anyone who uses your repeater to identify it whenever they identify their own stations, but of course that's subject to human frailty. For example, if I were using your repeater, I would say "This is WROM258 on repeater WRMM689." Some (most) people purchase a device called an ID-o-matic, that sits between the two linked KG-1000G boxes and which automatically follows the rules for station identification. The Retevis RT97 doesn't have an easy way to insert an ID-o-matic. Its newer version, the RT97S has a port that should allow the use of the ID-o-matic, but I haven't done it so I cannot comment on whether it's easy or difficult. The RT97S used to be much more expensive than the RT97, but lately they appear to be very close in price. In fact, the shopping portal associated with this site had the RT97S for $100 off just the other day, but I think it was a limited time offer. Edited to add: And there's at least one repeater owner who simply setup a Baofeng attached to his/her computer which transmits a call sign to the repeater every fifteen minutes: Here are the FCC rules for GMRS identification: § 95.1751 GMRS station identification. Each GMRS station must be identified by transmission of its FCC-assigned call sign at the end of transmissions and at periodic intervals during transmissions except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section. A unit number may be included after the call sign in the identification. (a) The GMRS station call sign must be transmitted: (1) Following a single transmission or a series of transmissions; and, (2) After 15 minutes and at least once every 15 minutes thereafter during a series of transmissions lasting more than 15 minutes. (b) The call sign must be transmitted using voice in the English language or international Morse code telegraphy using an audible tone. (c) Any GMRS repeater station is not required to transmit station identification if: (1) It retransmits only communications from GMRS stations operating under authority of the individual license under which it operates; and, (2) The GMRS stations whose communications are retransmitted are properly identified in accordance with this section.

It's true that a repeater must be IDed if either or both of those two clauses is not true, but there's no technical requirement for an automatic ID system. If the operator and users of the system identify it according to the rules that is sufficient. Of course from a practical standpoint having an ID system is much more convenient.

I sense a video from Notarubicon … I look forward to seeing it.

Good for you! That and a belt clip will really do the trick with the ladies! ? Honestly I suspect that’s not your call sign and you’re trolling someone here, but that’s your business as well. Yup, your call sign is wrbu527. I’m sorry to be right.

Here’s one of the posts where WRFP399 describes his RT97S setup. I’ve always been impressed by it: Steve

Yes, I think it’ll be the gentleman in Alaska. Wrrc399 or something like that. I’ll look for it.

Welcome, Rodrigo! Without truly knowing what you consider “low-priced” I will say that the easiest path is probably to just buy a Retevis RT97, a good antenna, the best coax you can afford, and a mast to get the antenna up into the air.

Not really. Marc and I both answered his original question. Then, like conversations sometimes go, Gortex2 introduced an inflection point. Almost all of us understand that the conversation that’s going on now has almost nothing to do with the OP’s question. That’s just life online. It has been an interesting diversion though.

I googled “emergency protocols for FRS radio” and I’m delighted that I found many sites and documents that describe such plans. Unfortunately they are dissimilar, but for people in those areas they may be very useful.

Yes, I think that’s crucial. Here’s something else:

Certainly it’s not ideal, but for $200 I could donate 10 Baofeng radios and set them up to scan all the GMRS/FRS radios and all the local ham repeaters and probably the SAR frequencies as well. These could be provided to folks who are out searching for a lost person. I agree; there’s no perfect scenario, but as long as people are willing to keep working towards solutions, some things will improve.