WRQC527

I would venture to guess that the requirement to use call signs on GMRS could be in part because of the power allowed. A user running the full 50 watts on GMRS, even without a repeater, has the potential to transmit a signal much farther, and possibly interfere with communications very far away, which is unlikely with unlicensed low-power services like CB, MURS and FRS. Licensing, and using your call sign, gives users the ability to identify those users causing interference, and it gives the FCC a way to take action against offenders who the FCC assumes know the rules... assuming the offenders are actually using their call signs. That's what I think anyway.

Sort of. Repeaters often have high-gain antennas that allow them to "hear" better than "standard" mobile or handheld radios. For example, the 70 cm, 2 meter and 1200 Mhz amateur radio repeaters I have use collinear antennas that are from 10-15 feet tall. Another factor is that high-end repeaters often have better receivers than your average HT or mobile radio, as well as better filtering and coax.

Just to be clear, your radios are not actually connected to the repeater. They are configured in such a way to activate, so to speak, the repeater when you press the push-to-talk button and hear it when you release the push-to-talk. And yes, if the radios are close together, pressing the push-to-talk on one radio can desense the other and you probably won't hear anything but noise. Like when your significant other is talking loud while you're trying to watch the 49ers spank the Lions. The whole reason for repeaters is to enable communication between two or more radios that are far apart or blocked by terrain or other obstacles and unable to communicate via simplex.

I just gave away a pair of these Radio Shack Space Patrol walkie talkies (circa 1978) to a thrift shop. I found them in one of my father-in-law's boxes-o-stuff. They worked, but my testing only involved from one end of the house to the other. Predictably, they struggled.

Sounds like my kids... But seriously, what kind of radio is your base station? Sometimes, knowing that will help someone here evaluate the problem.

I used to think I was never wrong. It turns out I was wrong once. It's when I thought I was wrong, but I wasn't. ~Anonymous

Apparently pirate-broadcasting hip-hop and R&B and live-streaming it on Facebook is worth the risk of punishment by the FCC.

An even dozen.

Owning a repeater, or multiple repeaters, doesn't translate into making a profit. In fact, I would venture to say that for many repeaters, more money goes out buying and maintaining equipment and insurance, and possibly renting or buying space for a repeater than money coming in. (ie club dues, raffles, etc.) My amateur radio club's repeaters, of which I am the trustee, are operated by our non-profit organization, and 100% of the money brought in goes toward maintenance, insurance, equipment, etc, and operating the club itself. None of it is profit, nor can it be declared or used as such. No one I know has ever installed a repeater of any kind with the idea of making money. For one reason, it's against the rules, and for another, it's like they say about boats, they're holes in the water where you throw money in.

Yep, the more I look at it, the more it looks like an Icom IC-718, or its marine version, the IC-78.

The Indian navy intercepted and freed the crew of an Iranian fishing boat yesterday off Somalia that was commandeered by pirates. On display appears to be the gear confiscated from said pirates. I'm interested to know about what appears to be some kind of ham transceiver. Hard to tell what it is, but it does bring new meaning to the term "pirate radio".

Welcome, James.

My wife is 100% cool with any radio purchase I make. As I am with her non-essentials. If I try to hide any radio purchases, or any purchases, for that matter, the most likely group that could offer me help would be something along the lines of Parents Without Partners.

Before you go throwing any radios in the trash based on some smart-ass who says it sounds like it came from K-mart or Radio Shack, tell us exactly what model of Anytone radio you have and how you are trying to use it. (Location, distance from the smart-ass, that kind of thing.) It's possible your issues can be solved before you dump more money in.

What kind of scofflaw user would dare try to increase power over the legal FCC maximums?

Although I personally have yet to buy anything, take a look at Mercari. There's a lot of radio gear in addition to pretty much everything else you can (legally) imagine. It's not an auction site, it's more Poshmark-like, FB Marketplace-ish, or OfferUp-esque.

Dude has only 10 posts (at the time of this post) and he's already on multiple ignore lists. Is that a record?

You're right about the PO box option. Many people I know, many people I look up on QRZ.com, and my own club repeater, N6CRA, all have PO boxes instead of street addresses. But these days, even without the help of the FCC, anyone can Google your name and probably find out where you live, and buttloads of other information you probably didn't even know was out there. Displaying your name on the FCC database isn't giving people any confidential information, it's just making things a little easier for them.

I didn't see anything for a "plus" model. Perhaps it is what you're looking for. Hope it helps. https://fcc.report/FCC-ID/2AJGM-UV5G

I use GMRS primarily to contact my wife when I'm out of cell service range, which happens frequently in our local mountains here in southern California. For me and many others, I use GMRS as a communications tool, and I use amateur radio for both a communications tool and socially.

What's wrong with leaving FRS/GMRS as is? "Listening to the people" implies that there is a majority of the hundreds of thousands of FRS/GMRS folks out there who have come to the conclusion that FRS/GMRS is flawed because it doesn't include the scenarios you put forth. Does that majority exist?

One more time. What is the make and model of the radio you are using in your truck, and what is the make and model of the antenna on your truck?

No reason to keep the brand out. Also, if you are using a quad-band ham radio antenna on GMRS, you may have problems. It's a rare antenna that can do both GMRS and amateur 70cm. An antenna that has low SWR in the amateur radio frequency range will likely have high(er) SWR in the GMRS frequency range, and vice-versa.

No such thing as a stupid question. And being a machinist, you're probably smarter than half the people here. Describe for us, if you will, your setup. Radio make and model, antenna make and model, how it's all mounted, wired, that kind of thing. More info from you = better answers from MyGMRS.

I've had mine for about 3 years now. One thing I did that really helped was to go through the TX audio settings and fine-tune them. There's lots of sources online that people have shared.