SteveShannon

This; just ignore it.

Have you tried it the other way, writing the file that bricked the first three into the fourth to see if it bricks it as well? If it does then you know it’s that file, but at the cost of yet another radio. If it doesn’t then you know you got three bad radios from the dealer. I admire persistence.

Exactly! The rules limit certain aspects of the use, but leave it up to us to imagine how we might benefit from it.

Although I don’t have TDH3 radios, I agree that it sounds like whatever you’re doing with Chirp is causing them to cease transmitting. I assume you looked at the column in chirp that enables transmitting and it’s set appropriately. And you say that a full factory reset does not return the radios to being able to transmit? I would recommend returning them for a refund and getting something else.

Implies a dedicated system is not just something I made up. Saying that a Fixed Station may only communicate with other Fixed Stations is the very meaning of the word “dedicated”. Then I said “such as” because I used two relatively easy to understand examples, but using the words such as also implies that there may be other uses. The regulations do say Digital Data is limited to handhelds, but analog data and controls have no such constraint and can be passed using tones, such as DTMF. Digital data. GMRS hand-held portable units may transmit digital data containing location information, or requesting location information from one or more other GMRS or FRS units, or containing a brief text message to another specific GMRS or FRS unit.

The regulations tell us exactly what is required of a Fixed Station and what a Fixed Station may do. They just don’t provide an example of how it might be used, and that’s good, because it leaves it up to the imagination of the user. 1. A Fixed Stations may only communicate with other Fixed Stations. The regulations do not limit it to just one other Fixed Station. This implies a connection to a dedicated system, such as telemetry or part of an intercom system, where the Fixed Stations have a single purpose. 2. A Fixed Station is limited to 15 watts. This makes sense for a system of dedicated radios in fixed locations where the distances and directions never change, such as two or more points in an intercom or telemetry system. It also reduces the likelihood of interference with other stations, especially if a person uses high gain directional antennas, such as parabolic dishes or Yagi antennas. 3. Fixed Stations may transmit on both the 467 MHz and 462 MHz main channels. Although simplex isn’t prohibited, this unique carve-out in the regulations makes it possible to operate full duplex between two Fixed Stations, transmitting and receiving simultaneously, which allows for very natural speech on an intercom system and is ideal for transmitting data and controls on a telemetry or SCADA system. So, for a family business (or a business which has a grandfathered license that covers their employees) Fixed Stations could be used for a wireless intercom. A farmer could use Fixed Stations to turn irrigation systems on or off several miles away. With the exception of the ability to operate in full duplex, which is made possible by being granted access to the 467 MHz main channels, all of these examples could be done as well or better with portable, mobile, or base stations. But for a system which is dedicated to a particular purpose between two or more fixed locations, such as telemetry or an intercom, where full duplex would a distinct advantage, using Fixed Stations would be a reasonable solution.

Yeah, I can certainly understand how that would get old. I wish everyone could have a spouse as good as mine, but it just doesn’t work that way.

So how about telling the rest of us what the problem was so the members of the forum can learn as well?

I have a wonderful wife and I honestly wouldn’t want to dwell on life without her beside me. When I went back to college at 32, she worked two jobs to take care of me and our kids without ever complaining. Now that she’s in a wheelchair with MS she still never complains. I know that not everyone is so fortunate but I’m delighted for @LeoG. It appears he has a good one.

You had me at “When I got my first pair of radios,” but the ending was great!

I don’t have an image file to share with you but I and others here are willing to look at your file to see if we can spot something wrong with it, but receiving more details from you would help us help you. There are a lot of smart folks here who have experience with common radio problems. Asking for an image file reduces the chances that someone will be able to help to the set of people who have RA-87 radios, whereas sharing your file opens it up to the set of people who can read.

It’s not a matter of trust. You haven’t explained what functionality isn’t working. An overly generalized statement of “it’s not working” doesn’t really describe the problem. Is your radio actually transmitting? If you get rid of all receive tones, do you hear other people? Seeing other people’s configuration files might not do much for you because they are operating in different locations with different repeaters, but you could provide details about the repeater you’re attempting to activate and post your file.

Third! He was completely wrong. No such notification is needed or even possible.

Make sure your compander is turned off. It’s menu 36.

Is the other person using vox? Vox acts upon hearing a sound and as with everything the time it takes to key up can result in the very first sound being lost. If it’s truly a measurable delay from the time a sound is transmitted until the time it’s received, any humanly discernible delay would not be in RF reception, but delay could easily occur if any digital processing occurs, either at the transmitter or the receiver, or both. The other thing is that it’s always best to wait half a second after push PTT before speaking.

Thanks! Another resource is HamStudy.org. That’s what I used when I started. They are free, but you’re welcome to donate if you want and they do have an app they sell for a low price for your phone or tablet.

Program the Dayton tones into channel 23 and the Tipp DTCS code into channel 26 and see if it works.

Your premium membership hasn’t registered for your forum membership yet. I reported it to Rich. He’ll fix it.

Here’s a recommendation from the FCC: ”The FCC said: "We are reaching out to recommend that you emphasize to new examinees that under the Commission’s rules, address information submitted by an applicant is considered public information in the Universal Licensing System (ULS) and may be accessible online through ULS and internet searches. If an applicant would prefer not to disclose their home address then they may provide an alternate address, such as a P.O. Box or a business address. This ensures privacy while still allowing for compliance to FCC rules."

Tensile strength.

Nice. If it works there’s really no reason to do anything else.

Figure out how to propose that as a reduction or simplification of regulations and go for it.

Sorry, Rich.

I’m always surprised when people pass on getting their ham licenses because of DXing and contesting. One of my other hobbies is rocketry. A lot of people in rocketry get their Technician licenses so they can use 2 meters and 70 centimeters. They’re able to talk on handhelds and put APRS transmitters in rockets. They never go any further because they don’t have to. They don’t participate in contests or DXing. There’s almost no contesting or DXing on either 2 meters or 70 cm. The main advantage of a technician licenses over GMRS is the vast number of frequencies available compared to the 30 channels within two shared one MegaHertz wide bands. Nobody should be pressed into becoming a ham if they don’t want that for themselves, but I have known people who didn’t believe they were smart enough or that they couldn’t do the math. But the fact is there’s not enough math on any of the tests to prevent a person from becoming a ham or advancing through the levels and the tests are really not aimed at separating folks by intelligence. Basically, the Technician test is about learning the rules and a few very basic concepts. Memorizing is actually encouraged because that’s how the basics of anything are learned. If anyone is interested in becoming a ham but has self doubt I hope they will reconsider. They are smart enough and they can get past the math requirements.

Yes