SteveC7010

95a is the portion of Part 95 which deals with GMRS. If you had taken the time to actually read 95, you would already know this. That is why the link to Part 95 was posted earlier in the thread.

Perhaps this graphic will help you understand this a bit better. http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad42/Steve_Collins/Misc%20radio%20stuff/Simplex-Repeater-300x273_zpsdwctou0p.jpg In the upper pic, the radio is in simplex mode meaning that it transmits and receives on the same frequency. Communications are limited by power, distance, and terrain. Most bubble pack and consumer FRS/GMRS radios are simplex only. In the lower pic, the field units transmit on one frequency and listen on another. The repeater receives their transmissions and simultaneously rebroadcasts them on the output frequency. This allows portables and mobiles a larger area of transmission and reception. Your Motorolas don't have a repeater in them. They are "repeater capable" meaning that they can access and hear repeaters. This is a very important distinction for you to understand.

I had a few kids fooling around for a hour or so on Christmas Eve. They started on 15, jumped to 18 for a few seconds and that was it. My base in the house scans GMRS plus some 70cm ham frequencies. It's mostly silence up here.

20 Watts is about as low as the programming allows in the 40 watt models. If you needed lower power, the 25 watt models can be pushed way down to 5 watts or so. Look up a seller on Ebay named mre1032 - he sells a kit for the external speaker and ignition sense accessory connector. It's wired correctly and all you have to do is connect to the speaker and ignition/accessory power. This seller is retired LE and is now a consultant. He's highly respected in the Motorola world. He offers a bunch of other items that you may be interested in so look over all of his stuff for the CDM's. I keep a small stock of the accessory connectors and pre-terminated wires here so that I can make up pretty much anything needed for a CDM and many of the other Motorola legacy radios that use the 16 or 20 pin accessory connector. Helpful hint: In regard to what you seem to need right now, the CDM750, 1250, and 1550 radios all use the same accessories. So a mic or remote connector advertised for one would work with any of them. I went with the tan speakers because they match the interior of my truck. Strictly personal preference in regards to color. I bought 4 more of them because they were dirt cheap with free shipping. I already have uses for two of them but the others are just sitting there. I have one black one left, but that's committed to a near future project. On the CDM's they can be programmed (and should be) for On/Off and Ignition Sense. The radio comes on or off with the key, plus you can still turn it on manually without the key. Make sure your programmer sets it that way, even if you don't use ignition sense at first. I just use good quality quarter wave antennas with NMO mounts. I've rarely seen an instance where a gain antenna bought that much over a properly installed quarter wave with a good ground plane. Plus, the approximately 6" quarter wave is darned near invisible, especially if you use the black ones like I do.

Which is why I am offering the OP a speaker with the correct accessory connector correctly wired for the external speaker and ignition sense. Pins 1 & 16 for the speaker with no grounding, and Pin 10 for ignition sense.

My model number chart says 9DP6 is a Passport & LTR radio capable of 160 LTR frequencies. Some of the older (pre-2004) were limited to 16 conventional channels. Anything newer than that should be 160 conventional channels. There's a serial number decoder on batlabs.com that will tell you when the radio was made. Sorry about the type acceptance. As we all know, Part 90 radios meet and exceed the Part 95A specs. My UHF mobile in the truck is a CDM1250, 25 watts, 403-470, and 64 channel capacity. Same radio as the 1550, but no trunking or Passport. The 1250 is actually better for MDC, Quick-Call II, and DTMF. The 1550's are variable on what they support. It's fine for all the UHF services I use. Also, if you purchase the CPS from Motorola, you will have to also obtain an EID for wide band programming for your GMRS channels. Versions R06.12.07 and older don't require the EID. Motorola locked the software for the narrowband mandate ignoring ham and other bands that use wideband. HSN4010 for the tan speaker, HSN4018 for black. There are others that will work fine, too. You will need a plug kit to connect the speaker to the accessory connector on the back of the radio. I also recommend using Ignition Sense in the car so the radio comes on and off with the key. If you want, I can give you purchase info on that, or if you want a tan speaker ready to plug into the radio, drop me a PM.

The only way you can legitimately acquire any Motorola programming software is to purchase it from Motorola. However, this product was End of Life'd last year, but the software is still listed on their website as available. The part number is HVN9025 and the most recent revision is R06.12.09. You must have an established account with them to purchase it. The software is called CPS (Customer Programming Software) and this radio series is known as the Professional Series. It's also known as the Waris series. Current price on the software is $265. That would normally be a 3 year subscription entitling you to free updates as they are released. Since the radios are EOL, there won't be any future updates to the CPS. There are no alternative programming options. You've got to use the Motorola CPS. If you are running Win 7 or newer, you should use R06.12..05 or newer. Older versions are not stable on Win 7 64 bit. It also requires a specific cable for use between the radio and the computer. They can be purchased inexpensively on Ebay and elsewhere in the USB version. There's a steep learning curve to programming these radios correctly. Since you only have two of them and may only reprogram them a few times, it may be more cost effective to find someone locally who can do them. Depending on the exact model of CDM1550, you may only have 16 conventional channels available to you. Post the full model number of the radio and I'll look it up for you. (I am responsible for a half dozen of the radios in our ambulance squad plus I also have several of my own, both VHF and UHF. The county where I live is 100% CDM radios for the fire service.) You may already know this, but the CDM's are not type accepted for GMRS use. That's not a criticism, just tossing out the info. You have the "S" split radios there (450 to 512). They can be hacked down to the 440 range for ham use, but it's a bit of trick involving some hex editing. The "R" split (403 to 470) models are easily found on the used market. My UHF CDM's are all the "R" split version and can do amateur, GRMS, and much of the Part 90 block. Especially for the car, get yourself a Motorola external speaker. It will improve the sound quality dramatically. They're on Ebay all the time. Let me know if you need a part number or two. Several different ones will work just fine with the CDM. I have some tan ones here now. If you're interested, drop me a PM.

The Motorola P1225 is type accepted for Part 95A. It's a commercial grade product so it is much more rugged than radios marketed for the GMRS or FRS crowd. And the software for programming is easily found. If I needed a Part 95A handheld, that's what I would get. And, for those who might also need a Part 90 unit, the P1225 is also type accepted for that as well.

It wasn't the OP that made the claim. He was just looking for comments on the radio. However, in Post #5, WQYA707 stated the following: Before testing the radios, I cloned one using CHIRP, and made some modifications, including adding the VHF/UHF emergency communications channels for my area. Note that the pre-programmed GMRS frequencies/offsets can not be changed and the radio cannot be programmed to transmit on any other channels. The GRMS PL tones, channel names, power level, and scanner inclusion can be programmed. Programming is straightforward, as is cloning a CHIRP image from radio to radio. In my test rig, I used an inline power and SWR meter and tested the units with both the stock antenna and a J Pole that that I with my VHF/UHF rig. VHF power: 2W/5.4W, SWR (with J pole): 1.1 to 1.5 across the band UHF power 1.75W/5W, SWR (with J pole) 1.1 to 1.7 across the band That pretty clearly says to me that he is claiming to have been able to program VHF Tx frequencies into the radio and then measured power out and SWR. In the first paragraph that I quoted, the first and second sentences would seem to be contradictory. Either the radio is hard coded for just GMRS frequencies or he was able to make some modifications using CHIRP and program in his local emergency frequencies. If he hacked it to actually transmit on other frequencies in either band, like you, I really want to know more. And, same as you, I fail to see how he would have been able to make a radio that is built for UHF Tx only transmit on VHF frequencies without some serious hardware changes. However, as I pointed out previously, WQYA707 hasn't been back on since the 20th of November, the day after he joined and made this post and one other. That kinda nibbles at his credibility, doesn't it?

FWIW guys, the OP joined here on November 19th, made two posts, logged in again on the 20th, and has not returned since. Since we know for sure that the GMRS-V1 is a single band (UHF) transceiver with VHF Rx capability, it's pretty clear to me he's not going to have a useful response unless he suddenly decides to correct himself which, at this point, seems remote.

The forums are separate from the database section of MyGMRS.com. You have to create a user id and password for the forums separately. Go to this link and then click on the CREATE ACCOUNT button in the upper right hand corner of the screen. https://forums.mygmrs.com/

Perhaps I should have used a better word. In addition to meeting at the county EOC every month, the club maintains a shack in a small room that is inside of and part of the EOC. We have a 2M station and an HF one in there. I haven't paid a lot of attention to that part of the club's activities because I have other missions should there be a major incident or worse. I'm a deputy EMS coordinator for the county and the only one with EOC experience and training. All the other deputies and the EMS Coordinator are all fire chiefs so in the even of an actual incident, they're each going to go with their respective agencies. That leaves me to respond to the EOC. The only time I would not go to the EOC is if the incident is in my district or I am the only coordinator available.

I'm with you on this. REACT peaked in the 80's, and overall, faded away as other methods of communications rose, especially cell phones. It's hard to be "the safety patrol" when everyone has direct contact with 911 now via cellphone. The other issue is outright wackerism. Sorry, guys, but it is the sad fact that all too often, REACT people played wannabee cops instead of sticking to their primary mission. That turned LE off on them long ago. I was a career 911 dispatcher and supervisor from 1976 to 2003, and the dozen or so police agencies that my dispatch center handled wanted nothing to do with REACT based on prior experiences. The rise of the ARES/RACES ham groups pretty much replaced whatever REACT tried to be, but their services are much more aimed at supplemental communications during major incidents and specific events. Our ham club has a room inside the county's EOC. The other valuable service that the club provides is short term event communications for things like 5K races and other community events. They do it well and they stick to their mission. At events like these, there's usually a LE unit close by the command post or one of the other stations. There's just no need for direct communications with 911 in these circumstances. I did some FCC searching and found only 5 current GMRS licenses in our whole county of 56,000 people. I haven't counted amateur licenses, but there's easily 10 to 20 times that number here. Whenever I travel throughout the Adirondacks, I have a radio scanning all the GMRS only channels. Traffic is almost non-existant up here.

There's zero consistency among the different repeater operators. You may never hear from some while others answer emails reasonably promptly. Some might give you specific instructions, probably just access tone info. Some might not. Besides the frequency and PL or DPL, what else could you possibly need? The only list of repeaters that you personally been granted access to is the one you keep for yourself. There is no other resource listing approved users. It's tough enough getting the operators to keep their info at mygmrs.com up to date. This is all pretty casual. I would not expect any organization or order here.

FCC enforcement in the FRS/GMRS services is minimal, and then only based on well documented complaints where there is clear and continual interference to other users. Since the FCC rules require all users to do their part to reduce interference, you can be part of the problem or part of the solution. If all the channels in your area are busy, you basically have to work with other users to find some satisfactory sharing. However, if there are channels that are completely silent where you are, you are far better off just to move over to a quiet channel. In a situation where there are quiet channels, it's highly doubtful that a case for interference can be made, even with unlicensed business users present. In most cases, they're using bubble pack FRS/GMRS radios which don't have much more than a watt or two at best, so the interference is limited in range anyway. Even though it's not legit, the fact of life here is minimal enforcement to the point of being nearly non-existent. If you can find a channel with minimal or no interference to put up your repeater, do it. Much as it may gnaw at you, unless you have a really severe case of intentional interference, it's unlikely that the FCC will do anything. If you have a scanner, you can use it to determine what PL or DPL others are using. Most modern scanners will do that. If you're not transmitting the proper PL or DPL, other users will not hear you. And, yes, if you have no PL or DPL set, you should hear all traffic on a channel. That's called Carrier Squelch, and abbreviated CSQ.

An individual could get a Part 90 station license, but if you look over Part 90, you'd need to justify the application to something that meets their rules. Business, government, transportation, etc. all qualify with a minimum of detail. Look through Part 90, you'll see what I mean. All of my experience is government and related emergency services so I've never had much need prove a need for a Part 90 license. "Applicant is a government entity providing public safety services." Is plenty.

For the most part, those would be all Part 90 licensed frequencies. Mostly business and public safety. PS is drifting away from low band at this point.

Just an observation here... Emails that start with LOL, have no capitalization, and use sentence fragments, IMHO, are not only highly unprofessional (this guy wants you to believe he's got a pro system there.) and the content is also suspect. I give him 0 points for credibility.

The forum's database is updated some time after the FCC's shows your new license. I suspect it's only downloaded from the FCC to MyGMRS.com once a week. Several other forums that use the FCC database are pretty much on the same schedule. A little patience here, folks. Expecting instant update and response from an all-volunteer system isn't reasonable.

Someone over on the batboard just posted that GM300 heads will work. I suspect that the MaxTrac heads are pretty much the same and should also work.

Um, his RA-0, 1, 2 etc are plug and play repeater adapters. Unless you need fancy extras, they're all you to set up a repeater with 2 CDM's. Since you describe it as occasional weekend use, I would think they would be perfect for you.

For what you're doing, you'd be better served with a repeater controller from Ebay seller mre1032 - he offers several different versions for the Motorola radios that have the 20 pin accessory connector like the CDM's. have. His prices are reasonable, and his products are rock solid. He's got a great rep with the Motorola fans all over the net. You do need to be able to program the CDM's or have them programmed.

No need to modify your license for a repeater. In fact, there is no way to "modify" a GMRS license. The GMRS license you already have is more of an operator's license than a station license. Much like an amateur license, you (and your family) are authorized to operate various types of equipment on specific (GMRS) frequencies. That would include portables, mobiles, base stations, and repeaters. All are subject to power and antenna height restrictions as outlined in Part 95. There's already plenty of repeater discussion here, so look it over and join in the fun.

Get yourself a couple of the 40 watt Motorola M1225's. They are readily available and reasonably priced, usually $150 or less each. Ebay seller mre1032 offers several versions of Motorola repeater controllers for extremely reasonable prices. Program both radios the same so they could be swapped if needed. Drop the power down to about 50% or lower and let 'er rip. Perfect for your needs. They're moderately rugged (compared to any of the CCR crap) and they are Part 95a legit. You can set them up wide band (25 Khz) or narrow band (12.5 Khz.) If you don't need 15 to 20 watts out, the 25 watt versions will do just fine. Again, knock the power down at least 50%.

My ham club uses about 15' of RG-58 for their field setup on 2M and 70CM. Works fine. Just for comparison's sake, typical mobile radio installs use RG-58 and the usual length supplied with the mount is about 17'. If your total coax run is about 30', you would do fine with RG-8. In all cases, the less adapters in the line, the better.