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SS benefits are non-taxable at all if it is one's only source of income for any year. If 50% of one's SS plus the gross amount of taxable income earned for any year is LESS THAN the Base Amount for one's filing status then SS is non-taxable. Legally I'm not even required to file a tax return at all. ? I'm so poor I can't even afford to pay attention!

Of course you do know that cell service mostly follows paved roads. Why would any company put up expensive cell towers on dirt roads out in the middle of nowhere? ?

Note also that listing is not completely accurate, as the offset is NOT +0.6 mHz but rather is +5.0 mHz...

Of course not! If it were, cats would have already pushed everything off of the edges of the Earth! ?

See my previous reply...

At what age is Social Security not taxable? At 65 to 67, depending on the year of your birth, you are at full retirement age and can get full Social Security retirement benefits tax-free. That is directly from the IRS FAQ. I'm 73 now, so... ?

Hmm... This is likely to present a problem for me as I work part time on-line gig with a firm in Canada creating 3d CAD models of aircraft, as well as programming avionics training packages under US Gov contract for our armed forces. For the past ten years I've been paid monthly via PayPal. My only other 'income' is my very modest SS check each month. SS is of course non-taxable, but my yearly pittance of $11,400 has so far been below the taxable level. I wonder now how this might affect me next year, if at all.

Absolutely bang on! This is a prime example of the differences between a "ham listener" and an "active ham..." Over the years I've heard hams whine that "the bands are dead," yet when I ask them how much time they invest in calling CQ they nearly always answer "What's the point? I never hear anyone talking. The bands are dead!!!" <Sigh>

That reminds me, I need to get off my duff and upgrade to Extra before the fee goes active! ?

That is something I feel is most critical. Do not under any circumstances wait for an SHTF event to try to learn. That will only wind up being very disappointing! GMRS for the family is the best way to learn how to use the radios. I have a half-dozen 5 watt UHF HTs that I can loan out to anyone needing a radio. With 16 channels, and the frequency range they can be programmed for either GMRS and/or ham 70cm usage. At <$20 each they are literally "cheap as chips." In any SHTF situation, they are ideal for emergency use, and at half-the size of a pack of cigarettes the slip in a shirt pocket easily.

Well, not knowing the gear I own (and didn't mention) I can understand the skepticism. The spectrum analyzers on my bench were calibrated about three months ago, and I have a 10MHz Rubidium standard driving all three of them. My favorite is my IFR/Aeroflex 1200S Super. The other two are a CT Systems 3000B and a Shenzhen AT-5011. All three have tracking generators. I used my XPR5550 and XPR7550 as "benchmarks" and any of my Chinese/Malaysian/Japanese made radios that generated spurs were taken out of service. The only ones that failed were several early release UV-5Rs, and a TYT MD-2017.

Well, not knowing the gear I own (and didn't mention) I can understand the skepticism. The spectrum analyzers on my bench were calibrated about three months ago, and I have a 10MHz Rubidium standard driving all three of them. My favorite is my IFR/Aeroflex 1200S Super. The other two are a CT Systems 3000B and a Shenzhen AT-5011. All three have tracking generators. I used my XPR5550 and XPR7550 as "benchmarks" and any of my Chinese/Malaysian/Japanese made radios that generated spurs were taken out of service. The only ones that failed were several early release UV-5Rs, and a TYT MD-2017.

Honestly I don't think "we" will ever achieve a real concensus, but it's been a fun discussion! ?

Well I'll be darned, that Wikipedia article lists "Chanel 20" as: (7) National GMRS calling channel (CTCSS tone 141.3 Hz). How about that? ?

Well I'll be darned, that Wikipedia article lists "Chanel 20" as: (7) National GMRS calling channel (CTCSS tone 141.3 Hz). How about that? ?

+Kudos for gettting the word "maths" correct!

I've always heard that you'd get hair on the palms of your hand... ?

Well, I happen to be one of the "old fossils" and have no idea what frequency "Channel 19" (Midland's scheme) is, so I have to look it up? How is that any more convenient than the obverse? Aside from the fact that not all manufacturer's of GMRS equipment have a common channel number scheme, it remains true that the vast majority of GMRS operators are using re-purposed, non-channelized equipment, and that will likely remain true for the next decade or thereabouts. ?

No one? Obviously everyone on this website is licensed!

I'm so old-fashioned that I still call it cycles! Rhetorical question of the day; would Hertz sue me for trademark infringement if I started a car rental and named it "Hurts Rent-a-Car?" ?

I've examined all of my gear with the three spectrum analyzers I own, and they are all clean as a whistle.

There is one, and only one reason why I work exclusively with a Windows operating system. None of the professional software I use will run on anything other than a Windows PC.

Best of all, BTWR doesn't pester you with an email every doggone day, unlike Bridgecom!

The 10m portion of the TYT TH-9800 Plus(+) is useless for Tech since their only portion of the band is SSB only. The allocation for Technicians is pretty small anyway: 28.300 - 28.500. It's really only useful for General, Advanced, and Extra hams. However, the TYT TH-9800 Plus(+) is still a very nice radio for the money on the other 3 bands.

GMRS "frequency" listing has been the standard for over 50 years Channel numbers, only a few years, and still not standardized That is why.