WRQC527

I'm just throwing this out there. Does the threaded end look like the brass threaded end of this adapter? Because the picture you provided doesn't show us.

PL means Private Line. It's the same as a CTCSS tone. Motorola patented the Private Line term.

If you're talking about legally like hands free laws, then you would need to check your local laws to see if a radio needs to be hard-mounted with a microphone. If you're talking about power-wise, I often use an HT with a mag mount and that 5 watts does fine with my local repeaters that are 5,000 feet up and 15-20 miles away.

It's a good thing the FCC gave us the Part 95 regulations and definitions right on their website in plain English, because if we had to rely on MyGMRS interpreters like this guy to explain the rules, we would all be getting fines.

That won't work. You need to be outside the car or use an outside antenna connected to the radio. RF can barely get out of the car. You lose most of your transmit power.

I need to ask. Were you using the HT in the car without any kind of outside antenna? Because that RF energy gets trapped inside the car.

I'll bet you hold the record for being on the most MyGMRS ignored user lists.

It often makes me wonder why base stations are even a thing in GMRS, because it says right there in the acronym, General Mobile Radio Service. No one even makes GMRS base stations. You can buy CB base stations, FRS base stations, and amateur radio base stations, but no GMRS base stations. You need to roll your own with an HT or a mobile connected to a power supply. It's also odd that if I'm talking simplex from my house to a mobile or HT, I'm a base station, but if I'm talking to those same people through a repeater, I'm a control station. The FCC is weird.

It depends on where you intend to spend most of your time transmitting. That's the whole reason to buy a transceiver, otherwise a scanner like my Uniden BC75XLT would work for you. The FT-65 does more in terms of transmitting, being that it's dual band. If you ever want to do amateur radio, you would be ready. It also does more receiving, but no FM broadcast. One thing that may be a factor is that the FT-65 antenna, and in fact the whole radio, is designed to transmit on amateur VHF and UHF. Transmitting out-of-band on GMRS and MURS may reduce the power output. I know it happens with my FT-70. Oddly, it doesn't happen with my Baofeng UV-5R. That thing transmits full power on both amateur and GMRS. If you're only going to use GMRS. go with the KG-905G. That way you're more likely to get the most power output and GMRS functionality. If you think you'll use both GMRS and amateur, get the Yaesu so you can be an outlaw and use one radio for both, but be ready to possibly accept lower GMRS transmit power.

You should have an FCC Registration Number (FRN). Using this number, enter it in to the FRN field on this FCC GMRS License Search tool and click on search. If you have gone through the entire process of applying for the license, once the system issues your call sign, it will appear. The system updates each day overnight, so you can check it daily until you see your call sign. https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/searchGmrs.jsp

Frankly, I think it would be a pretty expensive roll of the dice. Like you said, there is very little I could find about this radio, other than Amazon reviews and an Ebay presence. There are FCC reports for it, but they don't tell you if it can be unlocked. I don't see it listed on CHIRP, but apparently there is software available from the manufacturer. It looks nice, but it apparently does one thing, FM 70 cm amateur. You can always buy it on Amazon, test it and post your findings, and return it if you don't like it.

Have you considered the Yaesu FT-4XR? It can be opened up for additional frequencies, but you don't get the air band. Like the FT-65, it also appears to be CHIRP-compatible (at least it shows on the CHIRP drop-down menu), and it's (at the time of this post) on sale for $80 at Ham Radio Outlet. If I didn't have a fleet of HTs already, I would get one. Also, at HRO, the FT-65 is on sale for $110. Neither one is the ten-watt powerhouse you're looking for, but they're solid versatile radios.

It depends. In the parallel universe of amateur radio. the axiom is to use only enough power to make the contact. The same should hold true for GMRS. If you're operating at 50 watts when you could do it on 5 watts, then yes, you are not only wasting power, but you are also putting excessive RF energy into the ether where it does no one any good. But if you're on your side in a Jeep with your antenna pointing toward the dirt and the closest help is 30 miles away and only reachable with 50 watts, then by all means crank it up. Like the axiom says, use (just) enough power to make the contact. Also, running any radio at its full rated power generates more heat, which ain't good for electronics. And some car electrical systems can't keep up with 50 watts anyway. I had a mobile Icom VHF/HF radio that would shut off if I transmitted on 50 watts. So there is that. But like a wise man said a minute ago, you can cut the power if you have it but you can't increase it if you don't have it. I think that's what he said.

I've heard it said (on the Miklor site) and had it happen personally on my Baofengs, that if the plug isn't inserted all the way, CHIRP won't read the radio. And sometimes you even need to trim some off the plug to make it fit. It doesn't take much to keep those pins from making contact. Just a thought.

I may be wrong, but mayhaps it goes back to how the FCC defines a base station, which is that it's a station at a fixed location that communicates directly with mobile stations and other base stations. No mention of repeaters.

In theory, and if my math is correct, if you wanted to throw a 36 inch Harbor Freight pipe wrench in the gears, you could run an offset of as much as 5.175 Mhz, as long as the repeater is receiving and transmitting on authorized main channels, and be within the rules. The only restriction I see is that a repeater can't invert the offset (transmitting on the 467 frequencies and receiving on the 462 frequencies.) I'm no expert on how many type-accepted GMRS radios let you alter the repeater offsets, but that would be the wrench.

And here I thought MyGMRS forums were pits of snarkiness. Personally, the way I read the rules, it looks like linking GMRS repeaters is prohibited, but the way the rules are written generates debate. And the answers from the FCC only fuel the debate. I would never come right out and say it publicly, but I think linking GMRS repeaters is stupid and it ties up valuable bandwidth. But I'm not in charge.

What radio does he have?

There isn't one. If you want to chat on a repeater, throw out your call sign and say you're listening or monitoring or ask for a signal report. Asking for a radio check is what you do when you want to buy a radio but you need money from your wife. Maybe someone is there, maybe not. But the age-old saying about GMRS that has been rehashed here many millions of times is that GMRS is a bring-your-own-contacts service. Like your cell phone. Amateur radio is the big one for making random contacts and meeting new people to talk to.

Only if they are held vertically. In any emergency zombie situation, the safest way to hold an HT is horizontally. That way, only other users holding their handhelds horizontally will hear you. It's the polarization equivalent to a CTCSS tone.

It is. But it is not the only way. The solution, if you will, is a toolbag full of useful tools. Each one has uses and limitations. GMRS is limited to UHF, and a few channels. Ham radio, on the other hand, includes a buttload of frequencies on VHF, UHF, HF, and many different modes. Lots of us have both GMRS and amateur radio in our toolbags. The more options you have, the better your chances are of successfully communicating.

You end up with a cacophony of incomprehensible signals. Sometimes the strongest signal will win.

I'm assuming you mean the Nagoya UT-72. Share with us. Are you looking at the UT-72 amateur radio VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) model, or the UT-72G GMRS (462-467 MHz) model? The reason I ask is because you will likely get better performance from the UT-72G GMRS version. Amateur radio antennas and GMRS antennas are generally not interchangeable because they are tuned for different frequencies.

I have the Anysecu WP-9900. I cannot recommend it. Mostly because the transmit audio is very poor. I took the usual step of drilling out the microphone hole and making sure the mic element wasn't blocked. It improved somewhat, but even so it's not that great.

In that case, since it's so clear, why would the FCC say that the paragraph is an attempt to clarify Regulation 95.1749?