mainehazmt

That's because you are near Canada, where that frequency is commercial usage...

Actually you do - Simply move to northern Alabama....

The UV5R is not part95 cert. and as far as I know, no Baofeng radios are. However as I have always believed, Part95 cert is in the programming of the radio, as seen with the powerwerx  made by Wouxum, this shows us that a radio once properly programmed is technically compliant. not certified until the manufacture applies for the certification. I myself also use Baofeng radios, since they are half the cost of similar part95 cert. radios. and 4 watt's is better than 1 or 2 watts. also versatility, Many Part95 cert. radios that include FRS are no so versatile. The GMRS service allow up to 5 watt's and removable antennas, FRS does not.  I have my UV5R programed for GMRS freq's only and when I am in my truck, I use an external antenna to prevent radiating my 4 watt's back into my head and my body. For less technical users I like the BF888 it has 2 watt's, comes with a gain UHF only antenna and works 2X as good at twice the range of a Motorola bubble pak radio, and only cost 19.99 shipped. I go to the airport once a week, the BF888 hit's the repeater at 7.6 miles as easily as the UV5R and the UVB5. for those of us not made of money, the value of these radios far outweigh the certification issues, However the use of non part 95 cert. radios is likely against the charter that allows GMRS service, even though the wording seems vague I am sure these radios were never meant to be allowed and against your license to use them. However with so many Hotels and taxi cab drivers illegally using and also using non part 95 cert. equipment, The FCC will unlikely ever get to prosecuting actual family use of non cert. equipment.  I say use equipment that is affordable and well within the spec's for technical part 95 certification, use good radio operating practice and you'll be fine. 

Hello i am new on GMRS band and live in Back Creek Valley area here in the panhandle of WV.
Looking to hear from others in area we are using 462.700 simplex at this time.
 
                                                                                       73 Al / WQXH590

Hello Dennis - Thanks for stopping by.
 
We have found over the years by trial and error that RG8X may be OK for "CB" but the losses and the lack of broad frequency response makes it less than desirable for UHF.  When you are starting with 5 watts, as advertised, getting as much power to the antenna as you can will give you much better results.  The antennas that comes with the units are designed for mobile use where they sit on a car roof or trunk.  That metal car surface gives the antenna something to radiate against and keeps the signal going horizontal.    With no "ground plane" surface, the antenna will most likely interact with the mast and the TV antenna eating more power in the process.  If you must use the antenna that the 'base' radio came with, construct  a 24 gauge sheet steel circle 24 inches in diameter and L-Bracket it to the mast.  Replace the RG8X with something like RG213 (for now) and stick the antenna to the top center of the sheet steel.  That will give a ground plane surface and the better cable will get more power to the antenna.  That should increase your range to 10 or 12 miles or so under AVERAGE conditions, depending on terrain (as you mentioned.)  If this is just for keeping track of family members while on near-by errands, etc., this should work out OK.   In the future, you could go with commercial gain type base and mobile antennas to extend the range even more. 
 
Good luck with things and please consider registering at our main website and then here at the forum.
 
https://www.mygmrs.com/
 
 
 
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Depends on the link. You can either shotgun it (1 link radio and controller, link radio programmed as a subscriber to the other repeater) or you can use a dedicated simplex link which could be susceptible to bubble pack interference.
 
 
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hello my name is Ben, introducing myself, im New. Just recently got my GMRS License the other day, seen this site, and wanted to sign up. Now that I got the license looking to get some equipment. I got alot of 11 meter cb radio stuff, thats where I cut my teeth on radios. Still use them and love them, men and alot of local guys use em. I wanted to get into GMRS, beyond the bubble packs, so applied for my license, and just got it. Eventually I'm looking to get my Ham, by the end of this year, or so. Anyway good to meet you all, and been reading the forums, and everyone here seems pretty cool.

They do and I have tried. a couple got it when the fees dropped but thats it. A few have also went for there HAM ticket instead. I guess part of the issue is our VHF and UHF Public Safety repeaters work so well in addition to the P25 trunking system we use folks dont understand the benefit. In addition being all volunteer and buys all our gear ourselfs already costs a member upwards of $1000.00. I'll keep hinting to them all about it and hope someday more will jump on the boat. 
 
Until then I'll just keep installing repeaters until i run out of frequencies ! 

This year I decided to volunteer my day to helping provide communications support for the City of Evanston's (Illinois) annual 4th of July Parade and evening fireworks down at the lakefront. I live in NW Indiana so it was a long drive for me, but it was worth the trip! Evanston has the distinction of having had the first and longest running annual Parade in Illinois, and draws entries from all around the nation.
 
North Shore Emergency Association (NSEA) has been doing this project since around 1966. My station was as the primary net control operator from the green/white lawn chair on the two base radios. I also passed along the necessary information to the gentleman to my left to enter into the laptop for logging purposes. This is a terrific example of GMRS being used for a good purpose!
 
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/921/OFMIow.jpg
 
In the late afternoon, we relocated to the lakeshore and I again provide net control as well as operating the FM transmitter that broadcast the synchronized music and "firing cues" for the mortars in the firing pit. I had a blast, but it was a very L O N G day since I left home at 0700 CST on Monday and didn't get home until 0005 CST on Tuesday.
 
The command tent was set up just outside the safety area, so I had the closest view I've ever had of the spectacular fireworks as they burst almost directly overhead!
 
The parade is ready to start!
 
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/923/9eIVb1.jpg

Were you able yo figure out your TK-880 repeater question?  I just finished setting up two of these units and can detail what I did to get it all working if that helps.

LOL no kiddin huh....

Hello folks, just got my GMRS license the other day. Studying for my Ham and should be taking in the near future. Live between Conroe and Houston, TX. My learning curve is still straight up at this time. I would like to check into starting up a repeater due to the fact there aren't any in my area. Any info would be appreciated.

I sure wouldn't want mine living under my roof.

My GMRS repeater is a Motorola MTR2000, Part 90 and widely used by HAM's around the world. I welcome the results of the person that has written an inquiry to the FCC for clarification as i am guessing more then 50% of the radios and repeaters in use for GMRS are part 90.
 
That's just my $0.02
 
Corey

Line of sight. UHF in the 460 range is roughly LOS range plus 5-10%. 
Money is better spent on receivers, antennas and location versus power amplifiers.
 
Coming from a guy who's shooting 500 mW 19 miles at 5.5 GHz and still delivering 60 Mbps over it…

I was able to pull all of this off with access to the attic. Home Theater, Computer Network, Wireless Access Points (the flying saucer thing) and cable. I also installed cable, network and power behind the wall mounted TV in each bedroom. I own my place and nothing in the agreement stopped me from doing what I did.
 

That's what I figured. Thanks!
 
 
That has been on my To-Do list for a while. Now that I have radios I'll go ahead and get my HAM license.
 
Thanks
 
Rob

Night before last I drove to the far north side of Chicago to the town of Glenview, IL to attend the bi-monthly meeting of the NSEA (North Shore Emergency Association), a GMRS organization that was founded in 1966 (that's 50 years!) by P. Randal Knowles, a practicing attorney who is still very much active today.

He has long been a champion for GMRS and has authored many cogent and factual submissions to the FCC's various NPRM's that threaten GMRS licensees. I invite interested parties to read them closely at this link:

http://www.nsea.com/fcc/WHAT'S%20COOKING.htm

I have to add that I was very impressed with the professionalism of NSEA and hope to visit with them as often as possible. They have graciously offered to assist me in my attempt to promote such an association of GMRS licensees here in Northwest Indiana.
 
I also met Marc Drazin who owns the two repeaters that were until last February located at the top of the Hancock building. He told me that he hopes to have them both back on the air within the next few months. The antennas are not located in the gallery, but are in fact on the roof.

There's obviously not one fixed price throughout the country, but I wonder ballpark what I'd be looking at to set up a repeater at a commercial tower site.
 
I happen to have an R1225 repeater (50W UHF) sitting around from a lot of equipment I bought, but I live in a valley and in a condo, so setting it up at home would be borderline useless. There's a big hill / small mountain not too far from here with a number of towers on it, and while hiking in the area I noticed one of the equipment sheds has a sign mentioning that they have space available on a combiner/multicoupler system. I have absolutely no concept of what renting space at a place like that costs -- am I looking at a $50/month type deal, or more like $500/month?

Hi Seven,
 
Welcome! Let's see if I can answer those questions for you. Others may chime in and lend their expertise as well.
 
1. This is a Ham radio, and is not certified for use on GMRS frequencies. According to the FCC Rules (Part 95), any radio used on GMRS frequencies must carry Part 95A certification. However, as you may find if you do your own research, it's very hard to find a currently-produced Part 95A radio which is repeater capable. It's kind of a niche and most manufacturers don't bother with it anymore. For us, that presents us with a dilemma. Either we are stuck using very old and obsolete equipment, or we could use Part 90 radios (virtually all commercial-grade radios for business or public safety use) which adheres to stricter technical requirements. I don't recommend or advocate it, but many people have decided that a Part 90 radio, when operated properly, is just as good or even better. Many of the Baofeng radios and their clones now carry Part 90 certification when the user is unable to change the frequency on the fly. So the short answer is, yes it's a Ham radio. The longer answer is, it may have Part 90 certification and would then perform similarly to a Part 95A radio, so you would be using it at your own risk. The argument has been made with the FCC but to date no answer has been given.
 
2. For simplex, you can use any GMRS frequency that is not a repeater input (467.xxx MHz). You can speak in another language, but you are required to state your callsign in English every 15 minutes during a conversation, and at the end of the conversation according to the FCC rules. Yes, you can set a PL tone on simplex for you and your friend. It will not provide true privacy, but would prevent you two from hearing other people on the same channel unless they happen to be using the same tone.
 
3. Yes, your GMRS license allows you to use a GMRS repeater. However, repeaters are privately owned and you need the permission of the owner. Some repeaters are posted on this site as "open" which means any licensed user can use it without permission (just follow the rules), while some are private or require explicit permission. The listing for the repeater on this website should indicate which, and you can contact the owner through this site. The repeater will retransmit your audio over a wider area so others can hear you who would not normally be able to hear your radio directly. It's not private, and anyone else who has the repeater programmed in their radio could talk back to you.
 
4. English isn't required, but you may want to talk to the repeater owner and give them a heads-up that you intend to speak in another language but will be complying with the FCC rules. Some people are alarmed by not knowing what someone is saying on their repeater, so it doesn't hurt to state that up front to avoid confusion. Nothing in GMRS is private, so others would be able to hear you if they're within range of the repeater (typically 15-30 miles, perhaps more)
 
5. Only one person may transmit at a time, so if there's a conversation going on already, you'll have to wait your turn. If you have something to add to the conversation, you can jump in and introduce yourself. Most people are happy to talk with you, so don't be shy about it. Just don't interrupt another conversation with your own.
 
Good luck, and let me know if you need any further clarification!

I would think the cheaper way would be to bolt it to something stable like a metal fence or just stand it up on a mast. Once you find a way to stand it up hook up a radio and an SWR meter and see what you get. How ever you test in be sure it has ample free space and don't get to close to it well keying it up. You may ask around and see if any of your fellow hams have an Anritsu Site Master and if so can you get them to sweep it for you.
 
Corey

If the repeater is wide band, you will want to work it with wideband, likewise you will get the best performance from your radios in wideband. GMRS is not required to use narrow, and range is diminished with it as well. 

Haha...think I have my regular forum account set up. The RG213 is in the garage and now waiting for the new antenna to arrive. I'll move this project over to the regular sections when I start the install and see what can of performance changes I can get.
Dennis
WQVQ594

well if this wasn't public I could tell you.... Actually there is no competition up here. Long story

if you really have problems with people messing with your machine you can come up and install it here in northern Maine. It will be well cared for. Lol