SteveShannon

All seven (I might have a problem ) of my Yaesu radios are marked made in Japan, including the two least expensive, the FT4x and FT65. I heard that the FT65 was briefly manufactured in China, but mine definitely says made in Japan. My Alinco DJ-MD5 doesn’t say, but the firmware and CPS looks just like Anytone’s so I suspect it’s made in China.

There’s a procedure that manufacturers go through to get their radios certified for GMRS and pretty much any of the other services except amateur radio. That’s why ham radios are prohibited. Other than regulations I don’t know why FCC doesn’t want us to easily use a part 95e certified radio on the ham radio bands, but they don’t. But I just don’t think they would ever be able to know that a person’s type 90 or 95 radio has been opened up for use on a ham band based strictly on transmissions. I think the only way a person would ever get cited is if they act like an idiot while transmitting. Then the citation would just be an additional charge on top of the charges they earned by being idiots.

Welcome, Mike!

Depending on local traffic, it just makes sense to buy a bunch of FRS or MURS radios and pass them out as long as you don’t need security for your communications or long range. I checked into a hotel one time and when I pulled the covers back there was a nice little Motorola radio laying on the sheets. It must have fallen out of the housekeeper’s pocket when she made up the bed. I took it to the front desk. We stayed there frequently so she knew me. She looked at me, sighed, and said “where did you find it?”

The regulations allow it. In fact, business GMRS licensees with grandfathered licenses are still allowed to hand a GMRS radio to their employees without additional licensing. Some businesses do use MURS or FRS already. I hear the local hotel talking on one of the GMRS/FRS channels. It’s about the only regular traffic that I hear.

Which we’re already probably paying. And it doesn’t do simplex, but hey, none of us get everything we want.

There is one radio service that encrypts conversations, doesn’t require users to ID, and doesn’t require users to own a license. It even has a worldwide network of repeaters. What’s more, it fits in a person’s pocket. In fact most adults and a lot of kids already have these wondrous radios.

Contact the owner, @rdunajewski. He has to do it.

If you’re using a radio that requires a license to use, you’re required to identify the license you’re using. It’s a very simple concept. If you’re authorizing someone to use your license, they are required to identify your license. Equally simple concept. If you are the license holder, you are responsible to ensure that they do. Still simple. Inconvenience or the opinion that a rule is stupid has never been recognized as a justification for violating regulations. However, the FCC almost certainly won’t enforce it.

The Yaesu FT-710 Field will run rings around the IC-7300. Better reception and lower price than the 7300, and improved ergonomics over the FT-DX10.

If you want to transmit and receive on the same frequency use one of the simplex frequencies. Channels 15-22 receive on the same frequencies as repeater channels 23-30, BUT there is no offset. So, rather than selecting channel 30, use channel 22. It transmits and receives on 462.725 MHz

There are plenty and some people really like some of them. The Xeigu G90 is very popular with a built in tuner that is very capable. People say they can tune a clothesline. But there’s still a lot of really good Japanese made rigs out there and not all hams are cheap. And the ftm400 has been eclipsed by both the ftm300 and ftm500. People I know with ftm400s have had some problems that necessitated sending them back a couple times. The FTM300 has a much better reputation. The FTM500 is still earning its rep.

Do a factory reset and then see if you can read it. Reading from one radio and writing to another can be really bad if they’re on different firmware levels.

I Don have any help for you, but I’m also helping a blind ham so I’m interested in whatever you find.

YouTube is owned by Google. The advertising you see is usually targeted based on your online history. No wonder your wife doesn’t want you messing with her internet.

There are a few repeater owners who choose not to adhere to the customary 5.000 MHz offset. This is one of them. That means you must be able to set a 5.075 MHz offset or independently program receive and transmit frequencies. If you independently program both frequencies, you shouldn’t enter an offset. Standard preprogrammed channels on commercial GMRS radios will not work with this repeater.

I think that’s exactly what they’re targeted towards.

That’s a very good observation. Lightning has a crack, sizzle, and boom, but we’re usually too far away to hear the sizzle. Frequently we can still hear the crack, but we can almost always hear the boom, reverberating as a rumble. Radio is quite like that. For space and space communications, where distance is usually the only thing limiting range, VHF and UHF are both used. People literally talk to people on the ISS using handheld 5 watt ham radios often. Communicating from one place on earth to another is all about atmospherics, terrain, vegetation, even humidity. Since I became a ham i just learn more each day about how little I truly understand it all. I recently spoke to several people who were hundreds of miles away in all different directions, but I accidentally had my power set to 10 watts instead of 100. They could still make me out, albeit weakly. But there are other days when one of them tries to transmit with 600 watts and I have to really listen to hear them. So don’t expect consistency. So, in general: Mountain top to mountain top, either will work just fine and you probably won’t notice a difference. Within a densely vegetative forest, VHF will usually get through the leaves better. UHF can choke on a heavy rain. In an urban environment, tall buildings, lots of metal, UHF usually does a little better. As an example, aircraft and marine communications, which have a real necessity for reliability, usually use VHF. Ocean going vehicles use HF. Submarines used ELF because it worked better under water, or they surface and raise an antenna and use whatever they want.

Very good examples!

It might be interesting to see if putting the rubber ducks back on results in the issue returning. If so, maybe it’s just a design flaw with the antenna.

MURS is limited by regulation to 2 watts. The answer to your hypothetical question is “it depends.” There’s not a simple yes/no answer. It depends on what’s limiting your range. Terrain can limit both. Both are line of sight, but UHF is slightly more so. UHF is also less capable of passing through moisture.

On two different radios? Yes it’s possible.

That’s interesting. I can’t think of why that would be.

please let us know what you find.

It's really difficult to know what it is. It could be something on the power lines, or part of the cell site. It could also be a motor controller somewhere, such as on a pump, or a power supply for some equipment you have. A lot of times hams will turn off the power to their homes to see if such interference continues. Then they turn on each breaker until the noise begins again in an effort to determine which circuit it's on. Also, go somewhere else, distant from the cell tower, and see if the sound persists.