mainehazmt

Hummm... "CCR" -> Ceedence Clearwater Revival. Remember them?
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creedence_Clearwater_Revival

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.  
 

I would say NanoVNA v2, it does everything you'll need.
 
 
G.

Ha - I purchased a GMRS license for $90, valid for 5 years, just before they extended it to 10 years!

For all of you who are due to renew soon .... In accordance with Murphy's Law the fee reduction will take effect the day after you renew.

This comes up ALL the time.  IMO nobody can tell what radio you are using when you use it.  Be it a 30$ CCR. Or 700$ vertex.  Unless you are bragging about it.  To think if someone is licensed in 2 or 3 radio services that you would have 3 different radios that can all do the same thing doesn’t pass the straight face test.  Plus enforcement....big joke.  Before you get anybody showing up at your door step you would have had to do something serious!    Follow your heart do what you think is right and keep your mouth shut. Make sure your transmissions are clean and “Follow” the rules.

I’m due to renew guy feb 22 2021. The way Gov works I again will get screwed.  Happened at the 5 yr vs 10 year change and now this.  Plus I had planned on upgrading to AE on the ham side...

The new fee is not a big deal for me. I have 9-1/2 years to go on my current 10 year license. My first two license were $90 +/- for each of my first two five-year licenses, so the current $70 was a welcome change. My luck it will be $500 in 2030 when I am up for renewal again.
 
 
Michael
WRHS965
KE8PLM

I have and use the NanoVNA H4. For the radio neophyte it has a steep learning curve but there is so much you can learn with this instrument once you understand the technology. I would have a hard time going back to traditional SWR meter.
 
 
Michael
WRHS965
KE8PLM

This comes up ALL the time.  IMO nobody can tell what radio you are using when you use it.  Be it a 30$ CCR. Or 700$ vertex.  Unless you are bragging about it.  To think if someone is licensed in 2 or 3 radio services that you would have 3 different radios that can all do the same thing doesn’t pass the straight face test.  Plus enforcement....big joke.  Before you get anybody showing up at your door step you would have had to do something serious!    Follow your heart do what you think is right and keep your mouth shut. Make sure your transmissions are clean and “Follow” the rules.

I think there is an ongoing impression, especially amongst people new to GMRS,  that repeaters are somehow part of GMRS and generally available to licensed GMRS users and that this site, or any other, is somehow involved.
 
It has been posted here before, but perhaps it needs to be made sticky, that:
A GMRS license includes the right to use simplex communications on all 22 GMRS channels, subject to the published power and bandwidth limitations. While a licensee also has the right to operate a repeater, the license does not include the right to use other repeaters. Any such access, if permitted, must be done in accordance with the operating practices set by the repeater owner. 

Well gee I wonder if they will be sending back half the money for folks that got their licenses in the last 12 months.

Well, first of all, my dual band CCR didn't cost $39. Second, I have a dual band mobile antenna that isn't the stock rubber duck. Plus really nice base antennas that cover the U/V and U bands. So, is there anything else you'd like to "goodness sake" me about?

I’ve had some interference mostly only on HF some from my router switch and from the tv I use for a monitor.  Gotta love a 36” monitor lol.solved most of it by moving the radios to one side of the room and computer and associated cables to the other side.  Most of the noise is gone.  Tv,s are not as good in shielding as monitors are I have found. BUT a 36” monitor for the computer is fantastic almost don’t need the glasses!  
 

I see that your callsign is in our system now. You should be able to register.
 
We screen the guest forum posts so we don't have a bunch of spam show up.

Maybe it isn’t for “Points” but I have never been in radio for points.  During past field days when we could all get together. I bring my camper and set it all up with my icom 7100 mostly for HF and have an existing dual band antenna in the camper for gmrs. I’m also set up for vhf, emergency services radio, and another for 2 meter.  Many did not know about GMRS.  One of the head people didn’t think we should have gmrs for demo.  My comment was after all it is radio just like our vhf repeater only on UHF ( I have the 2 meter and my GMRS radio both on motorola GM 300’s)  and  FRS / GMRS is a start to get interest going. And during an emergency many people might just have  the toy radios.    Heck this year where we are doing field day from home we are also integrating ZOOM into the mix.  

The best part of this year doing it from home is I don’t have to figure out a covered dish Meal to share!  

Welcome to the insanity... er, I mean family of course.

There is a tremendous amount of benefits with Amateur Radio vs. GMRS.  First, lets just talk about voice. 
 
On GMRS simplex, the absolute very best you can expect from a perfect setup, is going to be about 70 miles.  Likely less. That would be mobile or base. 
 
With Amateur Radio VHF and UHF, the power limits are 1500 watts with no radiated power restrictions.  That means with a little elevation, you are talking coast to coast on the higher portions of VHF and the lower portions of UHF.  On the lower portions of VHF, you can talk to Europe, Mediterranean, Northern Africa, etc.  Even in my mobile, I can talk to NY from Virginia on VHF simplex.
 
With things other than voice... there is no limit to what you can do beyond no encryption.  If you can dream it, you can do it on amateur radio.  There is APRS, which provides transceiver location services. There FLDigi which is used for texting and simple messaging.  There is WinLink which is a 100% radio-based email service that allows you to email other operators as well as people on the public internet.  And much, much more.
 
The benefit of HF and MF is, the ease of global comms as you drop in frequency.  I was driving around in my Jeep today on an HF frequency that Tech license holders have access to.  I talked to people in 3 different countries on 2 different continents with a simple 100 watt mobile radio and a whip antenna.  It's really a lot of fun.
 
As far as a base station goes, I don't use mobile radios for base a station.  I have base station radios that I use for VHF, and a VHF/UHF repeater.  I talk on VHF on the base for several hours a week, sitting in my executive desk chair. 
 
As far as the quality of conversation... I can't really say much about that.  I would assume there are plenty of people to talk to without getting into religion, politics, etc.  I avoid them like the plague.
 
With regard to if it's worth it... that is a personal choice that each person needs to decide for themselves.  I think it is.  I held my Tech license for 17+ years before I got my General and had a great time.  I also think the GMRS and FRS are great radio service and fill a nice niche.

If all the parts come in, I'll be traveling across northern Kansas this weekend trying to get a 30,000 Watt signal, and two 100,000 Watt signals back on the air in the 3-Meter band. (a.k.a. FM Stereo)
 
I might try some simplex on 146.520 in the 2 Meter band while I'm on the road, but unfortunately, I won't be able to play with amateur radio much during this year's field day, since I'll be busy with commercial radio.

https://shop.mygmrs.com/collections/repeaters-and-accessories/products/repeater-linking-bundle

Quartwave: I have my own GMRS repeater here in my town. That is why this hasn't bothered me that much. I don't need his repeater at all. 
I use my repeater for business. personal, and just chatting. 
I have joined the Elk City group. I have talked to there members many many times with no problems.
Just seen I have a nack for finding the Aho*les in the world.
 
Thanks everyone for the replies and information. 

But it's important to realize when it's not practical to pay for more selectivity. Good commercial handhelds have enough selectivity to allow full-duplex operation by one operator, with a few feet of antenna separation. Good mobiles do better than that. If that's not enough desense protection, there's other issues at play. There's no improvement to be made if there isn't an issue, so it's just wasted money and/or lost functionality.
 
CCRs work just fine as transceivers for 99% of the population. Yes, they don't work in the busy RF environments found at an enthusiast's base station, a command post, or when working near other operators on different in-band channels. They're cheap, show people what the hobby can offer, and include a lot of features (like FPP and ridiculous channel capacity) that new operators need to find their niche within the hobby and understand what parameters need to be configured to operate cleanly on someone else's system. And when they break (probably due to a novice operator blowing out the finals or dropping it), it's not a big investment being lost. They exist in the market for a reason: because they do work, unlike what the topic's title implies. They wouldn't sell if they didn't. It's important to understand their limitations, but they're not as severe as you're making it out to be.

A legend in his own mind, a super hero to all GMRS users and radio extraordinaire   guys nuts, I trolled him for about a year, I know more about this guy than he does himself.
 
Mr. Becker
 
Just so you know who I am, I'm a 66 year old individual who spent most of my working life (over 30 years) within the two-way radio communications field as a dealer, service center, tower owner, designer and mobile data public safety systems provider. Plus I have also applied for and was granted more licenses by FCC than you will probably ever be in your life time
 
William R Howell,
GMRS License Call Sign: WQYX489
CEO, USGMRS Repeater & Users Group Association

Ah, yes. Corey will have lots to add here as his dealings have gone much further.
 
Long story short, the guy is a nutcase and I had to ban him from myGMRS after constant nonsense. It started with him trying to list dozens of fake repeaters claiming he has hundreds of repeaters he was going to personally finance and put up all over the country for everyone to use for a fee. Needless to say, he lives in a trailer in the middle of nowhere and everything he said was a lie.
 
Don't send any money whatever you do! If you're going to waste perfectly good cash, at least go spend it in our store so you get something in return, and not empty promises. 

Sometimes a good ol harbor freight wrench and a grinder come in handy to make those specialty tools