UncleYoda

It costs more (more time and effort) to process a new, first-time licensee than to add another ID that requires no testing. But I sure am not wasting time on proving anything to you or the FCC. (They know already and there was info made public about the costs back when they proposed changing the fees.)

What's the "it" you're referring to as sloppily written? If you mean the original rule change referenced in your OP, then yea, that's obvious. And it's hard to believe a lawyer wrote that, thus my comment about a hoax/joke. There's a very good reason to eliminate the extra payment IMO: it doesn't cost anywhere near that much to process, and HAM used to be free at the FCC end.

Yes, I think that would be one of the most important things for a serious rule change proposal. I'd like to also see GMRS added for free to those with a HAM license who request it (obviously I already have mine so that's for newcomers). It can't cost $35 just to have software assign an extra alphanumeric string to an existing licensed user. But at least let us use our UV-5Rs, dang-it, instead of buying one with a different label; there's no need for duplication.

Nevermind. Are y'all sure this isn't a hoax/joke?

And your repeater users are tying up the same (output) frequency that is for simplex use, not to mention possible use by an open repeater. [But it's FCC's fault for creating that mess.] The only really relevant point here is you having a repeater doesn't give you control over stations that are not using your repeater.

Yea, I did decide a while back to use .575 simplex for my local area base station. (The nearest repeater listed for that never went live AFAIK and probably would've been out of range. I do receive one up on a mountain 60mi away.) And to try to use open repeaters if any are available when mobile. But this was about what to do with the other channels/frequencies to maybe make some use of them. So, I've got it worked out for now (but things do keep changing).

I'm not going to explain my motivation for this or anything here. It's usually pointless to try to change anyone's mind, especially on the internet. We have 7 channels at 5W, and 8 channels at 50W for simplex. I don't monitor 1-7 regularly because it's mostly FRSers. Repeater use dominates those 8 50W simplex frequencies. And I have to set a separate tone if I want to block hearing repeater traffic. FCC screwed up by not having repeater output separate from simplex. I'm not going to get into issues with specific repeaters. But almost all recently updated or new repeaters are either permission required or members only. They're turning this public spectrum into something more like business radio.

@WRYS709 See, that's the issue; it's all based on perception. Do repeater club members have exclusive use of the frequency and tone? I kind of expect some of the users to feel that way. But nobody owns a frequency. And it ain't interference to talk as long as you don't transmit over someone else.

I am reprogramming some of my repeater channels that have been for private repeaters to simplex. But I want to include the output tone for the repeaters where known because people may be listening with the receive tone set. Would that violate any protocol that would upset the repeater owners? I'm sure it wouldn't violate any regs but that doesn't mean it won't be objected to, as in they think their members have exclusive use of that frequency/tone pair..

Slim-jim (no ground plane needed) or stacked 5/8 wave on pizza pan. Good coax matters a lot too.

My over-the-air TV reception went out a little after 10pm EST. That's unusual when there's no storms.

@arn 's post that I responded to referenced only "UV-5R" - that is a HAM radio and that is what I was commenting on. Y'all need to be really careful to use correct model #s in your questions if you want a good answer. I have 2 "UV-5G"s I got a little over a year ago. and they are GMRS certified (no transmit on other freqs). There were no others like "UV5R GMRS" when I got mine and I have no knowledge of, experience with, or interest in those. p.s. They're sold by Abbree, which is a vendor. Btech is a vendor too. They both claim to have a Baofeng Store, but they're not actually the Baofeng company.

The old ones are better than the new ones in some ways. Old batteries would not be good however. Can you ask the seller what the firmware version is?

I've been using solar panels and batteries for a long time, but nothing specific for any particular radio. I just got another panel (20W) with charge controller for $49. The charge controller only has led lights and not a voltage readout. I use my multimeter to check voltage before charging. The charge controller is unfortunately allowing the battery to be overcharged a bit by my standard (e.g., 12.82-84 compared to what I've read is full, 12.7). But that's not a big issue - I've used my other large panel without a charge controller for 10 years, just guessing at charging time needed. What I do now is wait until the next morning for the voltage to settle back down. But that means I can't charge more than what I estimate is enough time. Intermittent clouds or not keeping the panel moved enough to keep it in the sun both make it hard to estimate charging time. I need a way to check if a battery is fully charged right after charging on the panel. I suppose a way of measuring amps may work but my understanding is amps have to measured under load. Also in the past I tended to blow fuses more often when checking amps. I'm thinking maybe a work light or a fan could be used as the load to check amps. If somebody knows a better way, preferably something relatively foolproof, I'd appreciate a tip.

I think it's because the workers are not of the same caliber they were when we were young. It's not specific to one company but across the board, all part of the destruction of real America.

A) 10-4 is not = CB. Firemen and police who are new to HAM are are the ones I hear using it the most. And they know the feelings about it, but it's hard to break habits. Tradition, no matter how entrenched, is not enforceable on others. The regs are all that count. Most HAMs do not understand this and they are in the wrong.

USPS is the one I'm having some trouble with. (@WRWR489, I'm also in SC, different area). I haven't had a package delivered by Fed-Ex in a long time. UPS seems to do fine - I would choose them if I got to choose but usually don't.

sent PM

Most of the magnet mount antennas come with RG-58 coax at best. That's not great for GMRS. BuyTwoWayRadios has a Melowave NMO antenna mount with better quality cable. I got one but haven't done testing.

Maybe. And/or show both viewpoints.

How would you settle disputes? Even the OP of a thread can't remove comments, so it would need a moderator to keep it clean. I haven't seen any active moderators on this site, other than the owner stepping in on rare occasions.

IMO, @foamhand is misinterpreting the regs. Having buttons on the microphone does not violate the regs; the buttons don't change what the radio is able to do. That's the problem with having everyone trying to apply their own interpretation - it doesn't work well. And that's why the regs need to be written better.

PL-259 male connects to SO-239 female. (But the SO-239 is typically on mobiles not HTs)

Has anyone reported the same problem for any UV-5Gs? (I can't test mine on simplex because no one close.)

They're definitely better than the other Chinese vendors. They say they have an office/HQ in Delaware, but all the replies to the support email come in the middle of the night so I'm assuming they're in China or somewhere over there. My impression is the names they give us aren't real (e.g. Ingrid, Sophia, Kate); the names sound like American or other native English speakers but the replies sometimes don't seem to correspond with that. Also, the replies might sometimes be from bots but that's not certain. They are good at trying to come to a resolution. They didn't solve my driver issue (SShannon did that), but they did give a partial refund once and I've just ordered a spare mic they're shipping from China. I had to pay on their website, though, and I almost balked at doing that. Their website is terrible if you watch all the connections being attempted. And they use Spotify for payment processing which I normally avoid. So as long as I can order their stuff through Amazon I might buy from them again. But if I have to buy directly, probably would look elsewhere. tl/dr: they're OK