n4gix

As an alternative to the MD-2017 (which I own), you might consider the GD-77 from Radioddity. At $88 for a dual-band DMR/Analog HT it is a very good value, and does not have that silly trackball... Unlike some other Chinese vendors, Radioddity is actively working on adding new features to the firmware, as well as improving the CPS. They are very proactive to consumer suggestions as well. One of the 'native' features is the "Promiscuous Mode", which allows you to create a new frequency pair, and receive any and all of the Talk Groups offered. This without the need to know the Color Code, and is Time Slot agnostic as well. On the other hand, Contacts are limited to 256, and Channels are limited to 1025... If anyone had told me as little as a year ago that I'd be able to buy such an HT for under $100 I'd have laughed in their face!

Unless it was changed when I blinked, the last rules specifically disallowed digital modes on GMRS.

The $70/5 year license fee takes affect today as well. This was discussed at our NSEA club meeting this evening.

Take some cash. Everyone accepts cash! Some do take Debit/Credit cards or PayPal, but I certainly wouldn't count on that unless it is one of the major hamfests where 'professional vendors' come.

Well, a five watt portable will easily outperform a 500 mW bubble pack radio.

Well, if the braided shield isn't separated from the center conductor, they the two halves of the dipole would effectively cancel each other out. Worse though would be a situation where there is no load on the transmitter, which at worst could cause severe damage, and at best would mean zero signal going out... I have no idea when the sales price of the MD-2017 from R&L will change. Whether it is merely an introductory offer or their regular price they haven't said.

Yes! The center conductor becomes the "radiating element" and the folded-back braid becomes the "counterpoise" for this simple vertical dipole antenna. Watch this video: https://youtu.be/N-rUeIMYXbg?t=2m58s

They make quite excellent quarter wave "emergency" antennas. They can roll up compactly and fit into a "Go Bag" for rapid deployment in the field.

Many repeater owner's have professional on-air "voices" produce their various ID's and other announcement recordings.

They can not list their actual selling price on their web page listing. However, here is what I received back when I placed my order:

FWIW, R&L Electronics in Hamilton, Ohio were selling the MD-2017 for a rediculously low $149 as of the past few weeks. http://www.randl.com/shop/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=127&products_id=73668

I have no basis for a comparison. I returned my MD-2017 to the vendor because it appeared to have a problem of not reliably connecting with two local repeaters less than 2 air miles from me with antennas at 520'... However, it turns out that there was a bug in the Import feature of the MD-2017 software such that when importing an existing MD-380 code plug, the DCDM switch was enabled in the import table. However, when populating the Channel information, the DCDM Switch displayed "greyed out" - hence inactivated - when in fact it was activated. Since neither the 2m or 70cm repeaters are "Dual Capacity", the end result was that obtaining a "Connect" was a total crapshoot! Most often one would hear a "Bonk" instead indicating no connection. I've apologized to the vendor and asked them to return the radio to me, after having explained all of the above.

The "new rules" aren't in affect yet, as far as I know.

To give answer to the unanswered questions, no you need no special license from the FCC, nor do you even need to tell them you have a repeater running...

Oh my! That would just encourage me to use that 2m frequency for a daily net or something like that... ...or better still, use it as the output frequency for a DMR repeater!

Whether or not the employees are "licensed" for amateur frequencies is irrelevant, as "business communications" is strictly prohibited.

Except for the fact that GMRS users cannot legally communicate with FRS users, all should be well...

I advise to stay away from the DM-5R entirely. I had one for several days and ran it though extensive tests only to find that it is in no way compatible with any mode other than Tier 1, or a bastardized version of Tier 2 where it uses both time slots simultaneously. The only radios they are fully compatible with are themselves. Using them however will seriously cause interference with any other local operators and/or repeaters.

Now run the same search as was done for "DMR repeaters" in the US and I believe you'll find that there are quite a few more than Fusion. Most all of the Fusion repeaters that have been sold at a significant discount are actually running in pure analog mode. However, with the advent of the RF Shark, it is finally possible to connect to all of the existing digital modes from any digital HT, so my original point is moot anyway...

Any ham who does not carry a tote box to Field Day with several of every kind of adapter, patch cables, tie-wraps, basic tools, et cetera, is just unprepared, IMHO!

How many is "multiple?" The KD C1 are available for as low as $18 single, $15/ea in a two-pack, or $14.99/ea in a ten-pack. They are sixteen channel (UHF only), and are only PC programmable. This makes them "safe" to hand over to folks who cannot screw up the programming. I have had four of them now for nearly a year, and they are fantastic! Since they have fixed antennas, and you can limit the power during programming, I set mine up with both FRS and GMRS 'channels.' https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_3?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=wln+kd-c1&sprefix=wln%2Caps%2C150&crid=22LQWR26DFHXW

Which is really silly since there exist charts that point out the precise frequencies allowable, along with their useage modes. I'm so anal about the matter that Saturday during the annual Field Day I asked for an Extra to help me with logging since many of the best signals were in the portions of 15m that I'm not legally allowed to use.

Link is apparently invalid: 404 error

The "digital mode" of C4FM is only useful if there's a Fusion system in your area of operations. Such are few and far between in the U.S. and Canada.

When the sequence reaches WZZZ666 the Rapture will surely occur...