WRPG745
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Posts posted by WRPG745
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Have you considered burner phones or travel sim cards for your own cell?
check your carrier for international sim cards to use for roaming, you might need more than one for all the places you want to go (Japan vs China).
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I'm sure some folks will be by shortly to give technical insight on if you "need" to put one up. (you might)
I'm wondering what you plan on doing with your radio(s). Where you'll operate and who'll you talk to... why did you get into gmrs?
I use mine to chat with family and friends when we kayak, hike, caravan on the road. I also check in on the local repeaters occasionally. I use ham as well but not with family. em-coms is my secondary use.
btw- there are few threads to read that might be helpful (or at least entertaining! I have a sick sense of humor) grab some popcorn and wade through these...
my takeaway is to buy a commercial repeater solution rather than build your own, but if you have the skill, it probably would be fun. Drama seems to depend on where you are.
welcome to the family!
-john
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1 hour ago, Webslinger said:
So, in the case of simplex communications, is the transmit PL tone doing the same thing to the receiving radio that it does for a receiving repeater - opening it up (breaking squelch? Not sure if that's the right term for this)?
Everything said before answers the question, but just to simplify, think of it this way:
The repeater uses the tone to ignore any transmission NOT using the tone. (only hears transmissions with the tone).
You use the tone the same way, to NOT hear others NOT using the tone.
If you transmit with a tone, anyone listening with the tone hears you, AND anyone with no tone will also hear you, but "breaking squelch" is about signal strength (with or without a tone).
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27 minutes ago, WRZD720 said:
Ah...OK. Will go do another test now. The weather is good. I'll get out of the truck each time I stop. But sounds like I need to invest in an outside antenna immediately. Any recommendations for something that would connect to my handheld or is that silly? IOW, do I need to purchase a mobile under-dash radio to be able to talk while driving?
Depending on your truck, you might use a magnet mounted Tram or Nagoya. you will also probably need an adapter for your radio (depending on the connector on the antenna cable).
There are vehicle specific mounts (what truck make/model/year do you have?) and options for front hood, rear stake body or 3rd brake light. if you have an aluminum body or for instance you have racks and such. Or just hate the idea of putting a magnet on the paint.
Long term, you may need to drill a hole somewhere to run cable for a permanent installation.
I get great coverage using a Tram 1180, fender mounted, cable running through the firewall. It's driver side front mounted. All in I think I spent about $110 because I used a firewall boot and a stainless steel mount. YMMV
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1 hour ago, WSAL482 said:
I am extremely new to this I bought this antenna the tram 1486 I want to cut it for GMRS, I have stared at the cutting chart over and over again, but I’m still not quite understanding. I want to use the antenna for GMRS, and the repeaters. The frequencies are 462 to 467. I understand how to cut it and how to measure, but I’m not sure what line on the cut sheet I need to go by can anybody help? when looking at the cutting chart for frequency 462 and you follow it across it says 447.6–471.5 my question is, is that the line I need to use when cutting.
HI I don't know that antenna, but I did see this link:
https://pascogmrs.us/tram-1486/
looks like a complete writeup (and a decent antenna)
-jc
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On 2/14/2024 at 10:17 PM, WSAN206 said:
... crazy about spending a bunch more money on this new hobby.
Just a warning, you'll be buying more radios in the future regardless!
You may not notice the difference in these radios (I think they have the same direct sampling technology).
You will notice the difference going to a superheterodyne receiver. check out the https://www.buytwowayradios.com/wouxun-kg-905g.html its $30 cheaper than the 935g, and the https://www.buytwowayradios.com/wouxun-kg-805g.html is $50 cheaper at $80. Both are still more than the BTECH GMRS-V2, but you will see a difference for selectivity and audio quality.
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Hi Red Horse,
If your radio entry point is some level of "prepping", you might start with a few questions to help flesh out what works for you:
- Who are you looking to listen to? You can listen to anyone with the right scanner or shortwave radio.
- Who will you talk to? How far away are they?
- How do you do this now? Text messaging can work when circuits are busy or in weak signal areas.
- What are the most likely disaster scenarios in your area? In my area, wind and rain events (severe thunderstorms, tornados, and hurricanes) are most likely to affect us. Are you more concerned with natural disasters that take "the grid down" or are you envisioning "man-made" issues or TEOTWAWKI?
- How much effort will you put into getting trained, licensed and proficient?
For me, my primary radio use is to run around outside (hike, kayak, fish, etc.) as well as I'm interested with technology. I use GMRS with my family (they have no interest in getting licensed for ham). Prepping is a secondary use for me. I have a Technicians license and am considering purchasing a HF rig and at some point upgrading to a General license.
For disasters, I will get information from AM/FM radio, text messages from our county services, local ARES nets, and conversations with GMRS users. My family is anywhere from 90 to 800 miles from me. For disaster planning, we don't have a full PACE plan but we will use: phone, email, and text messaging.
Radios for us will have only local tactical use. Honestly, I'm more concerned with access to drinking water and heat.
I think GMRS will likely give you the best local coms for the cost and effort, but it all depends!
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This Tram 1185 dual band has served me well. (Cookie sheet mount in front of a west facing, second story window.)
Using a UV5X3 I hit GMRS repeaters south and east of me at 15 miles, I easily hit VHF repeaters on high ground at 25+ miles.
using my KG805 or my TYT 8600 I do slightly better.
Eventually I'll have an antenna up on the roof eave, but haven't pulled the trigger yet.
- Darmie and Webslinger
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50 minutes ago, WSAW350 said:
I am currently looking into getting a system setup to communicate with my son 20 miles away (as the crow flies) in the Dallas/Ft Worth area, without the use of repeaters. Relatively flat, with maybe 90' elevation change, and lots of houses, shopping malls, industrial parks in-between. Don't have any experience in base setups, I am resigned to the fact that the only way I can find out if this will work is to buy the gear and try. For me: Wouxun KG1000G Plus and a Tram 1486 or Ed Fong antenna on a 25" high mast and similar for my son (Midland of Wouxun, Tram or Ed Fong antenna).
@WSAW350 (and Guest Ray-El), I think you are right, the only way to know is to test. Based on the gear you mention, I think its possible, but has more to do with your antenna placements and height than anything else.
I agree with the mindset of making the comms without a repeater. best to not rely on someone else's infrastructure.
looking forward to seeing more replies on this and finding out what works for y'all.
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Hey if 10 codes work with your coms, it works and isn't dumb.
Lol, I have to admit when someone uses a 10 code other than 10-4 or 10-100, I have no idea what they mean.
(I also assume they are of a certain age or might be tactical LARPing.)
If you use them, you be you, use 10 codes, wear 5.11, have fun... there's room for all!
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@marcspaz, what kind of trails are you thinking? I'm sure you've got some clearance. Any space for unmodified trucks? (blue trails? green trails?)
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Lo siento, no hablo español, usé el traductor de Google para averiguar lo que dijiste.
¿Qué radio es? marca y numero de modelo?
espero que alguien que hable español con fluidez pueda intervenir... -
you might consider a bracket like the ones at Valley Enterprises: https://www.valley-ent.com/store/brackets
I didn't see Bronco specifically, but perhaps one of the F150 mounts would work? might be worth the call...
good luck!
- wayoverthere and WRPK937
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24 minutes ago, BKLIPP said:
Is there anyone out there that could simplify explaining to me how to put an offset number in and how to put in tones to repeaters?? I have been an avid cber for years and have never had any issues trying to get anything done with any of my cb radios. I have had my Btech 50x1 for a year now. i have yet to find anyone that can help me to where I can actually talk on my radio. I hear people even on net checkins. I cant ket up and talk to anyone because I cant connect to the repeater. So far, I am not impressed. Iam almost ready to get rid of this radio because its useless to me, and I cant find any help. I purchased a cable that the manual said to download chirp. This did not work and it was the exact cable the manual said to buy. I give up. Is there anyone that can help??? I live in Concord, NC
Hi BKLIPP,
I am sure one of the actual experts will chime in on this soon. You might consider creating your own thread about "Btech 50x1" to get better responses.
I use a BTech UV5X3 handheld and my manual has pretty good instructions for editing tones manually, yours is probably similar. one thing to do is press "menu" after each and every action as confirmation (this got me tripped up for a while).
CHIRP should be easier because your can edit a spreadsheet vs navigating menus. Where you able to connect to and clone your radio in CHIRP?
Perhaps that was a USB driver issue? Once you connect and clone, you'll just need the correct input/output tones for the repeater.
Good Luck!
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the Greensboro 575 machine: https://mygmrs.com/repeater/5000 has a weekly net on Tuesdays on 575, 8pm
Be sure to check with https://mygmrs.com/user/TangoKilo. The owner is a good guy and will be happy to assist.
good luck!
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it looks like you have an air conditioner up there... is it possible to attach to a point on that instead of penetrating the camper roof?
perhaps a clever bracket with a ground plane kit. There maybe a way to chase the antenna wire through this access too.
I could be wrong, I've never had an RV or camper air conditioner, do you have a photo that shows the top area there?
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9 hours ago, wayoverthere said:
Imo, I agree with #1 as the least worst option. One alternative, though I don't know how viable...ive thought about the possibility of using a flat bracket held on by the stake hole anchor, but the viability may depend on the type of anchor (I have the eye bolt/rubber block type).
Antenna wise, the tram 1181 is rated for 130-170 and 430-470, and tested out no higher than 1.3 in 2m, 70cm, and gmrs, as far as I saw, though I was finding the lower gain not quite enough behind a lower power radio. If you don't mind folding for garages, the comet 2x4sr is another with wide coverage, and I had good results with it; I added the spring kit and ran it on the roof with a mag mount, but it's ~36" long, so an issue for parking garages...might be workable on the fender mount. The tram is a bit shorter (18.9" per Amazon), and wouldn't be a height issue on the fender.
All that said, I don't see a way to work 1.25m in, but I just barely added that to my shack (in the form of a handheld) so haven't dug much on or tested any options there yet.
lol, yes "least worst" indeed!
for the stake hole bracket, I'm tracking with you... Ive got a tie down point in there now and would hate to lose that. Customizing it could work, especially to get ground below the plastic trim. option 1 is still looking "best".
I may be looking for a snipe with my antenna request. I can easily give up 1.25m. I'll probably switch out antennas and radios when needed.
appreciate the tip on the Tram 1181 and Comet 2x4sr!
7 hours ago, WROZ250 said:I definitely feel your pain...
FWIW, I had a similar situation with our SUV, as there just were not a lot of options (especially with a full "panoramic sunroof").
In our case we ended up using glass mount antennas. The downside to these are that you are unlikely to find one that works well with both Ham and GMRS, particularly at UHF. We ended up with a dual band for the ham rig and a UHF/commercial for GMRS. So far both are working out well in their respective services. If there is any issue with them, it is they are somewhat directional not being more centered on the vehicle. That however, only becomes an issue in poor coverage areas.
I would normally have suggested a roof/through hole mount, but that doesn't meet your stated requirements.
I too have issues with garage clearance, even with the glass mounts (~26-28" lengths) which just clip the door going in and out. Just ever so slightly and so I'm not worried about damage to the garage door or the antenna(s).
Just one opinion/thoughts/experience...I do like the look of glass mount, very sanitary. Do you recall which antenna you used?
I could always do what HCCFCA did in his Ferrari and go all suction cuppy!
appreciate the feedback!
I'm not doing anything for a few weeks so keep the comments coming, thanks!
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here's the background:
truck: 2014 Ram 1500 quad cab
radio service(s): GMRS primary, HAM bands secondary: 2m, the rest of 70cm and optionally 1.25m
I use my truck on road mostly and on the beach occasionally. it is NOT an off road rig. I pull boats, haul lumber and other stuff. I have a hard tonneau cover (Bakflip2) and have tie down anchors in all 4 bed stake holes. I use carwashes occasionally and have no issue removing an antenna to do so. I have a standard garage door and use parking garages in the local cities.
I have been thinking about 3 options:
- Fender mount drivers side front
- Bed mount up tight to the cab C-pillar
- glass mount at drivers side rear
#1 I would buy the vehicle specific clip, #2 looks like I may need to fabricate or modify a stock item, #3 probably has issues with the exterior height and interior space behind the seats.
I'm leaning towards #1
I know not mounting on the roof will make any installation directional, but I'd rather that than breaking antennas all the time. here is an image showing some thoughts.
What would you do? what am I missing? all observations and comments are welcome, thanks in advance!
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watching this thread... Dr Bombay, what did you do or plan to do?
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2 hours ago, WRPL668 said:
BoxCar I actually gave the ham thing my thinking for a while. I admit my age shut the ham thing down. To my knowledge there is no people in my area to give this ole veteran some help to become a ham tech. What does bother me now is the lack of transmission by anyone on my GMRS radio for the past 10 days. I do hear people but never got any reply. Nothing an my radio is a good one.
How can I tell if there any ham folks in my area. As part retired vet etc., got to be careful my my bucks. Now I have a $200.00 outlay an nobody talks near to me. God I hate wining. At least here I can yack with you nice folks. My radio, not so much.
Thanks for letting blow off some frustration.
bobHi Bob,
you might try the FCC search tool to find licensed operators for GMRS or HAM in your area. its not super user friendly. This might give you an idea of who's around. theres no guarantee they would hear or answer a transmission.
the "advanced" license link is: https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/searchAdvanced.jsp
repeater groups have weekly nets on the repeater. if you haven't already, you might search for clubs in your area (HAM or GMRS)
good luck!
-jc
GMRS and foreign travel
in General Discussion
Posted
eSIM...
my t-moble account has a $100 a month service for unlimited international on 2 phones. (i believe it covers both eSIM and SIM)
I'll bet a set of burner phones would be similar in cost, but even if more, you don't have to worry about losing them!