n4gix

Regarding the IC7300, I've owned one for the past two years. Recently I bought a Xeigu G90 and much to my astonishment it actually sounds better than the IC7300! Granted, it is only a 20 watt radio, but on the same antenna as the IC7300 I've made contacts and switched between 20 watts and 100 watts. Everyone I contacted could not tell the difference between the two radios. $498 versus ~$1000... sheesh! That's not to say the IC7300 is a dog, as it certainly is not.

For my home use I have two 32' fiberglass (8x4' sections) that I've hung a G5RV-Junior (52' length). My lot is only 100' deep, so there's no way to use a full size G5RV darn it. But all things considered it works extremely well here in NW Indiana. For field use I have two of the MFJ 8' tripods, and two 50' telescoping fiberglass masts, similar to what you showed with the compression clamps. I hang a full-sized G5RV on it. It works great! I also have a Wolf River Coils TIA (Take It Along) for rapid deployment. The long telescoping antenna sucks wind though since the 3/8th" stud is only crimped in one place and it loosened up after a single use. As a result it wobbles and is loose electrically... I also wasted a great deal of money on a Buddipole Deluxe which has not proven to be all that terrific an antenna despite all the good press it has received.

Not programmable, no repeater operation. Fail.

Not to nit-pick Marc, but how is it possible to be a "high speed escort" with both headlights and engine OFF?

I'd dearly love to have that OCF antenna instead of my G5RV-Jr "compromise" antenna, which is 52' long, 40-6m and resonant on no particular band at all... In fact, it says a lot about its efficiency when it takes around six to ten seconds for my IT-100 "Autotuner" to find minimum SWR...

I'd be willing to suggest that not one bit of that "junk" even worked!

I'm familiar with the term, having cut my teeth back in the dark ages in IT (1960 to present).

For the record, a programming cable for the Bao Feng UV-5R will work just fine. Be sure to get one with FTDI however, as the cheap knockoffs may not work at all.

Likely about the same as it is up in the far north Randy!

You must not have used Chirp in awhile! Every time you start it you'll get a reminder that a newer version is available...

Randy most surely knows the history of GMRS! After all, the very first personal use repeater in the US was his... Source: https://nsea.com/nseainfo.htm

I'm not aware of any "bubble pack radios" that can use a repeater. I suggest a WLN KD-C1 radio available at Amazon for $15.99 and free shipping. It is a tiny 16 channel, 4 watt HT, programmable with Chirp and a programming cable.

Not quite. You can transmit through the repeater, but you will hear everyone on the receiver, whether they are going through the repeater or just talking direct simplex!

There are 1659 repeaters listed at myGMRS.com and assuming that 20% are inactive and or otherwise not on line, that still leaves 1328 repeaters. How many of those are WB versus NB? I would submit that most of them are surplus WB "legacy" repeaters. Many owners have a ton of money invested in them, so if GMRS were required to go NB only, I'd bet that many of them would simply pull the plug, thus impoverishing the utility of the service.

Well hello Randy! Fancy seeing you here.

I have four of these that are very inexpensive, 16 channels, chirp programmable, and shirt pocket sized. Amazon: Price: $15.99 Prime & FREE Returns Comes with wall wart charger, and very long life LiPO battery. If one gets lost or broken, you aren't out very much!

What a very nice tribute to your former Elmer!

Keep in mind that among the TK880 series, only the -1 has Part 95 certification.

Because it would then become a $400 dollar radio!

ALL frequencies not covered by your license are "listen only..." Transmitting on those frequencies will only lead to a whole lot of legal hurt. Don't do it!

If you wish to put up a repeater, keep in mind that location and height is king. Getting the height (180' minimum for decent coverage) isn't cheap - even if you can find such a unicorn at all... Several years ago I had invested in an off-the-shelf repeater (Bridgecom). I should have checked out possible locations first though. The least expensive I could find was a 332' tower about fifteen miles across the Indiana/Illinois border at "only" $1/foot. The only spot open was at the very top for a bargain cost of $332/month. Ouch! On the other hand a friend of mine has a lovely setup at his mobile home park (he's the owner!) on a 185' tower he erected himself. His repeater has about a 30 mile footprint for mobiles, about 15 miles for HTs.

I've had the Comet CA-712EFC up 42' on a roof tripod now for almost three years. It works wonderfully. If I had it to do again I'd have made a cheaper choice for feed line. I now believe that I went just a bit overboard by using 7/8" Andrews heliax...

If you think that $99 tool is expensive, check out the price for a stripping/prep tool for 1/2" heliax. I got 640' of Andrews FSJ4-50B for free a few months ago. It's just sitting my garage waiting for nicer weather... CommScope Automated Tool for FSJ4-50B - $153.42 (includes shipping) https://www.amazon.com/CommScope-Automated-Tool-for-FSJ4-50B/dp/B007JSCJ1E/ref=sr_1_22?dchild=1&keywords=stripping+tool+1%2F2%22+heliax&qid=1586803654&sr=8-22 EDIT: I just ordered it since I just noticed that I had a $25 worth of rewards points on my Amazon Visa card...

And... as of today that 'ad' is 404'd...

GMRS repeater input frequencies are always 5.000 MHz higher than the receive frequency: 462.xxx receive; 467.xxx transmit.