SteveShannon

@WRYC373 - welcome to MyGMRS. I realize you’ve been here a couple weeks now but I didn’t recognize that you were a new member. So, welcome and merry Christmas!

Here’s a thread about linked repeaters:

Maybe it would make sense to start with a non-linked repeater. Many people steer clear of linked repeaters.

Welcome! Great tower and great background! I worked as the JATC apprentice coordinator and later in the control center at an electric and gas utility for many years and our world would have stopped if not for the linemen, electricians, and relay technicians. Anyway, a repeater is connected to the internet with a network node device usually running AllStar software. Most are built around Raspberry Pi’s which have gotten easier to obtain lately. But by no means is it as easy as plug and play. Not that you can’t handle it, but there are always some issues. I haven’t done it myself but I have built some PiStar nodes for ham radio. Based on what I’ve read here the AllStar network nodes may require some source code changes, whereas PiStar is much easier, so my experience is not relevant. Hopefully this helps you a little.

I’m the same way. I don’t off-road just to be off-roading, although it looks fun. I off-road to get from one place to another and I intentionally choose the easiest route for my 4-Runner.

Mostly. It must be on channel 18rp, not just channel 18. But it looks like you have the right DCS codes according to the manual. One thing about DCS codes and CTCSS tones is that you can leave your receive one empty and you’ll receive everything on that frequency. That’s helpful sometimes because you can tell if there’s traffic on the channel.

For all its imperfections, the PL-259 is much more durable than the N connector. That alone might make it worthwhile living with the disadvantages. I have seen the tiny brass fingers on an N female connector broken, presumably because someone attempted to plug in a PL-259. And whoever adopted the same thread diameter and pitch for both should be chastised. I would love to know that history.

@Radioguy7268 I consider your post one of the best posts in this thread. I would only add that, regardless of what your school chooses, you absolutely must train everyone who might possibly ever need to use it and then have them use it frequently (recess duty, sporting events, speech meets, etc.) so in a true emergency its use is second nature. Even though many teachers are often early adopters of technology, some will be intimidated by it and not want to touch it. They’re the ones who will benefit most from training. Also, make sure everyone in a position of responsibility gets training, not just teachers and admin staff. Your classroom helpers, janitors, maintenance engineer, bus drivers, lunchroom workers, coaches, resource officers, etc. It might not hurt to identify some tech savvy students and train them also so they can help if a teacher is incapacitated or distracted by more important details during an emergency. Obviously that’s less likely for younger grades unless you have older students as helpers. I would also make sure someone on the outside gets a radio and training, such as the school board chairperson, county superintendent, or someone with local law enforcement. My wife was a teacher at schools of various sizes from one room, where she was responsible for all eight grades, to a large school where she was one of three second grade teachers. She was always having to send one of the older students to tell another teacher something. The intercoms built into many schools are hampered by the fact that they are permanently installed in the wall. For normal classroom communications they’re barely adequate. In an emergency it’s nearly impossible to whisper and use the intercom. Drill. A lot.

I absolutely agree, but if I ever must change the connector on the radio I’ll put on an N female. M&P advertises that their PL-259 connectors are nearly as good as N males. I haven’t seen test data, but again they’re not cheap.

He has a video comparing N connectors to UHF connectors too... The differences were less stark than in these angle connectors, but he wasn’t testing at UHF frequencies. I prefer N connectors. They’re just better connectors and more resistant to moisture penetration.

Watch this video before you make up your mind, please. The difference is very measurable. It’s not an issue with SWR; it’s a problem with attenuation, aka insertion loss: And I agree that without stressing your system you might never notice the difference. There are places that sell new old stock ones for $15 each or so. RF Parts or American Radio Supply appear in google searches. I was fortunate to inherit a few of the old silver plated ones from Amphenol. I absolutely understand the hesitation to spend $47 for a pair of these.

One thing Joel is correct about is that a person must read their manual correctly. The Anytone at-778uv is a 25 watt radio. The factory fuses are rated for 10 amps, which is less than the current many power ports are fused to handle. The section that recommends 12 amps (3.2) has nothing to do with installation in a vehicle. It’s specifically making a recommendation for the capacity of a base station power supply. That makes sense because you don’t want to always run at the upper limit of an AC/DC power supply. @WRUU653, I’m sorry you got pulled into this. It’s obvious that Joel has a problem dealing with people and it’s regrettable that he’s now directing his ire towards you.

How did you measure that? Is this for your Anytone AT-778UV?

You’re still missing the point. You said that your manual said you must provide a 12 amp source. Then you said your radio draws 23 watts, a number that doesn’t make sense. That’s what Kenny was telling you. Kenny explained that’s less than 2 amps. Now you’re talking about your radio using 20-30 amps, numbers which still make no sense for a GMRS radio, even while transmitting. My mobile ham radio outputs 100 watts of RF. At 13.8 volts it does that while drawing 23 amps, which is a power consumption of 317.4 watts. That’s a power efficiency of 31.5%. The rest of the power is mostly converted to heat and some light. This radio would require a direct connection to the battery. During receive my radio draws 0.6 amps (at 13.8 v), which means it consumes 8.28 watts. So, where did your “23 watt” figure come from? Is that something you measured on an RF wattmeter? If so, that’s not the power “draw” but rather the output power. And if that’s the output power, then your radio probably doesn’t need a 12 amp circuit. 12 amps would be a reasonable current requirement for a radio with a 50 watt RF output if it were as efficient/inefficient as my FT-891. But, if your radio only puts out an actual 23 watts (RF Output), and if it operates at the same inefficiency level as mine (31.5% of the input power is radiated as RF power), then the actual power consumption while transmitting is 73 watts, which represents a current consumption of about 5.29 amps, a value that’s easily delivered by your cigarette lighter socket. So Kenny was trying to get you to understand that you were using numbers and units that simply didn’t make sense the way you used them and in return you accused him of drinking. I can see why he might want to.

The thing is that what you wrote is confusing. If your radio draws 23 watts, the current at that time is 23 w/13.8 v, which is less than 2 amps. Nope, Kenny is exactly right. So maybe you don’t understand what he explained?

Use an angle connector to take the stress off but be sure it’s a high quality one like this Amphenol. Don’t be lured into buying a cheap nickel plated one. This is the good stuff: https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/aml-83-1ap-2

Some of the commercial radios, such as those manufactured by Motorola, were made to have one body unit and two head units. Maybe @nokones or @Radioguy7268 or @Lscott or one of the others could recommend a solution.

You could if you use an antenna switch to switch between the two radios.

This might help. RT Systems has a version of their CPS software and a cable for the TYT TH9800: https://www.rtsystemsinc.com/RPS-9800-Programming-Software-and-USB-32-cable-for-the-brTYT-TH-9800_p_444.html

One guy who knew how to do it.

Welcome to the forum! I don’t have a TH9800D, unfortunately, but it’s much easier to diagnose driver issues than it is to roll your own data cable. Make sure you load the appropriate driver first before ever plugging in the cable! The pinout of the USB-C is described here: https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/technical-articles/introduction-to-usb-type-c-which-pins-power-delivery-data-transfer/ It is not a simple interface. I see from the reviews that at least one person did receive a programming cable that was DOA. The dealer replaced it. Good luck!

I’ve known GMRS users who have no interest in ham radio and (unfortunately) I’ve known ham radio operators who have a derisive attitude towards GMRS users who reject ham radio and then attempt to make GMRS into a no-test substitute for ham radio. But here in Montana I have not personally encountered any hams that look down on the licensed use of GMRS for group communications.

It’s not, but there are two different logins, one for the www.MyGMRS.com site and another for the forum.mygmrs.com site.

Wow! That’s impressive.

Nar stands for narrow bandwidth. I don’t know what M stands for.