WRQC527

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.

Fun fact. At least two commercial AM radio stations here in southern California, KNX 1070 and KFI 640, simulcast on UHF FM narrowband, 450.700 and 450.725 respectively. I'm listening to KNX right now and it sounds so much better on UHF FM than it does on AM. Mayhaps there is a similar setup in Phoenix. It's not NOAA, but they do have news and weather. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the FCC to allocate eight UHF frequencies for NOAA.

I hate to sound like a broken record, because this is common advice on every site, but the first thing you need to do is read the manual. There will be instructions on how to set up your radio to access (not connect to) repeaters. Take the information about the repeater that you gleaned from the MyGMRS database, such as the CTCSS tones and repeater frequencies, and go step-by-step through the instructions. Also, there are pantloads of videos that show how to do this. Trying to follow anyone's instructions here may only frustrate you, because they may be rewriting and overcomplicating the instruction manual you already have. Specifically which Rugged Radios handheld do you have? Some of them are (or at least used to be) relabeled Baofengs at three times the price.

Funny you should mention that. Amateur radio contests are hotbeds of signal report lies. Some guy 5,000 miles away will give everyone a 5-9 signal report even though he can barely hear them because it's easier and faster and all he's trying to do is accumulate points. I would rather have an honest signal report so I can adjust my setup accordingly. And for what it's worth, signal reports in the RST system (readability, signal strength, tone) are not only discouraged on GMRS, they are also discouraged on amateur radio repeaters.

By the way, there is no "GMRS vernacular".

Mercy sakes there good buddy, you're wall-to-wall and treetop tall.

203.5

My UV-82s frustrated me. The dual-PTT is nothing but a gimmick, there are no decent dual-PTT speaker microphones, and the jack cover sticks out too far and eventually breaks off. They don't have the sensitivity of my Yaesus. They also don't receive air band, which isn't a deal breaker. They're really nothing but UV-5Rs with a dual PTT, so they have all the same quirks. On the plus side, the battery life is better than any of my Yaesus, and they're cheap. Amazon isn't always the cheapest place to buy radios. As of today, the FT-65 is around $100 some places. For that $100, you get a durable radio with a clean signal, more features available from the keypad, better all-around performance, and thesimple MARS/CAP capability if you need it. I wouldn't say it's a five-times better radio than the UV-82 as the price would lead one to believe, but it is better in a lot of ways.

Well that escalated quickly.

From Wikipedia, the sum of all human knowledge: "Numerous names for a male equivalent of Karen have been floated, with little agreement on a single name. Richard is the most popular male equivalent because of its vulgar nickname."

Behave yourself with it.

Not so sure about the "live in the same state" thing. You would need to point out that nuance in the rules, but the actual rule that says who can operate under a licensee's license appears to apply to folks using the licensee's station(s). Not their stations. So basically if your family member lives in Flagstaff and you're in Avondale, and they go out and buy themselves a GMRS radio and start transmitting under your license just because they're your kin, well I'm not sure that exactly qualifies. If they come to your house and you hand them one of your radios for the day, different story. I'll let others pontificate on this, but that's how it appears to me. It says: "Any individual who holds an individual license may allow his or her immediate family members to operate his or her GMRS station or stations. Immediate family members are the licensee's spouse, children, grandchildren, stepchildren, parents, grandparents, stepparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and in-laws." Also, while it is true that it is unlikely the FCC will ever prosecute someone for violating any of Part 95 unless you're doing something really stupid and angering a lot of people, I wouldn't be taking any legal advice from any influencer.

It's possible, but it also might just be a quirk with your HT.

Are the people you are talking to letting the repeater drop before they talk? Are they leaving any space between your last word and their first word?

I would hesitate to say the rules make zero sense. Most of them make a lot of sense. The FCC has the daunting task of allocating a finite RF spectrum across an ever-growing array of multiple entities, from government all the way to personal users, including military, medical, commercial, broadcast radio and TV, amateur radio, railroads, aircraft, anything that uses RF to communicate. GMRS and FRS is a tiny portion of that. One of the gray areas of the GMRS and FRS rules is channels 8-14, because logically-speaking, the narrowband and half-watt restrictions make them effectively FRS-radio-only channels unless you have a GMRS radio that will transmit on a half a watt narrowband. So go ahead, use a half a watt narrowband on channels 8-14 with your GMRS radio and don't ID. The catch there is that I don't think you have an FCC-certified radio that will transmit on a half a watt narrowband. The FCC discontinued certifying combination GMRS/FRS radios about seven years ago. I don't claim to have the specifications on every GMRS-certified radio on the market, so it's up to you to find an FCC-certified GMRS radio that will do a half a watt narrowband. That being said, your unlocked FT-65 might be able to do it. And since you've made it clear that you would rather not get caught up in the rules, you're free to talk to your sovereign citizen friends on a half a watt on whatever radio suits your fancy.

The deal is, while FRS does not require a license like amateur radio or GMRS, it is a "license by rule" service like CB, MURS, and other low-power services. It means that by using those services, you are promising to follow the rules. Which, again, are clearly set forth in the FCC link that was provided to you.

Wrong. FRS and GMRS channels are shared. All of them. The difference is bandwidth and power. If you are on a GMRS radio that is putting out five watts wideband, you are exceeding the watt limit and bandwidth of FRS, therefore you are operating as a GMRS license holder and you need to identify with your call sign. In their infinite wisdom, the FCC limits channels 8-14 to 1/2 watt and narrowband regardless of if it's an FRS or GMRS radio, which is why some GMRS radios cannot transmit on those channels. And not to put too fine a point on all this, but every question you have can be answered by thoroughly reading and understanding the information provided here by the FCC. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-95

No. FRS is a license-free service and FRS radios are limited to narrow band and either 2 watts or 1/2 watt depending on what frequency.