MarkInTampa
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Posts posted by MarkInTampa
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1 hour ago, WQBU369 said:
Ok so heres the latest , I recently got a mic for the unit just to key up and see if frequencies actually went into repeater, apparently they did so software end of it works so it must be a setting or the repeater is just shot , but it does key up and tx , getting 30 or so into dummy load ,is there setting i should be changing in the common section under hardware or maybe rx adjustment or tx adjustments, thanks guys for the help
Drop me a PM with your email and I can send you a saved config file of one I did to see if it helps - just make sure you save your existing config first.
You could also have a bad receive board in the repeater itself. You can download the service manual for it from repeater builder. Take a look at page 30 and see if you have proper voltage on the VCV check point on the RX unit. It's there is no voltage, the receive board is dead.
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1 hour ago, gortex2 said:
Not sure why you think GMRS in an emergency is better than cell or ham. First off 99% of the linked repeaters are using hot spots on cellular or a ethernet service from your local spectrum, comcast verizon company. If its down for you its down for the repeater also. Secondly i would venture 75% if not more of the repeaters listed on mygmrs are not on any emergency power. I know there are a few and ones done very well but most are far from that. to be honest HAM is not far behind. Yes alot of HAM stuff is in a state, county, local agency shelter at times with generator backup but the internet linking is still like everyon else. In the past a true land line is what alwasy gets thru. With folks relying on Voip home phones those are down also. I'm glad I still live where we can get copper phone lines to a house.
Anyway back to topic. I've said over an over linking should go away. It was never there and for what GMRS was no need anyway. Ham guys are the ones who brought the tech to GMRS and tried to create another service. Go back to just using the radio for what it is.
Not all linked ham repeaters are done IP. Here in Florida we have a really nice 70cm linked network done in conjunction with and riding on DOT towers, linked via microwave. Florida is a big state and DOT runs its own fiber and microwave network.
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24 minutes ago, OffRoaderX said:
Yes, always. If it is not +5, then it is not, by definition, "GMRS".
But I get what you're saying.
What's sad is if they do have to disable the primary input, it then kills off 3/4's of the users as well for a few days at a time. Their radios don't support a custom split of 462.575/467.725 and/or split tones (DPL on input/CTCSS on out) but most just don't know about the secondary input. The secondary info is posted on the repeater website (but NOT MYGMRS website) and is the recommended frequency to use. They just kinda freak out thinking their radios aren't working when they can receive but not transmit to a repeater that was working the day before.
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26 minutes ago, OffRoaderX said:
ALWAYS.. GMRS always uses +5 for repeaters.
Not always.... The strongest by far repeater in my neck of the woods on 462.575 has two input frequencies - 467.575 AND 467.725 on a different PL. The repeater gets interference on occasion when ships are in port that use 467.575 and they have to shut down the primary input, but both normally run at the same time. There are a few GMRS channels that are also shared for on-board vessel communications, in particular 467.550 and 467.575 (the one we get interference on) and is legal per ITU regulations.
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According to the president of the GMRS Alliance club that shut down, Carl, the club has around 226 members
The club does NOT have it's own repeater system, they were provided site access to a "simulcast multicast system" as club members that was hosted by a un-named "different person or entity's" network along with a few "member repeaters" also part of the network
The "custodian" of the simulcast system got the email asking to shut down the network - NOT the club or or any of it's members, although the club president was CC'd on reply to the FCC
The email was real - the repeater custodian and the FCC agent that sent the email have a working relationshipIt sounds to me like the whole network was ran by somebody else - most likely leased from regional business band radio provider with multiple sites. The custodian gets a email from his FCC buddy that said shut it down and he did before they came knocking at the door. I'm sure that GMRS doesn't pay the bills in commercial radio arena and he doesn't need to make a enemy of FCC if they want to say on the good graces of his company's governing authority. At least he got a warning.
As far as the FCC wanting a list of call signs that use the repeater, I can kinda see that as well. They were provided site access to a "simulcast multicast system" as club members and the FCC might want to send a warning letter to the users about the situation but I'd think they would get the message once the repeater network is off the air.
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FYI - Found this posted in another forum:
Today, the Repeater Custodian of the Alliance 575 Simulcast System, [deleted] W[deleted], received an email from the FCC Enforcement Bureau. The email contained a verbal warning stating that the Simulcast System is in violation of §95.1733 and §95.333. According to the FCC agent, the use of a voting comparator and simulcast controller is considered "interconnecting of a GMRS station with the telephone network or any other network for the purpose of carrying GMRS communications."
Here is the provided definition of "Voting" along with some guidance from the agent:
"A voting configuration has receivers all have a backhaul (i.e. microwave, wire, or radio) connection to a central device known as a voting controller. When a transmission from the user occurs, the voting controller ‘listens’ to the demodulated audio from each of the receivers in the system and determines which one has the strongest signal. It does this by measuring the amount of noise in the audio using statistical methods to calculate a signal’s Received Signal Strength Index (RSSI) or Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) for analog communications, or Bit Error Rate (BER) for digital communications. Once the voting controller picks (i.e., votes for) the strongest received signal, it passes this signal onto the intended location via a backhaul connection or radio re-transmission."
"Like the Zello or HT apps, you cannot directly interconnect a GMRS station with the telephone network or any other network for the purpose of carrying GMRS communications."
"As per §95.1733 Prohibited GMRS uses: (a) In addition to the prohibited uses outlined in §95.333 of this chapter, GMRS stations must not communicate: (8) Messages which are both conveyed by a wireline control link and transmitted by a GMRS station; A voting system does meet this as a linked system."
The agent has requested that the system be turned off by the end of the day today to avoid further enforcement actions. Consequently, the system was turned off at 5:04 PM on 6/14/2024.
Additionally, the FCC agent requested a list of callsigns for the operators using the system. Due to the system being set up with an "open" PL (141.3), fulfilling this request is nearly impossible. However, [name] has offered to provide the complete list of Alliance member callsigns to the FCC agent. I am uncertain what actions the FCC agent may take with this list.
[name] copied me on his correspondence to the FCC agent, and I am hopeful that the agent will reach out to me regarding the club member list. The list has not been sent to the FCC as of this notice. I have no intentions of releasing a list until I have a discussion with the FCC agent as to what role the NYS GMRS Alliance Club may play in this situation. As President of the Alliance, I believe the member callsign list should not be released to the FCC. My top priority is protecting our members and maintaining open communication as we address the situation with the simulcast system.
The Leadership Team held an emergency meeting tonight to discuss our response. Every aspect of the situation will be reviewed in the coming days, and we will work diligently to find a suitable path forward.
I have also instructed VP [name] to halt the processing of new memberships and renewals at this time. This situation is rapidly developing, and I will provide updates as they become available.
I understand this news is very disheartening, and you may have many questions or concerns. Please direct all questions to the [deleted] email address and I will answer them the best I can, as soon as I can.
Thank you for your continued support.
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3 minutes ago, amaff said:
Did you start participating in their conversation? I'd love to hear that freak out
I thought about it but was on one of my radios that doesn't do tone scan to find what tone there were on.
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I've heard a bunch on FRS and simplex GMRS. A bunch of it has already been listed here... School pickup lines, traffic flagmen, 5 year old kids screaming and holding the call button for minutes on end, tree services, crane operators, the nursery next door to me, etc but these are the ones that stand out so far....
Guy called out to his wife while on the stool - "Next commercial break can you bring me some TP? I'm waiting".
A local Gym was using FRS for a bit - until somebody started messing with them. Every time they transmitted, somebody else keyed up with a recording of Cheech and Chong's "Dave's not here" skit
Last night was a winner though - a man and woman talking on FRS that thought FRS was wonderful. It couldn't be traced like their cell phone and the guy with the ankle monitor was far enough away as not to violate the terms of the personal protection order and still be able to communicate.
- Davichko5650, amaff and WSDD519
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On 6/13/2024 at 8:17 PM, CALO50 said:
My bad... question was about using KG-1000G+ and/or KG-935G+ while on the road. Good point regarding having to pause to hear PL tones.
Uniden sits in the house.
Here's a way to double the scan speed up the 1000G+ if you aren't doing it already. Just use both VFO's in scan mode. Setup at least two scan groups in the radio, assign one group to the "A" VFO and another group to the "B" VFO. Start scanning on one VFO, hit the AREA button on the microphone to switch VFO's then start scan on the other VFO.
FYI - I bought the 1000G+ the week they came out for the dual scan feature. I didn't think it worked, if I started scanning on one side, pressed the "Area" button on the radio to switch to the other side to start scanning (as according to the manual), the first area would stop scanning. Randy saw my question about this issue and asked Wouxun about it. There is (or was, don't know) a bug that the radio would do this if you pressed the "Area" button on the radio itself but works fine if you press the "Area" button on the microphone. Don't know if this has been fixed or not. You can also name your scan groups to anything you want but must be done from software - not the radio itself.
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8 hours ago, WQBU369 said:
Yea i just added all those channels to show you guys that i can add channels but the actual frequency doesnt seem to be going in but when i read repeater it will say its in there
If you are reading those frequencies from the radio - they are in the radio. The LCD panel DOES NOT show the frequency the repeater is on (just the channel number) and without the software there really is no way to know what frequency the channel number is programmed for.
The software appears to be working fine by looking at your screenshot. If it wasn't communicating with the radio, the "Band", "Serial No" and "FW Version" would not be populated correctly but yours are. The repeater has 16 channels - however once programmed the channel buttons on the repeater will only allow you to choose a channel that has been programmed. If you have 3 channels programmed and enabled, you will only have 3 channels on the radio, not 16.
My guess is that the repeater itself isn't working correctly. The last guy I helped with a VXR-7000 in this forum could program the repeater fine but it didn't appear to transmit. When he sent me a screen shot of the back of the radio I saw the problem instantly. Somebody tried jamming a SO-239 connector into the Type-N connector on the radio and the center pin of the connector on the radio was destroyed.
One other thing that just came to mind - does your repeater have the built in duplexer option? If it does and it's not tuned correctly for GMRS, it isn't going to receive anything. Try pulling the duplexer and see if it receives then.
Don't go by the software option to see if the duplexer is installed as it means nothing to the repeater - It's basically a optional note field for a tech. You can usually check if it has the internal duplexer by looking for it through the vent holes, remove the cover, if you only have one antenna connection on the back of the radio or if one of the antenna connections is capped off.
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What led's are lit on the front of the repeater when not connected to the computer?
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1 hour ago, WQBU369 said:
Yea tried that and no rx red light but very odd that when i write to radio and then read it it shows my frequencies are in it but its just not keying up, did yours show CL ON when you plug in the cable ?
It showed something, just don't remember what. In doing a quick search on the web, folks say one of the two things fix it.
First, make sure you are using the proper com port. In Windows, bring up device manager with the radio and cable unplugged, expand the "Ports (COM&LPT)" field, plug in the radio and cable and see what com port the cable is using. It should pop up in device manager in real time if installed correctly. You can change the com port in the VXR-7000 software by clicking "File" on the top left of the screen and then configure to match the correct com port.
Second, it's been reported that folks using older versions of the Vertex software have this issue and issues went away with the latest (last) version. In the Vertex software, click on "Help" on the top of the screen and then "About CE-27". Make sure you are using version 1.08. If you not, drop me a note and I'll send you over a copy.
I do believe I had to unplug the programming cable from the repeater after programming for it to work otherwise the radio stayed in programming mode. You might try that as well.
I still have the software and saved config files on my computer from when I set it up last year and going by memory, but good luck!
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41 minutes ago, WQBU369 said:
Im able to use -d” option and change from vhf to uhf , the repeater is vxr7000u. When i can send frequencies and everything to radio and then read it back to computer, my issue is when i check the repeater the only thing being displayed and changed is the channel numbers so in other words uf i send 16 channels to repeater all 16 will go in and i can use the up and down button on repeater to scroll through them but nothing displayed on screen as in alpha and even when i grab an ht and key up nothing is heard on repeater so im not sure what im missing , thanks for the help
The VXR-7000 alpha display just displays the ANI of a radio, if you don't have a radio setup for ANI it's not going to do/display anything except repeater error codes. If you are trying to test it, when trying to key the repeater just look to see if the TX led is lit showing it's transmitting.
When I tested mine without a duplexer I hooked an antenna up to the TX antenna port (didn't want to run the radio TX without an antenna or dummy load) and no antenna on the HT at low power used to test it with and nothing connected to the RX antenna since I was sitting right next to the repeater. I got a killer deal on it ($100) but didn't have tower height or will to run my own repeater so I donated it to a local guy who wanted it that had and existing repeater that needed to be replaced.
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2 hours ago, WQBU369 said:
Can anyone help with some info on how to get vxr7000 programmed , dont know what im missing in software but i get data error when writing to unit , i see alot of old info on web but nothing so far
Are you able to read data from the radio? (rule out something like the wrong com port or bad com port drivers) If so, a few things to keep in mind on the VXR-7000
1st) If you can read the radio and it shows Rx Freq in the 150-170MHz range, you have the VHF version and not the UHF version of the repeater and won't work on GMRS.
2nd) Modify the program startup for dealer mode by adding a -d to the end of the program to enable dealer mode (ie "C:\Vertex Standard\CE27 for Windows\CE27Win.exe" -d"). This will allow you to change the CW-ID of the repeater if you are going to use it.
3rd) Most GMRS repeaters run in wide band. Due to FCC narrow band mandates after 2003 the software forces you into narrowband (you will get a warning when starting the software). Change the clock on the PC to 2002 (make sure to disable clock auto set) and you can enable wideband.
Below is a screen shot of one I picked up awhile back and donated. I setup the first 14 channels for every option I though he might need (Channel 1 CTCSS 77, Wideband, Hi Power - Channel 2 same but low power, Channel 3 narrow band, etc). Channel 15 and 16 are on the next channel up and down for testing. Then printed out the config and taped it to the top of the repeater.
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18 minutes ago, SvenMarbles said:
That's literally my setup. 50 ft run of LMR400 on a mast very similar to that..
It's actually a 2" or 2.5" (can't remember) aluminum 35ft sectional flag pole. I thought by clamping it to the side of the house it should be able to handle the wind load of the antenna without much of a issue without guy wires. The mast is located directly behind my radio and during high winds I could hear it creaking a bit and it swayed a bit more that I wanted. It was really bad when I had the GP-9 on it. I guyed it with some outdoor rated paracord from DX Engineering and it's been great since then. It's pretty easy to put up or take down (one man job), just loosen the clamp on the house and remove/add sections.
- WRYZ926 and SteveShannon
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4 minutes ago, SvenMarbles said:
Oh that really isn’t bad at 151.94 (our neighborhood channel). I wonder if I’d actually get that after my install and coax though.. you know how it is..
All my measurements above were done with 50ft of LMR400 cable and the antenna up 30ft for what it's worth.
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1 minute ago, WRYZ926 said:
From what @MarkInTampa just posted, I would say that the Comet GP-6NC will work great for you. A SWR of 1.8 or less is just fine for any band/frequency.
Sometimes people get hung up on chasing after the perfect SWR. Most of us are guilty of that. But anything 2.0 or less is fine.
The GP-6NC is tuned about as good as it gets for GMRS. SWR of 1.02 at 462.5MHz and 1.05 at 467.5MHz. Also usable across most of the 70cm band. I've also got a GP-9NC but was disappointed with it. It worked a bit better in the VHF bands but a bit worse on UHF. Don't know if its my terrain, height of antenna (30ft), big oak tree near the antenna or what so put the GP-6NC back as UHF is a bit more important to me than VHF.
Here's a sweep of the GP-6NC from 430MHz to 470MHz:
- SteveShannon and WRYZ926
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29 minutes ago, SvenMarbles said:
The GP6NC has that same issue with the VHF side being a bit above MURS. Maybe it’s still usable? IDK. Anyone ever put one on a VNA? Is the 151-154 still in the neighborhood of 1.5?
Here's a sweep I just did on the GP-6NC per your request...
- WRYZ926, WRXB215 and SvenMarbles
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On 6/4/2024 at 2:56 PM, WSCV533 said:
I'll be using an external controller, actually experimenting now with some stuff. If it doesn't work out then this will just be my mobile and I'll figure something else out. Also checking out the retevis ra87. Also, 725 is a no-go. Something between is causing interference. I'm not familiar with the sound, something between dial-up noise and a printer printing? Completely constant 24/7, must be lower power or far away.
Here's a quick rundown of repeaters I know of in the area. Is there something on 650 in your area? Pasco has a repeater node on that frequency but it's a really low powered station.
550 maybe? - Clearwater is on that frequency, not sure if you are far enough away though
575 forget it! - Tampa 575 will stomp it
600 maybe? Tampa 600 is on it, but not quite as powerful as the 575 and 675 repeaters are but still pretty strong
625 nope - Spring Hill and is somewhat local to you
650 probably you best choice. There is a monster repeater in Sarasota on this frequency but you are more than far enough away. There might be something else on this near you, I'm 35 miles south and don't know what is around you for sure
675 nope - The new Tampa Bayshore repeater is another monster repeater in the area
700 most likely nope - nothing GMRS is on here but there is an illegal encrypted DMR repeater running on this frequency that has drove anybody trying to do a GMRS repeater away to another frequency
725 maybe? - but you said something is causing interference on this frequencyMost of these repeaters except Sarasota sit right between me and you. I can even tell you the height of the antenna and what they are using for a repeater for the most part if you want to know.
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Both my Comet GP-6 and GP-9 manuals show a loop at the base of the antenna. I don't know why but I put them in because the instructions showed to do so.
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24 minutes ago, ALeon said:
I'm trying get assistance in the operation of the TD-H3. After hours searching on YT and unable to find guidance I'm looking here.
These radios offer scanning. Is there a way to set frequency search range (begin and end) and then loop back. So far I can scroll to the start of a frequency and the radio will continue from that point to search through every frequency on the radio.
Thanks!
Not sure if this helps (don't have that exact radio) but there is new firmware as of April 8 that allows limits in band scanning (Menu 56). Update the firmware if it's not there.
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1 hour ago, WSCV533 said:
Because they don't cover the areas I need to have signal in. Honestly, why even post an "answer" to my question if all you're doing is criticizing me when you clearly don't know what I need and why I'm doing it.
Thank you, glad to hear from somebody nearby that understands the situation. Lots of repeaters in the area, most don't quite hit the areas I need to have signal. I have driven south to see when I hit the 725 repeaters. I've hit the bartow, possibly the perry 725 too, but honestly I must've missed that one on the map lol.
I don't have good luck with GMRS repeaters north of Tampa for the most part due to the terrain between me (in Brandon area) and to the north. I can hit the Spring Hill 625 machine (37 miles north) but it hits me noisy around S-2. The Cortez (Bradenton, around 39 miles south) on the same frequency but different tone hits me around S-5 and I've never heard interference between the two and can operate both since they are on different tones. The 725 machines not so much since they are on the same tone. It seems like folks around here really like using 141.3 tone if its a open public repeater and I get that - it's just kinda overused and prone to interference of other repeaters. That's the main reason I'd suggest something other than 141.3 or DCS 546.
Bartow has a really strong machine and covers most of Polk county. It doesn't make it much past Brandon unless your on a rooftop in downtown Tampa (I've heard it!). You are far enough away that I don't think it would be a issue. Funny story on 725 - A few months ago there was a decent band opening, nobody was using the Seminole or Bartow repeaters and I was getting Perry full scale 165 miles away and checked into their net. Of course I heard at least 3 repeaters on the same frequency and tone I was keying up at the same time so I kept it short.
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16 hours ago, WSCV533 said:
Hello all, probably got a stupid question for y'all to make fun of. I am slightly new still to GMRS. I got my Callsign about 3 months ago now. I have a simple 20' flagpole antenna and get good (~15 miles) simplex range for my needs. I'm trying to figure out how to avoid causing any interference when choosing what channel to set on my new repeater. There's a lot of repeaters within my range and my thoughts were on RP22 or 462.725 . I have not received anything on this channel and on the map the closest repeater to me that's on the same channel is about 50 miles away. I have tried keying up using the ctcss tones and get nothing, which leads me to believe it is out of range. I want to avoid disruption as much as possible out of respect for other GMRS operators. What's a fool proof method of avoiding interference? Obviously I will use "privacy" tones but is there more I can do to keep the air waves clear. I am almost ready to turn on my repeater system, but just wanted to ask this before I do.
I'm around 35 miles south of you - far enough to not get quite the same GMRS traffic as you but close enough to have a feel for the area. 725 would but a decent channel for your area but make sure you are NOT using 141.3 as a tone. I sit between two of the area 725 repeaters, the Bartow repeater - Polk Co's strongest repeater up 400ft around 35 miles east of me (and 60 miles south of you) and the Seminole repeater up around 60ft last I heard around 35 miles west of me (the one 45 miles south of you, since the antenna isn't up very high it's probably why you can't hit it). The two repeaters are 60 miles from each other and both run 141.3 as a tone. Normally the two repeaters don't interfere with each other unless someone like me forgets to turn off high power that sits between the two and key both up at the same time. Bartow hits me full scale, Seminole is just above the noise floor (height is might!) so if I run low power I "usually" don't key the Seminole repeater and cause interference. The same can be said of Bartow, if somebody in Manatee Co is using the Seminole repeater they also key the Bartow repeater with noise and everybody get upset on that repeater thinking somebody is causing intentional interference. This happens a few times a month and usually with just a handful of users that sit in-between the two repeaters. If there is a decent band opening, the Perry 725 repeater (also on the same tone and up 400ft) can also be added to the mix and is a really strong repeater. If the repeaters were on a different tones it probably would not be a issue. Also, the Tampa 575 repeater (the strongest repeater in the Tampa area) has an alternate input of 467.725 with a DCS tone but I don't think that will give you any problems as long as you are not using a DCS tone of 546.
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My guess is that you are picking up the WRXU693 repeater in Pace (Wallace) FL area, around 20 miles from you if it's on 462.650MHz. It's part of a linked GMRS network with 7 repeaters mostly in the Mobile area near the AL/FL line and is also running on the GMRS Live and Roadkill network.
See this post for a bit more info:
Updated FCC rule 95.1749 now includes “or other networks” Jan 2024
in FCC Rules Discussion
Posted
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