WRQC527

A few suggestions: Put down your radio, take a deep breath. Stop calling it a BigWang. It's a Baofeng. Don't let the radio win. You're in charge here. They're not obstacles, they're steps. Take them in order, be patient. While you're waiting for your license to be recognized by MyGMRS, read online tutorials and watch videos specific to programming your radio. I find that watching someone else do something helps me learn. You'll get this. We all did. And most of us are more than willing to help where we can.

We care enough to point out your misunderstandings. This all could have been avoided if you would have read the OP's original post, where he specifically said he had a UV-5R GMRS radio. A simple internet search would have revealed to you that there is indeed such a thing. Instead, you went straight for the throat and assumed the guy is a criminal.

The volume of what I studied to pass my tests and get my amateur radio license, be it online, printed, and from in-person talks with "Elmers", is more than I could ever type here.

Unless you have some weird ASSociation with X-ray vision to see through walls, your problem would be the antenna, not the repeater. The repeater itself is inside, out of sight. The idea with repeaters is to get the antenna up high enough to make it "visible", if you will, to other radios. Most ASSociations with antenna restrictions would have a meltdown if you put the antenna where it can be seen, especially if it was high enough to make it effective as a repeater antenna. Being that there is already a repeater near you, yes, it might be redundant, but that has never stopped anyone from setting up a GMRS repeater. They're not coordinated like amateur radio repeaters are, so you just need to be careful that yours isn't interfering with an existing repeater.

There are buttloads of videos and tutorials about how to set up that radio. My recommendation would be to search them out, because you would be able to watch and follow along with someone as they program the radio. I find that easier than reading someone's "rewrite" of the manual. As far as nets, there are some GMRS nets, but they'll probably be on repeaters, and hosted by clubs. Not sure what you mean by "meshes", other than "mesh networks" that require special equipment, which are far beyond the scope of GMRS. Like you said, GMRS isn't normally where everyone hangs out and talks to each other, although it does happen. That's a ham radio thing. GMRS is more geared toward groups of like-minded folks out for a hike, an off-road excursion, keeping track of each other when camping, car and motorhome caravans, hunting, that kind of thing. Although there is no limit to what you can use them for if you need a communication tool. Formal nets happen at specific times on both ham and GMRS repeaters. But there is no official time. The ham net I host is at 7 PM on Tuesdays. But different repeaters have nets at all different times. One ham repeater here in Southern California has what they call the "Net at 9", which occurs at both 9 AM and 9 PM every day. Another GMRS repeater here has one on Monday nights at 7 pm.

That wasn't the question. The questions were: "Any tips on getting my radio setup? Also, I’m seeing all this stuff about nets and meshes. I understand GMRS isn’t ham where everyone just hangs out talks to each other, but are those set times I see on the website here, times that everyone meets up on these radios?"

They haven't gone by the wayside. But they're probably circling the drain. Personally, with all the information on YouTube University and about a million other free internet sources, I think an in-person class seems silly, especially if you have to pay for it. I studied on my own and passed my tests with no in-person classes. The only in-person stuff was the tests.

I tried it once because I had an extra ten cents, and I found that it had absolutely no effect. Except right now I could really use that dime back.

But wait... There's expert(s) like this guy who produce videos that say it will double my HT's range! Double, I tell ya! That's like twice the range! Two times the farz! It's a modern-day miracle! https://codegreenprep.com/2013/07/the-ten-cent-modification-you-can-do-to-double-your-radios-range/

On a related note, don't forget my favorite, using an HT inside a car and expecting your signal to reach more than ten feet.

I would put this claim in the same category as "always get gas in the morning while the gas is denser" and "always keep a crayon in your wallet".

Nothing serious. Probably the only person who would say anything is the actual repeater owner, and only if they happen to be listening at the time or if someone rats you out to them. At which point you could ask permission. But it's not like jail time or fines are in your future.

The Surecom SW-102 UV is well-liked here. Make sure you get the one with the connectors you want. They come with either SO-239 or N connectors.

I've had good luck with a lip mount and a Rugged Radios Point 5 antenna on the liftgate of my Sienna. Since the Point 5 antenna is a half-wave design, it doesn't rely on a ground plane, so getting it in the center of the roof isn't a big concern. Although some say it will do better with a ground plane, one of its reasons for existing at all is that it can work on a vehicle where there is no practical way to mount it on a metal surface. You may want to search for "No Ground-Plane" antennas if you want more options.

I like Andersons because they're easy to use, they're secure, and idiot-resistant. However, there is a school of thought that even though they are "self-cleaning", meaning every time you disconnect and connect them, the contacts are scraped, if you will, and kept clean, the contacts can corrode ever-so-slightly over time and present resistance in the circuit if they are not periodically disconnected and reconnected. While I've never had this issue, it's something to think about if you're planning to use them as permanent connections, especially in a mobile environment. You really can't beat wiring straight to the battery with the proper fuses and the factory T-connector. I've also had problems with the cigarette lighter plug popping out. I only use that as a last resort. Like powering an HT with a battery eliminator.

Wait. What?

Yes, quarter-wave ground plane antennas work really well. I've built and bought several of them for 2-meter amateur radio use. The ones like yours that I've seen on Ebay have stiff straight radials bent down 45°. Are the ones you have drooping because they're flexible, or are they bent in a curve like that?

The only time you would need to test is for amateur radio. The GMRS license is pay-and-play. $35 for ten years. No test, and pinky swear that you'll go by the rules. Also, amateur radio can't be used for business.

Can you tell us what kind of range you need? Your choices for non-licensed radios are limited to just a couple of watts, so you may have issues with range due to terrain and foliage. GMRS may give you more range because you would be allowed higher power, but each user would need a license. FRS is the Family Radio Service, limited to 2 watts, mostly handheld radios. No license required. MURS is the Multi Use Radio Service, limited also to 2 watts, mostly handheld radios. No license required. GMRS is the General Mobile Radio Service, which allows up to 50 watts, and uses both handhelds (5 watts) and mobile radios. Individual license is required.

Unfortunately there is no "What to expect from GMRS" introductory section on MyGMRS. It would outline the basic uses for GMRS, what it's for, what it's really not for, and how to make it work for you. Its been said here many times. It's more of a tool for short-range communications among friends, family, groups of like-minded folks out on the trail, camping, hunting, that kind of thing. Repeaters extend the range, but they're not social clubs like they are in amateur radio.

Every repeater has a cast of characters. They're like bad sitcoms. Some asshat put in a repeater in the last few days that's on the same frequency pair as an established high-level repeater here in southern California. Last night two guys went on for at least an hour with nothing but F-bombs about their phenomenal MMA skills and how Tyson will get his butt kicked against McGregor. All this chit-chat drowned out the net taking place on the other repeater. You never know what kind of mayhem will occur on a repeater.

Base: MARS/CAP-modded Yaesu FTM-7250, RG-8X coax into a Jetstream JTM3B dual-band antenna on a 24-foot window washing extension pole. Can't leave it up because of the condo HOA so it's only set up when I operate. Handheld: MARS/CAP-modded Yaesu FT-70. Mobile: Handheld mentioned above with a Rugged Radios Point 5 antenna on the roof and a few feet of RG-58.

Two can be as bad as one. It's the loneliest number since the number one.

I can't believe I'm defending this guy, but his questions are fair questions, and certainly not dumb. Why no UHF NOAA channels? For a variety of reasons, such as the reduced range of UHF over VHF, meaning more transmitters might be needed, costly infrastructure for new UHF transmitting equipment, no demand, and a variety of other reasons already put forth in this thread. Can we get the FCC and NOAA to add UHF weather channels? Probably not, because of the cost, complexity, bandwidth, and equipment required, among probably many other reasons, but if you feel strongly enough about it, contact them. What can they say? Yes, no, or maybe. Or maybe they won't respond at all. Like a boss of mine once said, if you don't ask, it's an automatic no.