[How to use the ‘quote’ function?]

6 minutes ago, MichaelLAX said:

When I click the "Quote" just to the right of the Plus Sign "+" it automatically puts the information above in the New Reply box for further information, such as this sentence.

Maybe click Quote twice, as I always see the Plus Sign on Safari on my Mac?

Ah! I was clicking the + sign itself, instead of the ‘magic word’ “Quote”.

 

Thank You Michael!

[How to use the ‘quote’ function?]

Could someone explain to me (again) how the +Quote function in the Forums works? When I activate ‘Quote’ for a given post, I do see a plus sign (+) appear, but nothing else seems to happen. Just how much am I missing here?

[Repeater on handheld channel 15]

The Midland 275 is about as close to a ‘plug-n-play’ mobile GMRS as there is.

[Looking for potential gotchas using a mobile antenna with a HT]

Yes indeed, antenna height is critical for ‘line-of-sight’ GMRS communications. Even a temporary installation of a ‘borrowed’ magnetic-mount antenna (placed on the highest surface of your vehicle) should help you evaluate the viability of this proposed H/T use.

[Looking for potential gotchas using a mobile antenna with a HT]

I wasn’t sure how to use the “quote” button (confused me since I do not see the quoted material). Thanks for the info!

[Wyoming SAR and FRS radios]

The iPhone 14 satellite communications system, as I understand it, can send short text messages (probably including position information) to recipients of your choosing, and so yes, that would ‘test’ the system. Any test of the dedicated emergency messaging system would have to be pre-arraigned through Apple, I assume.

[Wyoming SAR and FRS radios]

5 hours ago, MichaelLAX said:

I'm new to PLBs; are there urban uses to them?

  Guess there could be an urban application if there is an emergency beyond a failure of the 911 Phone System itself. (The PLB is an outgrowth of the ELT system for aircraft and the EPIRB for ships and boats, both obviously intended for SAR use in remote areas)

Plus, I think that my new iPhone 14PM can communicate through satellites in an emergency, too!

  And the iPhone system will be free for the first two years! Please let us know how well it works when it comes online this Fall.

 

[Wyoming SAR and FRS radios]

No apologies needed! We are all looking for reliable emergency communications and, the more different ways to achieve that, all the better. (Note: Unlike commercial satellite communicators or phones, a PLB does not require any subscription.)

Cheers,

Bill

[Looking for potential gotchas using a mobile antenna with a HT]

 From MichaelLAX: “went back and reread the OP, and I don't see anything about his inability to reach his home with his HT while standing outside his car; Maybe I missed it in a later post?”

I only meant to suggest that as test of the HT’s ability to cover the four miles over the actual terrain before investing in a car mounted antenna.

Bill

[Wyoming SAR and FRS radios]

I am not aware of any disruptions severe enough to prevent GPS usage in the U.S. As for communications, Garmin has not posted any outages affecting their world-wide inReach Satellite SOS capability for at least the last year.

Going back to the start of this thread, we are talking about snowmobilers and hikers in Wyoming trying to use their extremely short range and license-free FRS radios in that state’s “Be 307 Aware” emergency communications scheme. To summon emergency help when outdoors and out of cellphone range, a satellite communicator or Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) would be my recommendation for most people.

[Looking for potential gotchas using a mobile antenna with a HT]

This may have been covered already (I am ‘late to the party’) but, if the signal from your HT cannot reach your home when you are standing outside your car, then a car mounted antenna may or may not make the distance you require.

[Wyoming SAR and FRS radios]

Marcspaz wrote: “I would recommend portable HF radios first, and satellite communications second.”

I would reverse the order on that: For emergency use, a Satellite Communicator (or PLB) s more reliable (also easier to operate and smaller to carry) than an HF radio+antenna.

[Smiley Antenna ‘Telescoping’ Too Much?]

Smiley Customer Service was excellent. They confirmed that the antenna was ‘over-extended’ and sent me a replacement.

[GMRS tone codes between radio manufacturers]

Indeed, Channel 03 (with CTCSS #07) is currently being promoted for emergency use by the State of Wyoming in their “Be 307 Aware” backcountry safety campaign.

[GMRS onboard Cruise Ship?]

I hadn’t thought about the rules of the country of ship’s registry. As I will be embarking and disembarking on U.S. soil I may bring my radio, on the assumption that, if confiscated, it will be returned. Thanks to everyone for so much research on my behalf!

[GMRS onboard Cruise Ship?]

Oceania Cruises specifically prohibits “ham” radios. Has anyone experienced difficulty bringing along a GMRS Radio?

[Do I really want to get into radios at all?]

It’s OK, I don’t have any friends to talk to either

[Smiley Antenna ‘Telescoping’ Too Much?]

I have a telescoping Smiley “Super Stick IV 465 MHz” Antenna for my GMRS H/T. I recently noticed that the tip can be extended a further 3/8”. Does anyone else have experience with these? Is this small amount of extra extension part of the 5/8 wavelength tuning for this antenna, or is it a construction defect?

[FRS Mobile?]

Now that MURS and FRS radios are allowed the same transmitter power (except on FRS Channels 08-14), it would be fun to see range comparison tests between the two services over various terrain (with their stock H/T antennas).

[Wattage limit via cigarette lighter plug?]

One “safety” would be to change the in-line fuse to the radio (there is one, right?) to one with a (much) lower rating.

[Radio purchase suggestions - newbie alert :)]

One installation advantage of the Midland MXT275, as I understand it, is that it can simply be plugged into a ‘Power Point’ (cigarette lighter) outlet.

[Is There A Road Channel For GMRS?]

This is truly the “Topic that keeps on giving”

[Wouxun KG-905G Reception vs. Old “Ham” H/T]

12 hours ago, mbrun said:

Good questions, please see my answers below:

 

What is the signal source?
  My signal generators are the Housekeepers making radio calls while working at the hotels about 1/2 mile from my house.
 

Are you using antennas? If using antennas, are you using the exact same antenna with each radio in exactly the same spot using the exactly the same signal source?

  I have both radios side-by-side on my test bench (AKA: kitchen table). Antennas are similar and I get the same result even when I swap them.
 

With or without PLs? Squelch at minimum on each radio?

  No PL and I have the GMRS Radio squelch set at minimum (1) and the ‘Ham’ radio closer to ‘mid’ (3 or 4).

Result: When the ‘Ham’ Radio picks up a conversation the GMRS Radio is either silent or so noisy with static as to be unreadable.

 

[Wouxun KG-905G Reception vs. Old “Ham” H/T]

My old H/T “Ham” Radio (Wouxun KG-UV3D) exhibits better receiver sensitivity on GMRS frequencies than my new Wouxun KG-905G (which is dedicated to GMRS). I am a bit surprised but, then again, the Ham radio cost 150 in 2013 dollars…

[GMRS Real World Emergency Communication Experience?]

My only “real world” experience was the time that I (and at least one other GMRS user) heard a call for help from a man who said he was in an overturned Jeep in the mountains, many miles away. When I replied to the caller, he said that he couldn’t remember his name, or the that of the trail he was on, or much of anything else. The transmission was also strong, as though near me in the city, which made me suspicious that I was being ‘Pranked’, but, nonetheless, I felt compelled to call this in to 9-1-1 on my cellphone. I never heard any more about this.