WRQC527
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Posts posted by WRQC527
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On 5/29/2024 at 3:07 PM, Ziggidy said:
Newbie here. I was wondering if it is possible to place a magnet mount antenna on a vehicle and connect to a handheld GMRS. Before I try, I want to know if it's possible and if it's even advisable.
Highly advisable, practical and doable. Think about this. If you hardwire a GMRS mobile radio into your vehicle, it's useless to you unless you're driving. If you use your HT with both a mag mount in the car and with the stock antenna when you're out of your vehicle, you've doubled the utility of your HT. Five watts is plenty if you have decent repeaters available.
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Apparently "pros" need to receive air band, 1.25 Mhz and 1 Mhz to be considered pros.
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I would hear the drive-through covid test clinic down the street back in 2020-2021 doing comms between the front office and the nice ladies shoving sticks up folk's noses through the car windows. I also hear daycare centers coordinating drop offs and pickups, as well as restaurant staff.
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5 hours ago, Guest Alan said:
I have a 2024 Chevy Silverado and the paint/coating is so "slippery" my mag mount antenna just slides off.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Can you feel any magnetic attraction at all when you place the mount on the roof? Or does it "sort of" stick until you start driving, then slides? What kind of mag mount? How big? What kind of antenna? Help us out here. My limited research on the 2024 Silverado reveals that it has some aluminum panels, but the roof is steel.
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2 hours ago, WSBR383 said:
Ya, that could have been the problem with the slim jim as well (being close to other objects), I have restrictions on antenna height. It was a miracle that I got the HOA to approve what I have, but I had a height limit and had to submit drawings and plans for the antennas I currently have. The top of my fireplace has a metal / tin cover, so not sure if that effected my results with the slim jim or not, but it hasn't effected the Fong antenna. I am happy with the results, but don't get me wrong, I would like to have a DX-333 for tri-band (2m, 1.25m, and 70cm), plus a CA-712EFC for GMRS, but that won't happen in my neighborhood, lol, no way to hide a 10'+ antenna above the roof line.
73's and my advice to anyone is use what works for the situation!!
I was happy to discover that my Jetstream JTM3B covers 2 meters, 70 centimeters and GMRS. It doesn't need a ground plane, so I put it on a 24 foot window washing pole.
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On 6/3/2024 at 6:36 PM, WSBR383 said:
WRXP381, I am sure the Comet 712 is better, but again, in an HOA, they don't allow you to have a 10.4' antenna above the roof-line. If I had no restrictions, I would choose a different antenna. I actually have a comet SB 790a for 2m and 70CM and love it, it was the biggest I could go and still be allowed in my HOA.
Please keep review in context, I am not saying these are the "Best" antennas, but they are the best antennas that are smaller, don't require radials, and put out decent gain for a reasonable price point. My 13 mile reference is with mountains between btw, I can hit well over 30+ miles till I hit south mountain simplex.
As an x signal-corp officer and an electrical engineer, Dr. Fong impressed me and didn't try to sell me on his antenna, he just answered questions I had about his antenna and my locational situation.
I appreciate your taking the time and effort to test these and post the results. I've built both the copper J-pole (but not a slim-jim) and the Ed Fong for two meters. I found that the copper J-pole did better, but it was very susceptible to detuning if there was anything near it. But if you can get these things in the open, they're effective. I hear folks fairly often doing Summits On The Air on 5 watts using Ed Fongs, from 40-50 miles away. Of course, there's people here who don't like anything.
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8 hours ago, marcspaz said:
a base station
Since I'm in a condo with no option for a permanent antenna, I have it in a go box along with an MFJ-945e manual tuner and an FTM7250. It runs off a 35 ah AGM battery on a maintainer. At home it identifies as a base station with a temporary antenna, but next weekend it will run on solar and identify as a field station.
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3 hours ago, WRXR255 said:
Pretty much what it says in the title. I have a robust SW, MW with Upper and Lower side bands receiver, but looking into the radio side of TXing there.
I know this is a GMRS centric Forum, as why I just plopped it down in the Misc. area, but I suspect some of you out there might have something to offer in this area for someone looking to expand into that spectrum as well.
I'm partial to my Yaesu FT-891. It doesn't do 2 meters or 70 cm, which is fine with me. I have other radios for that. But in my humble opinion, it's the best deal out there for a hundred watt HF/6 meter radio. Also, a friend of mine loves his Xiegu G-90. Cheaper, not as many watts, but you get a built-in tuner, which the FT-891 doesn't have.
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1 hour ago, Guest sleslie said:
looking for information as to what this is as well as if it has any value
We need more information. Take pictures. Provide a model number. Clue us in on what frequencies it's tuned for. A duplexer, to way-oversimplify, is a "filtering" device that, among other uses, allows repeaters to function using a single antenna for transmitting and receiving. They can be fairly valuable.
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On 6/8/2024 at 11:24 PM, DarkDaze said:
hello. I'm brand new to GMRS and was wondering if it was possible to program my radio (UV-5R) to talk to my friend from Texas to California? we've been looking into affordable ways to communicate in any type of grid down or SHTF situation that isn't gonna cost us an arm and a leg. TIA! also I'd love to hear any suggestions on how we can communicate in those kinds of situations if yo know any tricks.
**Disclaimer** The following is my humble opinion, and may or may not reflect the opinions of the rest of the folks on this site.
A couple of things. First, GMRS was never intended for reliable long-range communications. From the FCC website:
"The General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) is a licensed radio service that uses channels around 462 MHz and 467 MHz. The most common use of GMRS channels is for short-distance, two-way voice communications using hand-held radios, mobile radios and repeater systems."
That said, some GMRS folks have tried to force GMRS to be a long-range communications tool, with varying degrees of success and questionable legality, using linked repeaters, internet connections, and such.
Second, If you are truly interested in exploiting your Baofeng UV-5R to include long-range comms on the cheap, my suggestion is for you and your friend to get your amateur radio technician licenses. Amateur radio has, shall we say, figured out linked repeaters and other methods of linking radios, literally on a global scale. For examples of this, look up the Winsystem at https://www.winsystem.org/ and Echolink at https://www.echolink.org/, both of which will allow you to talk to others long-range on your UV-5Rs These are but two examples. A word of warning though. Linked systems, GMRS, amateur radio, and others, like any other comms, are not 100% reliable. You won't be able to communicate in every grid-down or SHTF situation. If somewhere between you and your friend in Texas there is a break in the link, such as a repeater going off line or the internet going down, game over. Also, some folks here have mentioned HF as a method of comms. The issue is that there is not much along the lines of decent HF gear that isn't going to cost you an arm and a leg. Interstate contacts on HF are definitely not a sure thing, and far from reliable. It all depends on conditions that change literally by the minute.
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On 6/9/2024 at 6:35 AM, back4more70 said:
If you hold your radio up to a telephone while transmitting, your friend on the other end of the line will hear it
Lol like Ribbit. Sort of.
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1 hour ago, WRXP381 said:
I hope question 6 is a joke
It's a serious question. I missed it the first time I took the test, as well as several other questions. It took me three attempts before I finally passed with the required 62.5% correct.
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2 hours ago, BoxCar said:
Most ask for your call sign on their order forms..
As a condition of selling it? HRO asks me, but it's because I have an account with them, but they ask me for any purchase.
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3 hours ago, SteveShannon said:
Do ham radio vendors require a call sign before selling a radio?
I've never heard of any vendor asking for a call sign before selling a radio. The most I've seen is vendors with a disclaimer that says listen all you want, but amateur and GMRS radios can only be used for transmitting by licensed operators. But I have seen vendors requiring an amateur radio call sign in order to purchase an amplifier that functions on 10 meters because of the potential to use them on 11 meters. Who would ever do such a thing?
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- SteveShannon and Lscott
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1 hour ago, WRUE951 said:
The only time ever i have heard someone use their call sign when talking on GMRS is when they talk via a repeater.. And even at that, call signs are seldom used.. IMO, GMRS has turned into another free for all zoo and only getting worse, especially in the bigger cities. At this point, i certainly would not worry about a call sign.
I tend to agree. I generally don't even use GMRS except for repeaters. I'll use MURS simplex if it's just my wife and I. I rarely hear call signs on either simplex amateur 2 meter/70cm or GMRS. Although my amateur radio friends do ID on simplex.
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5 hours ago, Slickii said:
Also, you can use international morse code as your call sign.
Cornell Law Correct. You must use either voice or Morse code. Those are your two choices. That's what this excerpt from FCC 95.1751 tells us. Also, when you ID, you are not fulfilling an obligation to your fellow licensees. Whether they know CW or not is none of your concern. You are fulfilling your obligation to the folks who issued your license, whose rules you claimed you'd obey when you applied for it.(a) The GMRS station call sign must be transmitted:
(1) Following a single transmission or a series of transmissions; and,
(2) After 15 minutes and at least once every 15 minutes thereafter during a series of transmissions lasting more than 15 minutes.
(b) The call sign must be transmitted using voice in the English language or international Morse code telegraphy using an audible tone.
- Slickii, SteveShannon and WRUU653
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51 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:
Some repeater controllers ID using Morse Code.
All four of my amateur repeaters ID with CW. But I do know of several that have voice IDers. And voice messages for nets and time of day. One of them even has the real Dick Van Dyke as the voice.
- WRUU653 and SteveShannon
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1 hour ago, Slickii said:
Can I just use an audio file to play my call sign as morse code instead of saying it using my handheld GMRS radio?
I don't have a dog in the fight. ID how you want, and truth be told, every crotchety 90-year-old amateur radio operator who thinks CW is the only acceptable method of communicating almost exclusively IDs with CW, but to me it's quicker to just say WRQC527 than it would be to play an audio file that plays "dit dah dah dah dit dah dit dah dah dit dah dah dit dah dit dit dit dit dit dit dit dit dah dah dah dah dah dit dit dit". Also, call me unenlightened, but where would you find a handheld radio that can transmit an audio file? There is a way to make Baofengs and other CCRs transmit up to a five-digit DTMF string when you key and/or unkey the PTT, (which, by the way, makes a pretty nifty customizable roger beep if you don't like the obnoxious standard-issue Baofeng beep), but as for an entire CW string, I ain't never heard of it. That don't mean it don't exist.
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3 hours ago, OffRoaderX said:
i find it hilarious that you include your email addresses in your signature to make it so easy for people to "connect" with you.
I had a friend in junior high who would have given his left n... I mean he would have given anything to have Wonder Woman's email address. Oh... Wait. That was Lynda Carter, not Linda Carter. And it was 1975.
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1 hour ago, WSAW335 said:
Thanks for all the reply's. When I do try to hit the repeater I always ask for a radio check, no "kerchunking"
I'll keep trying, maybe there's just not much traffic on it. Thanks again.
Ask for a signal report. Radio checks are what you ask your wife for when you want yet another radio.
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3 minutes ago, WSAW335 said:
Greetings,
New to GMRS and am trying to access repeater Atlantic City 675. I have entered the frequency 462.675 MHz, channel number 28.
I have the tones (in and out) set at 141.3 Hz. Two tones are available ( 141.3 Hz & 146.2 Hz) I have tried them both.
Owner say repeater is an "open repeater". Still can't seem to connect.
What am i doing wrong??? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, WSAW 335
How far are you from the repeater? What kind of radio? Are you outside where your signal isn't trapped in a building or a vehicle? Are there buildings, trees or other obstructions blocking you from the repeater?
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New CB. First Impressions
in Miscellaneous Topics
Posted
I went by Viking back in the 80s. Now I hear all the big guns from back east booming in to the west coast using 3-digit numbers.