WRQC527

What radio are you using? What is your antenna setup? How is your radio connected to the power source? Does the static get worse when you are moving? What model / year of Jeep? There are a lot of variables and causes for what you are describing. The more information you provide, the more we can help.

I have that same style of microphone on a Juentai JT-6188 (a no-longer-marketed clone of the QYT KT-8900). I took it apart to do some mods to get better audio. I didn't see the metal tang on the hanger screw. Mayhaps their microphone suppliers aren't very consistent and some microphones have it, some don't. With so many clones and knock-offs of radios and microphones, it's hard to know what you're getting. Plus, with all the plastic in cars, the odds of screwing into metal are diminishing. Which means maybe some folks might not have that type of microphone, or they do and they don't know it.

I put in another question to them to ask them what frequencies and radios they use / rent. I'll post it here.

Yep, both prices ($7 and $15) are on their website.

Response from MERUS: "You do not need a license to communicate over GMRS at MERUS. This is just used as emergency communications while in the park. You can wheel on any radio you would like. But you must carry or rent a GMRS to be able to contact the office while at MERUS." Well OK then. Let the debate begin. Or not.

Just for kicks, I asked them. I'll see what they say.

Very interesting! It makes a lot of sense, and could save people a lot of heartache. I wonder how they handle licensing? (Serious question. Legally speaking, you can't just hand someone a radio for a licensed service and say have fun.)

I'm going to take a guess here that the microphone for this radio is a clone of a for-reals Kenwood microphone, since it looks identical. I had a comercial Kenwood TK-something-or-other that had the same feature. When you hang up the microphone on a grounded clip it trips a scan circuit. Most likely, Btech has no such circuit, and for that matter they're not even expecting anyone to screw that clip into anything metal. Or some manufacturer is just cloning that microphone with zero regard to what that extra wire even does.

You're absolutely right. And after reading this apparently endless thread and many just like it, this famous quote comes to mind. “I’ve made up my mind. Don’t confuse me with facts.”

My dog wasn't broken but we fixed him anyway. That's the old saying. "If it ain't broke, fix it til it is."

Nice. I'm 5 states away from working all 50 states. I've also contacted Japan, Australia, South America, eastern Europe, Canada and Mexico. Not nearly as many countries as you, but I'll get there. I've only been doing HF for a couple years.

A few things to check. Make sure your transmit CTCSS tone is correct. Make sure that if that repeater transmits a tone, your radio receive tone is set correctly, or turn off the receive tone setting. Make sure you are in a place where you can actually hit the repeater. Sometimes from inside a building or car, or if there are obstructions between you and the repeater, your signal simply can't get out. Let us know how it goes.

They're in the VHF spectrum. 162.400, 162.425, 162.450, 162.475, 162.500, 162.525, 162.550. Depending on your radio, you *might* be able to access them. The famous Baofeng UV5R, for example, can receive both UHF and VHF frequencies and can be programmed with those frequencies.

In addition to what Lscott presented, remember that a GMRS license enables you to talk like a normal person on a normal radio. No CB jargon, no fancy ham radio lingo, no codes, nothing. ID when you're supposed to, be polite, wait your turn, that kind of thing. Talk to people like you would talk on the phone or in person. Don't overthink it. There are endless threads here where people fall down rabbit holes overanalyzing no end of minutia.

This isn't much of an argument. Wait until you see six pages of debate about an obscure FCC rule. Now THAT'S an argument.

Where are you, what kind of radio do you have, where is the repeater? The more information you give us, the more we can help.

Lol probably not.

21 exclamation points. I believe that's a record. Along with a thread that has generated six pages of responses over 150 days. Wow. Just wow.

"Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you do criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes." ~Unknown (by me, anyway)

"It's easy to become confused by these questions. It's hard to know what to do. We should talk about this some more." ~Chief Ten Bears

There's a guy here in SoCal who lives on a boat and uses the same worn-out line every time he gets on, often multiple times a day. He asks for a radio check, and as soon as some poor sap responds, this guy says "I was doing some work on my antenna and I want to see how it's working." Seriously, how much work, and how often, does a two-meter quarter-wave antenna take to keep on the air?

Amen.

I think it's very possible.

Calling CQ in ham parlance doesn't really apply in all circumstances. Calling CQ on a ham repeater, for example, is bad form. As it would be on a GMRS repeater. Also, being "online" is kinda reserved for if you're really online, like I am as I type this. BoxCar and Sshannon have it right. OffroaderX too. GMRS is a very conversational form of radio communication. No codes, no jargon, just stuff like WRQC527 mobile. Or WRQC527 monitoring. Or WRQC527 can I get a signal report. Or something equally conversational. (I hesitate to ask for a radio check, that's how you pay for radios, and every time I ask, my wife says no, find a cheaper hobby). And while we're on the subject of asking for signal reports, or even finding someone else to play with, unless you have someone else who you know is listening, it's probably best to do it on a repeater, because it's more likely someone will hear you than if you call out on one of the simplex channels where no one may be listening.

Dang I was hoping there was a double-secret little-known second GMRS band that only a select few folks had access to with highly-specialized highly-technical dual-band radio equipment like the UV-9G! My bubble is now burst. Bursted? Kinda reminds me of when General Motors stuck a Cimarron sticker on a Cavalier and called it a Cadillac.