SteveShannon

Could be as @BoxCar suggested, but maybe a user is sending dtmf tones.

Switch to a channel between 15-22 and try again. Some channels are limited for power. Others are limited to narrow band. Those limitations should be applied automatically by the radio. 15-22 are high power allowed and wide band. And turn your squelch down, not all the way, but 1 or 2. And I don’t know what’s up with the setting for UHF/VHF. All GMRS channels are UHF.

I’m guessing you have some settings wrong. GMRS should never work worse than FRS. But without more information it’s difficult to say. What channels are you trying to use to talk to each other? What’s your power output? Are you on wide band or narrow? How do they work outside of the cars? How far apart were you? Try to isolate whatever problems you’re having. Do others hear a poor signal coming from both of your radios or one in particular?

We really don’t know if he/she still is.

Yes, your idea of moving the radio between your vehicle and your house is sound, but I would recommend a larger power supply. The manual recommends at least 10 amp output. My experience using a lower current power supply indicates that the 5 amp power supply you asked about would be underpowered. I have tried using a 45 year old Cobra CB linear power supply (pictured below) for my DB20G. It’s listed at 13.8 volts, but only 3 amps output. It will run all day long if I stay at medium power output (10 watts) on the radio but it doesn’t have enough continuous current carrying capacity if I switch to high power output (20 watts output). After a half minute or so the power supply thermal circuit breaker opens up. Then I have to wait for a minute or so for the thermal to reset. As @BoxCar said, a decent 10 amp power supply is sufficient unless you intend to someday get a 50 watt output GMRS radio or even a 100 watt output ham radio. A typical ham radio power supply for a modern 100 watt output ham radio doesn’t need to be rated higher than 30-35 amps. I never see my ham radio use more than 23 amps at 100 watt output, but I also have chargers for my handhelds and my antenna tuner connected to the power supply and having a higher output rating may keep the fan from running more frequently. You definitely don’t need an 80 amp power supply, but if you have one already there’s nothing wrong with using it. @WRYZ926 didn’t steer you wrong either. A decent linear power supply is generally electrically (RF noise) quieter than a switch mode power supply, but there are very quiet switch mode power supplies made by Samlex or Astron. Linear power supplies are heavy. There are cheaper ones for both linear and switch mode as well, but they often are RF noisy. In fact some of them have an adjustment so you can tune the RF noise to a frequency that doesn’t bother your radio. One of the members here really likes the Meanwell power supplies on Amazon. They’re made for server or medical equipment usage, and they reportedly put out very clean power. I wouldn’t hesitate to use one. They are very attractively priced. Just be sure to get 13.8 volt DC output and at least 10 amperes of current. The antenna and coax for a home installation are very important as well. The type of cable really depends on the length your installation needs. It’s generally not wrong to go with better cable or a higher antenna, but if you’re only running 10 feet and your budget is already maxed out and you already have RG8x, use it, at least until you can afford something better. Similarly, higher gain antennas are usually better for reaching out further, but only in certain directions. If you’re in very hilly terrain a lower gain antenna might work better for you. A Midland MXTA26, on a magnetic mount stuck to a steel cookie sheet outside of your attic window can work well enough while you’re learning. Most importantly, have fun. Try different things.

This is wisdom earned the hard way.

It’s a nearly four year old discussion.

100% correct. How do you break that to them when you approve their access requests?

Any antenna will perform better outdoors than that same antenna will perform indoors, unless the only people you want to communicate with are also inside the same building. You have discovered that a small mobile whip antenna indoors functions almost exactly the same as the small portable whip antenna attached to your radio. That’s right. A whip antenna is a whip antenna. The only difference is that mobile ones are built in such a way that they can be mounted on the exterior of your car. Being mounted externally is the part that enhances performance, not the construction of the antenna. Moving it indoors cripples it. Height and visibility are the two of the factors that benefit antennas the most. Being designed with a more focused propagation pattern (gain) will also help, but only if you have the visibility. You’ll hear it often here: line of sight is crucial. UHF follows a straight path like light and like light It can reflect and refract. Moisture attenuates it. Metal in a building attenuates RF in general. Moisture bearing plants, clouds, even snow can weaken a UHF signal. RF power output makes little difference in range (for UHF). Gravity affects it, but because RF travels so fast, the effect of gravity is essentially nothing for short range. Your range might extend 5% further than the visible horizon.

Or, when trees are blowing down how do you keep your antenna up?

Welcome, Paulie!

How does anyone know you have a Credence Clearwater Revival unless you tell them? Practice saying Motorola. You want an ECR? Expensive Chinese Radio, or do you want something not made in China? Wouxun is an ECR that’s pretty highly considered. It doesn’t sound any different than a UV5R though. My Garmin Rhino is made in Taiwan, which is the other Chinese government, but definitely not our communist foe. It’s very well built, but will not allow the antenna to be interchanged. It has the best screen of any radio I have.

There’s a scan group. Go to a channel and hit SCAN ADD then select On or Off. You can add memory channels to it or take them out of it. Then, whenever you scan, the ones that say “On” will be scanned and the ones set to “Off” won’t be.

I have a friend whose name was Rodacker. One of his favorite movies was “The Jerk”. So, when his name ended up in the upper corner of the phone book (“Roads - Rodacker”) we heard about him being somebody for days!

This was actually served in a chilled glass. The beer wasn’t too cold.

I’m out. You couldn’t keep it candidate free.

I guess it depends on what you call rigged and which “New World Order” you fear most and whether you think the country will look exactly the same if either candidate is elected in any of the races. it should be very obvious that the outcomes of the races aren’t predetermined. If they were, far less money would be spent both during the primaries and the general elections. But, yes, once the individual parties and PACs make a decision on whom they want to run there’s little individual voters can do but vote for the candidates the machines present us. Until something unexpected happens, like one candidate’s disastrous debate performance and the change in candidates that followed. I’m speaking only about the process of selecting and supporting candidates. I don’t want this to become a discussion that pits members of this forum against each other based on their personal choice of candidates. I will not engage in any discussion about why one party and candidate might be preferable to another. That would get this thread locked, removed, or at least moderated.

Anybody can complain about the government. That’s part of the first amendment, but failing to vote means you missed your opportunity to do something about it. .

So far it’s much slower this year. Only 20 so far.

We get about a hundred each year, depending on weather.

Sure!

If you're really thinking of spending $75 on programming software, I would recommend spending the same amount of money to get more current radios instead.

You worry too much my friend. You don't need to apologize. I have no intentions of protesting, no matter which way the election goes. That's just how it works. Whoever is elected will be my president, even if I disagree with them. And in two more years the cycle of campaigning will begin again. If I could change one thing it would be to prohibit campaigning until 30 days before the primaries. If they cannot make their case in 30 days they shouldn't be running.

Okay, but please don’t give up on learning to set and clear tones from the front panel. The Icom is a good radio. Being able to program it from the front panel could be extremely useful.

Happy Halloween!