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Everything posted by SteveShannon
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I wouldn’t let power lines prevent me from putting up an antenna on a mast. There’s a huge separation between 60 Hz and 462 MHz. Trees are a challenge, depending on the density, height, and moisture content, but you still shouldn’t assume defeat.
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Sub channels are a misnomer. There are only 30 channels in GMRS. Subchannels refer to a tone or digital code which is used to tell a radio when to ignore transmissions and it’s just another name for CTCSS, PL, etc. Every repeater will have a CTCSS tone or a DCS tone on the input, which your transmit tone MUST match or the repeater will ignore your transmission. However, the tone mode is less limited. Right now you say Chirp shows you’re set to TSQL. That means your radio will only break squelch if that particular tone is received. If you set that to TONE, instead of TSQL, it will still send the tone you program, but it will allow anything through. That’s especially helpful when you’re getting started so you can hear someone tell you you’re using the wrong tone.
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Connecting repeater to Zello
SteveShannon replied to TheTechPianoPlayerKid's question in Technical Discussion
Wow, what an ignorant, dismissive, and biased comment. Blind people read, probably better than you. They overcome their disability much more gracefully than you seem to travel through life. My friend Maurice is a deaf and blind ham. He has a braille reader that reads the text from his screen and presents him with a braille representation of each character. He also uses an application called Voiceover that speaks text from his screen to his hearing aids. The OP said that his screen reader was unable to process the picture that Randy posted so we know he has a screen reader. Once again you’ve demonstrated your lack of reading comprehension and made yourself look like a complete jerk. -
Connecting repeater to Zello
SteveShannon replied to TheTechPianoPlayerKid's question in Technical Discussion
No, you do not need to load the Tapatalk app. Randy, one of the regulars here, reacted to your question about legality by posting a gif showing Michael Jackson eating popcorn with a caption that says, “I’m just here to read the comments.” Of course he didn’t realize you were blind when he posted it. Several of us, including me, reacted to his gif by clicking on the “laugh” reaction. The question of whether repeaters may be linked through Zello or other internet links is a hotly contested question that has resulted in entrenched positions and some hurt feelings. There are several other threads discussing whether linking is allowed by the regulations or not. Unfortunately, your question is unlikely to receive an authoritative answer. Many repeaters are linked and the FCC hasn’t taken official action against them, but the FCC does have a statement on their website saying that GMRS repeaters may not be connected to networks, even though some of us dispute that the regulations state that. So, I don’t have an answer for you, but I hope the background information will help you make your own decision. -
I just read through the manual. On some radios, you set the Tone Mode to TONE instead of TSQL, it doesn’t expect or use the Rx DCS. On your radio, that’s set with menu 29, SPK. When SPK is set to SQ, it doesn’t require a code or tone to receive. It reproduces all signals it receives on the RX frequency. Unfortunately, your radio doesn’t appear to allow different codes for TX and RX DCS. For the 9800, if you’re set for DCS it expects both transmit and receive DCS codes to either be the same code or inverted versions of each other. You didn’t say what the two DCS codes are. So, try setting menu #7 DCS.COD to the tx code, menu #8 to match the normal or inverted value needed, #29 SPK to SQ, and #23 RF SQL to a squelch level that you can live with, since your radio won’t be breaking squelch based on a received DCS Code. If that doesn’t work for you, then you may have to use one side of the radio to transmit using one DCS code and the other receiver to receive using a different DCS code. Sorry if this doesn’t work.
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Set it to TONE, not TSQL, and it will transmit using a tone and receive anything regardless of the tone.
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My favorite Garmin GMRS radio has a setting to enable the repeater channels. When the setting is on, no digital data (GPS location and text messages) are sent.
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It’s the same radio as the TYT MD-UV380. I bought one of those and installed openuv380 on it, which replaced the factory firmware and made DMR much easier to use and program. OpenUV380 also supports several levels of speech. Once I made those changes I sent it to my blind friend to use at the National Federation of the Blind Deaf/Blind convention in Orlando earlier this month. He’s going to send it back along with one other for me to load the same firmware. It worked so well that I thought I might get another. If you get one and send it to me I’ll do the same for you.
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I might pick up a Retevis RT3S, like this, with GPS: https://www.retevis.com/rt3s-radio-cable-longantenna-sparebattery-bundle-us
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None of us do, but knowing that is the way to learn.
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FCC Shutdown of New York GMRS Linked Repeater System
SteveShannon replied to OffRoaderX's topic in FCC Rules Discussion
You seem to be projecting. That’s a bad way to start a week. I hope whatever it is gets better for you. -
TidRadio TD-H3 nothing heard for 2 seconds after transmit
SteveShannon replied to SkyNet's question in Technical Discussion
Go through the manual and set everything that has a timer or reset time to off or zero. https://tidodmaster.oss-us-west-1.aliyuncs.com/h3/H3-Ham manual.pdf -
Welcome! What are you trying to set it up to do? I don’t have one but others do and will need to know more about your goals.
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Can Midland lip-mount and magnetic mount cable be shortened?
SteveShannon replied to dosw's question in Technical Discussion
The ad on Crutchfield says it’s RG-58A/U which is definitely a high loss cable at UHF frequencies. The power loss difference between being six feet long and 19.5 feet long is 26%. At six feet you lose 15% of the power and at 19.5 you lose 41%. So, I have to give @tcp2525 credit that it makes sense to shorten it. -
Best wishes for your treatment! Never give up on yourself!
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For some people GMRS is a hobby. Maybe instead of ham radio for some and that’s perfectly okay. I use GMRS in pursuit of my rocketry hobby, but GMRS reawakened my interest in radio which led me to get my ham radio license. Yes, GMRS can be used for a business.
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You can’t go wrong with that.
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Can Midland lip-mount and magnetic mount cable be shortened?
SteveShannon replied to dosw's question in Technical Discussion
As I said, calculate the difference between six feet and nineteen feet to see whether there’s any real difference. I doubt that it will ever make a difference in range, especially if he has no experience with terminating cables. -
Can Midland lip-mount and magnetic mount cable be shortened?
SteveShannon replied to dosw's question in Technical Discussion
It’s probably not worth it to shorten that cable. Calculate the losses and you’ll see that they’re very low, but if you want make sure you buy a good quality pl-259 connector for that exact cable. If the one that’s already on it is removable you might be able to use it. -
Here’s a Notarubicon video comparing the uv9gx to the 935:
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I’m pretty sure the Notarubicon YouTube channel has a review of it. It’s a decent one. It’s not waterproof though. In the ad it says IP55, which is water resistant, but not suitable for full immersion. Only you can predict if it has to withstand immersion. Also consider the KG935 or the KG905. Here’s the review:
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Why won’t my radio transmit to a repeater?
SteveShannon replied to Widowsson's question in Technical Discussion
If you leave the tone off your receiver it will receive everything, whether there’s an output tone or not. -
FCC Shutdown of New York GMRS Linked Repeater System
SteveShannon replied to OffRoaderX's topic in FCC Rules Discussion
This!!! Forums are always full of people who just can’t believe that rules and laws mean nothing more or less than what is actually written in the rule or law, not what is written elsewhere. They always attempt to explain the intent, but the fact is that intent is worthless. The only thing that ever matters in a courtroom is the letter of the law. But the reality is that the road to the courthouse can be very expensive and most of us know that we can’t afford to fight as long as it might take to get to the letter of the law. That’s where risk aversion comes from. -
Club memberships required to use (aka Pay to play)
SteveShannon replied to UncleYoda's topic in FCC Rules Discussion
I agree with much of what you said. Ham radio clubs or ham radio repeaters owners definitely can be charged for tower space. They can be charged for power usage. They can be rented space for the rack. They’re subject to all the same charges any other tenant is. But exactly as you say ham radio clubs can’t charge for access to repeaters by amateur radio operators. In some cases the landlord/tower owner might donate their power/tower/facility space to a charity, like a 501c3 ham club. The club I’m secretary of isn’t charged for tower rent, but we have our own meter and pay monthly for energy usage. Our landlord could change that if they wanted and we’re painfully aware of that.