SteveShannon

YouTube, look for videos from the Notarubicon channel. One specifically describes configuring a radio for a repeater. 
 

Thank @OffRoaderX, he made the video. 

Lucky Sears is everywhere.  Seems like it is always hard to find Homer Atkins.
 
I have a friend who is half Chinese and half Hungarian/American.  Her parents were very clever, her Chinese names are her middle names and are the same as her English language name framed around the Chinese.
 
 

He's the star of the video!

Mine can, but it’s an older model. 

One of the real self-gratifying myths of radio, not just GMRS, but also ham radio, is that in an emergency (or the SHTF scenario people get so giddy about) it will save you.  Unless you have already arranged for someone to actively monitor for you to send a SOS on a specific channel, it’s really just BS. The fact is these frequencies are not actively monitored in most places.  

It’s really difficult to advise you.  I have my opinions but so much depends your personal situation.
I live in the mountains and I find that a 20 watt Radioddity db20g and some hand held radios is all I need.  Having more power won’t necessarily get you much more range, but it definitely costs more and drains on the battery. But if i did want 50 watts the radio you’re looking at is probably the only one I would recommend.
As far as antennas, the Midland mxta26 on a magnetic mount is ideal for me.  But the magnetic mount doesn’t work well on a plastic Jeep roof.
You might be best getting an inexpensive handheld first, just to learn the basics like setting tones, and when you need them. What an offset is, and etc.  Watch a bunch of YouTube videos by Notarubicon.  They’re pretty good and cover everything you need to know about GMRS. Everything you learn on a Baofeng radio or Wouxun kg805g (one of my favorites) directly translates to using a mobile radio.
Welcome to the forum.

IF it is not "locked", then, YES.
IF it is 'locked', then, NO.
So the actual answer is: It Depends
TL;dr: Maybe

That's true, the FCC just kind of let it slide into history with zero notice... which kinda stinks for people who knew it as the de-facto operation since the `60s.

It hadn’t been nullified at the time of the video and banter. The FCC really should have made at least an attempt to announce it. 

I thought that, but I just wondered if anyone thinks they should be. 

I remember when you made the Ch19 video and all the banter on here leading up to it.  No one has successfully countered it to this day... so It still stands as the only authoritative source!  LoL
 
The sad part was, many of us (myself included) had no idea the Line A issue was nullified, which didn't help.

Official GMRS highway/road channel  = 19 Official GMRS off-road/4X4 channel = 16 Source: I saw it on Youtube

We're just too Old Steve lol! 

I'm of the opinion that you shouldn't break the rules by accident. If the radio isn't type-certified for GMRS, I think the user should at least know that. Apparently, some people wouldn't use the radio if it isn't type-certified, at least so they claim.
Probably nothing official will happen to someone who makes a pest of him/herself, but they'll certainly earn the hatred of a lot of fellow radio users. Of course, pests usually don't care or they're even happy about being hated, so that's not really a deterrent. The person who figures out how to put an a-hole filter in a radio will be able to buy a private island.

I was assuming they could. That's what I mean that there's no security with a radio signal. 
 
I can see where that might prove useful if you're working with a large group of people where some things need to be heard by everyone, but some things only need to go to a subgroup. I have no use for it now, but there were times in the past when I would have found it helpful. Interesting to know.

KINDA ..
IF all the radios are compatible with the feature and IF all the radios are correctly configured, you can use the Group Call (also has other names depending on the manufacture) feature to talk to only certain radios in your group.
HOWEVER - 
Radios not configured to do this and radios not compatible will ALL HEAR everything you say — Basically it is a fancy squelch or call-tone limiting only what the radios configured for your groups can hear (they can only hear their group), but all other radios can still hear everything.  

No it wasn’t. The Q codes started in 1912. QSL started in the 1920s. 10-4 was created in the 1930s.

Some radios allow “selective calling” where you can send a code to one specific radio and it will listen while other radios ignore you.  

I spent a decade in this Asia too.  The one thing I never understood was why they would sometimes do both, using a spelling of their westernized Chinese (etc.) name with such bad phonics that westerners couldn't help but pronounce it wrong.  So now they had the 'westernized' name they introduced themselves to you with, the name everyone who hadn't spoken closely with them or been corrected used for them based upon spelling, and their original Asian name. 

Somehow, we survived the 90s...

Terri,
Again I want to express my appreciation for your calm and thoughtful comments and informative posts in response to curmudgeonliness.  Happy Independence Day!

So far the customer service I've had with my Btech RPT50 has been outstanding.  Sent them an email yesterday (Sunday) and it was responded to by a person (Katy) in 10 minutes.  I didn't expect a response until sometime today and let them know I was impressed with their quick response.  So far the repeater has worked well.  Initially I HAD to do an update to get DCS tones and they replaced a defective duplexer that seemed to be with most of the original units.  Since then they've had an update to activate the microphone which use to be only a keyboard input device and one other bug fix which did not affect me.  Maybe a rough start but that's what happens with lots of gen 1 products.

I appreciate your reply. Thank you 

Funny story (since the statute of limitations has long expired) - in the mid-1980's a fellow ham and I drove his lemon yellow Vista wagon (think "That 70's Show") to Ohio, which was the closest place to buy legal fireworks at the time. We picked up an entire car full of commercial-grade ones (packed to above the window lines), put some blankets over them and drove back to New Jersey. Just after crossing the Delaware River back into NJ, the car conked out (again, think "That 70's Show"). We had a bag phone and called for a tow to bring us the whole 60 miles back to Wyckoff, NJ. We kept getting "helpful" police pulling over and asking us if we needed help, and we were "Nope - all good - called for a tow" and showed them (newfangled at the time) Mobira bag phone to distract them.

The tow truck finally came and brought us to Wyckoff. We paid the tow truck driver and let him take whatever he wanted of the fireworks as a tip.

We had enough to last several years. The second year, 2 friends and I went in a windowless van to see the official Holmdel (near Bell Labs) fireworks show. We thought the official show was pretty lame, and had a van full of fireworks, so... we set up our own show behind the bleachers. The people putting on the official show began to notice that people in the bleachers were looking behind the bleachers at our better show, and eventually some burly guards came strolling over. We packed up everything into the van and took off back to the house in Holmdel. As we were driving away, I remarked to my two friends that "I just realized I've become the person my parents warned me about".🤣

This is the perfect place. I’m glad you’re feeling better and I hope for the best for you.