SteveShannon

Using Morse Mania I was able to recognize all the letters within just a few days.  You can too. It’s not that difficult. There are multiple levels, with each level teaching two additional letters. The first level is ‘E’ and ‘T’, a single dot and a single dash. But you have to keep at it or it goes away (at least for me).
What’s difficult for me is getting to the point of being proficient enough to send characters.  
I really urge anyone to try Morse Mania.  It’s actually fun.

In amateur radio it’s very similar, a shorter interval between IDs (10 minutes) and more choices for how to ID. 
97.117. Each amateur station, except a space station or telecommand station, must transmit its assigned call sign on its transmitting channel at the end of each communication, and at least every 10 minutes during a communication, for the purpose of clearly making the source of the transmissions from the station known to those receiving the transmissions. No station may transmit unidentified communications or signals, or transmit as the station call sign, any call sign not authorized to the station.

Welcome @Maghunter 
Neither of you have to start with your call sign. You can just push the PTT and use each other’s names. “Hi Dennis, this is grandpa.”
Every 15 minutes and when ending a transmission or series of transmissions you are also required to ID. You can include some other identifier, which could be a letter, number, name, or pretty much anything you want: “Wrom258 - grampa”, but you’re not required to.
Exactly the same on a repeater. 

In amateur radio it’s very similar, a shorter interval between IDs (10 minutes) and more choices for how to ID. 
97.117. Each amateur station, except a space station or telecommand station, must transmit its assigned call sign on its transmitting channel at the end of each communication, and at least every 10 minutes during a communication, for the purpose of clearly making the source of the transmissions from the station known to those receiving the transmissions. No station may transmit unidentified communications or signals, or transmit as the station call sign, any call sign not authorized to the station.

In amateur radio it’s very similar, a shorter interval between IDs (10 minutes) and more choices for how to ID. 
97.117. Each amateur station, except a space station or telecommand station, must transmit its assigned call sign on its transmitting channel at the end of each communication, and at least every 10 minutes during a communication, for the purpose of clearly making the source of the transmissions from the station known to those receiving the transmissions. No station may transmit unidentified communications or signals, or transmit as the station call sign, any call sign not authorized to the station.

I thought that also at first, and etiquette would lean that way maybe, but here are the actual rules:

95.1751 GMRS station identification.
Each GMRS station must be identified by transmission of its FCC-assigned call sign at the end of transmissions and at periodic intervals during transmissions except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section. A unit number may be included after the call sign in the identification.
(a) The GMRS station call sign must be transmitted:
(1) Following a single transmission or a series of transmissions; and,
(2) After 15 minutes and at least once every 15 minutes thereafter during a series of transmissions lasting more than 15 minutes.
(b) The call sign must be transmitted using voice in the English language or international Morse code telegraphy using an audible tone.
(c) Any GMRS repeater station is not required to transmit station identification if:
(1) It retransmits only communications from GMRS stations operating under authority of the individual license under which it operates; and,
(2) The GMRS stations whose communications are retransmitted are properly identified in accordance with this section.
 

Not on GMRS, As Mr. Shannon replied, once every 15 minutes and at the end of your transmission. I don't think I have ever talked for 15 minutes on GMRS. After hitting "Enter" I saw that Mr. Shannon had already posted again.
 

I thought that also at first, and etiquette would lean that way maybe, but here are the actual rules:

95.1751 GMRS station identification.
Each GMRS station must be identified by transmission of its FCC-assigned call sign at the end of transmissions and at periodic intervals during transmissions except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section. A unit number may be included after the call sign in the identification.
(a) The GMRS station call sign must be transmitted:
(1) Following a single transmission or a series of transmissions; and,
(2) After 15 minutes and at least once every 15 minutes thereafter during a series of transmissions lasting more than 15 minutes.
(b) The call sign must be transmitted using voice in the English language or international Morse code telegraphy using an audible tone.
(c) Any GMRS repeater station is not required to transmit station identification if:
(1) It retransmits only communications from GMRS stations operating under authority of the individual license under which it operates; and,
(2) The GMRS stations whose communications are retransmitted are properly identified in accordance with this section.
 

Welcome @Maghunter 
Neither of you have to start with your call sign. You can just push the PTT and use each other’s names. “Hi Dennis, this is grandpa.”
Every 15 minutes and when ending a transmission or series of transmissions you are also required to ID. You can include some other identifier, which could be a letter, number, name, or pretty much anything you want: “Wrom258 - grampa”, but you’re not required to.
Exactly the same on a repeater. 

Welcome @Maghunter 
Neither of you have to start with your call sign. You can just push the PTT and use each other’s names. “Hi Dennis, this is grandpa.”
Every 15 minutes and when ending a transmission or series of transmissions you are also required to ID. You can include some other identifier, which could be a letter, number, name, or pretty much anything you want: “Wrom258 - grampa”, but you’re not required to.
Exactly the same on a repeater. 

Welcome @Maghunter 
Neither of you have to start with your call sign. You can just push the PTT and use each other’s names. “Hi Dennis, this is grandpa.”
Every 15 minutes and when ending a transmission or series of transmissions you are also required to ID. You can include some other identifier, which could be a letter, number, name, or pretty much anything you want: “Wrom258 - grampa”, but you’re not required to.
Exactly the same on a repeater. 

Go to this page and find which of the three Muncie-area repeaters you are trying to connect to: https://mygmrs.com/map/.  Then we can give you some numbers.
EDIT. Check that.  Two of those are paid membership, which you can look at later if you wish. For now I suggest you connect to WRAM564, which is an open system.  You'll need to transmit on 467.650.  This is channel 27 labelled "RPT - 5".  Go there, call up the menu and set a transmit tone of 118.8.  Listen with no tone.
This repeater's specs are here: https://mygmrs.com/repeater/9044.   Even though the repeater is labeled "Open", it's always polite to request access, either by clicking the tab in the upper right or asking verbally.

That's why I prefer something like this over a UV-5r (which right now is cheaper than the 27V) for events or groups. Pick it up, turn the knob, and you're up and running. You can't accidentally lock/unlock the keypad, enter the menu, enter VFO mode, etc. Most people don't care about all the whiz-bang features of the radio, and if you give them something complicated, it'll just confuse them.

One differance other than being MURS that I see is IP67 VS IP54.
 
That's reason enough to get them.

https://associatedradio.com is another good source for used radios.

Per FCC rule, mobile GMRS radios are not permitted to transmit on channels 8 thru 14.
..and IIRC, the 50v2 is locked so that it can only transmit on GMRS channels - however you can setup additional GMRS repeaters and custom GMRS channels with tones, and save them as custom channels.

I've used ebay with caution, and https://used-radios.com/ is an actual radio shop, so what they sell works. 

Awesome! I enjoy tinkering around with stuff. Sounds like something to try.

As well as people like me whom are more visual then auditory. I find it easier to identify signals and their types visually than listening to the signals.

Doesn't hurt that the entry cost for it are as minumum as you want. So it is worth a try. Usually, a cheap RTSLDR dongle is under $80. The software for basic usage is free or minimal in cost. Tons of articles on setting up antennas. There is very little that is as cheap with the same flexibility and versatility in the radio world.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

It’s a radio receiver that’s controlled by your computer.  It’s extremely flexible, allowing you to listen in on almost any mode over an extremely wide range of frequencies. Because it’s controlled by your computer you can manipulate the received signal and view it however you’d like.

It’s a radio receiver that’s controlled by your computer.  It’s extremely flexible, allowing you to listen in on almost any mode over an extremely wide range of frequencies. Because it’s controlled by your computer you can manipulate the received signal and view it however you’d like.

What I’m saying is that I’m not proficient, not at all.
Just this week, as a result of replying to your post, I’ve started over again. I can go through the levels fairly quickly and learn to recognize characters using the Koch or Farnsworth methods but then I don’t use it and I get distracted by other things.
So don’t think I’m anything special 🆘

Not a silly question.  Not draped over a backyard like my EFHW, but that’s what some whip antennas for UHF are - half wave and end fed.  Of course the wire is stiff and usually vertical, thanks to the ultra short wavelength 

No

One of the neatest ways to practice cw appears to be by using VBAND. This video discusses it. It appears that you can practice QSOs against a bot or against other people who use the same program:
They have a pretty simple key to USB interface that makes your keyer appear to be a key on a USB keyboard.
It’s sold here:
https://hamradio.solutions/vband/ and then click on the STORE button.

 
They also have a wifi interface to a key for use with VBAND. It’s available as a kit or in different states of assembly. It’s called CW Hotline. 
 
I have no experience with these, but I am interested in VBAND and the USB interface.