Sshannon
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Posts posted by Sshannon
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5 hours ago, Sonicgott said:
It does, yes. I assume you're referring to something else, but can't use a 50w radio with a cigarette lighter socket. But I wonder what part of my fuse box connects to that... could tap that.
I was referring to the part of your post that I quoted. You said you needed to figure out where to get power to activate the relay. You already agreed that you would be running power from the battery to terminal 30 on the relay. When the power comes on to the power port the relay closes and terminal 87 goes hot powering up the radio.
Just be sure to use an automotive relay with sufficient current capability. I’ve used Tyco with good results. Good luck.
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36 minutes ago, WSCS844 said:
Hello! New user here, Gary from Burlington, KS. Just got my license yesterday, radio came this afternoon. Ready to jump in and learn more about GRMS.
Welcome!
- GizzardGary and WRUU653
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1 hour ago, Guest Kirk said:
I'm trying to register as a member but it wants a US call sign.
I'm in Canada and don't need one here.
Can I still join or is this site strictly for Americans?
It’s strictly for people with GMRS licenses. You could get a GMRS license and then register.
- back4more70 and WRXB215
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11 hours ago, Guest Mark VK2ZB said:
Hi, When I visit USA, am I able to obtain a GMRS license without being a US citizen?
When I travel in the US, I would like to use the GMRS repeater network.
Here in Australia, we have a similar system called UHF CBRS on 477mhz, with 80 channels including repeaters. I own 4 repeaters for public access and link them to Zello.
Cheers, Mark in Australia
Hi Mark,
I commend you for wanting to do things right. Unless you are working as a “representative of a foreign government” I don’t know of any reason you couldn’t obtain a GMRS license. It’s only $35 and it lasts for 10 years. The tallest hurdle will be navigating the FCC ULC system. Notarubicon has a guide that takes you through that step by step. I believe you need a U.S. address for a GMRS license. It’s just a mailing address, not a transmitter location. https://www.notarubicon.com/how-to-get-a-gmrs-license-easy-guide-to-gmrs-licensing-on-the-fcc-website/
In general you register for an FRN first. That definitely allows international addresses and there are 2244 Australians with FRNs already. Registering for an FRN is free.Then you apply for the GMRS license using the FRN you just got. It takes a separate step to pay for it. Please don’t judge all of us in the USA by the FCC licensing system. It’s terrible and we know it.
Hopefully you’ll also bring a dual band ham radio handheld. There are a lot more ham radio repeaters across this country and as you probably already know amateur radio operators can operate in the amateur radio service in many countries they are visiting without needing to obtain that country’s ham license.
Many people do operate without a GMRS license in the USA, but if I were doing that I would not provide an easily identifiable call sign for another service. Choosing to disregard regulations is a personal choice and a lot of my friends do it, but they don’t complicate their situation by providing a ham call sign that can be traced.I hope you have a great time in the USA.
73 de AI7KS -
1 hour ago, WSCF738 said:
I'm going to try to put together my own repeater. I've ordered 2 1000G Plus and connect them as a repeater, the IASDUP 1037 Duplexer, and the TRAM 1486 antenna with M&P cable. I'm thinking about putting it on my "Car Port" which has a 14' roof and I was going to raise the antenna another 10'. So that would give me 25' in height. I'm at the top of a hill and I believe 25' would be above any structure, except my house which is 32'. The carport is 200' from my house so I shouldn't get much interference. If that doesn't work I'll move it to my house, which I don't want to do. With that as a repeater my handhelds will easily connect to it even if we are in the house (I hope). Time will tell.
Some people have had problems with desensitization of the receiving side when they have built repeaters from discrete KG1000 transceivers. Notarubicon @OffRoaderX has a video describing it. Please let us know how it turns out.
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28 minutes ago, WRHT379 said:
I agree with Box car , audio, put function, maybe even some can bus protocol or rs285. I am just learning about these different protocols.
Tony
I agree also. The reason I asked was because people were talking about line length limitations for cat 5 cables which really only apply when talking about network protocols.
If these are analog or even serial signals like RS485 it’s a different matter. -
15 minutes ago, WRTZ361 said:
That makes sense. I will have to do some research into those gain numbers for information sake. It sounds like I won't be sacrificing anything by using a magnetic mount.
An antenna that's advertised as 6 dB gain, is probably 6 dBi, or 6 decibels of gain with respect to a theoretical single radiating point called an isentropic antenna.
One of the simplest antennas is the dipole. A dipole has 2.15 dBi or 2.15 decibels of gain with respect to an isentropic antenna. That establishes an additive offset of 2.15 dB.
Most antennas are labeled with respect to dBi, even if the manufacturer doesn't include the correct unit. But sometimes they're labeled as dBd, meaning the performance of a dipole is the reference point.
An antenna that's advertised as 6.15 dBi is 4 dBd.
And you will definitely not lose anything by using a magnetic mount.
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29 minutes ago, WRTZ361 said:
Thanks for the info. You are in fact the only person yet to advise against a 6db antenna. I am mainly in hilly environments, so probably better with a low db antenna. I have heard no one bring up ground plane issues with this setup, but I have read on other forums that a magnetic mount will give you higher SWR numbers due to RF coming back down your cable. Additionally it has been stated that magnetic mounts don't have a true ground plane as it is insulated from the vehicle roof. If this information is not necessarily true, I do not want to spend the extra time getting up inside my headliner to install a through hole type antenna connector. If it will make a substantial difference to do so. I will spend the time installing a through hole type. Anyone have experience with both?
A ground plane antenna doesn’t require a DC connection to your roof. Magnetic mounts make a capacitive connection to your roof in spite of the paint, rubber base, etc.
I live in the mountains and a 6 db MXTA26 antenna is just fine. But it’s important to know whether that gain number is dbi or dbd.
I would agree with Ryan if he was recommending not to use a higher gain antenna but 6 db antennas still have 3 db gain 10° above and below horizontal. That’s 17 feet of rise in 100 feet of horizontal distance.
This guy likes the MXTA26. -
30 minutes ago, WSCH851 said:
The word “HAM” as applied to 1908 was the station CALL of the first amateur wireless station operated by some amateurs of the Harvard Radio Club. They were Albert S. Hyman, Bob Almy, and Poogie Murray. At first they called their station “HYMAN-ALMY-MURRAY”.
I've heard that story before, but the Harvard Radio Club history says nothing of it: http://w1af.harvard.edu/php/history.php
Wikipedia has an interesting page on the etymology of "ham". A couple different versions of that story appear there, but nothing truly definitive.
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38 minutes ago, Cacher said:
Do you have a link to the Queen of Everything's GMRS channel? I can't seem to find it with a Google search.
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27 minutes ago, Cacher said:
Cookie sheet? Is it the metal that is helping to amplify the range of the antenna in this case?
In a sense, yes. Many mobile antennas require a ground plane. In the past the steel roofs of cars provided it but people who use magnetic antennas elsewhere simply use a cookie sheet.
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Literally the regulations don’t require you to differentiate. They require you to ID and they say that unit numbers may be used, but unit numbers are not mandatory.
If you ID at all you'll be doing better than most.
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8 minutes ago, okinawanmon said:
I recently bought 2 td h3, they will transmit radio to radio on gmrs, but they wont transmit to my GM-30? im going thru the same, they are great radios, but kinda upset they wont transmit to my other gmrs radios. the ham bands work fine, anyone have any thoughts? i did all the troubleshooting. and nada? i used the RT systems programming with them.
Make sure your gm30 is set to the right channel and has receiver tones cleared out.
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4 hours ago, WSCA810 said:
Long story short...
I'm trying to set up my elderly fathers base. He has limited income.
Bearcat Uniden scanner BC355 with RF58 coax, worked well with a cheap CB Antenna for monitoring police activity. Changed to an Ebay cheap GMRS antenna.(looking for a better one currently.) Radio is frequency programmed for GMRS. He is not receiving my 50 watt tx, no better than my HT distance. Obviously need a better antenna. What all do I need? Is RF58 coax OK to use?
What antenna is needed?
Is coax OK to use for receiving and possibly tx in the future?
Future plans a 50watt base.
Thanks for advice.
I assume you mean RG58.
It certainly might be the antenna, but I would consider the coax first. RG58 attenuates nearly 12 db at 400 MHz. Every 3 db is half of the signal or power, so 3 db loss is 1/2, 6 db is 3/4, 9 db is 7/8, and 12 db is 15/16 of the power lost.Coax is fine, as long as it’s a type that’s compatible with the frequency used.
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6 hours ago, koni13 said:
Steve, thanks for the quick reply, yes I do have a GMRS license. I'm new to this and have seen reviews on the Radioditty DB20-G, however still confused as to can I transmit also on the FRS channels or solely monitor despite having a GMRS license. Ask as the radio is listed as a GMRS radio, any input is greatly appreciated. Already own handhelds which there are no limitations as are dual. Seeking the radio mentioned as an additional setup for mobile and or home base station and ensuring as with other radios can receive and transmit via both FRS and GMRS.
Let me clarify this a little. There are 22 FRS frequencies established by FCC regulations. Modern certified FRS radios can transmit on all of them. Those frequencies are grouped into three groups: 1-7, 8-14, and 15-22. The frequencies established for those channels are not sequential.
The two groups with channels 1-7 and 15-22 are limited to 2 watts ERP (effective radiated power).
But channels 8-14 are limited to 1/2 watt ERP.
All of that is laid out in the FRS regulations here: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-95/subpart-B
GMRS regulations allocate those same 22 frequencies for use by GMRS radios and add 8 more channels which handheld and mobile GMRS radios may use to transmit through repeaters. Those eight channels are referred to in regulations as the 467 MHz Main channels. So, the groups are channels 1-7, called the 462 MHz Interstitial channels; channels 8-14, called the 467 MHz interstitial channels; channels 15-22, called the 462 MHz Main channels; and finally the eight repeater channels which the FCC calls the 467 MHz Main channels, but some manufacturers refer to as 23-30 while others call RP15-RP22 or something similar.The GMRS regulations limit mobile (including handheld portables), repeaters, and base stations to 50 watts on the Main 462 and 467 MHz frequencies, but on the two Interstitial groups, output power is limited. On the Interstitial 462 MHz channels (FRS 1-7) GMRS radios are limited to 5 watts ERP. On the Interstitial 467 MHz channels (FRS 8-14) GMRS radios have the same 1/2 watt ERP limit as FRS. Furthermore, for GMRS, only handheld portable units may transmit on the Interstitial 467 MHz, so base and mobile GMRS radios are officially prohibited from transmitting on 8-14. Various radios handle that differently, but that’s the regulation.
However, by regulation, FRS and GMRS radios are permitted to communicate with each other on those 22 channels which are shared between the two services. That’s clearly established in 95.531(c) in the FRS regulations and 95.1731 in the GMRS regulations.
Here’s a link to the GMRS regulations: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-95/subpart-E
I hope this helps.
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9 minutes ago, koni13 said:
Steve, thanks for the quick reply, yes I do have a GMRS license. I'm new to this and have seen reviews on the Radioditty DB20-G, however still confused as to can I transmit also on the FRS channels or solely monitor despite having a GMRS license. Ask as the radio is listed as a GMRS radio, any input is greatly appreciated. Already own handhelds which there are no limitations as are dual. Seeking the radio mentioned as an additional setup for mobile and or home base station and ensuring as with other radios can receive and transmit via both FRS and GMRS.
Yes, the regulations state that you can use a GMRS radio to communicate with FRS radios. Both services use the same frequencies. Either service can transmit to the other.
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3 minutes ago, koni13 said:
SO let me see if I have this right the Radioditty DB20-G is strictly a GMRS radio. Although receives FRS channels, but you won't be able to transmit on those channels? Based on the FCC regulations and also the radio won't transmit, yet can monitor the FRS frequencies. However all other communications GMRS, repeater capabilities are accessible on the unit.
FRS and GMRS channels are the same except for the 467 MHz frequencies that you transmit to a repeater using GMRS. If you have a GMRS radio and license you can transmit at higher power on some of them.
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2 hours ago, WSCH851 said:
This is one w/out the kit.
All three look promising.
https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=71-002065
Both the FT-710 and the IC-7300 are SDR radios. The IC-7300 is a few years older than the FT-710, but it's very popular. It's pretty obvious that Yaesu had the popularity of the IC-7300 in mind when they brought out the FT-710. In fact, a lot of people referred to the FT-710 as the IC-7300 killer. Although I lean more towards the FT-710, I don't think you could go wrong with either.
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On 4/1/2024 at 3:46 AM, tcp2525 said:
I tried the comet CA-712EFC and it was a dud! I sadly had to send it back due it being defective. A side-by-side test against the Tram 1486 showed it failed miserably. This was a total let down as I really wanted that antenna to work. I am considering getting another when this batch is replaced with a new production run. I know I'm the only person on Earth that had a bad Comet.
No, it happens with any company. I bought a Comet SBB-5 that had a high (4.5:1 or so) on one band. Unfortunately I bought it from a private party to save $12 compared to the best retail price I could find.
I emailed the Comet distributor and they diagnosed that it sounded like a bad capacitor in the base unit. I could have sent it in to be serviced, but instead I bought a new base for $24. It works perfectly.
I like Comet antennas and if I ever figure out how to disassemble this base unit I’ll fix it. -
It seems that everyone is assuming that Ethernet level digital signals are being carried between the head unit and the radio body. Do you know that is true?
Welcome!
in General Discussion
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Many of us have Baofengs in our collection. They can be very useful. You may end up someday with something else, but it’s nothing to feel shy about.