SteveShannon

I see three in Long Island

That one is only 19 ga. thickness. It’s meant to be attached to a fiberglass roof. A cookie sheet, pizza pan, or pie plate like this will work: 10 Inch Round Pie Pan for Baking, Aluminum Commercial Grade Pie Plate by Tezzorio https://a.co/d/2fHKb9h Don’t let us convince you that the size is too critical. These antennas are typically fastened to a metal roof of indeterminate size. Also you’re on the water. That’s just perfect in terms of terrain. I’ve never put an antenna on a boat, and I don’t know what your boat is like or what it has for mounting, but do whatever is easiest. Edit: I told I’d never put an antenna on a boat. It appears that for marine applications the body of water serves as the ground plane. I really don’t know how you take advantage of that.

Maybe it’s one of those “if you build it they will come” things. ? Although I have 146.520 programmed into my radios, the few times I’ve left the frequency there I’ve heard nothing. Of course that is here in Montana and doesn’t reflect congested urban areas.

Welcome to MyGMRS. Please tell us about yourself and the requested antenna. Is it for GMRS? Do you have access to any materials which might be used to build yourself a J-pole or 1/4 wave ground plane antenna? I’d be happy to post links to DIY videos? Could you use a mobile antenna? What is your mounting situation? Do you have feedline already or is that part of the request? No matter what, best wishes to you!

I completely agree.

I hadn’t heard about it either. Is it really a thing? What kind of adventure comes with the frequency? ?

So, you’re intentionally overpowering the transmissions of others (at the local store/business) on the same frequency? Why not simply move to a different frequency?

Agreed. This is a case where non-compliance is harmless as long as the person using the radio is acting responsibly. But for people who worry about strict compliance with the letter of the regulations, having it spelled out may help.

This!! Two of the Radioddity DB20G radios with one configured for GMRS and the other opened up to the ham bands and there’s not even a question about compliance.

1. Make sure you have the correct driver for the cable you’re using. Win 11 changed the model for drivers and manufacturers had to come up with new drivers. 2. Then just use the software that the manufacturer recommends for the radio.

https://www.acehardware.com/departments/plumbing/pipe-fittings/test-plugs but every plumbing supply place should stock them.

When you’re looking at the information for a repeater, the Input tone is the tone your radio must transmit to the repeater. The Output tone is the tone the repeater transmits, and which your radio receives. At first, you’re probably better off leaving it blank. That will allow you to hear everything. Once you know your transmissions are being received by the repeater, then you can add a receiver tone to match the repeater‘s Output tone.

That’s right! once it’s working like that you can decide whether you want to put a tone on receive. With the tone left blank you will hear everything transmitted on that frequency. With the receive tone set to 88.5 you’ll only hear transmissions that are sent using a tone of 88.5. i always leave receive tones blank until I’m sure.

Yes, the repeater listens on a 5 MHz higher frequency than it transmits. The setting for REPT15 is correct. If you don’t transmit on 467.550 there’s no chance the repeater will hear your transmissions Set your output tone to 88.5 Hz, but for now leave your receive tone blank. That way you’ll receive everything transmitted on 462.550

Current FRS radios do not transmit on the 467 MHz repeater input frequencies, but they are allowed to transmit on the repeater output frequencies. So you might not be able to tell them apart. That doesn’t mean they’re in violation. The frequencies are simply shared.

I’ve scratched the surface, but that’s all. I bought one of the dongles also. I’m sure it isn’t the quality of my Yaesu transceiver, but for something the size of my index finger it’s amazing!

I agree, Randy, that your work has truly helped spotlight a problem. I can’t pretend to understand all the moving parts, especially political in nature. I feel that the Salton Sea is just a symptom of a far greater problem.

There are lots of GMRS transceivers which can receive on the amateur bands, but not transmit on them. Although people have found ways to “open up” transceivers to do what you’re asking, the rules for GMRS include this little nugget which is pretty specific: No GMRS transmitter will be certified for use in the GMRS if it is equipped with the capabilities to operate in services that do not require equipment certification, such as the Amateur Radio Service.

I think you mean something like an Allstar node. On the store associated with this page there might even be a package deal.

What a refreshing attitude. Don’t worry, we’ll change that! ?

Yeah, sorry about that ?

As the gentleman said, don’t worry about any jargon. When I talk to my friend Dale, it’s just like talking on the phone. It’s obvious usually when someone has stopped so you don’t need to say Over. If someone says Roger to you that means “okay” and might mean they’re a ham or commercial radio operator. If they say Roger Roger, they’re definitely a ham. ? I don’t have any idea when to use the word “break” except in “I need a break.“

Thanks! ? Abbree does make a GMRS version: ABBREE Tactical Foldable Antenna 18.89inch GMRS Antenna SMA-Female for Baofeng etc GMRS Radios. https://smile.amazon.com/ABBREE-Tactical-Foldable-18-89inch-SMA-Female/dp/B0B1QK3YNW/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?crid=2KQ22EG0C4VGS&keywords=abbree+gmrs+antenna&qid=1669684037&sprefix=abbree+GMRS+%2Caps%2C266&sr=8-2# I haven’t tried it so I can’t comment on its value.

Because the Abbree is tuned to be resonant on the 70cm band, the SWR on the the Abbree will almost certainly be higher than desirable. That means a certain amount of your transmit power is reflected back into the radio and less is emitted. You might find that the Abbree works more poorly than the Nagoya, which is tuned for the GMRS band.

I agree. The cheap radio business model is based on making a relatively few hardware designs that can be targeted at a wide array of markets, including commercial radio, GMRS, Amateur Radio, and MURS. The incremental cost of targeting additional markets is very low, as is the hardware cost. DMR is used by both commercial markets as well as amateur and as such appears to have greater interest than D-Star, even in the Amateur markets. A radio made using DMR can be easily reconfigured to be used as a commercial radio or an amateur radio. Although still an AMBE codec, it’s a different one than D-Star. The AMBE+2 codec used for DMR is the same one used for other digital modes, including D-Star, whereas there are chips used for D-Star which are not compatible with DMR. But D-Star is unique. Although it’s claimed to be open (a claim which I believe is technically accurate) it is entirely limited to ham radio. That’s a tiny market compared to commercial radio. There’s just nothing about the market to attract a cheap radio manufacturer.