SteveShannon

Could also be used between two or more family locations, a house and a cabin, etc.

With an antenna switch you could select the one that works best. Combining antennas is more complicated. If you simply connect them in parallel you end up with an impedance mismatch and a minimum SWR of 2:1. A combiner may be built or purchased, but you really need to consider what you hope to accomplish by combining the two antennas. Will the combined antennas cancel out each other? Will they result in greater gain? Which direction because increasing gain in one direction necessarily decreases gain in another. In other words, it depends.

The FCC like all other regulatory agencies has to follow NPRM. The FCC Chief can’t decree a change to GMRS regulations, although he could call for changes which result in NPRM proceedings. Based on his own comments I expect he will be focusing on freedom of speech in Social Media, election fairness for broadcast networks, and Trump’s grievances against “mainstream media”.

Although 3:1 isn’t optimal, it definitely deserves a yes answer to the question the OP asked: “Can I get away with using either of these antennas?”

Don’t hold your breath hoping for an improvement. The last time Trump was president the Agriculture Act of 2018 was passed which eventually led to the Forest Service wanting to recoup costs for radio repeaters at forest service sites.

Welcome!

It sounds like you’re listening and transmitting on a simplex channel. Simplex channels receive the same frequencies as repeaters transmit, but they don’t transmit on the frequency the repeater listens to. You must be on a repeater channel to transmit to a repeater. Or you have the tone wrong and the repeater is simply ignoring you. Most software is written for Windows because the market is primarily Windows users. It’s just that simple.

You’re sure welcome. And pay no attention to the guy who has thrown away more radios than Baofeng has manufactured. We all just understand that he only feels good about himself when he’s sniping at others.. The range you’re getting is reasonable inside a city with trees and buildings. He lives on the edge of a desolate valley and apparently doesn’t understand the difference.

That sounds like using DTMF to link to other repeaters. On our 2 meter repeater DTMF tones are used to control other aspects of the repeater or to ask the repeater for things like voltage, temperature, etc.

FYI - You can edit your original post and add that to it by clicking on the three dots in the upper right corner and selecting edit.

It’s probably the biggest reason why I don’t program GMRS frequencies into most of my ham handhelds. I had both programmed into my Alinco radio, (you know, just in case!) and I found myself transmitting my GMRS call sign on the 2 meter repeater with another ham standing beside me. He didn’t give me a disapproving look or anything like that, I just knew I screwed up. Split mode is often used to have ham radio conversations with hams from other countries who have different amateur bands. Using split US hams can transmit on approved US frequencies while listening on the other country’s frequencies. The ham in the other country listens on US frequencies but transmits on a frequency approved for their country. That’s legal.

That’s what we see when also we click on your screen name. It’s when we click on the image in your sig that we get the 403. I don’t think that’s anything you’re doing wrong. I think it’s just a permissions setting for the site where the image is stored.

All my life I’ve been interested in astronomy. When my class had its eighth grade graduation we had a skit where we dressed up to look like our future selves. I stood on the school stage dressed in a long black robe with a mortarboard on my head looking through a mocked up telescope. This was supposed to depict me as a future scientist. Yet oddly enough, despite my basic interest, I never really got into astronomy. Oh, I have a couple telescopes. Over the years I’ve used binoculars and spotting scopes. Maybe 20 years ago I bought a 4” Orion Dobsonian. I use it seldom, although I have used it to see Mercury pass across the sun and to view solar eclipses (with a solar filter of course. 15 years ago I bought a 10” Cave Astrola (big reflector scope with equatorial mount) that one of my engineer’s father was selling. I should have paid better attention. He was selling it because he was switching over to viewing streaming images on the internet. I believe it’s a nice scope but I have never looked through it. I ought to remedy that. @OffRoaderX I hope you love your new telescope and I hope that you will do a series of YouTube videos with your new equipment. Maybe that will get me off my butt.

No, I have never been able to see it either. I see a huge blank area at the bottom of every one of your posts that says dead sticker.jpg, so I have an idea what it’s supposed to be. But if I click on it I also get the 403 warning. You’re definitely not on my ignore list.

I’ve not heard of ANI ID’s being displayed on the screen of another radio, although it makes sense that some devices can interpret them. Nor do I know if they are delivered through a repeater. This has been discussed before on the forum but I don’t recall anyone having great success using them. They’re more of a feature used by commercial radios and maybe the people here who deal with commercial radios can advise you more. @nokones, @Lscott, @gortex2, @marcspaz Here’s a thread on radio reference that discusses the various settings and how they’re used referring, to a Baofeng UV-82. It might be useful anyway. https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/baofeng-uv-82-need-help-with-understanding-ani-id-signal-code-ptt-id.282829/ The post that appears to have the most helpful information about the subject is #10. I haven’t tried any of this. I’m curious what you intend to do with ANI-ID?

Maybe it doesn’t really send it. I believe you have it set correctly although are you waiting slightly to allow the code to be sent before you speak? Try it in the ham mode (assuming you’re licensed appropriately.)

No, the station has nothing to do with the building your station is in. You can have a GMRS station placed right next to your ham station on the same desk, in the same jeep, or on the same belt. You simply use the other radio. But only if you have the appropriate license. I have both and as long as I remember to grab the right microphone and use the right call sign I can have a two way conversation to either service. But I agree with you that hams should not be lecturing GMRS licensees and vice versa. I don’t agree with your premise that amateur radio operators are necessarily more educated and experienced. They are more tested however.

As far as communicating between a ham station and a GMRS licensee, it could be easily done by having the ham transmit on a ham frequency and received on a ham receiver by the GMRS licensee. No rule prohibits any person from receiving on ham frequencies. Then the GMRS licensee could transmit on the GMRS station. No rule prohibits any person from receiving on GMRS frequencies. But both transmissions would violate the regulations against one way transmissions.

Nearly everything of significance is defined by the FCC. GMRS is one of the Personal Radio Services. Here’s the definition of a station: Personal Radio Services station. Any transmitter, with or without an incorporated antenna or receiver, which is certified by the FCC to be operated in one or more of the Personal Radio Services.

Welcome Mark! 462.675 is the frequency you receive the repeater on. So it’s sometimes known as the repeater output frequency. If you use a GMRS radio the offsets are automatically set. On GMRS you always transmit on 467.xxx MHz frequencies and receive on 462.xxx MHz frequencies when you use a repeater channel. Disregard user socalgmrs. He’s having a bad day. Apparently he feels better about himself when he’s scolding new people. Feel free to ask questions. Welcome to the forum.

@WSFP666 - feel free to add socalgmrs to your ignore list and feel free to ask questions.

Correct. The offset should be automatically added for the repeater channels (RP15 - RP22) and the other channels (1- 22) shouldn’t have any offset. Channels 1-7 are limited to 5 watts. Channels 8-14 are probably not available to you. Channels 15-22 are limited to 50 watts, as are the repeater channels.

Atan(70/2640) = 1.5° The height difference should not matter.

That’s exactly why we work in decibels. You just add them together. So rounding off all to -3 db per 100 feet for lmr400, 1.40 x -3 db = -4.2 db. -4.2 db + 11.9 db leaves you with 7.7 db gain. I assume the 11.9 db you quoted for the antenna is dBi. So, compared to an isentropic antenna you’re radiating a little better than four times as much power horizontally. If the antenna gain was actually expressed as dBd you add 2.15 db to it and the result is 9.85 db gain which is about eight times as much power.

I think he most frequently acts like this in his early morning posts. Perhaps he sought medication the night before?