mainehazmt

One of the most important parts of a radio system is the antenna. Don’t cut corners then complain

This is the tower I have access to that was bought and paid for by a ham.
I am gonna say that jealousy doesn't really play into it.  But I could be wrong.
 
As far as the misappropriation of taxpayer assets. Gonna have to say that, yes, that tends to irritate me.  Now i am not gonna say that every ham group is full of idiots that would pull crap like the OP was talking about.  But those guys and groups are out there.  And I have seen where hams had gotten into agreements that were out of bounds.  If a ham repeater is in place for EMCOMM for a county or other served agency that is being hosted totally free of charge, no insurance, power bill or anything else, then that equipment, at least in the eyes of the state of Ohio is to be tested on a regular interval and NOT used for general communications.  There were two ham repeaters that were installed for an ARES group locally that were actually pulled from service because they were specifically paid for with a federal grant and then were used for general communications.  The tower access agreements were also written specifying emergency use only and were granted free tower access due to them being for that specific use.  
And like I said, we can't approach a street department and borrow their tractor, dump truck, put crap in their buildings for storage or any of that.  It ain't allowed.  Because they are government (taxpayer) assets.  A tower really should be no different.
 
Tower rental rates.
Have multiple customers on ATC sites.  Paying between 1000 and 1600 per site for two antenna's and a microwave dish.  Antenna's are at 130 and 150 and the dish is up at 200.  These prices are common in this area.  They are also on private sites and are paying less than that.  But if you are renting from any of the major players, then you are paying these sort of rates for relatively low mounting positions on the towers.  The pricing structure in your area may not be the same.  I can only speak to what I have first hand knowledge of.  This also applies to the way hams and ham clubs conduct themselves.  If what he's saying is 100% correct and you are REQUIRED to be a member of their club to access a tower that doesn't belong to them, they are not doing it right.  I have been to sites that hams were allowed full access to and they are typically a total mess.  Cable held to tower legs with electrical tape if at all, improper cables used in the radio hut to protect from interfering with other tenants at the site.  Skipping on proper grounding (of course I am R56 certified so I am a grounding and install NAZI and immediately notice such things). 
And I directly deal with it as a ham and a tower site manager.  I get requests, some that almost sound like a mandate, that some ARES group NEEDS access to a tower for EMCOMM for free.  I know better, the problem is that elected officials typically don't.  They hear it's for public safety and disaster preparedness and immediately agree without any actual research, or it was done years ago by some verbal agreement by a friend that was also an elected official that never really had the right to do it and now it's just in place. 
I am all for providing hams access within reason for both EMCOMM and hobby use.  And I don't believe they need to be made to pay the standard going rates that a cell phone company is required to pay.  But they need to install to the same standards, use good equipment and not mobiles screwed to a sheet of plywood and hung on a wall with wires going every which way.  But then again I have seen commercial radio companies that had install quality that made most ham install look good.  But that's another story.
And as far as the government being aware. 
The guy that owns that tower shown above is an IT admin and a ham.  Of course he also climbs towers, since he has that one, but is not a licensed bonded climber. 
I went at the request of a county EMA to oversee and test antenna's and lines once the climbing and work had been completed by the tower climber that the hams were bringing in.  The county had been told the guy was a TOWER PROFESSIONAL by the local ham group the work was being done for on a county owned tower at a city owned site.  The guy that showed up as the TOWER PROFESSIONAL was the guy that owned this tower.  They had told him little about what he was going to be doing, and I questioned what was gonna happen so I brought MY rigging equipment and tower winch in case it was needed.  We pulled 300 pounds of stuff off that day and replaced 4 antenna's and two feed lines.  He was totally unprepared for the job, because HE wasn't told what it was.  I had a feeling that something like that would happen and was prepared for it with equipment.  And the whole situation stuck me between my buddy and my customer that I HAD to tell them he wasn't a tower pro.  And I even had hams coming up to me trying to tell me how to rig the tower, tie proper knots, and all sorts of crap.  I ahve spent to last four years working all over that tower, rigging it, installing and removing antenna's and I was the one with the gear that was even gonna make the job possible.  And I am getting told I am using the wrong knots.  BTW, I was using bow-lines and figure 8 knots.  So yeah, my personal experience with hams has been questionable at times for the last 20 years I have been a ham.
 
 
 

One ham to another soon to be Technician and General... I was a study buddy with my 12 yo grand daughter at age 74... So get a study buddy to show to lead them to he a Ham...  My 12 yo grand daughter is so good on Sunday Net as she has several coaches and has a great radio present...  She have been the Fox twice and won several Fox Hunts.  Sorry I'm so proud of her and she knows she is special having a Ham ticket.  Her radio of choice is a RFinder B1. and is into DMR which I like as well.
MacJack 

A well done (and free!) site for test prep is hamstudy.org.  I’m currently studying for my general license using their site.
 
Edmo

But. Buttttt I'm a ham I'm allowed 1500 watts......

Hello all! I am a couple years late to posting this topic, but mostly because this discussion created such heated arguments on Facebook that I either left or was banned from certain communities. At the time I was working as a state frequency coordinator and LMR engineer, now working with "one of the big LMR brands". As a result, I had and still have access to discuss issues with the FCC Enforcement Bureau and their in-house counsel. This is a rundown of said conversation I had after the last rule changes...
Specifically towards the Part 90/95 issue - I asked why in the new rules it loosely stated that Part 90 equipment was permitted, but then later in the same rules mentioned it was not permitted. The in-house counsel agreed the wording was ambiguous at best, which would result in a hard time in them enforcing the rule on its own. Essentially, the conversation was "If you are caught with a Part 90 radio in the process of us investigating an issue such as malicious interference, it will be an added charge... but we cannot and will not pursue it on its own".
The wording specifically I mentioned was:
95.335 (a) - Which states that non-Part 95 equipment may be operated in the service if they are certified for use in land mobile radio services. 
With that said, the Enforcement Bureau and their legal counsel agreed that the wording was added because of a distinct lack of Part 95 licensed equipment being added to the list, but that the wording wasn't fully clarified to explicitly permit it either. The resolution to the issue is what I quoted above... that they will not be pursuing certification violations by end-users, and the end user will not be caught and fined unless it was within the investigation into other issues which will usually be your worse issue regardless. The biggest hurdle this presented was for manufacturers to comply with certification of devices, and the wording was created to make sure Baofeng and others would not market their radios as GMRS radios without proper certification.
 
So in the end - enjoy your Motorola XTS/APX/XPR radios, your Harris P7100/7200/etc radios, and so-forth. Just be wise and safe!
 
What I hope to accomplish by posting this here is a CIVIL and PRODUCTIVE discussion to petition the FCC for a clarification into the rules where 95.335 can be either refined or referred to elsewhere in the Part 95 rules to be the "one rule to rule them all" and state that if a radio is Part 90 compliant, it will be permitted. The end.
 

Actually a nice nanoVNA would certainly work as well. It's a bit more of a learning curve simply because it doesn't have the pre-written macros like a RigExpert has. If you go that way, spend the few dollars more to buy one with the largest screen you can find, as the smaller versions have such a tiny font they are very difficult to read...
 
Truthfully, a nanoVNA can do a lot more than the RigExpert does, certainly more than the MFJ analyzers can do. There's a reason why MFJ is semi-jokingly called "Mighty Fine Junk..." 

First time trying to communicate with others on my Midland MXT275.
 
I gave my call sign and asked for a simple radio check.
 
Response was "mobil radio, mobile radio hahaha. I responded thank you, gad it works. and the response again was "mobil radio, mobile radio..."
 
I got some winners around me. 
 

Having a warped sense of humor, sometimes I reply to such radio check requests...
 
"I've just checked, and mine are still here...
 
...seriously, you are ________ !"

We used to tell them to follow that curly cord from the device in front of their face. You'll find your radio there.

Just for general information, I've modified my ham license to reflect the area I'm currently living in. N4GIX is now N9GIX. I have tried twice to change my "Display Name" but for some reason it isn't working...
 
I remain the same good-natured old curmudgeon as before of course! 

I'm not trying to poke the bear with this question.  I would like to spend my money on American products where I can.  At least on a USA based company, preferred manufactured here too.  It is not the only decision factor but one that I try to include in my pros and cons list when weighing my purchase decisions.  If hypothetically, everything the same, I would pay a few extra dollars for something that I knew was based and made in the USA rather than all overseas.  I will still buy stuff from overseas if it is by far superior in every way and fits my needs.  I'm not brand loyal yet, since I am still very new to GMRS and I have not been about buying something for status since I was a freshman in high school LOL.
 
Thanks!

Oh I was part of the 90$ club too.  Seems like every change goes into effect shortly after I renew.  next time to renew Ill be 72... so  this may be my last one  Ill go rogue then...

Oh I was part of the 90$ club too.  Seems like every change goes into effect shortly after I renew.  next time to renew Ill be 72... so  this may be my last one  Ill go rogue then...

You seriously underestimate just how cheap I am, friend.

IMHO, it is reported in the federal register calling for comment by the public on or about Dec 28.  So from my days reading the pink sheets as it is called, 30-60-90 day so makes it Jan, Feb or March.  Then as you said will take them 30 days to make the changes on the web site.  Welcome to the "I paid $70 Club".
Jack

You are not alone...says mine has expired

You could always run the coax thru the soffit.

Well it is official they accepted my late payment (application was in on time). I get to keep my call sign and I can turn the repeater back on.  70$. Maybe I better hurry and take my AE exam  before they raise that one up!

$70-club? Phufffff. Whiners, no sympathy. There are people here who are members of $90-for-5-years-club. Some people are more than once members.

As of today it is still 70$. Now to see if they accept it.  I started my renewal on the 15th. But never could get to the pay for it page till today.  Microsoft edge won’t work...  expired the 17th. But they had the application on file for the 15th....  guess I will wait and see what they do

I keep trying to reset or use the forgot password option but no email ever makes it to me.  
 
I've attached two files showing I am using the right email
 
and I tested with a wrong email
 
John10e
WRAT941


 
Should add the forum works but I can't get into the main MYGMRS sight and select repeater information.  asks me to log in

We have several projects planned that are in various stages of development, but I'm trying to figure out priorities based upon what the members want (and some things that I haven't thought of yet).
 
I think we can all agree that Problem #1 is outdated listings that never got removed but are no longer on the air for one reason or another. We have plans to address that, but it requires a major redevelopment of the site. In the meantime we have the toggle switches on the map that allow you to hide anything that hasn't been updated in the last year, as it could be stale.
 
So, what do you think myGMRS needs? What do you personally wish we had that we don't?
 
Here's some projects that are being considered or are already in the works:
Finish working on the mobile apps. We have a beta version of the iOS app that has some issues before it can be released to everyone. That effort needs to be revived soon. The Android version has been released but there are new features that we want to add (and will also be in iOS).
  A complete site redevelopment. Much of the code powering myGMRS is over 10 years old. It's the main reason new features aren't being added -- we need a fresh modern platform to work with. Some early experimentation has been done and we think we have the right combination of technology, but need to build it. Then we can begin adding new features once we have covered all the current functionality.
  Launch of our store and securing reseller arrangements with various suppliers. This has been a small success already that we're hoping will grow with time. Most of my energy has been spent here lately, trying to get products that our members are likely to want to purchase. We're always looking for suggestions on products we should add, so please let us know.
  Expand our repeater linking project. We have had success with adding systems to our myGMRS Network over the past few years but we haven't pushed to expand very hard. Interested parties have come to us asking to join and we have approved them on a case-by-case basis. It's time, I think, to ramp up the project and try to get more high-quality repeaters on board across the country. There is a lot of work involved in making this something that can scale up without taking huge amounts of my time, however. 
  Upgrade the forums. We're using an older version of the IP.Board software, and I want to migrate to the latest version soon. We'll have to migrate all the accounts and topics over, but hopefully it won't be such a tough process. I also have a really cool project in mind that I'm going to remain tight-lipped about. It would be an app which would be of interest to the entire two-way radio community, not just GMRS and Amateur operators. I'm working on a proof of concept that could expand into a whole side business if successful.
 
So again, what do you think this site is missing? What kinds of features do you think would be worth paying a small subscription for? The core features of the site will remain free. Since incorporating, we have had to look for ways to monetize the site so it pays its own bills and can grow with time. One example might be an ad-free experience for paid subscribers. Another could be advanced tools for helping to compile a list of repeaters along a trip or commute. Dream up some ideas and hopefully we can launch them all!

Second nanoVNA. 40 bucks. You have a hard time beating that price. And you can use it right at the base of the antenna make changes and view the changes as you make them.  
 

When looking at equipment the biggest fault I find is the part 90 vs part 95 debate.  Esp when part 90 exceeds 95 requirements.  There are many business band fire / emergency service radios sitting on shelves due to narrow banding and they make great gmrs equipment.  Esp the repeaters.  Better and cheaper than part 95 certifications.  Glad there is a blind eye on their use. Untill you start causing problems....