axorlov

Something like MFJ-874 would cover ham bands, CB and GMRS. That's what I'm thinking to get for myself. Reviews are not too bad on eHam and amazon. On the other hand, I may save $120 and put it toward a proper antenna analyzer.

Seems that it is CB-frequency SWR meter. If so, it won't work on 462MHz

I second PastorGary's suggestion to consider used (and abused) commercial equipment. If you know electronics, as in: can build a PC from components, you may be able to save a ton of money. Or may not, could be a money pit too. I went with Kenwood TK-3170 and built 4 working units from the five I bought. I was lucky on the price of the HTs and on the price of some components. When I was buying equipment (I also have three TK-880H and ArgentData simplex repeater) GMRS-V1 did not exist. But if I'd do it all over again, I'd still probably go with used commercial radios. Kenwood software is very easy to come by, user interface is fool-proof, good for non-radio-inclined family members.

Fairly simple. Assuming all your current batteries are functional and hold charge, buy a cheapest, worst looking, not holding charge battery off ebay for the experiment. Pry the case open, as neat as possible. Consider how you'll glue the case together for the later use - batteries do not have to be pretty, but must fit. Look what's inside. Chances are that it'll be something of a standard size (AA, 2/3 AA, AAA, etc). For the refurbishing, you'd need to solder tabs or wires to the new cells. It is not a big deal. You would need a 20W or bigger soldering iron for that, the bigger the better. The quicker the soldering action the better - do not overheat the cell. Modern NiMH cells are night-and-day comparing to the old cells. The are low self discharge, getting closer to alcalines for that, the capacity is also getting close. The good ones are AmasonBasics and Panasonic Eneloop (former Sanyo). Tenergy are fine, many are already with tabs.There are others too. Any new cell would be better than the old depleted cell.

Totally agree, however I do not have experience with wide range of part 90/95 gear. When I was looking for the family comm solution few years ago, my criteria was a balance between price, availability of programming software, accepting LiPo and Part 95 certification, because I wanted to be good with FCC. My choice is Kenwood 3170 or 3173 with KCS25 charger which can take NiCad, NiMH and LiPo.

- Refurbishing NiCad case with newer better low-selfdischarge NiMH cells like Enerloop or similar - Keeping 70% charged NiCad and NiMH in the fridge

In urban, congested areas I monitor frequency a bit to see if I'm not stomping on somebody, then identify, than go chat, keeping it short and to the point. When done, identify again and say "frequency clear" just as a courtesy to others. In the woods I (or my family) identify then go blabber away till the the batteries drained, identifying when remember. I have yet to stumble on other GMRS user in Sierra foothills in close proximity. When talking to family the one who starts the talk speaks the callsign, and the one who is finishing the talk identifies too. Regarding specific words and meanings, the rule I go by in face-to-face, email, online forums and radio communications is: do not be an --- to others, and there is a better chance others will do the same to you.

I know what are you talking about, but I do not know who he is and I don't want to know. He is hanging on local repeaters for years, I heard him on N6NFI and others. Our lord has a big zoo.

Great question. I was reading through the rules and through the https://www.fcc.gov/general/international-agreements and I can't find anything regarding 462/467 MHz.

I'm not familiar with Chirp, but does the line below mean that you have receive and transmit tones programmed (88.5)? And the DCS too (23)? That would explain why you do not hear anything. To hear something you need to remove receive and transmit tones and DCS. After that you could choose CTCSS (aka PL or tone) or DCS to hear only your radios and not to hear chatter of others. Or, if working through repeater, you would need to program tones/codes specified for this repeater. Location Name Frequency Duplex Offset Tone rToneFreq cToneFreq DtcsCode DtcsPolarity Mode TStep Skip Comment URCALL RPT1CALL RPT2CALL120 GMRS1 462.55 0 88.5 88.5 23 NN FM 5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_Tone-Coded_Squelch_System

I'm not in Iowa, but don't you hear anything at all? You appear to be in an urban area, you should hear something (a lot!). No kids chattering? No road crews with their foul mouths? No construction crews? No schools? No car rental lots or hotels? Either you live in a radio heaven and can use GMRS as your private intercom, or there is something wrong with your equipment.

Second for Kenwood TK-880. There is 25W and 40W versions, 40W is called TK-880H. Both are Part 95A approved. And there are 3 versions different by frequency alignment. For GMRS you'd need TK-880-1 or TK-880H-1. Software is KPG-49D, available on ebay or comb the internets. Programming cable is on ebay.

What you describe is very close to what I do with my family, just substitute fishing with hiking and Vermont brooks with Sierra foothills. >> is there a good hand held radio and possibly a higher watt radio I can put in my truck to reach out farther if either one of is gets back to the truck to call out to each other? - A plenty. Used commercial handhelds go on ebay from $50, but reasonably modern from kenwood and motorola with batteries in working condition would be around $100 - $150. Used commercial car radios go from $100 and up. New GMRS-specific 40W car radio, Midland mtx400, is $250. >> would GMRS be good or should I look for something different? - GMRS would be good, probably. With my setup of 4W handhelds and 40W car radio I was not able to hike far enough in a day that my family could not reach me. Not that I tried hard, though. Also, GMRS frequency goes much farther in a rocky canyons of California than it would go in a rolling wooded hills. Of course, HAM license opens a whole new world of possibilities. Speaking of LMR (commercial) radios: - You'd need somebody who could program the radios or you need software to do it yourself; - To be clean from the FCC viewpoint you'd need Part 95A certified radios. They exists. I use Kenwood TK-3170 handhelds, 4W. In cars I have Kenwood TK-880-H 40W radios with roof antennas. All radios are Part 95A.

Yep, that's right. To program them you need KPG49D software and a cable. Unless the previous owner enabled self-programming mode from the panel, which is unlikely. Programming from the panel is a major pain anyway. I have three TK-880H, two in cars and one is about to be installed in the house, they are awesome in many ways, but software is a must. I bought my radios from different sellers on different occasions, one was still programmed with sheriff dept frequencies somewhere from Louisiana, other were cleared out. I have this cable from this very seller, works just fine: "http://www.ebay.com/itm/FTDI-USB-Programming-Cable-Kenwood-RJ-12-6-pin-Microphone-KPG-4-/161251132952?hash=item258b510618:g:UGMAAOSwCfdXpnSN"

If you want to talk to strangers you need a repeater-capable radio. But here is Bay Area repeaters are closed/private anyway, so maybe it's moot. Only open repeater I'm aware of is BARN-R1, and it's far and behind the mountain ridge. I can't open it from Livermore with handheld, although I can open it with my mobile radio, but signal reports are not great. Airwaives are busy, though, especially on weekends. Somebody always talking on GMRS around lake Del Valle, where there is no cell service. Rancher kids, hiking buddies, fishermen on water, etc. That's how I use my radios: family communications on camping/hiking trips. GMRS is mostly used as utility tool, and if you want to be able to make random contacts get your HAM ticket. There are number of popular busy HAM repeaters around this area.

Consider the cable length. 50ft of RG58 will turn your 15W of power into 4W and murder the sensitivity of your radio too. Look at the attenuation chart here: http://www.w4rp.com/ref/coax.html

I'm curious, did FCC reply cited any specific wording from Part 95A? I'm using simplex repeater, the one from Argent Data, to keep communications with the family when we go on hikes in mountains. We have different abilities and often separate. Efficient antenna allows simplex repeater to hear the handhelds when handhelds can't hear each other. 40W of power from the car radio reach handhelds just fine. Or let's put it this way: I was not able to hike far enough on a day trip for the car radio not to reach me. I configured repeater to repeat the last message when DTMF * is heard. So it's not annoying when walking in close proximity.