dosw

Strange thing: I turned on my UV5G with a 701G antenna on it and didn't pick up NOAA1 (I always pick it up), so I switched to the wider-band stock antenna, and still didn't pick up any of the NOAA frequencies. So I tuned my RTL-SDR to NOAA, and also didn't pick it up (using a Comet CA2x4SR). So at the moment, for the first time I've ever noticed, the local NOAA is offline possibly. You can check https://www.weather.gov/nwr/outages But there's no outage shown in my area. As for whether it should be able to be picked up with a UHF only antenna, that really depends on distance / signal quality. I have a GMRS-only antenna (tuned to 460-470) that doesn't pick up NOAA from my home. Other antennas do. It's possible that the bullbar antenna he's using just won't pick up VHF well enough for his area. (Update:) And a few minutes later NOAA came back up in my area.

Wishing the queen would decree that 9 is the official "kids playing walkie talkie" channel so that we could all get behind being irritated that nobody who hands toddlers a pair of radios to play with knows about the decree.

How is the antenna working out now then? I have that one that I use once in awhile. It's not my best antenna, but it's definitely my best shorter antenna (compared to my other short antenna, the MXTA25). To get any better you have to go longer.

Some sort of digital transmission that goes on hour after hour on GMRS 19 / 462.650. It's faint enough that my radios only pick it up if I have a good antenna hooked up, but strong enough that with a good antenna, even with squelch set rather high, the channel isn't terribly useful. audio_462650000Hz_12-48-09_27-07-2024.wav

That may be, but it's not illegal to use the same antenna. Antenna to diplexer to VHF and GMRS, separate radios.

I have that same antenna. it's alright. If you're looking for a 3dbi antenna it's a solid performer. If you take it off-road you might want to look for one with a spring instead, though. A 5dbi or 6dbi antenna would get you a little more range, though it would be a lot taller. For mounts you can buy any NMO mount that fits your application. Through the roof, lip mount, magnetic mount, mirror bracket, there are a lot of options. Middle of the roof will get you the best performance, so that would be a through-the-roof hole or magnetic. Midland sells double sided stickers in case you wanted to make a magnetic mount more permanent.

Of course all this is documented..... https://chirpmyradio.com/projects/chirp/wiki/MemoryEditorColumns

But I don't think the 771g is dual band. There are three versions of the 771. 771R retractable, designed for 144MHz and 430MHz (Amateur) 771 flexible whip, designed for 144MHz and 430MHz (Amateur) 771G flexible whip, designed for 462MHz (GMRS). It's a little hard to find higher gain handheld antennas for 144/440/465. As I mentioned in another post, if you are able to use a mobile antenna (with proper adapters), for example if you're at your vehicle, the Comet CA2X4SR is made for VHF amateur, VHF Murs, VHF Marine, UHF amateur, UHF GMRS, and other search and rescue frequencies in the vicinity. Great antenna for that purpose. I have one on the boat, along with a diplexer to feed a Marine VHF radio, and a GMRS radio. And I have one with my SDR dongles hooked up to it because it receives so well across such a broad spectrum of VHF and UHF.

I can confirm this. My Midland MXT275 isn't even all that new. It's the USB-C version, but I bought it sometime in late 2021 or early 2022, I think. I've looked at the spectrum with SDR++ using an RTL-SDR BLOG v4, and it appears wider when I watch the repeater input frequencies while transmitting on 15R-22R than when transmitting on 1-7 or 15-22. Additionally when I receive a signal on 15R-22R it is a little quieter than when receiving on 15-22, which is another phenomenon that can be explained by a switch in RX bandwidth. It was a PITA to test. Had to drive far enough away to avoid loading up the SDR's inputs. And I had to do it twice since repeater inputs are 5MHz above outputs, and the SDR's bandwidth is 2.4MHz.

I wasn't quite sure which category to post this in. I obtained a pair of RTL-SDR BLOG v4 software defined radio dongles. And I've spent some time playing with one of them today. It's actually pretty fun tinkering with them. And I've already learned a lot about how to configure SDR++ (aka sdrpp). One thing I haven't figured out yet: It is possible to set up dual virtual radios that can be tuned to different frequencies within the same sampling range (2.4-3.2mhz) but I think it's possible to set up two of the SDR radios at once so that multiple VFO selections can be made within separate sampling ranges. So that's the question: How do you get SDR++ to provide access to two software defined radios at the same time. Also, has anyone used one of these as a scanner? What software do you prefer for scanning? A reason for having dual SDR dongles is to be able to set up trunk tracking, but as I'm only a day in with these I'm still learning where to start.

I also find it hard to believe anyone would be terribly successful getting help in an SHTF situation if they're barging into an Amateur frequency with attitude and no license, having already been kicked out of a local GMRS group for showing attitude and disdain for the process. There's some crossover, and long memories between GMRS users and hams. Go into a GMRS group and treat people such that they kick you out, then find yourself in an "emergency" and key up on a ham repeater. Great plan.

Wouxun KG-XS20G. It may be a little more elaborate to set up than the Wouxun KG905G, but you can review the manual online and see if it will fit your needs. And it's $199, so it fits under your $200 threshold. It's a 20w radio. I have an Retevis RA87 40w radio. It's not what I would call simple, but only because the manual is written in a version of English that doesn't exist outside of China. Once you configure it with CHIRP, it's all set and good to go. And you can get it for under $160 if you do a little searching. You will still need an antenna and antenna mount. Staying under $200 with a decent antenna may be a bit of a challenge. There's also the Midland MXT275, which comes with an antenna, though a tiny one. That bundle is $169 on Amazon. It's a 15w radio. But here's where it may fall short of your needs: Yes, it can do repeaters. However, you get only one repeater per frequency. You get one repeater on channel 15R, one on 16R, and so on. So if you happen to have two repeaters you like to hit on 462.7000, you'll have to pick one and go with it. To use the other one, you'll need to reconfigure the radio's tone on that channel. However, the radio is otherwise extremely simple to use, and works quite well. It was my primary mobile radio for a couple of years.

For mobile consider the Comet CA2X4SR. It handles GMRS, 70cm, MURS, Marine VHF, and 2m. And it will listen to a much broader range than that. I've worked a repeater 63 miles away with less than 4w from a handheld with an adapter, with that antenna. Ideal conditions, to be sure. But it's anecdotal evidence that antenna is capable. I'm not really invested in the licensing rant, though.

Holy cow, that's amazing. I would have expected point of the mountain to get in the way.

Within CHIRP: Tone means you transmit with the repeater's PL/CTCSS tone, which you must do for the repeater to listen to you. TSQL means you transmit with that tone, AND only listen if the repeater is transmitting that tone, too. With "tone" the repeater will hear you, and you will hear the repeater plus anyone else transmitting on that channel: Kids playing walkie talkie, road crews, whatever is being transmitted on that channel. With "TSQL" the repeater will hear you, and you will hear the repeater. You won't hear everyone else who happens to be intermittently using that frequency. For getting things set up the first time as a newbie, "tone" leaves one less possible problem in hearing the repeater. Once you've gotten set up and made contact once to confirm you have the right tone, switch to TSQL so you don't hear unwanted chatter.

By way of an update, I just repeated the test from a slightly different location, 200ft lower, 1 mile west. But this time I used a Baofeng UV-5G connected to a magnetic mount, attached to a window air conditioner, and using a Comet CA2X4SRNMO antenna. This radio puts out 3.5w to 4w depending on its mood. My SWR with this antenna in its current mounting configuration is around 1.1:1, so very good. I tested against the Ogden repeater, which is about 43.3 miles from this location. This time I didn't get through, or at least didn't get a response. I might try again later, because ..... Then I tried against the Promontory repeater, which is 63.7 miles from my current location. With a handheld Baofeng UV-5G and a Comet CA2X4SR antenna, I got a signal report back that claimed "Clear, very little static, audio just a little low, but sounds good." I never really expected to reach the Promontory repeater at over 63 miles with a handheld, regardless of whether I had a good antenna connected to it, but to my surprise I got through fairly well. Failing to hit the Ogden repeater may be because my elevation is a couple hundred feet lower, and and the Ensign Peak area could be interfering from this elevation. Or it could be that I have more tree interference from this location. Anyway, one more proof that you don't necessarily need a lot of wattage to reach out over a great distance. You need a good antenna and pretty good line of sight. 63.7 miles at 3.5-4w with an external antenna mounted on a window air conditioner. It shouldn't be surprising that I was also able to hit the Ensign Peak Capitol repeater, at 15.6 miles:

That antenna has ground plane radials. The dish *could* be interacting in some way... well, not could, is. But it's hard to know what the net effect is. The biggest issue would be that coax. It's 75ohm, and very lossy. Probably RG6 or RG59. And given its age, could even have UV and water deterioration. Just moving the cable a little could change its attenuation a lot. Until you're running reasonable cable it's pretty hard to proceed to the next step of fine tuning the antenna placement.

From your position, you probably can see down into Utah County better than I can. Point of the Mountain is a big obstruction for me, to the south.

Trees absorb UHF radio waves, so do plan on losing some range, possibly a lot of range in areas with dense foliage. There's not that much to learn before you push to talk. If you have someone to talk to, pick a channel, optionally set a tone, and start talking. Identify with your call sign in your first transmission and every fifteen minutes of chatter after that. If you're using a repeater you will program the frequency and the correct tone, and then listen for awhile to understand how that repeater is used. When there's a break in the chatter you can ask for a signal report. Identify as before, and it's customary to sign out with <call sign> clear. The rest you can learn as you go.

Currently nobody's going to accuse me of spending $500 on a radio (though I've probably spent that much on various antennas). I have an RA87 ($155, on sale), an MXT275 ($179 on sale), two Baofeng UV5Gs, and two Midland GXT1000s. Next I'd probably get a TYT TH-9800 Plus since I think I'm ready to test for my Tech license. Overall I've spent less than $1000 on GMRS, including antennas, radios, coax, mounts, SWR meter, connectors, and license.

Last night I hit a couple of repeaters in testing one of my radios. The first one is 43.6 miles from where I was located, on Mount Ogden Peak. The report was that I was coming in strong and clear. One person said "You must be pushing some power. What are you using?" But honestly I've hit the same repeater with a handheld Baofeng, using a good external antenna. Of course with that radio the signal report was much less impressive. On that first one, I think it's pretty clear that I'm mostly lucky to be able to get through; the mountains between where I was and Mount Ogden are not mere foothills, they're the Wasatch Front range. My signal must just be skirting along the west edge of the range, luckily finding its way to Mt Ogden. But communications was very clear; didn't hear any ghosting or skip interference. The second one is on a mountain on Promontory Point, in the north arm of the Great Salt Lake. The distance covered is 64.5 miles. For that second report, the person at the other end stated "You're coming in strong. Full quieting, no steam under you. It sounds nice." I've hit that same repeater a little further to the west, where Antelope Island is certainly in the path, but still got through with an easy to understand, slight static report. That Promontory repeater is really perfectly placed for my signal to not need to find its way over any mountains until it gets to within a few miles of the point. My strongest radio, the one I used in this test, is in my old Bronco; my camping / skiing / outdoorsing vehicle. It's the Retevis RA87, 40w GMRS radio, and it's feeding an MXTA26 antenna on a lip mount. Often a lip mount presents a bit of a compromise since it is usually used at the edge of a vehicle, with barely any ground plane on one side. I get lucky with the Bronco because it has a large cowling aft of the hood. Pictures of the install are attached. The wire coming across the top of the radio is just the data cable. And the device above the radio is a brake controller for when I tow a small RV. I've measured the amount of metal below my antenna, and the minimum is about seven inches. In my case that seems to be sufficient to get a good signal all around. I've tested simplex at 15-19 miles, with the vehicle in various orientations and haven't been able to hear any difference. Ideally the antenna would be on the roof, but I sometimes park the vehicle in the garage, and the antenna would be too tall that way. Nevertheless, I'm pretty happy with 64 miles, although, from the pictures, you can see why it's possible; a straight shot from 5200 feet to 6500 feet, with a valley floor at 4200-4800 feet, between. What interesting propagation have you been able to achieve?

And along with what type of antenna are you using, is what are its ground plane needs, and what is your ground plane?

The Retevis RA87 40w radio is listed at -32% $155.99. But that's approximately what I paid for mine, so maybe not much better than would be typically available.

UV5G Plus bundle is 25% off, including cable, two antennas for each radio, two radios. 51.99, so you're paying less than 26 per radio, two charging cords, two 771 style antennas, two 701 style antennas, two earpieces, one data cable, and of course the batteries.

Thanks. Good information. I'm using a Retevis 40w RA87 radio, and an MXTA26 antenna, most of the time. My SWR readings are very good. And people say I sound loud and clear hitting several repeaters. I just like tweaking things to see where I can make additional improvements. That's all. Thanks again.