MarkInTampa

I've been a fan of the Stanceworks YouTube channel for awhile. His latest video shows him installing his new Motorola communications system in his race car. While watching it I remembered this thread. Nice system, but don't know if it's $3000+ (uncle Sam get his cut) nice. Also wonder how it's licensed.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUMMaMSrLBQ

I'd suggest leaving the factory channels as they are. It's pretty much plug and play out of the box. Just change the tone required (in your case 159.8) for what channel (frequency) you want to use. Then go to "edit" on top of the screen and "option features" and change the default channel if you are using something other than .550 (channel 1) if you have a power outage but don't know if this step is actually required. That should be about all you need to get up and running.

That would be correct. The repeater listens on 467.x (RX) and outputs (transmits) on 462.x (TX). It would be wrong if it was the other way around.

The driver on the website is CH341SER.EXE - dated 10/6/2014 within the RAR file if that helps. I'm assuming that's what he is trying to install.

You can try just installing the software without the driver and it may or may not work. It's basically the driver for the USB to serial cable. Some cheap cables have counterfeit version of the USB to serial CH341 chip built into the cable and require a prolific driver to work. If it is a genuine USB to serial chip built into the cable Windows will autodetect the cable and install the drivers automatically. If it's not a genuine chip or a "cloned chip", Windows will show it as a unknown device. You can try plugging in the cable, bring up Windows device manager and check to see if the drivers installed properly by expanding the "Ports (COM & LPT)" and see if you have any new COM ports listed when you plug in the cable. If device manager detects it as a "prolific chip" with a triangle (triangle means no or bad drivers - Windows see's it as a counterfeit chip) next to it or "unknown device", then you need to figure a way to get the drivers installed. My guess is if they list the driver for download - it's probably a counterfeit/cloned chip and needs it to work but you might get lucky.

Try right clicking on the install file and left click "Run as Administrator".

The software is compressed with RAR, kinda like a zip file but different format. You can download WINRAR (if running windows) for free and it will extract files. Also, download in install the driver FIRST before installing the software or plugging the repeater into the computer. BTW, stopped at Beef's in Bushnell yesterday coming back from Savannah to Tampa for dinner. It will be nice to have a repeater in the area.

There are still a few pretty active linked repeaters around me. Still programmed in the radio but set to skip on scan. There is just way to much garbage - from dead keys for hours on end, kerchunking, folks thinking they are GMRS police or professors (take your pick), irrelevant out of state traffic, bad voip connections, etc. Just no real control to be had. All the problems you may see on your local repeater and then some multiplied many times over. Don't really care if they exist or not - just not my thing.

I have two FRN's. Got my ham license in 1996 and don't remember anything about FRN's. Don't think they existed, were required yet or if the club I tested at handled it all for me. I let my license lapse in 2006 and when went to get my GMRS license in 2022 I saw I already had an FRN that was registered in 2001 that I knew nothing about and had a old physical address from when I got my ham license. From what I understand, FRN's were not required prior to Dec 2001 for amateur radio so I assume the FCC created one for me based on my license details that was still valid at the time. I didn't know or care to figure out the issue so I just created a new FRN with the FCC. I got my ham license back with a new call, requested and got my old call back under my new FRN with the checkmark box clicked "expired license" as the reason. FCC didn't question any of it.

The wife's 2023 Bronco Sport (with the 2.0 engine) overcharge recall was just a notice but stated to wait to be contacted for further information as parts become avalible. Dang thing has has had at least 5 recalls so far. My 2015 RAV4 has had one - for aftermarket batteries possibly being to tall and hitting the hood. Not real keen on Ford at the moment.

Any chance you have a Ford Bronco Sport? My wife's just got a recall notice for premature battery failure do to overcharging. We replaced the battery in her car a week before the recall notice came out. Don't know if the same recall affects the post above mine as the Bronco Sport and Escape are based on the same platform.

The advertisement for the GP-9NC shows it as a GMRS antenna and covers 460-470MHz. The GP-9 and GP-9N (no C at the end) are ham only. The letter "C" is Comet's designation for the commercial band (kinda where GMRS resides) - not ham. The letter "N" means it has a "Type N" connector and the straight GP-9 is ham only with a SO-239 connector. When I got mine, the bag it came in said it was GP-9N and they put on a tiny sticker with the letter "C" at the end of it. My guess is they didn't want to print up new packaging to add a letter. I don't remember what paperwork it came with though (ham or GMRS) but I didn't have to tune it.

A few of the guys around here I know of on GMRS, myself included, were hams 20+ years ago and for one reason or another let our licenses lapse. Moving, kids, work, life, whatever got in the way. We got into GMRS to get back into radio. We all got our ham licenses back after playing around with GMRS for awhile as well. Most of us hang still hang around on GMRS but a few disappeared into the depths of ham never to be heard on GMRS again. Every now and then there are also CB radio guys that get into GMRS I've heard around here. Usually one guy get into GMRS, 5 of his friends on CB will follow. They are big into GMRS for awhile but after 6 months or so only 2 of the 6 are still around.

In looking through my ID-5100 options (as well as the Icom software) I don't think split DTCS tones are supported. The dang radio supports almost all other combos like DTCS/Nomal tone as well as split Tone/Tone Squelch like what you want to do with DTCS (in the menu as "Tone(T)/TSQL(R)") but no option for DTCS to do the same thing. I don't see a way to do it in the Icom software either. Just leave DTCS/Tone off on receive and you should be fine. I suppose if you really want to test it with both transmit and receive DTCS, you could setup the radio with the repeater setup in two memory channels. One for TX with the TX DTCS tone, the other for RX configured with the RX DTCS tone. Load up one channel in one VFO and the other on the 2nd VFO. Unless you are getting traffic other than the repeater bugging you, RX DTCS isn't needed but at least you can test it both directions. FYI: Here's a snip of the tone settings in the Icom software. Notice there is a option (and column) to split repeater tones but not DTCS (doesn't even have a column to show the possibility). And the tone options:

Help me in trying to figure out your list. One of the call signs in my area you have listed show nine repeaters and that is a lot! If I look on the MyGMRS map, it only shows two with that callsign/username and both are at the same basic location. If I look in advanced, it shows the same two, even with stale and offline enabled (for the one or two frequencies I checked anyway that aren't on the map, map doesn't show stale/offline repeaters). Six of them by your list coordinates are on the same property. The other three (again by coordinates) show about 1 mile away from the other six in the middle of the ocean. I'm assuming when he placed the pin on the map it was close enough, the guy is a block or so from the ocean. He only runs (or did, haven't heard it for awhile) one small Retivis repeater up around 40ft on 650 but did play around a year or so ago with a simplex repeater on a different frequency at the same location. Although MyGMRS does show two, only one is/was accurate - not nine. Where did the other seven come from? Six of the locations listed in your pdf... The two listed on the current MyGMRS map with his callsign/username...

Like I said, just don't take the MyGMRS listing as gospel. If you look at the guy that has 9 repeaters in my area they are all at the same location.

It doesn't mean it's real or correct.

Take what's reported as repeaters with a grain of salt. One of the multi repeater sites you have on your list in my area is just plain fantasy. Your listing shows 9 repeaters for the call when there is actually only one low power network (maybe why it shows so many repeaters) hotspot that he runs on rare occasion. There is on the other hand another guy that your list shows has 4 but has 6 repeaters. All of them are stand alone (not linked), on different frequencies (but same tones) and cover most of the west coast of Florida from Bradenton to Naples (around 120 miles spaced around 20-25 miles apart) and a few of them are quite strong. It's kinda nice to be able to drive the I-75 route south of Tampa and have reliable repeaters along the way. At least that's what I know of in my area, others I'm sure are different.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGxnlsV9JCE

I have a few scan groups setup, something like this: All GMRS - all GMRS channels GMRS Repeaters - My primary group, GMRS repeaters listed at least twice. Labeled and accessible repeaters and again with a 141.3 tone out for when band conditions are ripe and a few others that are on the same frequency but different tone with tone squelch. GMRS/FRS/MURS - Just what it shows. Haven't used in years but it's there MISC - Usually runs on the second VFO and scans at the same time as the primary. It has a few ham frequencies, ISS (space station) and (what I use it for most) a few of my local GMRS repeater INPUT frequencies. By monitoring the input the same time as output I can listen to hear if a user is within simplex range of me, if there is interference on the input or if there is someone trying to access the repeater but is out of range or not configured right on their end (happens more often that you would think) HAM - a few local ham repeaters around me. Hardly ever used

When I bought my house, I went to the neighbors on both sides of me and introduced myself and asked to exchange telephone info in case of emergency. One neighbor was cool, the other was a jerk (in 10 years I don't think I spoke more than 2 sentences to him) and told me "I'm not comfortable giving you my number". Fast forward a few years, I come home from work there are fire trucks in his front yard and they are getting ready to take out his front door with a battering ram due to an alarm. They ask if I have a way to contact him, told them I didn't and they ram down his front door. He pulled up maybe 30 seconds later. He went to the store, left something cooking on the stove that burnt and set off the smoke alarm. Karma in action.

I'm actually amazed at how well it's done. Each radio group (a-n or something like that) has around 10 users and a group leader for those groups. They pre-check in the group leaders first before the net starts to make sure they are there, start the net and start check-ins starting with radio/user Alpha-1, Alpha-2, etc to the end of the group, ask for relays and then proceed to the next group. Very organized, especially for non licensed users. Some ham nets could learn a thing or two from them.

One of the retirement communities 20 miles south of me (Sun City Center) has some kind of FRS/GMRS emergency network thing on simplex they do every Wednesday morning. Net control starts the net with a preamble of what it is, a website for more information and his GMRS call sign. About all I can hear is net control and their security patrol, everyone else I assume are FRS (like I said, 20 miles away but net control hits me full scale). The users are assigned radios and a id, something like Alpha 1-20, Bravo 1-20, etc and they go through the check in procedure including asking for relays. At the end of the net, they sign off with their GMRS callsign, that's about the only time it's used.

Just for fun... Here's the coverage maps of a location near you. First example is assuming a 9db antenna, 50watt radio and a 50ft mast. Second example would be a 5watt HT with a 3db HT antenna.

It was down in yesterday morning when I saw this post, back up in the afternoon. The FCC data base is and has been SLOW for a long time. I just looked up my call and it took 11 seconds. I ran a query of all active licensed GMRS users in my town (92 of of them) and it took 10 seconds. Weird. Edited: Just for fun I ran a query for all new GMRS licenses sorted by Grant Date in the last 1 year. Left off Call Sign, Name and FRN from screenshot. 28 in total. What I found odd is that we normally see 2-4 new licenses a month. Only 2 so far this year.