FreqieRadio
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Posts posted by FreqieRadio
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On 8/29/2023 at 9:40 PM, WRKC935 said:
My personal setup is a bit overkill for anyone new to radio. I run an APX8500 and a Comet 2X4 antenna.
So that being said. A good starting configuration for the folks just getting into GMRS is gonna be an NMO mag mount with a unity gain whip. That is by far the least expensive option and will still give reasonable performance to get you on the air and talking on the local repeaters and some simplex as well.
One of the things that people fail to understand, especially with mobile setups is the amount of available gain in mobile antenna's from unity gain to the highest numbers available is only about a 9 dB difference. Now while that sounds like a ton of gain, when you are looking at signal levels in a radio and what is receivable and whats solid copy all falls into a range of about 6 to 9dB. If your squelch is set to -118dBm which is pretty typical, could be as high as -110 dBm but that's pretty tight. When you are at -118dBm you are gonna be about 25% noise. But if you open the squelch up more and go down to -120dBm signal level you are now at 50% plus noise with your signal. So down at that level it matters.
That being said. If you increase from -120 to -110, you are typically going to be perfect copy, and by the time you are at -107 you are solid. Any increase from there is NOT going to have any effect on your signal. You will sound the same from -105 to -50dBm. The reception just doesn't change.
Point is this. If you have a local repeater that has a signal level of -100dBm in all the area's that you travel, putting a 9 dB gain antenna gets you NOTHING for increased signal. And UHF is finicky. Hills and valleys will block the signal no matter the antenna gain. I have two radios in my truck. One is an XPR4550 with a unity gain whip. The other is the 8500 with the 2X4 Comet. When I start loosing the repeater on either radio due to topography, both radios suffer equally. The signal is just blocked and there is nothing that can be done about that. And there are places that I can't talk on my repeater that are less than 10 miles from it, but there are places I can talk on my repeater that are 60 miles from it. So bear that in mind when your signal fades out and comes back and you feel you would be doing better to go drop $100 on a wiz-bang high gain mobile and antenna and mount thinking it's gonna cure all your problems.
Oh my. I hope you have more than Gmrs going on with those radios.
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20 hours ago, WRUU653 said:
From everything I see from their site the RT99 looks to be a ham radio. Though one YouTuber says it goes into GMRS bands. It looks a lot like a rebranded VGC radio (check out the Bluetooth HT that works with this). Not being certified for GMRS seems obvious so that’s going to be your choice, that aside this could be a cool radio. Like a DB20 with more bells and whistles and at 50 watts for a decent price. A couple things I’d be concerned with is if it’s capabilities would be changed with an app update (like GMRS use disappearing) and the distraction of using the app while driving. I’ll second @Sshannon in saying please report back on what this thing can do if you get it. I think the gps mapping and ability to see your groups positions could have some cool real world uses.
It’s the exact radio. Yeah it’s ham. In use some ham equipment for my Gmrs base. I don’t tx on ham though. I just want the gps function for the handhelds. Some have Gmrs locked out. I saw that some have a software update that unlocks it.
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14 hours ago, Sshannon said:
And it’s on sale now. Please let us know how well it works!
Well I gotta get one at a time. Then pro’s ain’t cheap. But yes. I sure will!
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5 hours ago, Sshannon said:
I haven’t heard of any mobiles that violate that particular rule. How would they be certified?
Copy. I’ll look elsewhere
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The GMRS Pro handheld radio is capable of sharing its GPS location with other GMRS Pro hand held radios. I think the OP is asking if there are mobile radios that are compatible with the location sharing feature.
[mention=9490]FreqieRadio[/mention]: Digital data, such as location data may only be transmitted by handheld portable according to the GMRS regulations:
(d)Digital data.GMRS hand-held portable units may transmit digital data containing location information, or requesting location information from one or more other GMRS or FRS units, or containing a brief text message to another specific GMRS or FRS unit.
I know the rule… just asking if there is a mobile that does it
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3 hours ago, WRXB215 said:
Not sure about mobile radios and GPS but even without service the GPS on your phone should still work.
So you need a phone to use the gps function on the radio?
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Are there mobile units that operate with the GMRS pro gps function?
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20 hours ago, MichaelLAX said:
Ouch! It's one thing to mod a $30 radio, but another a $220 one!
It was free to me. I don’t have my tech yet, so that’s my question.
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Can the 50x2 be configured to transmit out of band? Like the 5r?
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17 hours ago, MichaelLAX said:
The Blue Circle 2 is Pimple Hill 700
I have this one saved. The one I’m hearing has traffic out of Allentown. Something about a node
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Nope, I have him. I’m heading traffic out of Allentown. Something about a node
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I hear a repeater in my area, but not sure where it’s at. Maybe Allentown area? I hear it clear in the Poconos but my ht don’t have the reach to talk back. Anyone around me know about this repeater?
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Tyt 7900
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Has anyone bought a radio thought them? Admittedly I’m trying to find a ham that transmits out of range that’s in the 30 watt range. I don’t want 3 radios in my truck. Anyone had any luck?
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I use that on chirp. Exactly. Thanks
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My first part95 radio is a uv-5g. My current is not part 95
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They make the radios legal for use. That’s about my opinion
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On 12/17/2022 at 3:55 PM, back4more70 said:
I have the BF-H5 which is essentially the same radio, and the H5 transmits HAM, MURS and GMRS.
I just got the H6. Way better than my 5g and my bf-f8HP. I had some trouble programming. I needed to use the tidradio version. Other than that, fantastic cheap radio.
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Does it transmit out of band in order to use it on Gmrs freqs?
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So anyway Gmrs can have digital channeled frequencies?
edit: Is there any hope of maybe more channels? Getting a ham tickets just to talk simplex a few miles seems like a waste. But digital sounds so much better.
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I always have it on. Still quiet tho
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I live in a very hilly, very dense forested area. I’m in a position to place an antenna on my roof. I have a 50w midland I’m using as a base radio. I currently have a little midland 6db antenna on a 10ft mast. It’s all told around 25ft up.
what antenna do y’all experts suggest to reach out and touch? Would a bigger antenna help reception?
Thoughts on the baofeng BF-H6
in Equipment Reviews
Posted
This was my first high power ht. The only one I like better is the H8.