axorlov

Second to Kenwood, I have TK-3170 (that is HT) and TK-880 (mobile), and they will do what OP wants with some limitations. 3170 and 880 are Part 95A (pre-2017), so totally legal to be on GMRS and some (not all!) FRS channels. They both will also work on 70-cm Ham band. TK-3170 (and other Part 95 HTs) will work and legal to use on 462.xxx0 (limit 50W) and 462.xxx5 (limit 5W + narrow band), provided you have GMRS license and follow GMRS protocol (throwing out call sign every 10 minutes). You can't legally use them on 467.xxx5 channels, where rules specify 0.5W and non-removable antenna. TK-880 (and similar mobiles) are legal to use on 462.xxx0 with it's 50W limit, following GMRS protocol. Also will work on 70-cm Ham band. 462.xxx5 are out, since these radios do not go as low as 5W. And 467.xxx5 are out because these freqs are strictly FRS. So, there is interoperability FRS-GMRS-Ham but overlap is not 100%. Besides what was already mentioned, there are other Part 95 HTs and mobiles from Kenwood, Motorola and others. Many of them are covered in great detail on these forums. There is also a bottomless abyss of Part 90 radios, but that's not really legal, you know... But let's not beat up a dead horse again.

You have wrong PL/CTCSS tone for this specific repeater on your Btech V1. Your scanner does not have any PL/CTCSS/DPL tones set, and this is exactly why you can hear the conversation on your scanner. The MONI turns off carrier squelch and tone squelch - so you can hear when holding MONI down. You need to find out the correct tone for this repeater and program it into your BTech V1 (I do not own V1, and can't help here).

All three I listed are high-power versions, thus the letter "H" in designation. 8180 is 45W, other two are 40W. There are 25W - 35W versions of the same radios without the "H". They are smaller, cheaper and with less amperes drawn on transmit. Often high power is not required, but you talked about camping, hunting, hiking in the other thread, and this is where another 10-15W would help. TK-860 is the oldest, then goes TK-880, both discontinued long time ago, but are in abundance as second-hand. TK-8180 is the newest, and I think, still can be bought new. Programming software could be found on the internet for free, or bought for $15-20. Kenwood does not lock CPS to the buyer or to the specific radio. CPS for TK-880 and later works under Windows. For TK-860 you would need DOS in virtual machine or emulator like DosBox. TK-880 and TK-8180 are covered on this forum in great detail.

I would stay away from Btech (Baofeng) for the reasons stated by mburn. I personally have an experience with Ham-band Baofengs and I'm not impressed, to put it politely. I'd recommend whatever you want for handhelds (except BTech) because you are going to drop it, run it over with the truck, lose it, etc, but something better for mobile unit. Kenwood TK-860HG-1, TK-880H-1 or TK-8180H-K are great, can be programmed narrow- and wide-band. They are seriously cheaper on ebay than new Midland and Wouxun units, $150 (with all the SW, cables and connectors factored in) vs $400 - considerable difference. They are fully legal to be operated on GMRS, since they are Part 95A radios.

For the stated purpose (communications when out of cell range) both Ham 2m/70cm and GMRS will work about the same for the same money spent. With mobile 40-50W radio in a car and handhelds the Ham and GMRS systems will be comparable. Both systems will allow to set up mobile repeater, for some additional range and convenience, but it's costly. 2m will reach a bit further in the forest, 70cm and GMRS will be better in the rocky canyons. Neither system will allow talking from Colorado to California. However, Ham has a thing called APRS, where you can exchange short texts between your radio and somebody's phone, but you'd need to be in the range of APRS repeater (digipeater), and only a very few HTs from Kenwood and Yaesu have the ability. No APRS infrastructure (like in most of Sierra Nevada) - no comms. You can even check email via APRS, but it is quite tedious to use. I, myself, settled on several pre-defined messages like "I'm on schedule", "short delay", "had to turn around", etc. GMRS allows for easy interoperability with FRS, they share frequencies. You will be immediately compatible with your hunting buddies with their FRS handhelds. There is more equipment for Ham, and it is generally cheaper, but quality Ham radios will cost similar to quality GMRS radios. GMRS radios can be programmed in fool-proof way, where 5yo can use them. Ham equipment usually more feature-rich and usually more complex in operation. Not every 5yo can be trusted with Ham radio. Years ago I went with GMRS to have a communications for family and friends when camping/hiking etc. It worked very well for us, and continues to work. With one license covering the whole family, it's very easy to adopt by people who have no clue about radio. Nowadays I'm mostly doing my outings alone, so now I usually carry Ham equipment: FT-1D or FT-817 if I'm in the mood for short-wave.

Kenwood mobiles: Kenwood TK-880H-1, 40W, Part 90 95A 250 channels 140 × 40 x 173 mm KPG49D software ALH24593210 Kenwood TK-880-1, 25W, Part 90, 95A same as TK-880H, just 25W and a bit smaller heatsink 140 x 40 x 145 mm KPG49D software ALH24593110 Kenwood TK-860G-1, 25W, Part 90 95A 128 channels 140 x 40 x 145 mm KPG29D software ALH29383110 Kenwood TK-860HG-1, 40W, Part 90 95A 128 channels KPG29D software ALH29383210 Kenwood TK-862G-1, 25W, Part 90 95A 8 channels: no alphanumeric display, numbers only 140 x 40 x 145 mm KPG29D software ALH29383110 Kenwood TK-862HG-1, 40W, Part 90 95A 8 channels: no alphanumeric display, numbers only KPG29D software ALH29383210 Kenwood TK-8180H-K, 45W, Part 90 95A 22 74 90.210 512 channels, remote head (KRK-10 kit) K4437313210 Kenwood TK-8180-K, 30W, Part 90 95A 22 74 90.210 512 channels, remote head (KRK-10 kit) K4437313110

Lscott covered it earlier, but it worth repeating again: one often overlooked advantage of Part 90 and 90/95 radios that many will work in 70cm ham band. With 128-256-more channels one can have all GMRS, local repeater pairs and few simplex freqs programmed in, without the need to have VFO or front-panel programming ability. On the other hand, Btech V1, Midland and Wouxsun GMRS radios will not allow programming 70cm frequencies.

Not 95A, though. And what about CPS? However, please somebody, buy these already. I do not need more radios I do not need more radios these are dmr! must resist I do not need more radios...

I thinks there is a confusion between using GMRS for internet (digital on air) vs internet for GMRS (linking voice networks). The former is no-no, the latter is fine. This is how I understand FCC regulations.

Logbooks on GMRS? Nonsense, my friend. Logbooks on Ham band? Whatever blows your skirt, it's a free country.

This certainly should be a consideration, however, the thing in picture does not look like an airbag, rather control unit, that should be shielded. The actual airbags were in the way of my install on 2014 Durango. There are curtain airbags all around the roof, and I was not able to pull coax behind them - these suckers are on glue or something and packed tight. I routed coax through the rear, where are no airbags at the rear hatch.

HT antenna - hell NO! Totally misguided. Mobile antenna on the roof your car or maybe base antenna on the top of your house - yes, techniques involving SWR meter and/or power meter might make sense. Beware of people who do not know what they are talking about. Nowadays anyone can start a youtube channel filled with anything. "Do your research!" Lol! Also consider that good SWR does not mean a good, efficient antenna. Dummy load (from a reputable manufacturer) has a perfect SWR.

Business use of Amateur Radio is specifically prohibited in Part 97. So, no, using Ham license to conduct business is illegal, by spirit and by letter of the law. Business use of GMRS is allowed, there is no "getting away with it". Use it as you may wish, for profit or for pleasure.

One more note about Surecom SW-33. To check if I can possibly trust it, I measure forward power into dummy load on UHF. The radio supposed to be 4W. The SX-600 shows something like 3.8W, and SW-33 shows 2.3. On VHF both SW-33 and SX-600 mostly agree with each other. So, I angrily threw SW-33 in the deepest darkest corner of my cabinet and forgot that it exists.

I also have Surecom SW-33 and I do not trust it on UHF. It disagrees with my better meter Diamond SX-600. And mine also did not come with metal plate. Maybe yours works better on UHF... However, even when using metal plate to create a groundplane and decouple the body of the radio from the antenna, you are creating a different antenna, not the one that is normally attached to HT and uses your body as a coupled ground. Just inserting Surecom between radio and antenna also not going to work for the same reason: it's a different antenna now. I do not know of a way to measure SWR or power to the HT antenna.

If every operator of said pilot car company had an individual GMRS license, then why not? Does not have to be a family business. License is not expensive, $60 for 10 years is nothing compared to the cost of a radio. Decent pair of shoes cost more these days, and they do not last 10 years.

I do not think there any dual-band (VHF+UHF) Part 95 radios exist. If talking about about Part 95 UHF radios, in addition to mentioned Kenwood 8180, there is also Kenwood TK-880-1 and TK-880H-1, that are Part 95 and also work in 70cm Ham band. I have 880 and I attest they work in Ham band fine, despite the warning the software throws when you program the radio. There is a number of Part 90 radios that are VHF+UHF, for example Alinco DR-638T, Btech UV50x3, Anytone 778UV, Leixen VV-898. Quite many of them. Options are here, depending how much (il)legal you want to stay. Also look up CCR (Cheap Chinese Radio) discussions here on this forum.

Awesome!

One thing is clear, you can't damage receiver with high SWR. The high SWR, the mismatch, may (or may not) damage transmitter. And 1:2 is not that high. SO-239 connector is not water-proof. I would take everything apart, dried it out and tried again.

Pretty! It looks like I can have my amateur woodworking questions answered here? Before I was going to motorcycle forums for that kind of advice.

Alligator clamps: these will do: https://www.amazon.com/URBEST-Spring-Battery-Insulated-Alligator/dp/B01M1BW0TC/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=alligator+clamps&qid=1602793484&sr=8-4 although, I dislike alligator clamps, they are not as reliable as other connectors. You'd need to solder the wires to the clamps. Same or similar clams are available at auto stores, O'Reilly, Autozone... Inside the car bot (+) and (-) wires are with fuses to prevent a situation when common ground connection from the battery rusts, falling off completely or developing high resistance, and all the 12V devices now are looking for an available ground, that goes through your radio. When not in the car, one wire to have a fuse is enough. If you plan to add some other device (another radio, sound amp, usb charger, etc...) to the same battery, it make sense to have every consumer with it's own fuse on its own (+) wire.

Should be lower case: sudo reboot

All good points with regard to best practices and grounding per NEC. I'm not arguing with that. I'm saying that 40' mast grounded according NEC does not raise the chances of being hit by lightning. I'm also saying, that if hit by lightning, it's better to have a properly grounded mast than not to have one.

We are talking about 20' mast on top of 20' roof, not the Empire State Building, and not even a cell tower. Naaww, I do not believe 40' grounded mast changes charge field enough to truly attract lightning from the clouds. However, if lightning strikes in close proximity of said rod, the charge will likely to go through the rod, and not through the porch and your cat on that porch.

Cmon, lightning rods do not attract lightning.