WRQC527

Back to the original question. When you say "Handbook/Primer", many of us picture an actual handbook. With many pages. Printed. Or downloaded, as in Kindle. Or PDF. Could be a short pamphlet, could be the multi-hundred-page ARRL Handbook. Searching the internet for a GMRS Handbook brings up a literal pantload of results. Several on Amazon. One of the GMRS handbooks I found is 132 pages. I can't see how someone could write 132 pages on GMRS. Unless they have an amateur license, then it makes sense. What, exactly, are you looking for? A couple of pages? Several folks here have offered suggestions, but nothing is clicking. It's important that we know exactly what you're looking for. Be extremely specific. Someone here might be willing to write something, if someone knows exactly what you want.

We're not trying to come up with what's best. We're experimenting with all different modes. CW, SSB, AM, FM, systems like APRS, sound card modes like FT8 and a bunch of others, digital modes like Fusion, DMR, D-Star, and others, EME, microwave, you name it. GMRS is not so much for experimenters. It's for people who need to communicate. Ask anyone here with just a GMRS license how they set up their Jeep radio. They'll say they mounted their radio, they mounted their antenna, they (presumably) checked the SWR, and off they went. Ask a ham operator how they set up their mobile radio, and you'll hear the ARRL Handbook read to you.

And yet they drive on interstate highways. Seems a little hypocritical.

There's a little-known Constitutional amendment, the 28th, I think it is, that says "This amendment gives the Federal Government the right to get involved in local wireless communications. And justification to even exist as an agency."

Ah yes. The infamous CB Keydown competitions. I've said it here before, I'll say it again. Keydown competitions are what's missing from GMRS.

Here's a serious, honest question for anyone who can provide an honest answer. Instead of brazenly claiming there are none, I'll ask if there are there any commercially-available FCC-certified GMRS transceivers that one can purchase that are capable of digital voice transmissions? Not that I want or would buy one, but for the edification of anyone here who is interested in communicating through the experimental WN2XFO DMR-enabled GMRS repeater or any others like it. You can provide links if you're so inclined.

Do both. You're welcome. WRQC527 / K6ITR

If you set it to continuous just temporarily, maybe it won't make that "spooling up" sound before it IDs, since it will already be running, then you can pretty much confirm it's the fan noise being picked up.

You wanna give me a 10-9 on that, Pig Pen?

2 things. 1. Does the noise happen when someone transmits to your repeater so you can hear it on the repeater output the same way you hear it when your repeater IDs? 2. Can you temporarily disable the fan and see if the noise goes away?

My guess is fan noise.

I'm no expert in hash that comes out of transmitters, but it may be a sound effect added by the repeater owner. It kinda sounds like a slide guitar note from one of the old western movies. My 2-meter repeater had a DVR linked to it that could play recorded messages and voice ID. Whether that can be superimposed with the Morse Code IDer I don't know. It also sounds like fan noise being picked up and mixed with the transmitted audio. Weird either way.

Backpacking with enough batteries to run a 15-watt radio isn't necessarily going to be lightweight. There are batteries called Lithium Iron Phospate that are very light compared to lead acid batteries, (around 3 pounds for a 12 Ah battery) but they are rather expensive, (about $125 for decent Bioenno ones) and you can get folding solar panels that may fit in a backpack, but again, they can be expensive, and maybe not lightweight. I tossed in a couple of links below so you can see what I'm talking about. I also threw in a link to a ham radio guy who does a lot of off-grid operating with solar and batteries. His content may be of some interest to you as well. https://powerwerx.com/bioenno-blf-1212a-12v-12ah-lithium-iron-pvc?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA6vaqBhCbARIsACF9M6kk-nsK237NOX49JpP8CA--xoHNvAGrN9du6-N6nI_zdbj13rw7mCgaAk2fEALw_wcB https://energetechsolar.com/solar-panel-kit-120-watts-12v-18v-max-folding https://oh8stn.org/

UPS, FedEx, DHL, USPS and others deliver tens of thousands of packages a day. The vast majority are delivered without incident. But if they mess up one time for one person, that one person hates them for life and says they are the worst carrier ever. I find that odd.

To be fair, NOAA weather channels are VHF, in the vicinity of 162 Mhz. Not all radios are designed to be that wide-banded on receive. It looks like the designers of this radio mayhaps wanted to focus on making a good GMRS radio instead of a Swiss Army radio.

Ol' Randy's just trying to have a little fun. Bringing some much-needed levity and dare I say some common-sense knowledge and advice to the boards. Instead of posting six pages of FCC regulations and technical service bulletins for simple questions like how the PTT works or how many watts an HT can emit. But this is what we've become.

1. It's a sub-audible tone your radio transmits when you press the PTT button that tells the repeater to activate. Otherwise the repeater would activate every time anyone transmitted on the repeater input frequency even if they weren't trying to use the repeater. It's sort of like the security code on your credit card. Except without the fraud. 2. Yes.

I just spent some time looking for answers to your questions on various videos and review sites as well, including the radio manual. I couldn't fine any evidence that it can receive any frequencies other than GMRS. That's not to say it can't, but I'll be darned if I can find a shred of info. That said, I would assume it cannot unless you hear otherwise from a trusted source. Like Retevis.

Well this thread went into the toilet in a New York minute. What is a New York minute? Is there a conversion formula from standard minutes to New York minutes? I digress.

This applies so often here.

Thank you. I was hoping to find it in stock somewhere at that price.

Where?

I did need lunch, and yes, after about the first few replies, mine included, the thread went about a mile off topic. Carry on.

You guys go ahead and keep debating which GMRS HTs put out the most power. I'm going to lunch. Lemme know if you ever settle it. On second thought, no.